New Year's Eve Dinner

I remember as a child we would actually have loads of fun celebrating New Year's Eve. We would eat lots of junk food that night and watch movies. Friends would visit and my family would party throughout the evening. One of my favorite appetizers was my mom's beef dip with pumpernickel bread. It was very addicting!

I wanted badly to start some kind of a tradition with my daughter. My husband and I made big plans for New Year's Eve. We wanted to watch family movies, play games, do sparklers outside, set off fireworks, and eat a gigantic feast of snacking appetizers. Jeff promised to take a break from working on the house since it was cold and raining. He stopped at the store to pick up a few groceries on his way home. We don't always get to eat crab legs for dinner except under special circumstances and if the price is right. My husband and I decided that this year's New Year's Eve dinner would be extra special.

However, things did not go as planned and our evening was cut short. We ended up taking Alyssa into the med clinic because her cough had gotten worse and more frequent. We found out that she had an ear infection due to drainage from either allergies or a common cold. We decided against hanging out in the cold and wet weather setting off fireworks and sparklers. We stayed inside snuggling ... keeping each other warm while watching movies - we figured that was our best bet this New Year's Eve. Alyssa and I played a few of our favorite games while my husband boiled the crab in seasonings.

Jeff deserved a break from work but instead he did ALL the cooking for our meal. My daughter and I were spoiled that day! We ate a grand dinner thanks to my super sweet hubby. He found crab legs on sale so he picked up a couple pounds. He also made us his delicious spinach artichoke dip. We smeared it on HEB Asiago bread which cost more than we would obviously pay for bread, but it tasted how so yummy in our tummies. He also purchased shrimp cocktail just in case Alyssa wouldn't eat the crab. She ended up liking and eating the crab after chomping down a couple bites. She said, "It was sooo goood and wanted to eat it all!" Furthermore, Jeff made homemade shrimp cocktail sauce since we didn't feel it was necessary to buy a jar that would be used only once or twice. We melted the unsalted butter in the ceramic dishes seen in the photo. We bought those on sale years ago in the HEB sale tubs. This was a filling and most healthy meal for us. JUST KIDDING. Well, it might not be healthy ... but it was tasty. Thank you Jeff for cooking us a wonderful meal and thank you God for providing us with food on the table.

We snacked on veggies throughout the afternoon and into the evening. Alyssa and I were so full after breakfast we didn't eat much for lunch. I made her eggnog pancakes for breakfast with the leftover Christmas eggnog. She also ate 1/2 cup of original greek yogurt with blackberries and a spoonful of honey. I always add in a few drops of vanilla stevia for flavor. She likes it best when I mash the blackberries into the yogurt. She must be going through a growth spurt because she ate it all.

What did you eat for New Year's Eve? Did you snack all day? Did you plan a large meal? How did you celebrate? What are your New Year's Eve traditions? I would love to hear your suggestions.