Any Night Can Be A Party

Last night, I had three of my favorites that I don't get to see often over for dinner. I didn't take the first picture, but I want to share the recipes. They were fantastic, in that quick and easy sort of way. I had never made either before, which is risky, but I knew these wouldn't let me down.

First, I made Ham and Cheese Crescent Rolls. I got them from a Pillsbury email. You buy crescent rolls, Cheddar slices, and sliced ham. Unfold your crescents and roll them up with the ham and cheese stuffed inside. Just lay 2 pieces of ham in it then cut the cheese to lay on top of that. Bake for about 15 minutes at 375. They were delicious! We even discussed how easy they'd be to swap up with other ingredients.

Next, I made Paula Deen's Pasta Salad. It called for a lot of things that I didn't even entertain the thought, but it was probably one of my favorite pasta salads ever. It was one lb of pasta with a balsamic vinaigrette based dressing. I even bought a block of Parmesan cheese to shred myself. That was a big girl step... I had never done that before, but it was totally worth the four dollars. She suggests adding tomatoes, olives and mushrooms.

Dressing: 1 cup balsamic vinaigrette dressing (I used Newman's and probably will next time, too) 1/4 c of mayo and 1 Tbsp of sugar. Whisk this together then pour over the noodles. Then, shred the Parmesan on top.

I was so nervous about having friends over on a weeknight, but it made everything so friendly and casual. My house may not have been perfect, and the food wasn’t the fanciest, but we all enjoyed each other’s company.

Moral of the story: invite friends over on a weeknight even if it’s for hotdogs! It leaves less time to plan, but also leaves less time to stress. I will definitely be having more weeknight dinners!

Forgive the terrible quality, and it is obviously not a recent picture