I'm entertainig some girlfriends over the weekend and want to make some easy but impressive food. Any ideas?

Question

I want to impress my friends but not break my back or my bank account in the process. Who can help?

Answer 1

For lunch - a cold cut tray, different cheeses, potato salad, fruit, vegetables (cauliflower etc) with different dips, tossed salad with different dressings.
For dinner - Let the women let their hair down
Get ingredients for homemade pizza with a variety of toppings and have everybody pitch in.
Dessert - Chocolate ice cream or something just as sinful.

Answer 2

Quiche. Choose whatever meat/veggies/cheeses you want. You're only limited by your imagination. One of my faves is shrimp & artichoke hearts with gruyere cheese. Anyway. Buy a deep dish pie shell. Spread the meat/veggies on bottom, salt & (white) pepper, top with cheese. Whisk 3 eggs and 1/2 pint of heavy cream until well blended. Pour into pie shell. Bake at 350 until golden brown on top (45-60 min). Let sit 10-15 minutes before serving. Round out the meal with a bag of mixed baby greens tossed with a nice vinaigrette and some fresh fruit. Actual work time is about 30 minutes and you have a meal that is impressive, relatively light, and very tasty. I usually cut my quiche in quarters because it's easiest but 5 pieces is normal. Or you could add some toasted french bread to the meal and cut into into 6 pieces. Good luck!

Forgot to add, the quiche fillings need to be cooked. No raw meat and if you want to use say broccoli lightly steam it in the microwave first, saute onions, etc. The bake time is to cook the custard.

Answer 3

Quiche is always good. There is a kind you can make with Campbell's soup and a few other ingredients. It's incredibly easy and cost-effective. There's a bean thing I make sometimes that is easy and sort of mexican-ish. Just make 3 cups of rice, and when it is done, stir in a can of black beans, several handfuls of cheese (cheddar works well, the 'mexican style' cheese is good too) a can of tomatoes (regular size not the large can) and some spices. a tad of cinnamon and some oregano are good choices. Mix well and serve hot.

Answer 4

I make this "stuff" that is sooooo easy and everyone loves it. brown a lb of lean ground beef and drain, put in crock pot. Add one bar of cream cheese (low fat works well also) and a large jar of salsa. Put crock on high for a couple of hours stirring every 30 minutes or so. Serve with tortillas, crackers, whatever. I never have any leftover (even when I wish I did!). I make it before I start getting ready. By the time you are done with a bath, makeup and hair, its basically ready.

Have a good time with your girlfriends! :)

Answer 5

$10 does not flow very some distance those days, perchance you could ask some family contributors to deliver some element dishes and doubtless a pot of meatballs or warm roast pork and you will create a deli tray: 1lb Ham a million lb Turkey a million lb Roast pork 2 lb Cheese 2 dozen rolls Make a cake with a mix and canned frosting this could nonetheless flow over your budget yet no longer by making use of too lots issues you ought to have available mayo, mustard, and pickles

Answer 6

Check out "Semi-Homemade" with Sandra Lee on the Food Network. She makes GREAT food for entertaining and uses off the shelf items that you often have in your cupboards. I LOVE her cocktail recipes...they're fun and impressive. She also uses a "theme" for each show and decorates the table to match...also using inexpensive stuff. You could cruise through her shows on the web and choose something that would be appropriate for you and your friends. PS....that crab dip recipe someone listed for you sounds really good, I'm gonna try it.

Answer 7

Get some small tomatoes, good mozzerella cheese, olive oil, a mild vinegar, and some italian seasoning. Slice the tomatoes and lay them out on a plate. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Slice the cheese and break into pieces that will fit on the tomatoes. Place the cheese on the tomatoes. Sprinkle them with the seasonings, vinegar and oil. Enjoy!

Answer 8

OK here are my three favorite recipes for entertainging

Chicken In Phyllo Shells
2 – 8 oz. cooked white chicken, chopped
2 tsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp parsley, minced (opt)
1/8 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp salt or to taste
Vinegar to taste (opt)
Low-Fat Mayonnaise, just enough to hold mix together
Phyllo Shells (small size)

Finely chop chicken. Combine all with chicken. Refrigerate 1 hour. Stuff each phyllo shell and heat in 400º. Oven till shell is hot. Do not over bake; shell will burn so watch till lightly browning. You
can also use fresh, skinned, chicken breast, cook and chopped.

Creamy Baked Crab Dip

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese**, softened
1 can (6 oz) crabmeat
2 tablespoons grated onion
1 tablespoon milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon finely sliced green onions, for garnish
In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, crabmeat, onion, milk, salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce. Stir well. Place mixture in an ovenproof serving dish; sprinkle with a little paprika. Bake at 375 ° for about 15 minutes, or until thoroughly heated. Sprinkle with with sliced green onion. Serve w/ crackers.
Makes about 2 cups

*I add a shake or two of garlic powder
**For a low fat or FF version use low fat or Fat free cream cheese

Layered Bean Dip
16 oz bean dip or spicy refried beans
1 c. Sour cream
1pkg. (8oz) cream cheese, soften
1 1/14 oz taco seasoning mix
2 garlic cloves
1 c. Chopped green onion
3 tomatoes chopped and seeds removed
1 c. black olives
1 c grated sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread beans/refried beans over bottom of a deep baking dish. In separate bowl, combine cream cheese, sour cream and taco seasoning. Spread mixture over beans. Grate cheese over top and bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until hot. Remove from oven and top with chopped onions, tomatoes and olives. Cover with more shredded cheese.
Serve with tortilla chips


You can always put out a nice fruit tray or vegetable tray.

Answer 9

You can make asian flavored fare. You can make chicken satay - buy chicken tenders (cheap), mariande with italian dressing, put on skewers and under the broiler for 6 minutes. Make a dipping sauce out of soy sauce and peanut butter (foodtv.com - use rachel ray, emeril's or tyler florence's recipe) or just buy it in the thai foods section of the grocery store for about $4. To accompany it, you can make edamame (soy beans - the green ones.) I buy them at my grocery store in the deli section - they come in a 1 lb. bag frozen - $4. Just steam them for 3 minutes and put salt on them. Then the fun part-you can make your own sushi rolls! You will have to buy nori (flat seaweed wrap), sesame seeds and ingrdients to put in the rolls-things like cucumber, carrots, avocado, imitation crab and shrimp are good. Don't worry about making special sushi rice, just buy some sticky white rice from the chinese place for like 2 bucks

To make the rolls, place a piece of saran wrap down first, then a piece of nori, spread some sticky rice over it. sprinkle a few sesame seeds then put in whatever filling you want. use the saran wrap to help roll the roll. Cut into pieces and voila! A cool gourmet meal that looks like you had it delivered and great for girls who don't want to feel like they ate a horse - to have some fun, have your guests make their own rolls and do it as an activity!

Answer 10

Make a lasagna, a side salad and serve with crusty bread. Pick up no boil lasgana noodles..most of them have a real easy recipe on the box.