Unexpected Dinner Guests? 6 Frugal Dining Options

Can You Stay For Dinner?

Unexpected dinner guests? Discover fast and easy frugal dinner solutions to ensure you are always ready to entertain.

If there is potential for you to have unexpected dinner guests at your house, you must have quick dinner tricks up your sleeve, just in case you have to say the magic words, “Can you stay for dinner?”

Recently, we’ve been helping my sister and brother-in-law empty their 2700 sq ft. second residence as they sold the house.

The house was filled from top to bottom with a storage container.

A lot of stuff was getting sold, donated, and tossed in the bin.

It certainly opened my eyes to the importance of minimizing what we own just in case we ever have to move or in the event of death or illness.

The new owners are moving in at the end of July, and there is much to do.

I was called in for assistance, which was no trouble at all, except I’m in the middle of doing my own back-yard renovations.

The good part is that we are helping each other out.

With the rain situation in Ontario this week, we’ve been back and forth at each other’s houses, working on building a fence and packing stuff for storage.

Macaroni and Cheese

This was all last-minute for both of us as their house sold out of the blue after almost two years on the market, and our fence blew over with the last rainstorm.

Family helps family in our world, so it’s a win-win for all of us, especially since my brother-in-law knows people who know people who can let me use costly fencing tools for free.

Amid all this hard work, we needed to eat, which meant a quick run to a fast-food joint for a coffee and sandwich or pizza delivery by my sister-in-law to the container house.

Our little guy, who only eats double pepperoni and cheese pizza, flew to the boxes as he was starving.

He opened a box and his first words were, Ew, disgusting. He had opened the pizza box with pineapple and olives on it, haha.

Not his cup of tea at all.

She also brought a monster bowl of tuna macaroni salad and homemade macaroni and cheese (which was terrific).

Our houses are about 45 minutes apart, driving distance, and the house that sold is not kitchen-ready for cooking at all, more like in packing mode.

There was no way to cook unless we used the microwave, so our only option was food delivery or eating out.

On the other hand, our house is kitchen-ready, so when unexpected dinner guests come over, we can whip something out of the freezer or cook something simple up.

Since all of this back-and-forth helping out was out of the blue, we weren’t sweating when we had to cook for our unexpected dinner guests, even if they were family.

Eating Out Is Too Costly

You still want to serve something delicious, and although both of us ordered pizza or Chinese food in the past, it is costly.

A take-out meal for four adults and two kids can run upwards of $80 with tips and tax, even more if we went to a restaurant.

Also, the kids don’t like Chinese food as much as they do pizza.

Prep Pizza Dough In Advance

One of the easiest things is making a simple pizza dough and packing portions into little freezer bags.

When guests come around or if your children feel like pizza, all you have to do is defrost, top, and bake.

We mainly make and freeze dough because our son is a pizza fanatic, and ordering pizza can be costly.

This worked out great for our unexpected dinner guests because from the freezer to the counter in an hour, the pizza dough was defrosted and waiting to be used to make homemade pizza for the kids.

That was gobbled up in no time.

Stuffed Cauliflower Rice And Beef Peppers

The adults set up a dinner camp outside since we were exhausted and too lazy for anything strenuous.

Mrs. CBB had a pan of stuffed peppers in the freezer that we made when we found peppers on 50% off at Zehrs on the reduced rack.

We did the happy dance knowing that our freezer meal came in handy for the purpose we made it, dinner guests or not wanting to cook on a night. I guess it was both that night.

All I had to do was make a garden salad, and we BBQ’d some sausages, and dinner was ready in a flash.

Dessert was a different story as I was trying to be cool and impress our guests.

I made a batch of homemade sugar-free chocolate chip ice cream with our Kitchen-Aid ice cream mixer.

If you have time, make the ice cream ahead, and it’s ready when you are.

It was delicious, although it needed more freezer time, as it served more like a thick chocolate Wendy’s Frosty, which was perfectly fine since it was humid outside.

Cubed Watermelon For Dessert

After a long day of hard work, sweating, and making homemade ice cream, it hit the spot!

I also cubed up some watermelon for everyone, which disappeared in a flash.

Accommodating Unexpected Dinner Guests

Consider when you drop by someone’s house, especially around lunch or dinner.

If they aren’t prepared to feed you or cannot, say your goodbyes and plan for another visit.

You should never expect to be fed just because you show up at someone’s house.

Not everyone can afford to add extra people to their dinner table, guests or not.

However, if you can accommodate unexpected guests, I’ve got a few simple make-ahead recipes.

My mom used to make a rice dish we loved as kids. Well I didn’t but that’s another story. Lol! Lean hamburger cooked with onions garlic peppers. When it is all cooked add one can crushed tomatoes half a can of water and instant rice. Too with cheese if you like. Easy. Simple. Cheap. Tonight will be chicken sautéed in garlic with brussell sprouts and lemon.- Michelle Kelson

What about Spanish chicken? Use some paprika to season chicken, place in a hot pan until seared. Then add 1 tin tomatoes, herbs, peas, 4 cups chicken broth, rice. Turn down heat put the lid on and let simmer! Cooked once all the rice has absorbed the juices. One pot one bit juicy meal! I add Worcester and a little hot sauce for an extra kick.-Nicola Don

1. Stuffed Italian Green Peppers

Stuffed Italian Peppers

You can’t go wrong with stuffed peppers, especially when peppers are in season during the summer months.

The price of peppers drops quite a bit, so this is when you want to grab, stuff, and freeze them.

