Chili and cornbread, lasagna or other pasta with garlic bread and a green salad, grilling, taco night.

Lean Cuisine
DiGiorno frozen pizza
Tostino pizza rolls
Takeout and then throw out the containers and tell them you worked all day and “made it from scratch”

I like to make chili, one pot meat and one pot vegetarian (leftovers make great lunch), which can be made ahead and warmed before eating. All the same topping choices- sour cream, shredded cheese, diced onions, pickle jalapeños, tortilla chips. Rice, corn bread and big green salad on the side. Picky kids can eat chips, rice and cheese.

Homemade pizza for more than 4-5 people is a huge pain. Don’t do it.

These turkey meatballs are so delicious. I always make them when we have guests with young kids. I leave the meatballs and sauce separate as some kids don’t like sauce or just want plain noddles or whatever. People can fix their plate how they like. It makes a lot.

https://foodschmooze.org/recipe/julia-turshens-turkey-ricotta-meatballs/

Cornish hen with corn pudding. You can add a side of green beans or beet salad if you want.

Simple, elegant, delicious, looks stunning, fast to cook and idiot-proof. You can scale it up or down for an intimate dinner or for a large group. I have served just the roasted cornish hen with risotto on a romantic date night and it is a really delicious and elegant meal.

Pasta bakes are easy to scale up and great as long as you don't have gluten free, no dairy, etc. in your contingent. We usually serve it with a large salad. Make sure there is enough liquid that the pasta doesn't dry out, and only half cook the pasta before adding it to the pan to avoid overcooking.

Some favorites:
-butternut squash, sage, ricotta, with sauteed kale, onion, garlic, in a garlic roux, italian parm blend on top
-tomato sauce with ground turkey, sometimes I sneak in shredded zucchini and carrot to up the vegetable count, mozzarella on top
-bbq pulled chicken and bacon with finely chopped broccoli (when we have leftover chicken that needs to be used), cheddar on top

Appetizers with drinks
- Lamb seekh kebabs and Samosas
- Drink of your choice (Why not tamarind margaritas?)

Entree
Curry Chicken
Peas Pilaf
Ready made naan, roti or parantha.
Butter Paneer
Cucumber Raita
Salad

Dessert
Mango icecream

Every thing is super easy to make, you can make ahead and the hard parts you can pick up from a restaurant.

*everythink is make ahaead

Don't plan a meal that will leave your guests sitting in a room by themselves while you are off cooking. It should be mostly hands-off, or allow you to socialize while cooking.

Category 1: Grilling is good if you can hang all hang out together on the deck/yard while you grill. Have sides all prepped ahead and ready to serve. Grilled burgers with coleslaw, grilled steaks with potato salad, grilled salmon with cold asparagus salad. Great for summer!

Category 2: Fix ahead, and let it sit in the oven until you're ready to eat. Roast chicken with roasted root vegetables, beef stew over mashed potatoes, chili over baked potatoes with a side of roasted broccoli. Better for fall/winter or early spring.

Category 3: fix the elements ahead, and have the final preparation a group event. Make your own pizzas, fondue, taco bar. Great for a very informal/casual gathering, especially if there are a variety of tastes and food restrictions to consider.

If you aren't sure how adventurous your guests are and you do know they eat meat, the slow roast/reverse sear technique from Serious Eats is great. Get creative with one or two of the sides -- fancy mac & cheese, a salad with interesting stuff in it-- and one plain one for the people who like simple food.

If you like to bake, make dessert. If you don't, buy it.

My go-to dinner party meal is salmon stuffed with spinach and mascarpone and topped with panko (this can be prepped in advance and stuck in the fridge till you're ready to put it in the oven.

I serve it with lemon orzo and asparagus.

I always just do cookies and chocolate for dessert, served in the living room. I never want a big plated dessert after a good meal.

Baked cheeseburger sliders.

No need to make patties, you can have the ground beef mixture already cooked and they are delicious. They also look fancy! (For easy food that kids and adults both love).

Anonymous wrote:NYT chicken shawarma. I serve with a tomato, basil, red onion salad and flat bread to make a wrap. I also add a little green chutney to yogurt for an easy sauce, but it's not necessary.

Dessert can be pretty much whatever you like. Including store-bought baklava or some berries, lemon juice, and sugar baked into a pre-made pie crust.

+1, I came to recommend this same thing. My kids will eat this chicken, but it's delicious and grown-up too. You can serve with rice, pitas, hummus, a veggie side, big green salad, whatever.

If you are a nervous or inexperienced cook then anything that can be done in advance and kept warm is really good. It means you are able to enjoy chatting to your friends rather than stressing about the food.

NYT chicken shawarma. I serve with a tomato, basil, red onion salad and flat bread to make a wrap. I also add a little green chutney to yogurt for an easy sauce, but it's not necessary.

Dessert can be pretty much whatever you like. Including store-bought baklava or some berries, lemon juice, and sugar baked into a pre-made pie crust.