I want to make an easy, inexpensive, side dish for a Christmas party. any ideas?

Question

my husband is in the national guard and the armory is having a holiday party. i want to make something nice.

thanks for all the help guys! I was kind of considering green bean casserole since we have frozen green beans leftover from our wedding still i think. so i'll probly go w/ that but still open for suggestions if anyone else has any

wow that snowman cheeseball idea sounds really cool and creative. i might try that one. have you ever made it personally? what kind of stuff did you use for the face and arms?

Answer 1

Green bean casserole is so yummy.

Coach

Answer 2

How about an appetizer? Here's a super cute and easy recipe that will get lots of compliments. If you have a cheese ball recipe that you like, use that. Otherwise, take 2 bricks of cream cheese, mix in a packet of vegetable soup mix OR 1/2 cup italian dressing. Form into 3 balls, small, medium, large. Arrange on a platter like a snowman. Sprinkle with parmesean cheese, decorate with anything you have to make the eyes, nose, mouth, buttons, arms, etc. Surround with your favorite crackers and voila! Snowman cheeseball!

Answer 3

Since you have green beans try these, they are really good.

Mom's Great Green Beans

INGREDIENTS

* 2 (15 ounce) cans green beans
* 1 cube beef bouillon cube
* 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
* 1 teaspoon soy sauce
* 1 tablespoon butter
* 1 pinch garlic pepper seasoning

DIRECTIONS

1. Drain the green beans, reserving 1/2 of the liquid. Dissolve the bouillon cube in the reserved liquid.

2. Place green beans and liquid in a saucepan. Add Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, butter or margarine and garlic pepper seasoning to taste. Simmer gently for 15 minutes.

3. Remove to serving bowl leaving beans sitting in their liquid. Use a slotted spoon to serve.

Answer 4

make a 7-layer salad.
You'll need a head of lettuce, 2 Roma tomatoes, a green pepper, celery, a red onion, a bag of frozen peas, bacon bits, mayonnaise and shredded cheddar cheese.
Get a 9x13 pan, tear the lettuce into small pieces and layer in the bottom, next cut up the onion and layer, next cut up enough celery to make a layer, then cut up the tomatoes and green pepper and layer. Over that add the bag of frozen peas (still frozen) and frost that with 2 cups of mayonnaise and about 1/2 cup of sugar(mixed together, of course). To that add enough shredded cheese to layer, (I add a bunch) and top that with the bacon bits. Cover this and let sit overnight in your fridge.

Easy, breezy, no set rules and it's good! Always a big hit. My biggest advice is to use brand name mayo, I've tried the cheaper and it ends up separating. Also use frozen peas!! You can also add some sliced boiled eggs on top as decorations.

Answer 5

This is really good (better than it looks!) Great to serve with crackers.

Vidalia Onion Casserole

4 medium onions1 ½ cups croutons / bread crumbs
2 Tbsp. margarine2 Tbsp. margarine
2 Tbsp. flour1 ½ cups Swiss cheese
salt & pepper3 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese
2 beef bouillon cubespaprika
(dissolved in 1 cup hot water)


Sauté onions in margarine. Add flour, salt & pepper. Stir in bouillon. Remove to 1 ½ quart casserole dish. Fry croutons in margarine. Combine with onion mixture. Top with cheeses and paprika. Bake at 350° for 20-30 minutes.

Answer 6

Here's a festive side.

Broccoli Wreath with Creamy Cheese Sauce
Serving Size : 8

8 cups frozen Broccoli Florets
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded, cut into small diamond, star, bell shapes (you could use halved cherry tomatoes instead)
12 cut up, slices American Cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup milk

Place custard cup or small microwaveable bowl in center of a round microwaveable serving platter. Arrange broccoli florets around bowl forming a wreath. Decorate with red pepper; cover with waxed paper. Microwave on High 6 to 8 minutes, or until broccoli is tender.

