Easy Dinner for Five or Six???

[aprilcait]

FI''s brother and sister-in-law are in town for the holidays. So, FI''s sibings want to do a little informal dinner at our place tomorrow. Since I''m one of the few who are working this week, I don''t have a lot of prep time. So, what''s an easy, healthy, somewhat informal weekday meal for five or six people?

 

[Steel]

[I apologise in advance for the quality of this answer

]

As nobody else is 'biting' you will have to make do with an answer from me....

Either get something out of a packet/freezer like the pic....

Or...

Pasta is always good.

 

[Aloros]

I agree about the pasta. My bf makes it in a way that is oh-so-delicious!

Stir fry together some veggies (we usually use zucchini, red onion, tomatoes, sliced olives, and garlic) in olive oil. Season it with balsamic vinegar, a dash of soy sauce, and fresh chopped parsley. If you have it, a little dried oregano and basil is nice as well.

Cook the pasta and drain it. Once it''s dry, put it in the pot with a little bit of olive oil, stir it up, and season it with some balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, and fresh chopped parsley.

Serve up the pasta and spoon the stir fry on top. If you''ve got some parmesan cheese, it goes lovely with this! And if you want it to look fancy, you can add a fresh sprig of parsley on top.

It''s fairly healthy if you don''t overdo it with the oil, and very quick.

 

[monarch64]

On such short notice, I would suggest ordering a family-style meal from your favorite Italian/Mexican/whatever place. 24 hrs. is about all they need, sometimes less...if you have a favorite Italian place close to you, you could just get a tray of lasagna, mosticcioli, etc. and a nice family sized salad. all you have to do is pick up the food on your way home from work and voila, you''re set. Don''t forget something sweet for dessert, a few pieces of tiramisu or cannolis.

Obviously I''m assuming you have this sort of place to order from. If not, get thee to your nearest deli or call them (it could even be your local grocer) and have them make up a nice dinner for 6, get a couple bottles of wine, etc.

I wouldn''t worry about cooking yourself, you have to work and it''s too much time out of your schedule to prep and then clean up afterwards. No matter what you end up making or ordering, if you just hae a nice salad with f/f balsamic or a drizzle of oil/vinegar as dressing and a side of steamed veggies and don''t include bread you''ll be more on the healthy side of things anyway. Good luck, and have a wonderful time with FI''s siblings!

 

[DiamanteBlu]

You might want to consider grilled salmon, an interesting salad and French bread.

Or . . . lasagne, salad and bread.

Or . . . chili.

 

[zoebartlett]

I''d make lasanga (with or without meat), garlic bread or warm rolls, and a salad. For dessert, I''d probably make brownies and have vanilla ice cream on hand. I like the idea of ordering from a great restaurant or catering place as well. I guess it would just depend on how much time I had and whether or not I''d want to spend the $$ to order out (that could get expensive).

 

[diamondfan]

Do they like Fajitas? You can buy already cut up veggies, and get chicken in tender strips...and do whole wheat tortillas and add some pico de gallo. You can also buy already shredded cheese, so the prep time is pretty minimal. There are nice seasoning packets with less salt that you can also get. Add some fat free or low fat sour cream and everyone can doctor their''s up however they want! Yum.

 

[door knob solitaire]

Sorry to hijack this puppy...but I am late as this is the evening of your dinner party...but I had to commend Steel for posting that photo! That photo is cracking me up! Is that a hungry man?

It got me thinking that it was so appropriate and well, it is sort of nostalgic and it just might work for a kitchy sort of old fashioned fabulous evening. Get some groovy plastic or aluminum tumblers and maybe some koolaid...have some old board games...music or old tv shows on DVD playing. Some old trivia games. Steel...I could make it work!!

If anyone is reading this with the same dilemma...you can get premade frozen lasagna in a pan that you bake at home. Add some toppings for a fresher look on top, serve with salad and bread maybe brushetta...pickup a dessert and just enjoy your guests. Forget about the nuttiness of every detail. This is also you time off...offering your home as a gathering place is the real part people will remember. Not if you slaved all day in the kitchen for them!!! But the Hungry Man entrees aren''t a bad idea!! Honest. §

 

[marcy]

I always like to cook something on the grill - we''ll cook both meat and baked potatoes on the grill, make a salad and we''re good to go. Less dishes that way too.

 

[monarch64]

Date: 12/27/2007 1:40:17 AM
Author: door knob solitaire
Sorry to hijack this puppy...but I am late as this is the evening of your dinner party...but I had to commend Steel for posting that photo! That photo is cracking me up! Is that a hungry man?

It got me thinking that it was so appropriate and well, it is sort of nostalgic and it just might work for a kitchy sort of old fashioned fabulous evening. Get some groovy plastic or aluminum tumblers and maybe some koolaid...have some old board games...music or old tv shows on DVD playing. Some old trivia games. Steel...I could make it work!!

If anyone is reading this with the same dilemma...you can get premade frozen lasagna in a pan that you bake at home. Add some toppings for a fresher look on top, serve with salad and bread maybe brushetta...pickup a dessert and just enjoy your guests. Forget about the nuttiness of every detail. This is also you time off...offering your home as a gathering place is the real part people will remember. Not if you slaved all day in the kitchen for them!!! But the Hungry Man entrees aren''t a bad idea!! Honest. §

OMG, I totally have a party size veggie lasagna hanging out in our freezer just in case we had to serve something we weren''t prepared for over the holidays! DKS, you just read my mind. I was about to suggest that to aprilcait but was worried she''d think it wasn''t appropriate (read: good enough). But DKS, your idea of sprinkling fresh cheese/toppings (maybe olive slices or something) on top plus serving with a fresh salad is fabulous, totally do-able, and I don''t think guests would care whether they knew or not. LIkely they''d just be glad to be fed!

Love the idea of breaking out board games you used to play as well. Or...Catchphrase is a favorite of DH''s and my friends and now there is a new one out called Musical Catchphrase, I can''t wait to buy it and try it! People LOVE that game!