Copyright (c) 2009 Kaye Dennan
Do you get to the point where you have your weekly meals
all planned out and then you get a phone call and one of
the family have changed arrangements to their timetable, or
even more surprising, have invited someone for dinner? By
the time most moms get to the stage where they have teenage
families they have learnt to become fairly flexible with
their meal arrangements. To the point that when a sticky
situation arises they are more than likely to shrug their
shoulders in a "what will be, will be" kind of way.
If you read on you will realize that there are many tricks
to turn a four person meal into a six person meal so below
are some that hopefully will help you if you end up in that
situation.
- Quickly make a soup to serve before the main course and
an onion soup, a vegetable soup, an asparagus or mushroom
soup are great for this (not much preparation time to any
of these)
- Cook a quick little entrée with something you have
in the cupboard - could be curried eggs, a little salad,
vegetable or corn fritters
- Make some savory pancakes for entrée
- Make a large salad to serve with the main meal
- Cook and serve a bigger vegetable range so that you can
reduce the size of each serving of the meat and the
vegetables
- Prepare and add more vegetables to a stew, but cook them
first then add them in about 20 minutes before serving so
that they take up the flavor
- Make a fried rice dish and serve that as a side dish or
even as an entrée as it is quite filling
- Pull some bread rolls out of the freezer and make them
into garlic bread or alternatively serve individual rolls
- Make some pancakes for dessert and serve with banana and
syrup
- Make some little jam tarts - pastry sheets cut into patti
tin size and add a spoonful of jam in the middle, then
servie with icecream or cream
- Serve some cheese and biscuits
- Get out a packet cake mix and bake some little patty
cakes (I have learnt to always keep a packet cake mix in
the cupboard because they are so quick to make at the last
minute)
- When all else fails, tell the person who made the invite
to call past and pick up a takeaway of some sort: Thai,
Chinese, Mexican or whatever it is that would complement
your meal and it could always be served as your
entrée
By keeping certain items in the cupboard at all times you
will find that when you end up in a spot of bother with
last minute guests you can usually pull something together
fairly quickly.
One of the main tips in this situation it to always stay
relaxed. No-one said you have to serve up a restaurant
meal, after all this is a home environment. Last minute
guests are often so grateful to have an invitation that
they would be happy with whatever you serve. It is a happy
environment that is important. To sit down and have
enjoyable company at the meal time is the most important
factor.
Working moms really do need a little help in caring for the
family and by building up a range of easy meals that can be
prepared quite quickly, the after effects of those busy
tiring days will be made so much less stressful.
----------------------------------------------------
With over 10 years in the food industry and as a busy
working mom all her life, Kaye Dennan has put together an
ebook "Easy Budget Meals 4U" so that busy mums can cook
quick and easy budget meals. Just to to
http://easybudgetmeals4U.com for more information and
photos.
EasyPublish this article: http://submityourarticle.com/articles/easypublish.php?art_id=75396
Read More...“Great Tips For Turning An Average Sized Easy Meal Into Meal For More”
