What do you do when you have house guests?

[Claire]

I mean someone who spends more than a night. This doesn't happen often (maybe 2-3 times a year), but what do you do for breakfasts, lunches, suppers? The guests who just left spent two nights and insisted on making breakfasts (they're into fruit smoothies) and cooking one supper. They are what I call easy guests, that is to say they cleaned up (and really cleaned)(seriously I have some visitors who have honestly forgotten how to was dishes), stripped and remade the bed, etc. In other words, I'm almost ready for my next houseguests, all I have to do is wash linens.

Normally I just put some English muffins in the pantry and have both butter and heart-healthy margarine on hand. But occaisionally I have guests who would eat 2000 calories of breakfast and not eat the rest of the day. If people are driving in (and most do), I have an easy to do dinner that can be just re-warmed (i.e., chilies, stews, etc) because you never can predict the traffic and weather.

[Andy M.]

Most often, our overnight visitors are a daughter with a husband and three children. We live in a two bedroom town house and the kitchen is small.

We always have dry cereals, oatmeal and breakfast pastries on hand. If someone wants eggs, omlets, pancakes, etc. I cook them.

Lunches are usually sandwiches. Dinners are family style meals. They're easy to cook for.

SIL eats constantly. If I have a pot of soup in the fridge, he'll nuke a bowl in the middle of the morning or afternoon to hold him over. He also eats big meals and is thin as a rail. (Grrrr!)

[JMediger]

Our guests are typically family as well. My in-laws come for 2'ish weeks each year so as soon as they leave, I start gathering and freezing things for the next year. I try to keep the ingredients for egg bakes in the morning (cubed bread, cheese, sausage and peppers premixed and frozen - all I have to do is thaw the night before, add beaten egg and bake off before anyone gets up). I also try to make biscuts a couple times a week as they work for breakfast (with eggs or fruit) and lunches (great with any time of meat salad ie chicken or ham salad). I also premake and freeze a couple kinds of soup or stew. If we know people are coming, I'll make a batch of ramen chicken salad and DH makes his potato salad - both big batch items that are good to just have around.

[bourbon]

Most all of our kids are from out of town and when they visit it's usually for a week. Meals are hard to plan because they're always running here and there. But usually cereals, tosats and muffins take care of breakfast. Lunch time is hit or miss but Dinners I try to have it somewhat normal. To be honest, I love them, and miss them but I'm glad to see them go. I'm getting set in my ways and like my space

[LadyCook61]

Our guest is usually hubby's traveling friend , who travels around the country with his dog , in a pickup truck pulling a trailer. He stops to visit maybe 2 times a year and stays for a week or 2 . He sleeps in the trailer , eats his breakfast in the trailer but has lunch and supper with us. I do offer him breakfast but he eats a tiny breakfast,( donut or something ) whereas hubby eats a big breakfast. It is hard to feed this guest tho, because he does not like vegetables. I will cook vegetables anyway because hubby and I eat them.

[Robo410]

If it is invited house guests, I have planned meals throughout the visit. If they are drop ins, and I'm working, I let them know what is available and/or where to go locally for food.

Often a several night house guest wants to take us out and we recommend places they can do that.

Folks are certainly welcome to help in the kitchen, but in all honesty, cooking in someone else's kitchen is often more trouble than help.

I may be a better cook or not than my hosts, but they didn't invite me to cook for them. They invited me to dinner or whatever.

When I am hired to cook a meal, I scope out the kitchen days ahead and sit with the client before hand. THis is a whole different game entirely.

[letscook]

Leave ( sorry just had to say it)

[Selkie]

I break out my credit card and gather my car keys...

[Claire]

Well, I'm about to have my second round. Actually, not, because this couple visited us once, fell in love with the town, and bought a second home here. But I still have them over for their first and last nights in town. When they DID stay with us, it could be awkward because he's a breakfast fanatic: Given his choice he would consume 3000 calories at breakfast and not eat at all for the rest of the day. She on the other hand would have a cup of coffee and a sweet roll and sleep 'til noon. They've been married as long as I've been alive, so something must work (they were literally married on the day I was born). What WAS difficult, and still can be, is that it will be lunch time, husband and I are thinking, what restaurant around here (wherever we happen to be) is good, and he's had enough to eat that he doesn't care to eat at all for the rest of the day. What has happened, though, is that husband has blood sugar problems that he's been able to completely control through diet. BUt eating all of your calories at one meal isn't an option. I wouldn't wish this on my husband; however, I am happy to have an excuse to say, "gee, it is lunch time, let's find a place to eat!"