This post is sponsored by Michael Angelo’s.
This time of year is full of family get-togethers and holiday parties. It seems like every weekend you have someplace to go or someone is coming over for dinner at your house. It can be difficult to come up with last minute, easy ideas when serving dinner to a group; especially if you try to stick with a theme or are trying to keep things lower calorie!
Last week we had a few people over for a dinner party, and I decided to go with an Italian holiday theme for the night. I knew I wanted to keep things as simple as possible, but also really delicious and nutritious. Here are the menu ideas I came up with for the dinner party.
Easy Italian dinner party main dishes
After making the Easy Pre-Holiday Dinner last month, I knew that I wanted to use Michael Angelo’s for my easy Italian main dishes. This time I tried two different meals; I went with a classic Lasagna with Meat Sauce and a family favorite Chicken Piccata. My husband and I love that all Michael Angelo’s meals have real ingredients you can recognize and understand when you read the label. Also, Michael Angelo’s meals are free of additives and preservatives unlike many other frozen or prepared foods.
Using the Michael Angelo’s Gourmet Foods meals as the main dishes gave me plenty of time to make some healthy side dishes to go along with them.
Easy Italian dinner party side dishes
The easiest way to keep your dinner party low stress is to have your dinner guests make side dishes. However, if you aren’t up for that, I have a couple of great Italian side dishes to add to your dinner party menu. First up is a 10-minute green bean recipe that is healthy and delicious!
Stacey
Yields 4
An easy side dish for your next Italian dinner!
Save RecipeIngredients
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
- 2 cups cooked green beans
- 2 Tbsp freshly grated parmesan
- Salt
- Pepper
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup carrot, coarsely shredded
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 12 ounces uncooked orzo
- 4 cups thinly sliced fresh spinach
- 4 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil leaves
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
- Add onion and cook until the onion has started to brown; stir often.
- Add cooked green beans and toss with the onion.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Put mixture in a dish and top with grated parmesan.
- Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
- Add garlic and carrot to butter and heat, stirring often, until carrot is tender (about 2 minutes).
- Add chicken broth, orzo and spinach to carrot mixture and heat until boiling.
- Reduce heat and let simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until all of the broth is absorbed.
- Stir in remaining ingredients right before serving.
Notes
When using this recipe for a dinner party, I would double or triple the recipe accordingly and serve in a casserole dish. Make ahead tip: Do the first 4 steps of the recipe ahead of time, then just reheat and add the rest of the ingredients prior to serving.
In addition to these two side dishes, I also served a Caesar salad with the option of light or regular Caesar dressing and a basket of garlic bread.
Easy buffet table decorations
Since it is the holiday season, I spruced up my buffet with gold ornaments. I also added gold bows to the side dishes. Keeping them all the same color makes it look more sophisticated and put together. Remember to create levels on the buffet so that everyone can easily reach the dishes.
Ready to throw your own Italian dinner party? Michael Angelo’s meals are available at grocery stores, natural food stores and warehouse club stores nationwide. You are sure to find them near you.
Which Michael Angelo’s meals would you have on the menu at an Italian dinner party?
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