7 Quick and Delicious Treats for Unexpected Guests ...

Let’s start with one of the easiest treats for unexpected guests – shall we? I’ve got two words for you: puff pastry! Having a box of these at all times really pays out because you can just fill them up with anything, fold them anyhow you want and still expect them to taste amazing. You can roll the sheet up, cut it into squares…whatever sounds easier. Give it a try – you won’t need more than 10 minutes to get your pastry to a ready-to-bake stage!

Everybody loves paneed chicken! It’s super simple to make too, and will be ready to serve before you know it. Prep for any unplanned visits by remembering to cut a piece of lean breast meat into thin slices and do freeze each slice separately for faster and easier defrosting. Now all you’ll have to do is take them out, unfreeze and follow up with the beaten egg/flour/bread crumbs routine. Add some interesting spices if you feel super creative, chop each slice into bite-sized pieces if you’re not in that much of a time crunch or opt for a good ole dip if you’re not sure how spicy (or plain) your guests like their chicken.

Also known as “better than fries” and “fast fries,” this interesting, oven baked version isn’t that much healthier or lower in calories but simply less labor intensive. All you’ll need to do is to grease a baking tray, peel some medium sized potatoes and make plenty of deep, horizontal slices cutting almost all the way through the potato. Season to taste (mustard and garlic paste gives them a really nice taste), drizzle olive oil on top of each potato and top up with pepper and a tiny piece of butter. Let them bake until they are golden and crunchy and voila, all done! Seriously, you’ve got to love a good no recipe meal!

Serving a cool, Italian style dinner doesn’t have to involve hours of hard labor and complicated recipes! A simple tomato sauce, for example, will take up only 20 minutes of your time and that’s only if you’ve decided to make it from scratch. Canned pasta sauces are even less time consuming and pasta itself is, as we all know, cooked on the spot. Easy peasy!

Good ole sour cream or a box of whipped cream can save your day! And, quite honestly, I couldn’t think of a more suitable summer dessert anyways! Use any type of jam or fruit preserves you have on hand, honey, nuts and cinnamon if you’re fresh out of preserves or, if there are plenty of children to be pleased, replace fruit with Oreos and chocolate bits. And don’t worry – it really is a great treat for unexpected quests! Seriously, no one will expect you to whip up a tiramisu in so little time.

Perfect for breakfast or a casual lunch/dinner with good friends, omelet is the king of no recipe meals, for sure! Fill it up with veggies if you need a lighter meal or simply a vegetarian-friendly meal or layer that favorite cheese and ham of yours for a gourmand treat.

Egg salad, potato salad, vegetable salad, tuna salad, chicken salad… should I keep going? Your choice is everything but limited in this case. Stock up with every canned, frozen or pickled salad filler you can think of, always keep at least three different kinds of vegetables in your fridge and you can consider yourself more than ready for unexpected visits.

See? Unexpected visitors can be handled graciously even without supreme cooking skills or extensive prep time! But hey, I’m sure you have a few fast fixes, too! So, do tell! Which fast, no recipe meals do you tend to fall back on the most and why?