Hosting While Exhausted

 

In this article we’re talking to the people who want tasty, non-take out food to share with friends.

Sometimes, you find yourself deeply longing for meaningful social connection. But you are also just so dang tired. Long week with kids, but you’re craving being around someone closer to your own age? Burned out from studying, but too tired and broke to go out? Exhausting few weeks at work and you need to recharge your social batteries?

If you feel the need to have meaningful social interaction, but the thought of making dinner or being a peppy host/hostess is just too much and becomes a barrier to having friends over — read on.

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Simplify the cooking process – Decide on a low-effort meal such as a slow-cooker, set it and forget it meal. Or perhaps a one pot pasta or soup meal. There are also some pretty low fuss sheet-pan meals.

Use as many disposable products as possible during the prep-stage. Line the sheet pan with foil or parchment paper. Use a slow cooker liner.

Let you friends know you’re tired / Set the expectation – I try to give guests relevant information when extending the invite. If you’re exhausted, a text is fine. I’ve texted invites that went something like this “We’re exhausted from the week, but I’ve missed seeing you guys and would love to get together. Are you and John free Friday or Saturday night?”

I’ve also texted invites to girlfriends, and then said “I’m going to be in yoga pants or pj’s, so please feel free to do the same if you’d like. Can’t wait to see you!”

Simplify the prep and clean-up plan – Thinking through, in advance of people coming over, how you will set-up and clean-up will help you calibrate how to use your energy before, during, and after hosting guests.

If certain parts of hosting are more tiring than others, think through how you can mitigate that part. If setting the table and laying out the food in serving dishes seems like too much, consider doing a buffet style from the counter before sitting down at the table. If starting down a sink full of dirty dishes is going to prevent you from having people over, use paper plates.

Decide on entertainment – If you’re craving meaningful social connection then a movie is likely not on the docket. Think through what you DO have energy (physical and/or emotional) for and let your guests know. “We’re going to play charades from the couch!” Or games like JackBox have games that you can do while sitting down. Maybe everyone has energy to sit at a table and play a board game, but even that can be too much for exhausted folks.

Set a (mental) timer – If you know it’ll take 30 minutes from “Well, we should get to bed soon” to when you wave goodbye, and another 30 minutes until you can get in bed – mentally set a timer to say goodbye 60 minutes before you actually want to be in bed.

Post event – Send a thank you note in the same way you extended the invite. If you texted an invite, the next day text them a quick thank you. “It was great to have you guys/gals over and hearing about the project Jane is doing. Thank you for making time to join us for the evening!”

Doing a mental review can be helpful for future events. You can also ask yourself these two questions: What went well? What could have gone better? By answering these two questions you can get a lot of information about what you want to do next time. Everyone enjoyed playing cards! But the slow cooker dinner wasn’t started in time, which meant we ate after a few rounds of cards. So maybe next time we use the insta-pot or start the slow cooker sooner.”

In conclusion – Think through what you can offer your guests, offer it, and enjoy what comes of it!

What is your go-to low effort meal? Please drop it in the comments!

Broccoli Rabe with Kielbasa

Ingredients:

2 bunches (about 1 lb) Broccoli rabe

1 lb Fully cooked kielbasa, sliced 

4 cloves crushed garlic

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

8 oz short cut pasta, cooked

Serves about 4

The trick to getting a nice brown on kielbasa is putting the sliced up sausage in the pan before it's fully heated, then flipping them right as they start to pucker. For a long time I'd put sliced kielbasa into a hot pan to brown quickly, but it would only brown on one side leaving the little rounds looking like someone and tried to blow a bubble with too thick sausage-looking bubble gum. Allow me to tell you - it was most vexing!!!

So, be sure to pay attention to how hot your pan is getting. Turn it on to medium, but when it reaches medium warm, add the kielbasa. Once it starts to sizzle, turn it up to medium high, and flip the kielbasa rounds just as the start to curl.

Directions:

Rinse and remove large, tough stems from the broccoli rabe, set aside.

In a large pan over medium/medium-high heat, brown the kielbasa slices. Add the garlic and pepper, and stir until garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute. Add broccoli rabe leaves and pasta, and toss with tongs to mix fold in with kielbasa. Cover and cook for 3-4 minutes, mixing with tongs occasionally.

Serve hot and enjoy!

Zesty Corn Salsa

This isn't really a salsa, but it still goes along REALLY well with most TexMex or Mexican food that I make. 

It's light, crisp, crunchy, and has a kick of zest. The sweetness of the corn gives a nice compliment to the tang from the lime juice, which are braided together by the fresh herbal taste of the cilantro. It's best to use freshly cooked corn on the cob, cut off the cob, but frozen corn will work in a pinch. And, for those of you who don't like cilantro, leave it out or swap it for parsley.


2 cups of corn
1/4 cup gently packed, finely chopped cilantro
1/4 cup lime juice (about 2 limes)
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Wisk lime juice and olive oil in a medium bowl. Add corn and cilantro, and toss to combine. 



Short Hand:
2 C Corn, 1/4 C cilantro, 1/4 c lime juice, 2 T evoo. Whisk, toss, serve.

