Blog | reluctantentertainer.com Reluctant Entertainer I Sandy Coughlin - Lifestyle, Entertaining, Food, Recipes, Hospitality and Gardening

May 24

Spring into Summer Entertaining with 2 Easy Ro*Tel Dip Recipes!

written by Sandy posted under appetizer, food & recipes, sponsored post

It’s that time of year … time to spring into summer entertaining! I really love summer entertaining because, even though I love to plan a party and still use my “good” dishes in the outdoors (it’s just elegant and an excuse to get semi-fancy), I love casual entertaining just as much.

We recently had friends and family over for a Mexican meal. I love a Mexican theme because realistically, you don’t have to do much planning. As a kid, if I knew we were having Mexican food it usually meant tortillas, meat, beans, rice, cheese, tomatoes … the basics.

This time I pulled out the paper products, because I wanted quick and easy. No dishes, easy clean up, and really good food!

I decided to make 2 new dip recipes from Ro*Tel, to freshen up the toppings for the tacos.

Have you ever cooked with Ro*Tel?

If you haven’t or you want to know more about it, it’s diced tomatoes and green chilies combined together. You can purchase it in “original” or “mild” and it adds a “punch” to your dip or Mexican recipes. (I was able to send coupons home with my guests!)

Usually I don’t make brand new recipes for guests, I like to try them out on my family first, but dips are easy. So easy, that I’m sharing the 2 recipes with you today!

I didn’t even have to go to the store, as I had all ingredients on hand (except fresh cilantro, which I thought I had, but didn’t). I don’t know about you, but I do not like running to the store for last minute supplies, so I’ll try to do without or come up with a substitution.

Oh, and by the way, I never even mentioned to my guests that an ingredient was missing.

And no one knew! I’ve definitely learned to not bring those subjects up when entertaining. It only brings awareness to something that would not have even mattered. My guests thought the food was fantastic! Yeah!

My guests oohed and aaahed over the freshness of these dips. I asked them if they had used Ro*Tel before and only a few had.

Do you ever buy Ro*Tel and if so, what’s your favorite way to cook with it? If not, what’s your go-to Mexican dip recipe?

Recipe: Guacamole that Rocks {ReluctantEntertainer.com}

Summary: You can’t get any fresher than Guacamole that compliments chips and other Mexican dishes.

Ingredients

3 ripe avocados, pitted, peeled and mashed
1 can (10 oz. each) Ro*Tel Original Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies, drained
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 tsp. lemon or lime juice
1/2 tsp. salt
Ground black pepper

Instructions

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.
Season with pepper to taste.
Serve with tortilla chips or as a Mexican dish topping.

Preparation time: 10 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 12

Recipe: Spicy Black Bean Salsa {ReluctantEntertainer.com}

Summary: A spicy, colorful salsa, black beans, diced tomatoes with green chilies, corn red onion, and cilantro.

Ingredients

1 can (15 oz.) Black Beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (10 oz. each) Ro*Tel Original Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies, drained
1/2 cup whole kernel corn, frozen or canned (I used a Corn Chile salsa)
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 Tbsp. lime juice
1/4 tsp. ground cumin

Instructions

Stir together all ingredients.
Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to allow flavors to blend.
Serve with tortilla chips or as a Mexican dish topping.

Preparation time: 40 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 12

Next week come back for a very cool, summery giveaway from Ro*Tel. Two lucky people will WIN!

This post is sponsored by Ro*Tel but all opinions are my own.

You can find more recipes and ways to use RO*TEL on their website, Facebook page, Pinterest board or by following them on Twitter.

7 Comments

May 23

The Joy of Soy and Coconut Milk Chicken Thighs

written by Sandy posted under food & recipes, main dish

You may have seen my post, here, our first outdoor entertaining for the year–chilly as it was–we pulled out the outdoor heater and enjoyed a special evening with our friends.

Summer entertaining is really easy. You don’t have to clean your house, you can usher your guests into the backyard, turn on the music, cut some fresh flowers from the garden, and you are set!

That part is easy. But what about the food?

I’ve recently re-discovered chicken thighs. According to what I recently read on Good Housekeeping site, they are just as good for you as chicken breasts! (I went back and couldn’t find the link – if anyone finds it, please send to me.)

