My new guy and his brother are coming over for dinner in a week! I have no idea what to cook! Any suggestions?!
Answers: No Pork or shellfish
When my brother was a teenager and football player (he's 6'4" tall), he'd invite his friends over for dinner. As you said, they can really eat. My mother would make a big pot of chili, a bowl of rice, a tossed salad, and then pies for dessert. They would eat EVERYTHING!!! The rice went in their bowls first and then the chili would go over it. Her chili recipe was very very simple.
CHILI
4 large cans tomato sauce
6 regular sized cans kidney beans - drained
2-3 lbs ground beef
1-2 pkgs chili mix powder (like Chil-O Mix)
She would cook the ground beef until no longer pink, drain off the fat and toss into her big pot with the tomato sauce, kidney beans and chili mix powder. If they liked it spicy, it was 2 pkgs. Some brands are spicier than others.
Their meals were healthy (for the most part) and she made fruit pies. The rice completes the protein in the beans since both are incomplete proteins.
How about something hearty and "manly"....like lasagna? It's easy and impressive. Depending on their taste, you can do cheese, vegetable, and/or meat.
Serve a nice green salad and crusty loaf of bread with the lasagna.
Bake some brownies and serve warm with vanilla ice cream and coffee.
Voila! Nice dinner for two men.
Here's a basic recipe to get you started (but you can modify ingredients and use jarred tomato sauce):
Classic Italian Lasagna Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis
Show: Everyday Italian
Episode: All About Lasagna
Bechamel Sauce:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus 2 tablespoons for the lasagna
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups whole milk at room temperature
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
1 1/2 cups tomato sauce, recipe follows
Salt and white pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound ground chuck beef
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 pounds ricotta cheese
3 large eggs
1 pound lasagna sheets, cooked al dente
2 packages (10 ounces each) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
3 cups shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Bechamel sauce:
In a 2-quart pot, melt 5 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. When butter has completely melted, add the flour and whisk until smooth, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the milk, whisking constantly to prevent any lumps from forming. Continue to simmer and whisk over medium heat until the sauce is thick, smooth and creamy, about 10 minutes. The sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of wooden spoon. Remove from heat and add the nutmeg and tomato sauce. Stir until well combined and check for seasoning. Set aside and allow to cool completely.
In a saute pan, heat extra-virgin olive oil. When almost smoking, add the ground beef and season with salt and pepper. Brown meat, breaking any large lumps, until it is no longer pink. Remove from heat and drain any excess fat. Set aside and allow to cool completely.
In a medium sized bowl, thoroughly mix the ricotta and eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Into the bottom of a 13 by 9-inch baking dish, spread 1/3 of the bechamel sauce. Arrange the pasta sheets side by side, covering the bottom of the baking dish. Evenly spread a layer of all the ricotta mixture and then a layer of all the spinach. Arrange another layer of pasta sheets and spread all the ground beef on top. Sprinkle 1/2 the mozzarella cheese on top of the beef. Spread another 1/3 of the bechamel sauce. Arrange the final layer of pasta sheets and top with remaining bechamel, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Cut the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter into 1/4-inch cubes and top lasagna.
Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place lasagna dish on top, cover and put on the middle rack of the oven and bake until top is bubbling, about 30 minutes. Remove cover and continue to bake for about 15 minutes.
Simple Tomato Sauce:
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
2 dried bay leaves
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, optional
In a large casserole pot or Dutch over, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and bay leaves and simmer uncovered on low heat for 1 hour or until thick. Remove bay leaves and check for seasoning. If sauce still tastes acidic, add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time to round out the flavors.
Add 1/2 the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue with remaining tomato sauce.
If not using all the sauce, allow it to cool completely and pour 1 to 2 cup portions into freezer plastic bags. This will freeze up to 6 months.
Yield: 6 cups
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour and 20 minutes
Ease of Preparation: Easy
I find that a casserole of some type or the fool -proof pasta w/ sauce and your choice of meat sreved with a salad and of course good bread or rolls is pretty much the safest and easiest way to go!! Don't forget the dessert
get some rotini pasta, a jar of alfredo sauce, and some chicken breast, boil the pasta, cook the chicken breast in a pan or bake it, cut up the cooked chicken, and put it in a pot with the alfredo sauce and mix it up and let it simmer on the stove. Leave the pasta and the chicken alfredo sauce seperate and put the pasta on a plate and top with the chicken alfredo sauce, serve with salad, and maybe some french bread cut up into little bread slices( buy it like that from the grocery store)
If you are cooking for them and you want them to enjoy the
dinner then ask them what they like. I had several people over for New Years and that's what I did. We all had a most
wonderful time. Good luck.