Red Wine and Thyme Cranberry Sauce

This is a richer version of the standard 'back of the bag' recipe for traditional cranberry sauce. While the base is similar (cranberries and sugar) the liquid is a red wine and orange juice

With savory base notes of the thyme and sage laced through the tart flavor of the cranberry, this beautifully rich red sauce makes a perfect accompaniment for almost any holiday. 

Ingredients:

3 cups fresh cranberries (roughly one bag)

1 cup of sugar

1 Tablespoon fresh Thyme leaves*

1 Tablespoon fresh Sage

1/3 cup orange juice 

1 cup red wine 

*If you want to use dried herbs, use 1 tsp ground sage and 2 teaspoons thyme OR 1 tsp ground thyme. 

Method:

Rinse and sort cranberries, discarding soft or old ones. Add all ingredients to a heavy bottomed medium sauce pan. Bring mixture to a simmer over medium high heat until you begin to hear berries pop. Reduce to low and simmer gently for 15-20 minutes, uncovered, stirring occasionally, scraping down the sides. 

Black Bean and Corn Salad

This is pretty much a variation of my Zesty Corn Salsa, but turned into a more complete salad. Not only is this fantastic alone, but you can toss it on top of a bed of romaine lettuce with some grilled chicken for an easy week night dinner.

This is best made and served fresh, but it will keep for a day or two. Personally, I like it freshly made at room temperature or cold, but some people love enjoying it warm.


Ingredients:
1 Recipe Zesty Corn Salsa
1 cup roma tomatoes, diced
1 can Black Beans (about 1.5 cups)
1-2 Avocados, diced

2 Tablespoons lime juice (in addition to the Zesty Corn Salsa)
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar (or an alternative of another sweetener)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder or 1 clove crushed garlic

Directions:
Whisk together additional lime juice, vinegar, garlic and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Toss Zesty Corn Salsa with tomatoes, and black beans and toss gently with lime juice mixture, and top with avocado's.

Caramelized Beets and Goat Cheese Salad

This is a lovely summer salad, as it's when arugula and beets are in their glory. The solid, sweetness of the caramelized beets are a delicious contrast to the tender leafy greens, and the goat cheese adds just the right amount of subtle tang to each bit. Because the flavors of the toppings are so rich, it hardly needs a dressing. If you do use a dressing, something light is the best options. I prefer a fruity vinegar and extra virgin olive oil drizzled over the top of everything. If you can find it, a white peach balsamic is an amazing pairing for this. 

Ingredients:

3 large beets

1 large onion
2-3 garlic cloves
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp sea salt

2 Oz goat cheese crumbles 
Arugula
Baby spinach 

Directions:

Peel and dice beets into bite-sized cubes. Slice onion into 1/4-1/2 inch wide strips. In a medium bowl, mix together crushed garlic, olive oil, brown sugar, and salt. Add onions and beets, and toss until coated. A plastic bag also works GREAT for this - no bowl necessary! 

Spread vegtables on a roasting pan, and bake for 45-60 minutes, stirring every 15-20 minutes, until beats are tender and onions are caramelized. 

Meanwhile, mix together arugula and baby spinach. Once beets are cooked cool slightly. Top the greens with goat cheese, sliced prosciutto, and beets. 

Serve with oil and vinegar - preferably a blush wine vinaigrette or a white balsamic. 

Prosciutto, Arugula, and Fig Flatbread Pizza

This is amazing. This is really easy to put together, involves minimal dishes, and can be grilled for all you grill enthusiasts who have the time and compulsion to do so. It makes for a great appetizer or a light meal on it's own. Either way it's easy to make, eat, and clean up.

 It's crispy, salty, sweet, and savory all in one lovely pizza. Honestly, I don't even know if pizza is the right term for it, but it's great either way. The crispy bread and toasted arugula give a lovely crunch, while the warmed cheese and prosciutto give way to a slightly chewy texture that pairs so perfectly with the sweetness of the fig jam.




While I bought most of these items at Trader Joe's, I think you can find them else where. My arugula came from FieldsGood, the produce program I've mentioned before. Look for fig jam or fig butter, and if you can't find either of those ask a grocery store manager or person at the deli what a good alternative would be - they usually have answers. Worst case scenario, make you're own. I'm not to that level of daring yet. Some day.

With the lavash bread, this is a Middle Eastern bread, and I think it works best. However, if you can't find it, any good flatbread will work. Absolute worst case scenario, you could use a tortilla. Nope, never mind, don't do that. I cringed the whole time I was writing that. Don't waste the other ingredients by putting them on a tortilla.

Simply put all these exquisite ingredients together, bake, and enjoy. Your tongue will marvel in glory.

Ingredients:

1 piece lavash bread
3-4 Tablespoons fig jam
1-2 oz prosciutto (about 4-6 slices)
2-3 oz crumbled blue cheese
1 cup loosely packed arugula

Directions:

Heat oven to 350º.

Lay lavash bread on a baking sheet. Spread fig jam evenly over entire surface, and sprinkle half of the arugula over the jam. Next, tear the prosciutto into small pieces and sprinkle over the arugula. Crumble blue cheese over the prosciutto, and top with remaining arugula.

Bake for 4-6 minutes, watching carefully, until cheese is melted and edges are golden brown. Slice and serve hot.

ENJOY!