Post from the Past: Easy Recipes for a Dinner Party

Last week while I was typing, my six-year-old son asked me for an index card. Over the next couple of minutes, he lay in the floor of my office, writing away. I helped him spell most of the words, but I wasn’t paying attention to the content as a whole. By the time he asked me for an envelope and a stamp, I realized he had written an invitation to some of our friends. We mailed the letter, and as a result, I lay awake last night wracking my brain to come up with some nice, yet easy, dinner choices for tonight’s company.

Since I will be busy all day, I’ve decided to make two things that will be super easy, but they are still on my husband’s list of favorite things to eat. The main course is a four-ingredient lasagna. I used to hate making lasagna because it was so time consuming, and frankly, I can’t stand the sight of ricotta cheese! However, the ingredients I use are:

6 lasagna noodles, cooked

Half a block of Velveeta cheese (or something comparable), cut into quarter inch slices

1 lb. ground beef, cooked and drained

1 can or jar of spaghetti sauce

After cooking the noodles and beef, I make two layers of noodles, cheese, beef, and spaghetti sauce, in that order. I always save the majority of the ingredients for the top half, since that’s the half that everyone sees.   If you don’t mind a runny river of cheesy goodness, you can serve it immediately after baking. If you’re like me, however, you will want it to look as good as it tastes – in which case, let it cool for 45 minutes or so before serving.

My main side is a four-ingredient mashed potato concoction, thanks to my sister-in-love (engaged to my brother), Mandy, for the recipe!

8-12 small potatoes (I always save the big ones for baking), cooked and mashed

Butter to taste

Milk to desired consistency

Lots of shredded cheese

After making mashed potatoes as usual and adding butter and milk, place them into a baking dish. Cover the top with shredded cheese and bake at 350 degrees until the cheese melts. I must admit that the first time I made this, I was trying to make regular mashed potatoes. I used too much milk, and figured that some time in the oven would dry the potatoes out a bit. Since Mandy had been bringing cheesy mashed potatoes to our house for special occasions, I thought I would give it a try! It’s now one of the easiest and yummiest side dishes in my repertoire!

A little bread here, another vegetable there, and dinner is done!

On a side note, my son has inspired me to try to bring some formality back into my friendships. How fun would it be to throw a dinner party and actually send out cordial invitations? Gone are the days when people ate at friends’ houses three or four nights a week, and entertained once or twice a week in their own homes. With all of the demands that we place on ourselves, we find it difficult to make time for visiting with our family and friends. If we would turn off the television once in a while, I wonder if we would get bored enough to remember the important people in our lives?

A challenge: call someone important to you and invite them for dinner!

Open House Dinner Party

One of our favorite things to do is throw a dinner party for our friends. Jesse and I have an open house every Sunday afternoon. Note to my friends: If this is the first you’ve heard about it, you are very welcome to show up! I just haven’t remembered to personally invite everyone yet.

My (not-so) hidden agenda: My hope is to bring my church friends together with those who are looking for a church home, to allow them to build relationships before entering a church building. I know how scary it is to feel “all alone” while hunting for a church. Of course, all of our friends are welcome, even if they already attend a different church!

House Prep: I generally clean the house pretty good on Friday or Saturday, and straighten up on Sunday mornings before church. I save the bathrooms for Sunday mornings as well, because they don’t stay clean very long. Once I’m done with that, I go through the house and look for little nagging things. If they aren’t big projects, I try to take care of them right away. Otherwise, they get put on my list of things to do for the next week. It’s been really nice since I started doing this, because my house usually gets completely clean at least once a week. That keeps me from getting sneaky little overlooked spots that build up and become difficult!

Food Prep: Nearly everyone brings a side, but I try to fix the main course. Since we are on a tight budget, it’s usually spaghetti or a big pot of beans. Once in a while, I will have salad fixins and some freshly pressed tortillas. (They’re so inexpensive to make!) For a few weeks there, I was making fresh salsa and chips every Sunday. The chips are so easy – I will post a how-to later on. I make anything up ahead of time that I possibly can – pasta is quick and simple to cook after getting home, but slow cooker recipes free you up for visiting with your guests. (I also like to have a backup plan for extra food, in case the turnout is greater that we expected.)

Heart Prep: It’s good to remind yourself not to hurt your guests spiritually. Try not to be a worldly influence in their lives. Keep the TV turned off, stick with Christian or instrumental music in the background, and engage in activities that will encourage clean conversation. Jesse and I usually like to play board games on Sundays, but if there is enough conversation, you don’t really need any other form of entertainment. Say a prayer, and ask for help keeping your thoughts pure and your conversation godly.

Happy hosting!

By the way, if you don’t have a subscription to Homeschool Enrichment Magazine, here is a direct link to their free digital subscription page: http://homeschoolenrichment.com/magazine/digital/

My latest article is on the Sep./Oct. cover: Asking Questions, Analyzing Answers. Hope you like it! (I also write the “Once Upon a
Homeschool” piece in every issue.)

 

More easy dinner party recipes

Our favorite appetizer. (It’s my favorite for two reasons: 1. It’s yummy, 2. Jesse makes it, not me):

Spinach-Artichoke Dip

I kid you not, this stuff is just as good as the dip that Applebees makes.

Two 8 oz. packages of cream cheese

One 8 1/2 oz. can of artichoke hearts (cut into 1/4 inch pieces)

One 9 oz. package of frozen spinach (easier if thawed ahead of time)

1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon of garlic salt

1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

2 teaspoons of oregano

1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella

Pre-thaw spinach, or thaw in a skillet or saucepan. Add cream cheese until it starts to get soft. (You could let the cream cheese sit on the counter for a while before you begin cooking; it’s gets softer and easier to work with). Add artichoke hearts, Parmesan, and spices. Stir until everything is melted together.