Chicken thighs:
They are higher in fat and calories than breasts, but as long as you remove the skin and any excess fat, economical thighs fit into a good-for-you diet. They also provide 25 percent more iron and more than twice as much zinc as the same amount of breast meat.

When our friends came, I had thighs marinated in the fridge, and we whipped up a big summer salad and put whole-wheat bread in the oven.

Oh, and then we had this butterscotch dessert.

If you didn’t see the recipe a few weeks ago, this is one for sure you’ll want to file away (or put on Pinterest?) A crowd-lover’s dessert and SO easy.

Back to chicken. Here’s my easy recipe for marinade. (Yes, the chives are from our garden.)

By the way, I’m growing my own sweet bay tree now so I no longer have to buy bay leaves from the store. It’s doing so well (inside).

Have you entertained yet this summer, and what will you most likely be grilling?

Recipe: Soy and Coconut Milk Chicken Thighs {ReluctantEntertainer.com}

Ingredients

Chicken thighs, boneless, trimmed
2/3 cup soy sauce
1 can (13 1/2 ounce) coconut milk
3/4 cup cider vinegar
Pressed garlic
3-4 bay leaves
2 tsp. white ground pepper
Fresh chives, finely chopped

Instructions

Mix together. Leave some chives out for garnishing chicken after it’s grilled.
Marinate in refrigerator for 12-24 hours.
Grill, sprinkle with fresh cut chives; serve.

Preparation time: 15 minute(s)

7 Comments

May 22

Hospitality in Kentucky w/ GE Monogram Blogging Experience

written by Sandy posted under guest posts & blogging, sponsored post

I’m excited to share with you today my recent travels to Louisville, KY, where I visited the General Electric Monogram Experience Center Showroom.

This was my first time to ever be in the state of Kentucky, and I must say that I was so impressed. By the way, did you know that the GE campus has its own zip code?

Hospitality runs deep in this state. So hang on and I’ll tell you more …

We stayed at the beautiful Brown Hotel, starting with dinner in the basement kitchen of the hotel with Chef Laurant Geroli.

What a unique experience, to have the Chef cooking and narrating, step by step, as he prepared so many fantastic dishes.

My favorite was the main course: Cast Iron Veal Chop, Peruvian Potato Gratin (to die for!), and Paris Carrots with Pink Peppercorn Sauce. Oh, man, it was so good.

The plan for the next 2 days was to cook, eat, drink, cook, eat, drink … with hands on training sessions with GE’s sate-of-the-art elegant Monogram line of appliances.

(That’s Brian, Irvin, me and Maggy having a little fun!)

We found out that our blogging group of 18 was the very first group of “food bloggers” to grace the GE facility. What an honor to be invited! By the end of our 3 days together, I’d say we (bloggers and GE staff) were kindred spirits when it comes to food and entertaining, which went well with the sign right outside my hotel window.

Each morning when I opened my hotel curtains to Louisville sunshine, this sign was “right there.” Inspiring!

I can’t say enough about how Paula, from the Monogram Showroom in NYC, and Michelle, (below), the Center Training Manager, Megan and Nancy made our experience tremendous, interesting, organized, and very memorable.

Now on to the kitchen and the cooking experience …

We were invited to GE to learn about their high-end elegant line of appliances. To learn more, or to be an ambassador for a product, you need to actually experiment and cook with it!

So that is what we did.

(Chef Joe Castro with Jenn, me, Cynthia and Brenda.)

The majority of our time was spent in the culinary studio, which houses 5 separate state-of-the-art kitchens, each with:

1. GE Monogram Dual Fuel Professional Range
2. Advantium Oven
3. Induction Cooktop

The main kitchen in that area was for Chef Joe Castro and Chef Brian Logsdon.

These guys were so fun, and really brought a level of passion to our groups, especially with our last culinary experience, as we participated in an “Iron Chef” cook-off with a 50 minutes time frame.

Our group didn’t win, but we had a blast cooking together.

I also appreciated the organization behind the “cooking groups.” We didn’t move around from group to group, but instead cooked with the same “peeps” for each session; and thus really got to know one another.

The 3 appliances we learned about …

GE Monogram Dual Fuel Professional Range
This very impressive Gas Dual Fuel Pro Range was very easy to cook with and extremely user friendly with helpful LED lighting over each control knob. I loved the side-oven option that holds 9×13 pans (cooking for a smaller group) vs. the larger oven for cooking for a large crowd or a dinner party!

