3 Easy Foods For A Party
Hi friend! Today I’m talking all about what food to have on hand when you’re throwing a dinner party. I think the food side of a dinner party is what can turn most people off from even throwing a party in the first place. It can take a lot of mental and physical energy to find a recipe, get the ingredients, make the dish, and present it in a way that looks on par with the rest of your party. I. Get. It. In all honesty, that’s a big reason why a lot of the dinners I throw are potluck! Ha! That being said, I have picked up some quick and easy dishes you can both make and buy, that’ll put your party planning mind at ease so you can focus on the rest of your party prep.
My #1 easy food is a Chopped Asian bagged salad. Really any bagged salad is a good option, and depending on the theme or type of dinner party you are throwing, a different one might be better. But pretty consistently I’ve found Asian salad to be a fan favorite. And the best part? It does not take much prep work. You can throw it in a bowl right before your guests arrive and it looks professional! I typically wait to put it together until after a few guests arrive in case we already have plenty of food or I keep it as an easy task someone could do if they want to help. This is also a good and easy dish to bring if you’re a guest at a potluck! Throw it together in a cute bowl and call it a day. It’s a win-win dish!
My #2 easy food tip is pork tenderloin. This tip is courtesy of my dad :) Growing up we used to love pork tenderloin and we had it often. I remember thinking it was such a fancy meal to have on a school night. Then I became an adult and when I would talk to my dad before going to a dinner party he would always suggest bringing a pork tenderloin. I was very intimidated remembering how fancy it felt growing up, but turns out it’s actually very simple. Most grocery stores have pre-marinated pork tenderloin, so literally all you have to do is put it in the oven! Bam! Done and done. If it’s not pre-marinated grab a plastic baggie, pour in some marinade from the grocery store, add your tenderloin and let it marinate (ideally overnight, but a couple hours works too) and then cook it in the oven! Bam! Done, done and done. If you’re looking to make it a lighter meal, you can always get rolls and make pork tenderloin sandwiches, or even use mini roles and make some appetizers!
My easy food tip #3 is a cold pasta salad. This is great because you can make it ahead of time and can really customize it to dinner’s theme and time of year! Pick your pasta and add some olives, pine nuts and spinach, or cherry tomatoes, peas and zucchini. Go for a BLT pasta salad with some rotini, bacon bits, lettuce and cherry tomatoes or make a taco pasta salad with ground beef, cheese, shredded lettuce, tomatoes, beans and corn. My personal favorite pasta salad is just 3 ingredients: pasta, peppers, and salad dressing. The secret is to get every color pepper and chop them up in various sizes to give the illusion of variety. I like to top it with a sweet vidalia onion or a poppyseed dressing! I typically wait till the last minute to add the dressing (especially if there is lettuce in the pasta salad), but everything else can be made, chopped and combined ahead of time!