Pot Roast-Beef roast, potatoes, carrots, and half an onion for seasoning. Throw in a crockpot for 6-8 hours on low, one of my fav meals.
Make a cheesecake for dessert?
My personal favorite to make my girlfriend Chicken Parmasan. It's a super easy meal to make, and always tastes great, you can even add accents to make it seem more extravagant than it is. I take the cheap way out, but you can go all out if you want, what I do:
Ingrediants
~~~~~~~~
Frozen Breaded Boneless Chicken Breasts
1 Jar of tomato sauce (I like the Red Pepper / tomato)
1 Package of pasta (Like the Omega3 Whole wheat)
Shredded Mozzarella cheese
Pam
Minced Garlic
French Loaf
Butter
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees, at the same time start your pasta water on to boil.
Put the Chicken breasts into the oven, usually takes about 20 minutes, or until crispy, all white, no pink on the inside.
At 10 minutes left your water should be boiling, add the pasta, should be done at about the same time as the chicken. While waiting for the last 10 minutes, mix together the minced garlic with a bit of butter and butter the french loaf. Cut the loaf in half length wise and place on a baking sheet.
When the chicken is done you want to switch your oven to Broil at about 500 degrees. Split the sauce into three amounts. First, use about 1/2 of the jar on the finished strained pasta, toss and then put pasta into pyrex glass dish. Toss the chicken so that it is coated in sauce and place on top of pasta, and then poor whatever is left over the dish. Place generous quantities of Mozzerella or cheese mix on top of the breasts and sprinkle with Parmasan.
Place both the chicken and bread into the oven, and watch attentivly, pull out when the butter is melted on the bread, and when the cheese is melted on the chicken.
Toss in a salad and a bottle of wine, and you're good to go.
4 beef tenderloin steaks, 1 inch thick
2 teaspoons crushed seasoned pepper or ground black pepper
vegetable cooking spray
3 tablespoons chopped shallots
1 cup Swanson? Beef Broth (regular, Lower Sodium or Certified Organic)
1/2 cup Burgundy wine or other dry red wine
2 tablespoons Dijon-style mustard
1 tablespoon butter
Chopped fresh parsley (optional
Season steaks with pepper. Spray nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium heat 1 minute. Add steaks and cook until desired doneness, turning once. Remove and keep warm.
Add shallots and cook and stir until tender. Stir in broth, wine and mustard. Heat to a boil. Cook over medium heat 10 minutes or until sauce is reduced to about 1 cup. Stir in butter. Serve sauce with steaks. Garnish with parsley.
Side dish:
4 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/3 cup warm milk
2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons butter or margarine
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash pepper
Place potatoes in a saucepan and cover with water. Cover and bring to a boil; cook for 20-25 minutes or until very tender. Drain well. Add milk, butter, salt and pepper; mash until light and fluffy.
Steamed veggies easy to find at any store freezer section.
I learned this new recipe today..
It's Chicken in parmesan chive cream sauce...
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup shallots, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup Parmesan, grated
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup rice, regular or instant, cooked according to package directions
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots and garlic and cook for 2 minutes stirring with a spoon. Add chicken and cook 3 to 5 minutes, until golden brown on all sides. Add thyme and bay leaves and cook for 1 minute, or until fragrant. Add heavy cream and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Add parmesan cheese and simmer for 1 minute or until sauce has thickened. Remove bay leaves and stir in chives. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Spoon all but 1 heaping cup of chicken over rice. Reserve remaining chicken for Penne with Chicken, Wild Mushrooms and Peas, if desired.
No Pork, so they might be middle eastern, or jewish, either way i'm sure they'd appreciate some mediterranean food, which is really good and easy to make.
I think ppl like grape leaves the best. Grape leaves are baught in jars, maybe in a big supermarket and for sure at an arab shop or something.
The filling is easy to make, rice and thinly chopped meat, a little corn oil, salt and pepper, allspice, and chopped parsley. Make sure you soak the rice for like half an hour.
If the grape leaves are big you can separate them into two or three pieces. Pit some rice in the leaf, fold the two sides together, and roll it up. It only needs like 15 minutes on a pressure cooker and maybe like an hour and a half on a normal one. Put some tomatoe paste in the water to make it sour in a good way.
OR, make stuffed chicken. You can flavor the chicken with olive oil or butter and garlic, both are good.Make some rice (I think basmati is the best) and stuff it in the chicken. Cover it in a pan with aluminum silver and leave it for like 2 hours medium heat. You can also have potatoes in teh pan with it, they soak up the juices and are so good.
Grilled steaks, grilled portobello mushrooms with herbs and olive oil brushed on, twice baked potatoes.
Dessert: something chocolate