31 Days of Hospitality: Day 26- When you're too tired to cook...

Image Coastal Living

Sometimes the last thing you feel like doing is entertaining.  Sometimes it doesn't matter, you have to put on your happy face and serve up some dinner!  Spur of the moment guests drop by.  Your husband calls to say he's bringing a client home (does this only happen on TV?)  You had a busy, crazy day but it's your night to host Bunco.  It happens to all of us at some time.  Being prepared for anything can help keep the chaos at bay. Let's look at these 3 scenarios:

A spur of the moment guest drops by:  Since we are a family of 3 we always have leftovers.  Which means there is always enough for an extra person or 2.  If that's not the case at your house and you've started dinner when your guest arrives, you need to add to your menu.  It's not always easy to thaw an extra piece of chicken or fish.  But if you keep some frozen veggies on hand you can pull out a bag and add another veggie.  Same with a box of rice.  Make your salad a bit bigger. For your meat I would suggest slicing it and placing it on a platter instead of giving each person a chicken breast or fish fillet.  It will go a longer way when sliced like this.

Your husband is bringing a client home:  I would suggest doing a similar thing as above.  Frequent travelers often appreciate any home cooked meal.  I always keep a brownie mix on hand in case I need a quick dessert.  I have found that most people love brownies and always seem impressed that I made them myself!

Girls Night at your house:  Things I always keep on hand: cheese, crackers, popcorn, raw veggies (carrots, peppers, cukes), sour cream.  Pop some corn, slice the cheese & veggies and whip up a quick sour cream based dip, make some iced tea and you are ready in a flash.

So, on the nights you can't just give the family cheerios and a glass of oj make sure your pantry's stocked with a few basics and people will think you're a genius.  We all are, aren't we?

Find more of my 31 Days posts here.  Check out the other bloggers taking part in this series here.