That’s what we do. In the past, we’d load up on peppers from my father-in-law’s garden, but this year, we’ll have to go to the farm since he’s no longer with us.

2. Creamy Ham and Cheese Macaroni Bake

Macaroni and Cheese bake with ham 

Mac and cheese is another meal you can freeze and take out when those unexpected dinner guests are hungry.

Not only does it fill, but the added ham adds protein and bulks up the meal to feed more people.

Add a side salad, and your meal is done.

3. Italian Meatballs and Sauce

Meatballs

The one thing I love about meatballs is that they are versatile, which means you can make delicious recipes from one recipe.

Frying or baking meatballs to make stuffed meatball subs, pita, tortillas, or pasta and meatballs is super easy when you have the meatballs ready to go in the freezer.

If you make ahead meatballs, you might as well prep a batch of Italian pasta sauce to go along with them, so you have options for pasta with sauce.

Having sauce in the freezer makes a huge difference for your grocery budget and taste buds.

Honestly, any sauce I’ve ever tried from a jar or can tastes nothing like the real thing, and if it does, you’ll pay for it.

You can always make far more sauce for less than what you pay for pre-made, sale or no sale, coupon or no coupon.

A brand at Costco will run you $11.99 for two jars, which isn’t bad after trying a sample, but not something I’d buy.

4. Homemade Pizza

Homemade Pizza

Pizza dough is wonderful when going into the freezer, taken out to thaw, and prepped for the oven.

We make a batch ahead of time and portion it out into mini pizza-sized portions.

Using our pizza stone, we bake our pizza in the oven or a mini cast-iron pan, and they turn out perfect.

If you don’t have kids or want to make a large pizza, store the dough in a freezer bag, and set it as needed with some flour on the counter surface.

We let the dough rise again for about 15 minutes in a covered bowl at room temperature before using.

5. Cauliflower Cottage Pie

Cottage Pie

This is a family favourite back in the UK, and my wife and I love it, although we make it keto-style using cauliflower mash instead of potato mash, which is just as delicious.

It’s inexpensive to make, and you can fill it with vegetables such as corn, peas, and celery to bulk it out.

This meal is perfect to whip up with a pot of gravy or to make ahead and freeze for unexpected dinner guests.

6. Homemade Perogies

Homemade Perogies

We love perogies fried with butter, bacon, and onions, smothered in melted cheddar and mozzarella cheese.

The best part is that the dough can be used for other foods, such as dumplings for soups, which can be an easy dinner to make ahead and freeze. Pair perogies with a salad and you have a complete meal.

We had twelve unexpected guests over for dinner, and although we didn’t make the pierogi we served, they LOVED them.

Accommodating Picky Eaters

The most challenging part about having unexpected dinner guests is having someone at the table who doesn’t like what you are making, has allergies, or can’t or won’t eat certain foods.

Then you are into a whole other ballgame and perhaps another blog post.

Above are some of our favourite make-ahead meals for unexpected dinner guests, which we hope you will try.

Discussion: What are some of your favourite make-ahead recipes that can be used for unexpected dinner guests when you’re in a pinch for time?

July 2018 Grocery Game Challenge

Join the 2018 Grocery Game Challenge (GGC), but before you do, read The Grocery Game Challenge Rules and print the 2018 Schedule, which includes new prizes!

• Last shop June- 12 Cold Supper Recipes That Are Budget Friendly
• Strawberry Picking Tips Fun For The Entire Family – July 2018 Shop #1
• How to Pack Food for a Theme Park Visit – July Shop #2
• Best Ways To Supplement Your Food Supply For Free– July Shop #3

2018 Grocery Shop Results

Yearly grocery budget for two + 1 Toddler 2018: $3600 or $300/month (The above total does not include the stockpile budget of $300/year or $25/month.

Points Overview (add any other sections you need to show us your savings or that you would like to track on your own)

• Total Grocery Budget for this Month: $300
• Total Grocery Budget with any carry-overs $300-$13.63=$286.37
• Total Gift Cards used to date: $0
• Total Rewards Points redeemed this week: $0
• Total Rewards Points used to date: $0
• PC Optimum Points to Spend: 3,200,000
• Scanning Code of Practice (SCOP) to date $0

Coupon Apps (add any other apps you use to save money)

• Zweet -$0
• Checkout51- $1.50

Our Grocery Shop This Week

Shoppers Drug Mart

• 2 x Sealtest 2% milk $4.27 each plus 20x Optimum plus points
• 2 x dozen free-range brown eggs sale $3.99 each

Total Out-of-Pocket $16.52

Note: All totals below have already been tax factored into them.

• Total to spend this month: $300.00
• Stockpile budget 2018: $25.00/month
• Stockpile budget used this month: $25.00
• Christmas Reserve Fund: $35/month $245 Saved
• Total coupons used this week: $0
• Total coupons used to date: $1
• Total in-store discounts this week: $1.65
• Total in-store discounts to date: $118.19
• Total spent this week: $16.52
• Total spent so far this month: $241.72
• Total over/under spent this shop: $257.76
• Total left to spend for the month: $42.24
• Total Spent To Date 2018: (does not include stockpile budget) Jan $323.04+Feb $169.42+March $228.70 + April $337.84+ May $275.79 + June $271.88 +July $+August $+September $+ October $+ November $ + December $

Weekly Overview

We didn’t need much this week as we’ve been back and forth, eating at my sister’s and brother-in-law’s house and vice versa.

If we do have to run back to the grocery store, we have $42.24 left to spend for the month, and I will add it in next week.

Have a great week, everyone.

MR.CBB