Do It Yourself : Deceptively Simple Dinner

We love dinner parties and get-togethers but sometimes the effort can seem too overwhelming. By the time guests arrive and dinner is served, you’re ready to crawl into bed.  Well fret no more because we have simple dinner party solutions that would make Rachel Ray green with envy.

Drinks

One of the easiest ways to pull together a festive party is with decorative accessories. Beverages don’t have to be complicated. Simply punch up a basic cocktail or lemonade with garnishes like fresh fruits or a sprig of mint.

Is that too much effort for you? Leave the decorating effort to your dishware. Crazy straws, flags or adornments you can wrap around a glass/stem are effortless and lively ways to amp up drinks.

Dinner

Need a meal that will appease both ravenous males and petite vegetarians alike? Our spinach lasagna recipe is a definite crowd pleaser and it only takes around 10 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to bake

Here’s what you’ll need:

*1 box of lasagna noodles

*1 large jar of pasta sauce

*1 medium red onion

*1 container of ricotta cheese

*1 bag (or box) of frozen chopped spinach

*1 bag of grated mozzarella cheese.

*Salt and pepper

1.   1.  Fill a large pot with water and 2 tablespoons of salt. Bring to a boil.

2.    2. Microwave frozen chopped spinach & 1 cup of chopped red onions for 2 minutes and then put mixture directly into the refrigerator to cool off.

3.   3.  Pour lasagna noodles into boiling water.

4.  4.   Once noodles are cooked, remove from heat and cover with Pam cooking spray to prevent noodles from congealing together.

5.   5.  Mix ricotta cheese with spinach and onion mixture.

Now the fun begins!

6.   6.  In a large baking pan, layer rows of pasta, the spinach mixture, tomato sauce, and a bit of cheese until the pan is full.

7.   7.  Bake lasagna at 425* for approximately 20 minutes.

While your lasagna is baking you can set the table, doll yourself up, or throw together a salad and dessert.

Dessert

Desserts seem to be the thing that dinner guests remember most. Making a visual impact can be ridiculously simple if you have the right supplies. Here are three amusing ideas:

Animal Cracker Cake =

Cake*+ icing + Mother Circus animal crackers around the edge of the cake.

Tasty turtles =

Brownies + chocolate icing + 5 pecans.

Decadent Dagger Cake =

Chocolate cake* + chocolate icing + thin slivers of dark chocolate (or bars of chocolate broken lengthwise).

*The decorations are most affective when the cake is tall (IE: made in a bunt pan or made out of multiple layers of cake).

WHAT/ WHERE:

Stem wraps à Vineyard Charms

Crazy Straw tumblers à Target