GE Monogram Advantium Oven
The speed cooking technology of this oven was so impressive because it combines halogen, ceramic, convection and microwave – cooks food in a fraction of the time (it determines the ideal cooking time for you) – and bakes, broils and roasts with oven quality results. It was SO easy to operate! The oven comes programmed with 175 recipes in the memory bank, which I love for last-minute entertaining.

GE Monogram Induction Cooktop
At first I was not a true believer of this appliance, because I just love cooking with gas. The magnetic field on this induction cooktop only heats the metal surface that it’s touching. We experimented with ice on the unused portion of the burner right next to a pot of boiling water. Wow! This is brilliant for kids who love to cook. I really liked the design and ability to clean it quickly.

In between the learning sessions we also made our own fun. That’s just what bloggers do. I’ve met some incredible people over the years of blogging, some of which I keep in frequent touch with.

One night we walked to find “Chess Pie” for a late-night snack.

We “soy-sauce tasted.” Yes, it’s sort of like wine tasting, except with soy sauce.

We visited Bourbon Barrel Foods where we sampled and sipped.

Truly, this was a very unique experience, one that I really enjoyed, as I learned more about the bourbon distilleries and “America’s only microbrewed soy sauce.” The process was fascinating.

We ended with a tour of Churchill Downs. So fun! I imagined myself sitting in those dark green chairs with my stunning hat on. Which, by the way, we did have fun in the store modeling our favorite finds.

When I got home, I was still full. I tweeted that I planned to eat lettuce for days – LOL.

So, after reading my post, I’d love to know which of the 3 products above would you be interested in learning more about or trying in your kitchen, and why?

And then for fun, have you ever “soy-sauce-tasted?”

Bloggers who I was honored to hang with:
Brenda from A Farm Girl’s Dabbles
Molly and Caitlin from Cooking with Caitlin
Coryanne from Housewife Bliss
Heather from Farm Girl Gourmet
Lisa of With Style and Grace
Brian of A Thought for Food
Maggy from Three Many Cooks
Irvin of Eat the Love
Teri and Jenny from Spoon Fork Bacon
Isabel at Family Foodie
Jenn at Foodess
Cynthia from The Daily Basics
Sarah from 20 Something Cupcakes
Debi at Debi Shawcross
Kris from Young Married Chic

GE paid for my entire trip, but all opinions are my own.

The winner to the UPrinting giveaway is Marlis Bennett from Creative Journeys!

17 Comments

May 21

Give Yourself a Pep Talk When Your Meal is a Flop

written by Sandy posted under perfectionism & image

The salad didn’t turn out like I had wanted it to. At the last minute, I boiled the eggs for the delicious Spinach Salad I had planned on serving, and I did serve it, but as I started eating, I realized I had made a mistake.

Spinach salad needs to be made with cold, hard-boiled eggs, not warm ones.

The salad looked beautiful, but it just wasn’t right. It was mushy and the spinach leaves were wilting before my very eyes. (By the way, The Pioneer Woman even says it’s true: Cold eggs are the best. Check out her amazing recipe for The Best Spinach Salad.)

But … no one complained.

There was plenty of other good food on the plate — fresh barbecued salmon, roasted peppers, hot bread from the oven, melt-in-your-mouth sweet potatoes.

There is one thing I’ve learned about hostessing.

You don’t say a word, you don’t apologize. You don’t draw attention to what you think is wrong, which others may not even notice.

-Let it go.

-Don’t be hard on yourself.

-Give yourself a break.

I often give myself this pep talk when something doesn’t turn out the way I want.

I’ve learned that by acknowledging my errors (keeping them to myself), I’ve become a more merciful person when I go to someone else’s house for dinner. Less of a perfectionist. If there is something that isn’t quite right, I understand. Not a word is said, but I understand.

I have compassion, especially for a new hostess.

What’s your attitude when it comes to messing up in the kitchen? Do you let it go and press on?

15 Comments

May 18

UPrinting Canvas GIVEAWAY

written by Sandy posted under giveaways & gadgets, sponsored post

When people come into my home, they always say … where did you get that cool picture?

The cool picture is actually the icon of my blog, Reluctant Entertainer, as it’s a Dollar Store Goblet which I write about often.

My husband took the picture about 6 years ago, and then we turned it into a beautiful rolled canvas.

