Menu: Last Minute Dinner
The last thing anyone feels like doing on a Friday night is hosting a dinner party. A simple dinner that covers all the bases in a few small dishes allows you to host a great party but still get to relax. This impromptu dinner party was a success due to a great glass of homemade iced coffee with skim milk for energy and our guests getting stuck on the George Washington bridge for a good 30 minutes. Those extra 30 minutes saved the day!
Here is the menu and how we made it all come together:
Last Minute Dinner
Appetizer
Simple Guacamole with Stacy’s Multigrain chips
Dinner
Quick vegetable lasagna
Baked chicken breast
Simple salad
Metropolitan Bakery multigrain boule
Olive oil for dipping
Blood Orange Italian soda
Dessert
Breyer’s Light Vanilla ice cream
Fruit salad (pineapple, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries)
How it came together: 5:30 PM- 9:00 PM*
*Note: This only came together so quickly because I did not. stop. moving for a second. If you plan to try this in this amount of time please allow for another hour or so.
5:30 PM: Work Ends
Go to Whole Foods and do our market shopping. Buy flowers. Catch a cab home to save time.
6:45 PM: Get Cooking
1. Prep guacamole and put in fridge
2. Make chicken and put in oven (simple method of lemon juice, olive oil, and spices)
3. Cut fruit, assemble fruit salad, put in fridge
4. Assemble salad but do not dress
**7:30 PM: Get phone call from husband that he will be late and you need to help him with something. Spend 20 minutes doing it.
7:50 PM More Cooking
Assemble lasagna and put in oven
8:10 PM Clean Up
1. Wash & dry prep dishes
2. Clean island, take out trash
3. Select servingware, dinner table set up
8:25 PM Prep Guest Room
1. Set candle in guest room
2. Put out towels for guests
3. Wash down sink in guest bathroom (was cleaned 4 days prior and just need spiffing up)
8:50 PM Crunch Time- Guests to arrive in 10 minutes (PB arrives also)
1. Slice bread & put in toaster oven in preparation for dinner
2. Run vacuum through entrance and kitchen
3. Remove foil from lasagna.
4. Dress salad and put out drinks and olive oil
5. Remember flowers and put them in vase
6. Put out chips and guacamole
9:00 PM Guests arrive!
Enjoy ourselves with our guests!
For more menus and plans please click here.
12 Responses to “Menu: Last Minute Dinner”
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Nice job putting this together girl! The lasagna looks delicious. Thank goodness for the iced coffee and extra 30 minute 😉
Girl you are nonstop! I am so impressed. Fridays nights are so hard to do. We never have groceries since we usually go Sat or Sun, and we both get home around 630. You are awesome!
LOVE the efficiency!!
Sara
I would have called for takeout — you are superwoman!
Sounds hectic! I’m surprised you were able to tackle a last minute dinner like that. You are awesome!
Love this timeline! I love hosting, but we rarely do it — I am trying to coordinate a brunch in a few weeks. The last time we had people over, PhillyGuy was the one to think to bring home flowers — I NEVER think of that!
Sabrina, I’m impressed! I get overwhelmed way too easily to pull something like this off! Not too mention I go to bed at 9 or 10 even on Fridays. 😉
Nom nom nom!!! That sounds delicious 🙂
That lasagna looks delicious and I love the play by play. I am usually still cooking when my guests arrive!
I love having guests…so great you can whip up such a beautiful spread so quickly!
dang, what a fabulous job!!
This is exactly my kind of meal! I like that the chicken is simple and the lasagna is quick. I’m always looking for healthy last minute recipes for those busy weeknights. Could you share the baked chicken and veggie lasagna recipes?? Sorry for my greediness, they just look so delicious!