Throw a Party

I don't know about you, but I enjoy being hospitable. It does take some work, though.

So, for several weeks (especially since adopting JoAnne's dog in December) I've been saying I should have some of my coworkers out to my house for lunch. I finally set the date for Monday and did a bit of housecleaning and cooking to prepare. Well, Monday ended up being perfect weather for a drive into the country, but both Kelly and JoAnne had sick babies. So, finally today I was able to host 3 of my work friends for lunch -- and a sightseeing tour of some recent flooding.

Nothing beats the monotony of winter days than throwing a party. I prepared 3 of my favorite recipes ahead of time so lunch would be a snap.

Maybe you'd like to try them too. The Italian Sausage Soup comes from Allrecipes.com. I've been making it a long time. I don't deviate much from this recipe except to include mushrooms and to use a can of tomatoes with chilies when I double the recipe. I also made the following salad. For dessert, I prepared a bag of peanut butter cookie mix with extra oil and water to make them more like drop cookies and included chocolate chips.

Becky’s Favorite Salad
Romaine lettuce
Baby spinach
Green onion
Green apple
Cashews (could use pecans or walnuts)
Dried cranberries
Feta cheese (could use Bleu Cheese)
(I’ve also thrown in cucumber)

Dressing:
1/3 cup olive oil
½ cup sugar (can lessen)
2 tablespoons cooking wine
2 tablespoons white or wine vinegar
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon soy sauce

Things don't have to be fancy when you get a group of friends together. It's all about the fellowship anyway.

BTW, Roscoe remembered JoAnne and enjoyed chewing on her pant legs.