Entertaining doesn’t have to be perfect, but it can be beautiful and affordable, and this elegant canvas hanging in my dining area reminds me of this.

I love to share this message with others as well.

Today UPrinting is giving away a rolled canvas print.

Maybe you have something beautiful in your garden or yard that you’d like to turn into a canvas, or a stunning photo from a recent trip. If you’re like me, you may have a son graduating in a few weeks!

A rolled canvas is also a great idea for a family photo.

I especially think about my foodie friends who are amazing photographers, how just the right food or entertaining photo could turn be turned into amazing canvas prints! A work of your own art!

The ideas go on and on …

Here are the details:

Prize details:
One (1 ) piece 16” x 20” rolled canvas print, for one winner with 2-inch border (or no border)
1 Business Day Turnaround
Free shipping to US only
Restriction: 18 years old and above only

Optional Giveaway Entry Requirements:
Like UPrinting on Facebook
Follow UPrinting on Twitter
Like Reluctant Entertainer on Facebook
Follow SandyCoughlinRE on Twitter

Tweet this:

WIN @Uprinting rolled canvas print today @SandyCoughlinRE. What’s your favorite photo? http://su.pr/2djCsT #giveaway

(This post is sponsored by UPrinting, but all opinions are my own. Contest ends 11:59 pm, Monday, 5/21/12.)

108 Comments

May 17

Summer Brownie Ice Cream Stacks

written by Sandy posted under dessert, food & recipes

When the daylight starts to linger, we love entertaining on our back patio for a time of unhurried togetherness.

The sun warms all things to full bloom, and they often make it to the center of our table.

It’s just a perfect time to get together with family and friends.

Our son was home from college for Mother’s Day and brought some friends to dinner. We love having extra kids around our table. It always makes for a good time of story-telling, lots of laughter, and even a sense of relief you can feel from our kids. Relief from college life, college food, the pressures of school work and schedules.

They talk and relax.

It’s good to be real.

It’s good to be unhurried.

And it’s good to indulge a bit, at the end of the evening, with a sweet treat.

I just told my running partner about this fun summer entertaining idea, because it’s simple and something you can have ready at all times. You can make up your own brownies and freeze, or buy these bite sized ones from Costco.

Don’t you love it when you have a dessert in the freezer ready to go for company?

I pulled out a container of Brownie Ice Cream Stacks and here’s how you make them.

And if you want, just skip the “frosting” part.

So simple!

What desserts do you keep in your freezer for last-minute summer entertaining?

Recipe: Summer Brownie Ice Cream Stacks {ReluctantEntertainer.com}

Ingredients

Small brownie squares or mini muffin brownies (or purchase them pre-made at Costco)
Vanilla frosting
Your favorite ice cream

Instructions

Freeze the brownies.
Cut each piece in 1/2.
Frost one side.
Add one small scoop of ice cream.
Place the other piece on top. Push together. Freeze.

Preparation time: 10 minute(s)

5 Comments

May 15

Bargain Entertaining with Dollar Store Goblets

written by Sandy posted under decor & creativity

When you find something you love, buy a lot of it.

That is what I did years ago when I discovered these beautiful goblets from the Dollar Store. Such a bargain, I bought about 30 of them.

They are chunky and never break, even when kids use them.

And even if they did break, so what? It’s not like it is your fine china.

I love making entertaining beautiful and affordable.

You can also make it very practical, like I did here by placing all the glasses randomly in a large bowl or basket.

A great idea for casual entertaining.

For a more elegant approach, a few weeks ago, it took me less than 2 minutes to put this together.

Cut whatever flowers you have in your yard.

Find a low-line tray.

Place your glasses on the tray.

Add and light 2 candles.

It’s beautiful.

I love a bargain and I also appreciate quick, easy entertaining tips.

What tips can you share that take just 2 extra minutes to make entertaining beautiful?

11 Comments

May 14

How to Serve an Outdoor Breakfast with Greek Scrambled Egg Pockets

written by Sandy posted under breakfast, food & recipes

Spring is for sure in the air, as our family worked in the yard all weekend stringing lights, blowing, mowing, cleaning, planting … you name it. It takes work to get ready for spring and summertime entertaining, but once the hard work is done, it’s so worth it.

I cleaned off the back patio, making room for guests–any time of the day.

