rotel dip with chips
pizza
cheese sticks
You can go online right now and order pizza for NYE. So how busy they are Tuesday night won't matter ... your order will already be in. You might also think of buying a small sliced ham. Serve it with a couple different flavors of mustard, bread and other sandwich "fixings". I always find that people like sweet and spicy meatballs. Just buy a bag of frozen fully cooked meatballs. Mix chili sauce (found with ketchup in the store) and grape jelly or orange marmalade in equal parts. Heat the sauce and meatballs on medium on the stove and serve with toothpicks. If you have a small crockpot, that will work as well. Cocktail weenies with barbeque sauce can be prepared and served the same way. Add a bowl of mixed nuts and a bowl of candies (like Reeces Pieces or M&Ms).
For breakfast for a crowd I like a breakfast casserole:
Butter both sides of sliced bread (enough slices to cover the bottom of a 13X9" pan)
Brown 1# of pork sausage and drain. Then spread it over the buttered bread.
Trim and clean a bunch of green onions then chop both white and green parts. Sautee in the pan the sausage was browned in. Sprinkle over the sausage.
Crack 8-10 large eggs into a bowl. Scramble with a fork or whisk and pour over the other ingredients in the baking dish.
Sprinkle grated cheddar chesse over all. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Bake, uncovered, in a preheated 350-375 degree oven for 45 minutes. Cut in squares and serve with fresh fruit.
I would pick a theme: Mexican, Asian, Italian, or good ol' U.S..
Mexican:
Simple bean dip, can be used in tortillas/burritos/enchiladas: refried beans with salsa and some cheddar cheese melted in it.
Chips with pickled jalapenos and cheddar cheese microwaved on them for the classic nachos. Or have these on the side with salsa. Fresh sliced jalapenos are a party fave for the brave. Get a hot sauce, hot chili macho thing going, look for the girls to give it a try too.
Baked enchiladas are straight forward and can be the main dish.
Fix an fresh pico salad.
Greek/Pico Salad
2 cup diced tomato
1 cup finely diced onion
1/2 cup finely sliced fresh cilantro
2 tbs lime/lemon juice
fresh black pepper
Optional
1 cup diced avocados
2 cups broccoli, cabbage, shredded-carrots, cucumbers, bell peppers
1/4 cup peperoncini, fresh jalapenos
2 teaspoons fresh garlic, minced
touch of honey
Can be added to lettuce prior to eating, do not store with lettuce in it
Rick's Chili
6C over-night soaked pinto beans
1C brown rice
1/2 gal filtered water
1T black pepper
1T red pepper flakes
Optional:
3 T chili powder
1 T bullion powder
cayenne pepper to taste
1T oregano
3T lemon juice or apple vinegar
Garlic
Diced onion
Bell pepper
Jalapenos, fresh or pickled
Grated carrots
Honey or pure maple syrup
1/2 can tomato sauce
Asian:
Get some frozen egg rolls and pot stickers, Chinese mustard, soy sauce, sesame seeds and ketchup for dipping them. These are easy to bake, don't microwave them. You could get some Chinese pork too, just thin slice it and serve chilled.
Fried rice and chow mein would be main dishes or sides. Easy to fix, and offer any vegetarian substantial food options as long as you only put veggies in them.
Broccoli beef and a chicken dish, like Cashew chicken are a couple faves.
Here's a site I use for recipes and ideas. Just type in an ingredient or dish name, add vegan to the list for health.
http://www.yummly.com
Italian:
You can fix the pico dish as a Greek salad. Pasta is simple, and here are a couple basic sauce recipes. Fix these a head of time to minimize the stress and let you know you can fix them. Then I would broil some French bread with light garlic-olive oil and parmesan.
Simple red-marinara sauce: 1can tomato sauce, 1Tbsp oregano, 1Tbsp basil, garlic, onion. Simmer 30 minutes. Optional: rosemary, bay leaves, sliced olives. These other spices can be added to the white sauce too. Fresh basil is amazing, along with fresh garlic after cooking.
Simple white sauce: water with flour to thicken it, flour must be dissolved in cold water and stirred in before it forms lumps. Bullion can be added for gravy. Or Parmesan cheese, basil, and a touch of olive oil for pasta & pizza sauce. seasalt & pepper to taste.
U.S.
You could do BBQ with baked beans and corn bread. A pot roast. Or a picnic with hamburgers, hot dogs, cole slaw, corn on the cobb. Or fried or roasted chicken.
Desserts:
Chocolate cake, chocolate mouse, ice cream, sorbets, cheese cake, carrot cake, pies, cobblers...
Hope these help. Good eats, fun party!
For new years I'm having about 5 people over, they're spending the night, and I need to think of foods that don't take a lot of time to make, are snacky but won't leave people hungry, and will work for picky eaters. Also, preferably doesn't cost a lot of money. Pizza's not gonna cut it because the pizza places are for sure gonna be busy.