Place in serving dish and add mozzarella while still hot enough to melt the cheese (optional). For a nicer touch, you could throw it all into the oven until the mozzarella browns a little.

Our favorite chips to use with this dip are flour tortillas that we cut into triangles with a pizza cutter (we like thin, dry tortillas best for chips). Cook on 350 degrees for 5-10 minutes. We don’t add anything to them, and we like them just fine. Others may want to brush the chips with olive oil and add salt before cooking. I assume that corn tortillas would be good as well. Pita bread prepared the same way is also very good with this dip (we don’t do anything to the pita bread either, other than cut it up). However, pita bread needs to be eaten while warm, because after it cools, it gets very hard (so only make as much as you can consume in a few minutes).

Enjoy!

Escaping back to reality

I’m on a mission, but I need some help. I don’t want to watch television anymore, but it’s about all we’ve been doing as a family for the past ten years (and as single people for years before that). During the day, when my husband is at work, I have many things to keep me busy – homeschooling, playing with my son, writing, composing/arranging, preparing for the homeschool classes that I teach, reading books to improve my current skills, etc. I only step foot into our living room to feed the fish. In the evenings though, I’d really like to take a break and spend time with my husband. However, I don’t have any desire to sit in front of the television anymore. We don’t talk to each other when the TV is on, and frankly, I’d rather be knocking a few things off my to-do list. I actually enjoy my work more than I do sitting and doing nothing. My husband has been feeling neglected because of this. I’m afraid he’s starting to think that I would rather work than “spend time” with him. In an effort to keep him from feeling this way, I’ve been trying to drop everything in the evenings and focus on him, but I’ve been trying to do so without involving the television in any way. He’s game, but we just don’t know what to do as a couple to pass our time. We used to go for long drives and out for nice dinners, but with the economy the way it is, those just aren’t practical options anymore. So far, in our efforts to stop watching so much TV, we’ve spent some time playing board games, and we’ve invited a couple of families over for dinner. A friend suggested that we start working out together. She and her husband do this regularly; they enjoy the time they spend conversing, and they really encourage one another to “keep up the good work,” so to speak. In the middle of writing this (last night), I actually took a break and made some cookies with Ian and Jesse. One of the fun things that we’ve done in the past is turn out all of the lights and play hide-and-seek. The winter months are ideal for this game, because there’s plenty of time left to play after the sun goes down. It’s really great because you can hide by laying on the couch or standing behind the drum set, and as long as you can keep from giggling, you can remain hidden for several minutes. I remember my dad once hiding by sitting on the kitchen table. I think we gave up before anyone ever found him, and there were five of us looking! Anyway, over the course of the next few weeks, we’re going to try some new things and hopefully build a repertoire of non-television related activities. I’ll keep you posted. In the meantime, feel free to post an activity that your family enjoys! Challenge: Turn off the television tonight and do something fun together!

Easy Recipes for a Dinner Party

Last week while I was typing, my six-year-old son asked me for an index card. Over the next couple of minutes, he lay in the floor of my office, writing away. I helped him spell most of the words, but I wasn’t paying attention to the content as a whole. By the time he asked me for an envelope and a stamp, I realized he had written an invitation to some of our friends. We mailed the letter, and as a result, I lay awake last night wracking my brain to come up with some nice, yet easy, dinner choices for tonight’s company.

Since I will be busy all day, I’ve decided to make two things that will be super easy, but they are still on my husband’s list of favorite things to eat. The main course is a four-ingredient lasagna. I used to hate making lasagna because it was so time consuming, and frankly, I can’t stand the sight of ricotta cheese! However, the ingredients I use are:

6 lasagna noodles, cooked

Half a block of Velveeta cheese (or something comparable), cut into quarter inch slices

1 lb. ground beef, cooked and drained

1 can or jar of spaghetti sauce

After cooking the noodles and beef, I make two layers of noodles, cheese, beef, and spaghetti sauce, in that order. I always save the majority of the ingredients for the top half, since that’s the half that everyone sees.  🙂 If you don’t mind a runny river of cheesy goodness, you can serve it immediately after baking. If you’re like me, however, you will want it to look as good as it tastes – in which case, let it cool for 45 minutes or so before serving.

My main side is a four-ingredient mashed potato concoction. Thanks to my sister-in-law Mandy, for the recipe!

8-12 small potatoes (I always save the big ones for baking), cooked and mashed

Butter to taste

Milk to desired consistency

Lots of shredded cheese

After making mashed potatoes as usual and adding butter and milk, place them into a baking dish. Cover the top with shredded cheese and bake at 350 degrees until the cheese melts. I must admit that the first time I made this, I was trying to make regular mashed potatoes. I used too much milk, and figured that some time in the oven would dry the potatoes out a bit. Since Mandy had been bringing cheesy mashed potatoes to our house for special occasions, I thought I would give it a try! It’s now one of the easiest and yummiest side dishes in my repertoire!

A little bread here, another vegetable there, and dinner is done!

On a side note, my son has inspired me to try to bring some formality back into my friendships. How fun would it be to throw a dinner party and actually send out cordial invitations? Gone are the days when people ate at friends’ houses three or four nights a week, and entertained once or twice a week in their own homes. With all of the demands that we place on ourselves, we find it difficult to make time for visiting with our family and friends. If we would turn off the television once in a while, I wonder if we would get bored enough to remember the important people in our lives?

A challenge: call someone important to you and invite them for dinner!