Comments on: More on Hosting the Unexpected Guest

By: Ann at mommysecrets

Ann at mommysecrets — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 23:12:59 +0000

I like to keep supplies for quick & easy chili on hand. My sister uses a great chili recipe that only calls for ground beef, light kidney beans, dark kidney beans, and a jar of salsa. Add cornbread, and you can’t get an easier dinner! If you have some browned ground beef in the freezer, it’s even faster to pull together!

By: Carrie J

Carrie J — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 14:08:10 +0000

I keep fresh salsa, frozen in quart size bags,on hand. It just takes a few minutes to thaw in the microwave. Served with chips or over cheese or chicken Quesadillas it makes a tasty, quick dish for guest.
We also keep meatballs in our freezer. Our favorite way to serve them is with a bottled sweet and sour sauce. Very quick and delicious.
They make a great main dish when you serve them with a salad.

By: Mary Ann

Mary Ann — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 16:51:30 +0000

This was a great post! Having homemade frozen cookie dough in the freezer(or you can use purchased), is really nice for a snack for guests just stopping by. Even having a loaf of banana bread or some muffins in the freezer that can be thawed and served is good. Down South, it’s considered rude to not offer guests some sweet tea, so even though we don’t drink it much, I have the ingredients on hand to make up quickly! I totally agree on having a few convenience items on hand-I only get unexpected guests when I am pretty much out of all appetizing pantry items!

By: Jenn @ Frugal Upstate

Jenn @ Frugal Upstate — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 12:43:56 +0000

If friends are just stopping by for a visit, it is nice to have some snacky/hors d’evours type things on hand.

Mixed nuts in a can last a really long time and can be pulled out for a snack.

I like to keep canned garbanzo beans on hand to make hummus (just add garlic, tahini-peanut butter can be substituted, and lemon juice)

Mayo and dip ingredients (even some of those little packages from the spice aisle of the grocery store or make your own) can be whipped up with just the addition of sour cream (which I usually don’t keep on hand).

And finally, I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t like brownies. A box of mix is only .89 at our Aldi’s-so I keep that on hand in case I need to whip some up!

By: Joanna

Joanna — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 11:34:49 +0000

It was actually spooky… I read this post as I was leaving work, and I was determined to go home and make the sweet tea. Less than an hour later, while in the middle of starting to cook dinner, we get a call from 3 friends who wanted to hang out. The dinner plan was a half-recipe of one of our favorites, so I just told my husband to invite the friends over, and I’d make a full recipe!

Three unexpected guests were in my home 45 minutes later, and dinner was ready before they got there. Rather than sweet tea, I made lemonade from a mix, and it was a hit.