New Year’s Eve Nibbles

New Year’s eve is approaching quickly and you’ll want to have some snacks on hand to send 2020 out and bring 2021 in with hope & best wishes.

Everyone has their favorite snacks and very often we tend to serve them over and over again. Meatballs, chips &  dip, and pigs in a blanket are yummy, but so last year!  So if you’re tired of the same old things or just want a new appetizer to try, one of these easy recipes may become a new favorite. 

Salami Rolls

  • 1 pound of thinly sliced salami
  • 1 block of cream cheese, softened
  • blue cheese 4 oz or more – depends on how much you like it!

Mix cream cheese and blue cheese, adding a bit of milk to thin if needed.

Spread thinly on each slice of salami and roll, securing with a toothpick or laying the flap side down on the serving plate. Chill and serve. 

Crab Dip

  • 1 8oz block of sour cream, softened
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce 
  • 1 teaspoon dry mustard
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • 4 dashes Tabasco
  • 1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning
  • 1 pound of crab meat

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 1 qt baking dish (I use a glass pie plate) with Pam .

Mix all the ingredients except the crab meat & cheese, then fold in the crab and 1/4 cup of the cheese.  Spoon into baking dish. 
Top with a sprinkle of Old Bay and the rest of the cheese. 
Bake for 20–30 minutes. Serve with sliced baguette or crackers. 

Cream Cheese & Pepper Jelly

Place a block of cream cheese on a plate and spoon 4 oz of pepper jelly over the top, Use a small knife for spreading. Serve with Club crackers. 

Trying Something New

While we are stocked up on canned food and all the basics, there are still things that need replenishing weekly, like bread, milk, and fresh produce.


With my husband home we also have to take into considered the ‘snack factor’.  You know how Hobbits have Second Breakfast? It’s similar to that, only more frequent and varied, relying heavily on Doritos and Mt. Dew, among other similar treats.


I really dislike grocery shopping anyway but now that we are in quarantine for two weeks I pretty much had to use the grocery contactless pick up option at Giant. 


The idea of having someone else do my grocery shopping for me has always been tempting but since my oldest daughter loves to do it, I just never bothered.  Since she is also home for 14 days, now is our chance to give it a try. 

First things first – building our grocery list. We started out with bread and other basics. Then we figured Dad needed a couple of snacks. Next was produce and filling in any gaps we had with our dinner menu for the week, which we made up as we went along. Grand total for bread & a few extras- $108.00 with pickup  fee of $2.95,  plus tax. 


By the time we got finished adding all the extras our chosen time slot of 8pm was long gone. We tried other store locations without luck. 8am the following day would have to do.


For some reason we thought early morning was a good idea. No one needed to get up early, but there I was, trekking out into the winter air to gather rations. It wasn’t really bad. 40 degrees and remote start on the car made it comfy. 


I arrived a little after 8 and parked in the grocery pick up area, following the directions to call when I arrived and within a few minutes my groceries were being loaded into the back of the car.

Sweet! 


I can’t describe how nice that felt to be able to skip 99% of the grocery shopping experience! I know I am late to the grocery pick up game, but I have say I love it and appreciate it more than I can express!


The bags ​were nice & sturdy papers with nifty handles. They were packed carefully and neatly, making unloading them and putting things away easier than ever. It was a true pleasure to get my groceries like that and everything was as I ordered it except for the brand of sunflower seeds for hubby but that was not a huge issue. 


I highly recommend trying the grocery pick up service if you haven’t done so already. It may change your life, or at the very least change the way you shop. 


I may try the delivery service next and will report back if I do. 

That COVID Thing

After 9 months of disinfecting, spraying, wiping, etc. it finally got us. Two of my daughters work in health care and unfortunately have contracted COVID. 


One has a rash over most of her body. Her rapid test came back negative, but we know. Just waiting on the other test for confirmation.  The other daughter feels just awful.  Restless. Chest cold type of complaints. Really keeping an eye on her. 
So now we are all in quarantine for 14 days. 14 long days together in our wee little house.  Good times. 


We’ll manage. I  am just hoping no one else catches it though we probably will. Hoping no one gets terribly sick, though someone might. It’s life in 2020. 


Luckily we are well supplied with food and tp, dog food, and wine. We’ll probably -hopefully- get some more cleaning and purging done. Maybe more of that quality time stuff. I just want us all to be ok. 

Coffee / Hot Chocolate Station

I love a coffee station! Nothing says ‘cozy’ or ‘winter’ like a little set up to make a steaming cup of coffee or cider or a creamy cup of cocoa. 

I set up my first hot drink station a few years ago on a galvanized aluminum two tiered tray. It held hot chocolate packets, 2 mugs, and some mini marshmallows, along with a couple of snowmen. 

Needing a different look & feel, I purchased this Mikasa lazy Susan from Costco and went in search of some new items to go better with my recently spruced up kitchen. 

I really like a batter bowl I found at TJMaxx so searched for a canister that was similar. I use it hold hot chocolate mix from a canister rather than using packets. We often mix our own versions of hot drinks so sometimes don’t need a full packet amount. Others like a double chocolate drink. So it really makes the most sense to use the loose powder. 

While we have a full coffee pot for ground coffee, our Keurig also has the option of using a coffee pod. (It’s a great coffee pot!). A canister to hold coffee pods was next on my list of things to add to the coffee station. 

Sprinkles were next on my list. It is very hard to find a sprinkle shaker! I ended up using a salt shaker but had to take the lid off. Then my daughter found actual sprinkle shakers! Who knew they even made them?!

A little airtight container for mini chocolate chips, a very old Libbey snowman jar for mini marshmallows, packets of instant cider and a favorite little sign and my station was complete!

I’m going to keep it up until Spring, changing a few things to go with the season or holiday.