What to Feed Unexpected Company

Most of us have been in this situation before: someone drops in for a visit, and you are having such a good time you don't realize how late it's getting. Before you know it, it's time for a meal, and you would like to invite the person to stay and eat. Your mind begins to whirl, what have you got in the pantry that you can make a quick meal out of, especially if tomorrow is grocery buying day, and not only that, but you've been so busy visiting, you forgot to get anything out of the freezer?

It's always good to have an emergency meal ready to serve so that you don't have to order out for pizza, although that's always a good option, too!

Plan to stock your pantry for unexpected company. It's not that hard - unless, of course, you have a house full of teenage boys who will eat your stash!

Several cans of chili and a couple of bags of Fritos are always good for quick, easy meals. Simply heat up the chili and serve over the Fritos, along with plenty of shredded cheese, chopped onions and sour cream for Frito pie. If you don't have canned chili, beans will work too, just dress them up with some chili powder, garlic, cumin and peppers.

You can also take a few cans of beans, pinto is best, put them in a skillet, and mix in a can of rotel tomatoes and a couple of spoonfuls of soy sauce. As they heat, mash them with a potato masher, and you have refried beans. Serve with corn chips, shredded cheese and sour cream for a quick, good for you meal.

If you have some flour or corn tortillas on hand, get out the griddle, coat it with some olive oil, and fry the tortillas. Heat on one side, them flip them and as that side heats, sprinkle shredded cheese and hot sauce on top. Then you can either fold them in half or eat them flat. Again, sour cream goes good with this.

You can also make pizzas out of your tortillas. Heat them on the skillet on one side, then when you flip them, spread spaghetti sauce on them and sprinkle shredded cheese. You can leave it at this, or add pepperoni, sausage or whatever else you have on hand. English muffins also make good, quick pizzas.

A wonderful quick drink that's good enough for company is to mix a can of frozen orange juice and some lemon lime soda, either regular or diet, and add plenty of ice. You can also put this in your blender and blend it with the crushed ice, and even add some strawberries for added flavor and a pretty color.

With only a little forethought, you can ask your company to lunch or supper, and enjoy their visit for a little longer!