Hey, Gal! What I am Cooking::Arugula Salad and Creamy Chicken

Hey, Gal!

Wanted to fill in the details about my most recent dinner.  I served two great recipes from Ina Garten.  When I plan out a dinner, I like to not have everything be a new recipe to me.  As I plan out the meal, I think through that mantra and use recipes that I am familiar with for most of the meal and add in something store bought or easy.

For the appetizer I love serving this soft triple cream cheese with crackers.  Just set it out. Bam. It is an easy, no cook item which helps me.

Make sure and cut a few slices to get the guests going!

Serve an Easy, No Cook Appetizer!

I also like to use a staple recipe.  One that is tried and true. For the salad and the main course I did that.  I have served this salad and this chicken several times over the past few months.  Your guest doesn’t know that you have done that so find a recipe that you make like a boss and keep using it.  It will help you to invite people over.

Have a GO-TO Recipe and keep making it.

For the salad I made this Arrugula with Prosciutto and Burrata

I made the salad in a big bowl and then plated it on my Italian plates and we ate it up pronto! Serving this like a first course at a restaurant was a fun way to start our meal.

Serve a salad like a first course on a different dish.

Then I picked up those plates and we had chicken thighs in a creamy mustard sauce.

Y’all, this chicken dish is so easy and made right in the cast iron skillet; you even make the saucy sauce in the skillet.  Could not be easier or tastier.

I decided to go simple on the veggie and just served steamed green beans with salt and pepper and a tad of butter. I learned that from Ina, too. You can just serve one veggie on the plate with your meat. I have always thought I needed to have three items on the plate. Nope. You really don't.

I hope these recipes help as you try to reach out and invite people over. They are easy. Pretty. And taste good.

For dessert we enjoyed oranges with chocolate I had chopped up and set on a platter. So French!  

Full disclosure. I also served vanilla ice-cream which the guys dug as they poured the broken bits of chocolate onto their scoops of ice-cream.

We had some questions ready to go for our conversation and enjoyed a simple, hearty meal. This helps me to have some ideas ready for discussion. We had a very interesting discussion about what books to read and are worthy of reading, etc.

Hope this helps you set out your plans to INVITE someone over tonite. You can do it! Let me know how you are doing in this area and how I can help!

xoxoxo