This time snipping fresh tulips from the front yard.

Pulling out a summery entertaining tray.

And fresh yellow napkins.

Sometimes I’m not too good with final garnishing and presentation details, because I know my guests are waiting and I want to serve the food while it’s hot. But I have learned to think ahead to the serving dishes that I may be using and to set them out in advance.

This time, it took me about 15 minutes to pull breakfast together and serve it to my guests on our back patio.

Easy Greek Scrambled Egg Pockets, served in this long white serving dish.

So easy to make.

Simple presentation.

Bright and cheery.

Fresh and summery.

Realistically we didn’t even use the plates.

You hear “the secret is in the sauce?” Well, how about, “the secret is in the serving dish?”

Don’t you find that the “right” serving dish can make or break the presentation of the food you are serving?

Recipe: Greek Scrambled Egg Pockets {ReluctantEntertainer.com}

Ingredients

Whole Wheat pita bread
1/2 cup plain Greek Yogurt
1 Tbsp. ground garlic
1/2 lemon, squeezed
1/4 cup chopped parsley
8 eggs, beaten
Bacon, cut in small pieces (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Mix yogurt, garlic, and lemon; season to taste. Whisk and set aside.
Whisk the eggs and add 2 Tbsp. water; set aside.
Over medium heat, cook the small pieces of bacon. If necessary, drain off the fat.
Add the eggs to the hot pan and scramble, turning the pan down to low. Do not overcook the eggs. Season to taste.
Chop the parsley.
Cut each pita in half. Microwave for 30 seconds until warm and pliable.
Stuff each pita with the yogurt mixture, then the eggs, and sprinkle with parsley.
Place the pitas in a bowl that will hold them together for serving.

Preparation time: 5 minute(s)

Cooking time: 15 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 6

7 Comments

When Did Perfectionism Becomes so Trendy?

written by Sandy posted under hospitality & inspiration, perfectionism & image

The other day at breakfast my husband reminded me of these simple words:

Baby, he said, a good plan for today is better than a perfect plan for tomorrow.

Those words really hit home for me, and I thought about all I share here on RE. I know many of us struggle with perfectionism when it comes to entertaining, but I wonder just when did the “P” word become so trendy?

What generation or era started this horrible (almost) disease, to ruin so many of us?

I wrote in my RE book how I met a lady on the plane who shared with me how she’d never have people into her home for dinner, because she didn’t feel her house was good enough. She got tears in her eyes as she told me she was worried that her son never learned about hospitality. It was a pain point for her, and I felt badly for her. The pain went deeper for her as she shared that her mom had done the same thing.

Things were never good enough.

So they missed out on deeper connections and making memories in their own 4 walls with people they cared about.

I wonder when perfectionism became so necessary …

-Was it in the 50s or 60s when America started watching more TV?

-Was it when we started airbrushing models in homes and staging beautiful kitchens and dining rooms?

-Was it later, when magazines and TV shows resonating “perfect” showed us we were “less” if we didn’t have our homes look a certain way?

(Canning jar idea, here.)

Baby, a plan for today is better than a perfect plan for tomorrow.

I meditated on those words for days, lest I teach my children this awful “trend.”

A plan for today …

-If I decide to invite last minute guests over for dinner, my messy house will just have to do.

-The menu that I decide to cook will be sufficient for the purpose of entertaining. Soul connection.

-I won’t need to run to the store to make “one more thing,” because I have to serve 5 courses.

-My table, simple as it may be, won’t be impressive, but it won’t be distracting, either.

It won’t be trendy.

It won’t be perfect.

But it will be tasty and meaningful.

When do you think perfectionism became “trendy” in our society?

20 Comments

May 12

Graduation Announcements and The Gift of an Ordinary Day

written by Sandy posted under sponsored post

Graduation. A time of reflection, excitement, sadness, and hope. Hope for the future that as a parent you’ve done the right thing and the best job, in raising your kid, and he will do fine.

It’s graduation time in our household as we get ready to graduate our middle son, Garrett.

Luckily I was on the ball and got my announcements ordered in a timely manner. Which, by the way, Garrett’s little sis took his Senior pictures this year!

Now I want to be able to sit down and enjoy writing out the addresses, and thinking about the families and friends who’ve been supportive to our son in his growing up years.

You can get some really simple, but classy, announcements on heavy card stock.