In this thread, we help Kevin to plan a "welcome home" meal for his wife

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by summer_gphib

Get her favorite take out and put it on a nice fancy plate. Light candles and CLEAN THE HOUSE so it's spotless when she gets home. Then put the effort you would have put into cooking into doing the dishes and helping her unpack and do her laundry.

At least thats what I would tell my hubby!

The house cleaning project is well underway.

[St3ph888]

what about instead of doing plain spaghetti, do some tortelini? or make lasgana, I've got an excellent easy recipie my mom uses that is delish! Or you could always do a "fiesta" theme and do tacos which are pretty simple to make.

[Kevin]

Lasagna.. I could probably cook the kind that comes premade at Sam's... probably..

As for tacos, we had those the night before she left.

[icelandelf]

That sounds really good--lasagna! Easy to do (better to bake it in the oven than microwave it). Do you guys like raspberry cheesecake? I remember Sam's having these huge cheesecakes of every variety. Do that, a bottle of wine, and you're all set :-)

[AlphaFrog]

Originally Posted by icelandelf

That sounds really good--lasagna! Easy to do (better to bake it in the oven than microwave it). Do you guys like raspberry cheesecake? I remember Sam's having these huge cheesecakes of every variety. Do that, a bottle of wine, and you're all set :-)

Lasagna, cheesecake and wine...she'll have her calories for the rest of the week. LOL. But she'll probably appreciate it.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by icelandelf

Do you guys like raspberry cheesecake? I remember Sam's having these huge cheesecakes of every variety. Do that, a bottle of wine, and you're all set :-)

Because nothing says a romantic "welcome home" like Sam's Club.

Seriously, cheesecake from Sam's is fine if you're hosting a bunch of people. But for a welcome home for the wife, if you're not going to make a dessert yourself, go to a good patisserie or bakery (the one at the grocery store probably doesn't qualify) and get a nice dessert that is obviously made for two people to share.

Originally Posted by AlphaFrog

Lasagna, cheesecake and wine...she'll have her calories for the rest of the week. LOL. But she'll probably appreciate it.

Ah, but will she feel so stuffed that she won't want to do anything, um, active afterward?

[AOII_LB93]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

Because nothing says a romantic "welcome home" like Sam's Club.

Seriously, cheesecake from Sam's is fine if you're hosting a bunch of people. But for a welcome home for the wife, if you're not going to make a dessert yourself, go to a good patisserie or bakery (the one at the grocery store probably doesn't qualify) and get a nice dessert that is obviously made for two people to share.

Ah, but will she feel so stuffed that she won't want to do anything, um, active afterward?

You are a smart man Mystic. I agree wholeheartedly.

[honeychile]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

Because nothing says a romantic "welcome home" like Sam's Club.

Seriously, cheesecake from Sam's is fine if you're hosting a bunch of people. But for a welcome home for the wife, if you're not going to make a dessert yourself, go to a good patisserie or bakery (the one at the grocery store probably doesn't qualify) and get a nice dessert that is obviously made for two people to share.

Ah, but will she feel so stuffed that she won't want to do anything, um, active afterward?

While I've been told that I make some of the world's best lasagna, I'm with MysticCat on this one. She's probably had a lot of fancy meals while she's been at the Conference, and would love something more normal, and lasagna is just... heavy.

I think you'd do better with either marinated steak or chicken, sauteed or grilled, a baked potato and a good salad. Work on the really classy dessert, even if it's pastries from a bakery, Godiva liquor, or strawberries with champagne poured over them.

Having a sparkling clean tub and special bath salts or bubbles wouldn't be out of the question, either. You want to say, "I love you and I'm happy you're home!", not, "You remind me of a goose that's about to become pate de fois gras!"

Bon appetit!

[adpiucf]

Sauteed Shrimp and Pasta with Garlic Toasts

Ingredients:
Shrimp
Spinach Linguini
Garlic Bread: bread, garlic, butter, lemon juice
Parmesan cheese

spinach linguini is pretty, tastes good and makes a dish look really elegant-- it's in the same aisle as the rest of the pasta!

Cook the pasta and put in a serving bowl. Pour a quick drizzle of olive oil over the top and mix it in.

Prepare the shrimp-- I like to buy the pre-trimmed and ready to cook kind--- throw a drop of oil in a pan and saute -- they're pretty much done the moment they hit the pan. You'll know b/c they change color. Add to the top of the pasta. Sprinkle with the parmesan cheese.

Cut your bread into slices. Melt the butter and add it to a little bowl with minced garlic. Spread onto the bread. Spritz the bread with lemon juice. Toast.

Serve and enjoy with a chilled white wine. Very easy-- this can be done in less than 20 minutes.

[SWTXBelle]

Oooo . . . sounds good. It's easy, and with brown rice and fresh veggies - yum.
For bonus points, make a Chocolate Indulgence Cake - get the mix from www.bakerscatalogue.com or you can even order pre-baked goodies.

[Drolefille]

I love recipe threads on this site!

[minDyG]

My suggestion would be to find any Rachael Ray recipe. Hers are SO EASY to follow and she literally tells you step-by-step how to prepare the entire meal, versus getting recipes for each of the dishes and then having to guess about when to do what. I have 2 of her cookbooks and not only has everything I've ever made from them been so simple, they are always delicious as well. Oh and generally they're pretty quick too. They don't necessarily take "30 minutes or less" like they advertise because that's often assuming that, for instance, the garlic is already chopped, vegetables peeled, etc., but nonetheless they are much quicker than most other recipes. Good luck!

[AOII_LB93]

Speaking as a wife whose husband is not much of a help in the kitchen(except for the occasional steak on the grill, and the cheese enchiladas I taught him to make) I can pretty much guarantee you that your wife will be happy with just about anything that you cook. When my husband cooks, it could be chili dogs and I would be thrilled. If you lived closer I'd invite you over and teach you to make something mildly impressive, but since you are far away here is what I suggest:

1. Get a bag of salad from the grocery store with all of the stuff already in the bag i.e. Caesar Salad. Don't put the dressing on until right before you eat, or else the lettuce gets wilted and gross.

2. Spaghetti with meat sauce is easy. follow instructions above - essentially brown the meat, drain the grease, add the sauce.You can even cut up some veggies and saute them and add to the sauce. It makes for a nicer sauce that seems more homemade Don't over cook the spaghetti, al dente is a good thing.

2a. You could also do linguine with a lemony garlic shrimp too. Super easy. I'll give you a recipe...it's a bit lighter than spaghetti and meat sauce as well.

3. If you want to do an easy dessert, get a box of brownie mix from the store, make them (follow the recipe on the box, it's not hard you usually need eggs, vegetable oil, and maybe some water) and get a pint of vanilla ice cream. Warm brownies and ice cream are a nice easy dessert.

4. Get a bottle of wine, some flowers (my husband gets me flowers when I go away and it's always nice to come home to flowers), and maybe put on a good CD.

I also encourage Rotisserie chickens from the grocery store, salad, and maybe some rice from a box. If you can read, you can make rice. Maybe I should have my husband read this thread.

Kevin - let me know if you want a more impressive pasta suggestion with shrimp. Rigatoni with butternut squash sauce and shrimp is great. You can test it out on yourself first, and if it sucks go for the easier stuff.

I know it sounds dumb, but you can also check out a betty crocker kids cookbook...I got my first cookbook at 5.