How to Prepare for Meals for Weekend Guests

As the woman of the household, my number one job for weekend guests is preparing the food. Planning is the key to a wonderful visit with friends or family and the event can be memorable for all involved, including the cook! A few simple tips can make the job a lot easier.

Consider special needs:

Any special needs or diets of the individuals must be considered, as well as the regular household members. A member of our household is a diabetic and therefore needs special consideration when preparing desserts, for example. The non-sugar desserts and products available today are very palatable and should not take away from the dining pleasures. Any known allergies need to be considered as we have one grandchild very allergic to peanuts and non-consideration of that fact could be deadly!

Plan menus in advance:

Starting with the arrival of the guests, plan each meal so that you can know what you will prepare and when you will serve. As we have no "take-out" available to us in this rural area, it is important to have on hand any ingredients necessary for preparation. After making the menus for the duration of the visit, plan to have snacks available. Fruit, nuts and chips are good to display and eat! Anyone can pick as they choose, when they choose. Planning for a late evening snack for everyone with ice cream, pie, cake or just an old-fashion Ice cream float will be a hit! (Diets can be adhered to next week.)

Make a grocery list: (Be conservative)

Once the menus are established, the grocery list can be made. Be conservative here as I have found that I usually have more food than is consumed. We always have plenty of left-over's that will cover as a meal.

Stock up!

When purchasing the groceries, be conservative. Buy only the amount you think will be sufficient for each meal and if you can use prepared dishes, do it! Anything to make your job easier without sacrificing quality should be considered. For example, I no longer make my own biscuits, because there are wonderful frozen biscuits available and I can cook only the amount I need as well as saving my time.

Prepare in advance:

Any menu item that can be prepared in advance should be, for example desserts can almost always be prepared in advance. I enjoy my guests arriving to a home filled with the smell of ham baking in the oven, which is usually my first meal of choice with sandwiches the following day.

Enjoy!

With a little preparation a weekend with friends or family as guests can be a delightful event for everyone, including the cook. Good food and conversations will bring wonderful memories for a long time.

Enjoy the moment.....it will never return.