In a medium bowl, stir together cheese, sour cream, and milk. Microwave on High 2 to 3 minutes or until cheese is melted, stirring every minute. Transfer to custard cup to serve.

Make Ahead Tip: Arrange broccoli and pepper several hours before serving. Cover; keep refrigerated until ready to microwave. Reduce microwave time to 5-6 minutes for cooking broccoli.

You could use Ranch or Bleu Cheese dressing in place of the cheese sauce.

Happy Holidays :-)

http://www.marketday.com/order/Rec_View.asp?RecipeID=223

Answer 7

How about a green bean casserole. That's not to expensive and it's yummy. Good luck.

Answer 8

Here are a couple
Cavatini Casserole

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 package spaghetti sauce seasoning mix
1 large stick pepperoni, sliced
1 can sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup each, 3 different types of pasta; shells, wheels, penne, etc.
15 ounce can tomato sauce
1 cup water
6 ounces mozzarella, grated
6 ounces Cheddar cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 350F degrees and reserve a 9 inch by 13 inch ovenproof baking dish or pan.

In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the ground beef with the onion and green pepper. Drain any excess liquid and reserve. Add spaghetti seasoning mix to the browned meat and blend. Add pepperoni and mushrooms and blend again.

Meanwhile, prepare the pastas as directed on the package and drain.

Combine the cooked pastas with the ground beef mixture in the baking pan. Add tomato sauce and water; stir to combine.

Add most of the cheeses and stir again, sprinkling the remaining cheeses over the top of the casserole.

Bake for about 30 minutes, uncovered. Serve warm in pasta bowls with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese, if desired.


Eggplant and Zucchini Casserole

2 small eggplants, diced If you cannot find 2 small eggplants use one large eggplant
1 large portobello mushroom, sliced
2 large zucchini, diced
1 medium onion, chopped
2 large plum tomatoes, diced
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 tablespoon fresh basil, reserve 1 tablespoon to sprinkle on top
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, for dried use about 1 teaspoon
2 cups shredded Colby cheese
1 8 ounce package stuffing mix
salt
freshly ground pepper

Place eggplant, zucchini, tomato, garlic, onion into a large skillet.

Season with basil, thyme, salt and pepper. Cook and stir over medium low heat for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 2 quart casserole dish.

Layer vegetables, cheese and dry stuffing mix in the dish until all ingredients have been used, ending with cheese and a sprinkle of basil.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until cooked through.


this one sounds icky, but its great
Gorilla Casserole
This recipe serves 20!! I usually halve this recipe and put it in 2-8 x 8" pans. I freeze one, and prepare the 2nd for dinner.

2 & 1/2 lb hamburger
2 large onions, chopped
3 stalks celery & leaves, chopped
3 large carrots, grated
2 (3oz) cans Italian-style diced tomatoes
2 tsp salt
1 & 1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder (I used 1/2 tsp minced garlic for my
half recipe)
24 oz macaroni (I used 10 oz wide egg noodles for my half
recipe)
2 pkgs frozen spinach, thawed not drained

(I also added 1 30 oz jar spaghetti sauce, as it seemed to need it)

Brown ground beef in dutch oven; drain. Return to pan; add onion, celery, and carrots. Cook 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, salt, oregano, pepper, garlic, and spaghetti sauce. Bring to a boil, then simmer covered 1 hour. Cook noodles according to directions and set aside. After sauce is done, stir in pasta and spinach. Mix thoroughly. Put in (2) 9 x 13" pans, and sprinkle with enough parmesan to cover. Cover, label, and
freeze.

To serve, thaw completely and bake at 350°F for 30 minutes.

There are lots more here
http://www.razzledazzlerecipes.com/casserole-recipes/

Answer 9

http://allrecipes.com/Recipes/Holiday-Cooking/Christmas/Side-Dishes/Main.aspx

Go here....lots of good recepies and cheap too!!!

Good luck!