Easy Home Parties with TSG

I love having home parties. Nothing beats sharing great food, drinks, and conversation with friends in a relaxed atmosphere.  What I don’t like is being trapped in the kitchen while my guests enjoy the party! Over the years, I have learned some easy entertaining tips that will help make your next home party a stress free success.

3 Great Tips For Easy Home Parties

1. Keep it simple – for a successful home party, you are not required to serve a 5-course meal or offer 20 different appetizers. Put together a core group of quick and easy appetizer recipes that can be modified for the season/holiday. Appetizers are the perfect party food —  throw in a simple dessert (chocolate fondue or a make your own sundae bar are always hits),  add a signature cocktail (also offer a non-alcoholic version) and your home party will be an instant success.

2. Do most of your prep ahead of time –

I learned this the hard way. I used to think my menu had to be 100% from scratch. The morning of the party I would wake up stressed, thinking of all of the food prep that needed to be done. By the time my guests would arrive, I was ready for a nap.

Enter the TSG line up — From dips to salsas, bread mixes, sauces and seasonings, prepping your menu items a couple days before to the day of, is a snap. Also, don’t overlook grocery store convenience items – my current favorites include rotisserie chicken, egg roll wrappers, and frozen cooked meatballs.

3. Make your home inviting – with candles, flowers, and music

These are my three home party musts. Candles add warmth and a beautiful glow…flowers add unexpected pops of color (I buy a large bouquet of bright colored flowers and break them up into smaller groupings). Make sure to have a good mix of music on hand — you never know when the mood to dance might strike!

3 Easy Party Recipes

Brazen Buffalo Blue Cheese Chicken Wing Dip

This dip is usually the first to disappear. Stir together ½ cup mayo, ½ cup ranch dressing, 8 oz of softened cream cheese and 2 TBSP of Brazen Buffalo Blue Cheese Seasoning Blend. Stir in a cup of diced rotisserie chicken and chopped celery as desired. Spread in 8×8” pan – top with shredded cheddar – bake in 350 oven until cheese is bubbly – serve with pita chips, breadsticks, or your favorite dippers. Can also be made with low fat mayo and low fat cheeses.

Crockpot Meatballs

This is a low fuss, low maintenance addition to any home party. You can serve right from the crockpot. Mix a bottle of TSG Vermont Maple Dijon Grilling Sauce with 1 can jellied cranberry sauce. Place frozen precooked meatballs (appetizer sized) in a crockpot – pour sauce over and heat on high for a couple hours until sauce bubbles and meatballs are heated through.

Caesar Salad Bites

Try this fun take on a Caesar Salad. Press wonton wrappers into  miniature muffin pan cups coated with cooking spray. In a small bowl combine melted butter and garlic powder – brush over edges of wonton cups – bake at 350 until lightly browned – about 8-9 minutes – let cool. Mix ½ cup mayo, ½ cup sour cream, 2 TBSP Great Caesar’s Ghost Seasoning Blend – thin with buttermilk to desired consistency. Toss shredded lettuce with the dressing to coat. Spoon lettuce mixture into wonton cups and top with freshly grated Parmesan.

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Leave a Comment September 9, 2010

College Dorm Essential Cooking:

Last weekend it was a familiar scene, Laura packed most of her worldly belongings  in the car and headed back for her Junior year.  By now I now longer have the early parent fears about her getting settled, studying, having a social life, but the older she gets, the smaller the meal program becomes and the more responsibility she has to feed herself. 

Laura and Deb on Campus - before cooking

 Just before Parent’s weekend, she sent me a text saying, “the H1N1 virus has hit my school!”  After last spring’s media frenzy, she is worried about getting this virus. For my advice, I retreated to a standard “Mom formula” – eat healthy and get plenty of sleep. But who am I kidding? In college, no way!

 If I’m lucky, she gets one nutritious meal per day in the dining hall usually consisting of salad or pasta. There’s a hefty amount of branded coffee in her diet too, which by the way means the same calorie content as milkshakes. Many schools are trying to prepare healthier dining hall meals, but that doesn’t affect the students eating habits!

How to Cook with Just a Microwave and a Refrigerator:

This got me thinking, how can you eat healthy with an electric kettle, a microwave and a refrigerator (without the freezer mind you)?  Gratefully, food choices have improved since I was faced with the same problem years ago in my college days. I’m sure guys will resort to ramen noodles, but that gets old after a while. And I would say girls are more particular so I asked my daughter to brainstorm some ideas.

Dorm Room Cooking Essentials:

Here are my daughter’s staples:

1. Tuna packets (with salt, pepper, and olive oil)
2. Microwavable steamed vegetables (both frozen and non frozen brands)
3. Cereal
4. Oranges and bananas (no mess or dishes to clean up)
5. Smart-ones frozen dinners
6. Yogurts (The yogurts in the bottles are really good on the way to class because no spoon)
7. In the university dining hall, I’ll get a wrap and put a salad in it from the salad bar along with some deli meat, just as healthy but way more interesting than plain salad

8. Tea!

Easy Recipes:No Cooking

They can track down the pre-packaged and pre-cooked aisles in the grocery store. Get a bag of pre–packaged salad, followed by pre-cooked chicken. Sprinkle grated cheese on the chicken and top it all off with your favorite dressing. Voilá you have a great meal! (Add a dash of TSG Outrageously Garlic or Tearless Onion and Chives on everything!)

As for the rest of staying healthy, I suggest:

• Bottle of hand sanitizer
• Tea mixed with honey and lemon
•  Chicken noodle soup
• Vitamin C

And if all else fails – call home to mom.

If you want a teen’s perspective on what’s healthy and what they like, check out this post from Radical Parenting   

For dorm room cooking 101, click here

College Student Holiday gift ideas:

• Everything College Cookbook by Rhonda Parkinson
• Healthy College Cookbook by Alexandra Nimetz
• Complete Idiots Guide to the College Diet by Shelly Vaughan James
• Cooking Outside the Pizza Box by Jean Patterson

Get involved! Click here and read how colleges can participate in local sustainable food projects.

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1 Comment October 26, 2009