Good Times

Easy Dinner Party Ideas: Pizza and Paperware

January 13, 2021 / 10 Comments

I try to get together with friends at least once a month (or, ideally, once a week!). So I’m always on the lookout for easy dinner party ideas. Matt and I are not great cooks, and we are trying to save money, so we have to get creative.

In the winter, I love a good chili bar. And a taco bar is a lot of fun!

The problem is we only have a small number of friends (especially during COVID), so I’m starting to run out of ideas that I haven’t already used!

Plus, Matt has been feeling particularly rundown after the move. So he needed it to be even easier than normal. We opted for:

  • An appetizer cutting board with strawberries, grapes, cucumbers, hummus, and pita chips
  • Pizza (delivered from an inexpensive local store)
  • Store-bought garlic bread
  • Salad kit
  • Homemade chocolate chip cookies
  • Drinks brought by my friend

To make it even easier, we used paper plates. The environment usually wins out over convenience in these kinds of situations, but I especially wanted Matt to see how easy it can be to host people.

I need even more ideas for the next one! It’s not easy to find things that are truly easy. Like even these “casual” ideas are too complicated for my life.

Do you have any truly easy ideas to recommend for easy dinner party ideas?

10 Comments

  • Mamaschlick

    January 13, 2021 at 5:51 am Reply

    I am always so compelled to respond to food based posts. What does that say about me? (: some easy things i have done:

    -brie en croute and crackers/baguette. Super easy with store bought puff pastry and jam, and looks fancy

    -tortilla roll ups: spread veggie cream cheese, carrot sticks, lettuce, etc (millions of options: cukes, avocado, cabbage, cheese…), roll up tightly, wrap in plastic. Just before guests come, slice in rounds and serve. Can do tons of combos: instead of cream cheese can do pesto and sun dried tomato or pesto and above veggies. Or smashed beans and veggies. Possibilities are endless and tons of ideas on internet

    -cheesy rice (literally rice with melted cheese, salt, any spices you like and i add nutritional yeast and some water) and bean burritos or egg burritos

    -I make this japanese macaroni salad that is always a hit: noodles (elbow, rotini) with mayo and crumbled roasted seaweed (all to taste) with sausage or hot dogs (you do veggie version) in it. Or instead of seaweed you can use furikake (bought). Serve with spinach sauteed briefly in drops of water with soy sauce. If not kid friendly enough serve salad with green salad and store bought miso carrot dressing (if you have a food processor mark bittman has 5 minute homemade one that is great) and/or miso soup. Someone else brings dessert. Mochi!

    -butternut squash mac and “cheese” with salad and garlic bread

    -large bowl of pasta always a hit-simple tomato sauce, or pesto or throw in some ricotta and arugula for a fancy look. Also my simple tuna casserole is a big hit even with kids. Noodles, tuna, celery, carrots, can of mashroom soup, spices all dumped in bowl and cooked in casserole dish with bread crumbs sprinkled on top.

    -grilled cheese and tomota soup, classic. Can do in oven to simplify, butter the bread

    -honestly, bought puff pastry makes everything tasty and easy. You can google recipe but basically wrap up stuff and fold over and bake. Broccoli and cheese pastries, mashed potato and onion, spinach and cheese. It is so easy, special and pretty.

    -fruit salad instead of cut fruit is always special.

    -platter of roasted veggies and good bread and cheese.
    I always look at this for great ideas: https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/18/dining/18mini.html

    Good luck!

  • Tammy

    January 13, 2021 at 11:12 am Reply

    To keep it super simple, are there any store bought veggie burgers you like? If so, you could do a “Veggie Burger Bar” – veggie burgers, one or two kinds of buns/rolls, a variety of toppings, bagged salad, fruit salad or tray & drinks 🙂

  • Maha

    January 14, 2021 at 7:03 am Reply

    Falafel bar, i buy falafel from a local shop (or you can make them one day in adavnce) then put some individual plates of hummus, tahini, tomatos, lettece, fried egg plants, boiled eggs cut into slices and pitta bread so everyone can make their own falafel sandwich. It is always a hit.

    I also make a soup night, where I only serve soup and bread. Google Morrocan Harira soup and make it in the instan pot. So hearty and full of nutrients.

    Shawrma bar, i buy the chicken sahwrma mix from my local super market (Pinterest is full of recipes) and then serve it with individual plates of fried frise, pickels, lettece, tomatoes, garlic mayo and pitta bread.

    From my suggestion you can tell I’m from the middle east, and loving your blog!

    Good luck xx

  • Kerstin

    January 14, 2021 at 10:15 pm Reply

    How about a potluck? There are lots of sites that you can use to have people sign up – pick a theme, pop in what dishes you need on a potluck site, and then email the link to your friends. This will keep you organized and you only need to make one dish, not all the dishes!

    Another idea is soup – make a big pot of soup, which can be done in advance and frozen even, buy some baguette or other fresh crunchy bread. If you really want more veggies, you can make a salad, or you can just be sure to pack your soup full of veggies. Easy, fast, and people love the novelty of eating out of mugs, which then easily go in the dishwasher.

    Other make-ahead options: quiche with store-bought crust, mix 1 egg per 1/2cup milk (or half and half or cream), salt & pepper. Then add whatever leftovers in the fridge: cooked leeks or onions, spinach, peppers, smoked tofu, whatever! You can sprinkle the top with a bit of cheese and paprika for flavor and color, bake, and done. Make ahead and serve at room temp – or even freeze well in advance and pop in the oven before your guests come. Serve with a side of salad and you’ve got an easy, fancy meal.

    And of course, ice cream and chocolate sauce for dessert will make it feel extra fancy and is super easy since it’s store-bought. Bonus points for sprinkles (or strawberries).

    Lastly, I have friends who always ask their guests to bring their own dishes. They live on a farm and usually do outdoor parties, so this minimizes the people traipsing through their house and kitchen for things. Also super easy clean-up. But, takes a bit of teaching your guests 🙂

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