Kelsey Nixon

Friday is my favorite day of the week for many reasons – other than signaling the beginning of the weekend, I feel that Fridays invite the opportunity to take a deep breath, slow down, and tackle projects on our to-do list. Every Friday you can find a post here dedicated to a favorite family project, products I can’t live without, or memorable meals worth mentioning. This week we’re chatting about easy entertaining with snack board suppers! 

2018 felt like the year of snack boards around here! It all kicked off with a segment on the Today Show where I shared how to put together simple yet beautiful snack boards for New Year’s Eve. Then it became a weekly family dinner tradition where I basically cleaned out my fridge and called it dinner on a board! I’m sharing a few of my favorites below that were consistently a hit throughout the year.

BRUSCHETTA BOARD

This was my go-to for easy entertaining. Crisped crostini with my favorite marinara sauce, bruschetta, pesto, olive tapenade, and artichoke dip. A little fresh mozzarella, goat cheese, balsamic and good olive oil and you’re good to go. The key to making it look as good as it tastes is filling in the gaps with fresh, baby arugula.

TRADER JOE’S

I’m not shy about my love for Trader Joes. One of the easiest ways to compile a hearty snack board is to head straight to Trader Joes for all of the ingredients needed. They make it so easy and, most importantly, it’s all delicious. I pick up their cracker cuts cheddar cheese, Beecher’s Flagship Cheese, seedless grape trio, aged salami, pepperoni sticks, pita crackers, Honeycrisp apples, sweet & spicy pecans, and center it all around my favorite Cilantro Jalapeno Hummus.

 

SWEET & SALTY

This is perfect for a party! All of your sweet and salty desires met. You can really make this work with just about anything you have on hand but the chocolate covered potato chips have to be my favorite! I also never leave off yogurt dipped pretzels, peanut butter filled pretzels, and a few fresh berries to balance everything out. Forget about making a complicated dessert and just assemble a similar board!

 

CHOCOLATE FONDUE

I feel like the holidays kick off “fondue season” which carries all the way through Valentine’s day. I love this fondue pot and make this recipe with a bit of a coconut-ty twist. Guest will go crazy for this display and it’s such a fun way to have an interactive dessert.

SWEET & SAVORY WAFFLES

If you’re looking for a fun approach to Christmas morning breakfast, this can’t be beat. I’ve done Sweet & Savory Waffle Boards for every kind event this year – baby showers, birthdays, or just a lazy Sunday morning. I like making my Cheddar Jalapeno Waffles along with classic Belgian Sweet Waffles (the Krusteaz mix is my favorite) and toppings that will make any sweet or savory waffle lover sing.