Any recommendations on what to cook for my parents and my in-laws?!
Any recommendations on what to cook for my parents and my in-laws?
My in-laws are coming next weekend and I am cooking dinner for both my parents and my husband's parents. I want something tasty and original, but not overly formal. My husband does not like pasta overly much, or "sweet meat" (i.e. lemon chicken, orange glazed ham, etc). Any suggestions - either for a main course, a side dish, a dessert, would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
Answers:
a good roast with carrots and potatoes always goes over good. tossed salad and garlic bread go well with it. apple or cherry pie too.
how about a nice roasted brisket? take a good sized beef brisket, place in a roasting pan. take one packet of instant onion soup mix and mix with 2 cups water and 1 cup red wine (only use a good wine that you would drink, in fact serve the rest of the bottle with your dinner) until dissolved. pour over beef, cover with foil and roast in oven at 425f for the first 25 minutes, then uncover and reduce temperature to 375 for an hour, or until the internal temperature reaches at least 140f. in the last hour, place a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan filled with quartered red potatoes tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper on the top rack in the oven with the beef. they will roast up nicely, while the meat is cooking. when the meat is done, take out of oven and cover with foil again - let it rest for at least 15 - 20 minutes covered before slicing very very thinly, serve with the 'au jus' left in the pan.
make a nice green salad, simply toss fresh greens with olive oil, vinegar (red wine or balsamic is best) and salt & pepper. store bought dinner rolls are tasty with this, try buying fresh ones from the bakery at your grocer. and, lastly, fresh fruit with either vanilla ice cream or whipped cream is always a hit. if you can't find anything fresh that looks tasty, try some frozen fruit (dole has lovely frozen berries that don't go all mushy when thawed) thawed - taste first to see if it may need a little sugar or honey.
How about a good old fashioned pot roast.
1 lg roast
1 potato each -- you can choose either white and/or sweet
1-2 carrots each
1 lg onion
Place all in a lg pot, add water to cover roast, add salt & pepper to taste. Cook at 300 for about 4 hrs. OR, crock pot all day.
For a different flavor -- add a lg head of cabbage (cut into 6 wedges). Just lay them in the pot and serve them as wedges.
Make gravy out of the juices after cooked.
Serve with hot rolls & butter.
That is an entire meal -- you just need desert. How about fruit pies -- also old fashioned.
I wouldn't make anything that you haven't made before, company is NOT the time to try out a new recipe. Also, make sure of any dietary restrictions the elder generation may be on, my father in law is diabetic with heart disease, so we're pretty careful what we fix. I'd also keep it to fairly comfort foods, stuff like pot roast (you can do it in the crock pot), meat loaf, roasted chicken, etc.
Also, don't feel you HAVE to prepare everything from scratch, you don't. Maybe get the meat already prepared, and do side dishes yourself. I almost always buy a dessert, simply because I don't do them well.
Main course....... Beef and Broccoli on a bed of white rice.
You season your beef cubes and fry them. Sauteed some onions and very little oil. Dump the onions in the pan with the beef cubes once the onions are soft . Peel and slice carrots,slice celery and and add broccoli cuts to boiling water because you want them to be nice and soft when you ad them to the beef cubes. When the cubes are done, ad the home made gravy (which is)
3 or 4 table spoons of flour and 1 cup of water. The more flour you put, the thicker the gravy wil be, the more water, the thinner the gravy.Stir Mix the flour and water together in a bowl before pouring it in the pan.Stir the gravy once it hits the pan.Keep stiring to evenly mix flour lumps with the liquid. When gravy consistancy is to your liking, cut the pan off. When the vegetables are done, put them in the pan with the cooked cubes. Let all the flavors of everything simmer together to blend the taste for about 3 - 5 mins. Remember, you're not cooking anymore, you're just blending. So don't leave your pot. When you are done. Eat.
Put the cooked rice on the plate and pour some beef cubes and vegetables over top of the rice. Add some soy sauce for flavor and enjoy.
You could roast a small turkey and make stuffing, potatoes and carrots and a salad. Have pie or chocolate cake for dessert.
meatloaf mashed potatoes and gravy and whatever for veg, that blows up your skirt. and don't forget the main course "wine"
Easy EAsy Roast.
ingredints:
1 netted roast
1 lg bag of baby carrots
4 lg cans whole potatoes
5 cans french onion soup
1 can beef consume
Place roast in the middle of large roasting pan Add potatoes w/ water all around the roast do the same with the carrots. Next pour all the cans of french onion soup on top of the roast the pour the can of beef consume around the roast. Top of with water. Place in 350 degree oven and cook for at least 5 hours.
Romove roast and place on a large serving platter arang potaoes and carrots around the roast. Then for the gravy place the roasting pan on the stove with the burner on bring to a boil and slowly stir in a cornstarch and water mixture till the gravy thickens pour gravy in a serving bowl and dinner is done!!!
Try this for a Main Course:
2 LBS. - Stew Meat
6 carrots - cut up
3 large potatoes - peeled and cut up
1 large onion - diced
1 green pepper - diced
1 Small can mushrooms ( w/ the juice )
2 cans (15oz) stewed tomatoes
1 tbs. Sugar
1 tbs. salt
3 tbs. Tapioca ( for thickening)
Combine all the ingredients. Place in a casserole dish and cover.
(Meat is not cooked ahead of time). Bake @ 250 degrees in oven for 5 hours.
Don't peek, Don't uncover, Don't stir.
Dessert:
1 lb cottage cheese ( small curd)
6oz. strawberry jello
20oz crushed pineapple
9oz cool whip
blend and pour into a mold ( or let stand in a bowl).
decorate with cherries. let stand in refrigerator until set.
Roasted Chicken served with Roasted Garlic mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables. For dessert, serve lemon bars...when all else fails, I turn to this website
www.foodnetwork.com
GOOD LUCK!