This upcoming weekend is one of my absolute favorite weekends of the whole entire year. It’s homecoming weekend for our local college…the college where Matt and I met, the college where my parents met…the college where we made wonderful memories and friendships. (We also got a good education there and all that stuff.)
So, every year for York College Homecoming weekend, my house fills up with bunches of family members and friends. And I LOVE it.
But here’s the thing. If I’m not organized and on the ball with all the meals I’ll be feeding my guests…I DON’T love it and it’s not fun and I feel stressed the entire weekend and I don’t get to enjoy any of my friends or family members who have come.
I want to be able to visit and relax. But I also really, really love to be a hostess and make my guests yummy food and make them feel welcome and loved.
(Oh, and while I’m usually very good at multitasking…cooking and talking at the same time is not something I do very well. Which means that I can’t very easily prepare food and talk with my guests at the same time. I’m weird like that.)
So, I make as much food ahead of time as I possibly can.
Check out our menu here. Of all the foods listed from Thursday night on…here are the items I’m preparing ahead of time:
Potato soup
Chicken noodle soup
Lasagna
Salad
Homemade bread
baked potatoes (for the sausage, potato and egg scramble)
Sloppy joe meat
Veggie tray
Applesauce bread
Cookies
Most of this can be made any time and put into the freezer or into the fridge. Oh, this makes hostessing so much easier. When it’s time to prepare a meal, all I have to do is re-heat my food or stick it into the oven.
And since I don’t have to think very hard to do that part of the meal prep…I can usually hold down my end of the conversations pretty well!
So there’s my little tip on saving sanity when hosting a houseful of guests. Now I guess you know what I’ll be up to all this week! But just don’t talk to me while I’m trying to cook all this food…I’ll get distracted and put too much baking powder into the lasagna.
Oh right, the lasagna doesn’t call for baking powder….
;)
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Visit Tammy’s Recipes for more kitchen tips!
Lenetta says
> cooking and talking at the same time is not something I do very well
I hear you, Laura. It’s like trying to listen without your glasses on. :>)
Sweetpeas says
Does the potato soup freeze ok? Potatoes is one of the few things I’ve not had success freezing, and potato soup is one of the few soups dh likes, being able to have some big batches of it in the freezer this winter would be awesome!
Sherry says
Yum! Your family won’t want to leave. LOL! :D
Brenda says
Laura, you PROBABLY already do this, and it’s not on your menu, anyway, but just in case it’s helpful… :)
I make a lot of cinnamon rolls up at once and flash freeze them prior to letting them rise. Take however many you want out of the freezer the night before, put them in a baking dish, and by morning they’ll have thawed, risen, and be ready to bake up fresh! :)
Amie C says
You went to York?? I went to Harding University in Searcy, AR, and work there now. Our next door neighbors and very dear friends moved up there to work for the college several years ago. I bet you know them! I’ve been lurking here for a while, can’t remember where I found you! :) I really enjoy your site and am wanting to try some of your recipes. Small world!
Mary Ellen ~ Carolina Momma says
I’ve just discovered the ease of meal prepping! But in my case it’s not for guests, but for preparing home made dinners during the week after work. It’s made a world of difference in my evenings!
Andrea says
I always use to make my food fresh, you know, the day it was to be served. Then a friend who worked in a resturante taught about prepping ahead of time. Then I started what I call cook-once eat-twice. I cook a meal and freeze a meal for the next week or the week after. It saves me so much time.
Enjoy your weekend, your family and friends, and you food! Mangia!
Tamy ~ 3 Sides of Crazy says
LOL I just did this same post at my place a couple of days ago. It’s a real sanity saver!
Donna says
I gave up talking and cooking several years ago when I made a cheeseburger pie for an anniversary, only to discover that I had left wax paper on the pie crust….it just doesn’t work!
I can multi-task…I just can’t multi-think!
May the Lord help U this week and bless your weekend… and not allow for any broke legs or anthing like that….