Thursday, March 28, 2013

Kitchenista: Quick & Easy Dinner

I am going to try not to sound sarcastic. Sometimes sarcasm reads a little hard and I don't want to sound like an irritable pregnant woman. However, when your husband tells you that you'll be having another family over for dinner and you're not in the mood to play Martha Stewart (or Barefoot Contessa, Rachel Ray or Giada - take your pick) that can make you a bit irritated.

What am I going to make? Who's going to clean this house? Those are always the first two thoughts that pop into my head when I hear that we're having company. You know. Because there are two levels of clean. There's level one which basically means your house is clean enough for the people that live in it to survive. And then there's level two. Level two is how clean your house is when you find out a family that you've never met before is coming to dinner. After all, a first impression is everything. Nothing says welcome to my home like clean base boards. Anyway. I digress.

The real thing I've been thinking about is what am I going to make. I always like to offer something that's family friendly and pleasing to most pallets. Since I haven't been really inspired by food lately I had to lean on Pinterest. I decided to go through my "Kitchenista" board to get some ideas. It's always a risk to serve something you've never made before but after checking out the ingredients and directions I feel pretty safe.












                                                                                        Source: kayotic.nl viaTia on Pinterest

My plan is to serve this pasta with a tossed salad. I'll probably substitute the spaghetti noodles for fettuccine. For desert I plan to make brownies. You can never go wrong with brownies. Ever. I won't be serving any wine since no one drinks. We'll be having sweet tea and lemonade. I would rather have a glass (or bottle) of wine. Maybe next year. At any rate this is what I'll be up to today and tomorrow. Cleaning and cooking. Fun. What's your favorite go to meal when you're having company? Am I the only one that dreads a last minute gathering?

5 comments:

  1. I'm so with you on this one, Tia. I like having guests over, but lately I haven't been feeling like cooking for anyone lol. I do good to make meals for the family during the week. So it's always good to have a quick recipe to go to for those times. This pasta dish looks yummy! I'm sure your guests will love it. And you can't go wrong with brownies :-)

    My last minute meals are almost always some sort of pasta with a tossed salad. Last time, I made manicotti and it was a big hit.

    Hope you and your family enjoy your guests and have a wonderful weekend!

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  2. Your menu sounds great, and more importantly, not too stressful. I love having people over, but sometimes I'm more in the mood for entertaining than others. If I'm feeling on top of things, I make roasted chicken (great because it's pretty quick to prep and cooks for 2 hrs while I do other things). My other go-to is pasta alfredo with a salad. What I really don't like is last minute scrambling or still cooking while guests are there, so I try to make meals in advance. Have fun with your guests :-)

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  3. Pasta and a salad is always a good choice, sounds yummy to me :) I feel like I dislike cooking more since I've been pregnant. I used to enjoy it, but now sometimes after I start cooking, I lose my appetite.

    {love jenny xoxo}

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  4. Thanks everyone! The dinner came out very tasty!

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Thank you for taking the time to chat with me!