Here are a couple of recipes that are SUPER easy. Adjust as needed for your party.... Pork Saltimbocca with Polenta From The Best of Cooking Light 6 (4-ounce) boneless center-cut loin pork chops, trimmed 6 very thin slices prosciutto (about 2 ounces) 6 large fresh sage leaves 1/3 cup (about 1 ounces) shredded fontina cheese 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/8 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon olive oil 1/2 cup dry white wine 1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth 1 tablespoon thinly-sliced fresh sage Polenta: 2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk 1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth 1 cup instant polenta 1/2 teaspoon salt 1. To prepare pork, place each chop between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap, pound to 1/4-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Arrange 1 prosciutto slice over each chop top with 1 sage leaf and about 1 tablespoon cheese. Fold chops in half to sandwich filling, and secure with wooden toothpicks. Sprinkle both sides of chops with pepper and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Place flour in shallow dish; dredge stuffed chops in flour. 2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chops; cook 3 minutes on each side or until done. Remove from pan; cover and keep warm. 3. Add wine to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits; cook until reduced to 1/4 cup (about 2 minutes). Add 1 cup broth; bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to 1/2 cup (about 5 minutes). Stir in 1 tablespoon sage. Reduce heat to medium. Return chops to pan; cook 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated, turning once. 4. To prepare polenta, bring milk and 1 can broth to a boil. Gradually stir in polenta and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook 2 minutes. Serve polenta immediately with chops and sauce. The flavor of this dish is phenomenal! Beef Daube Provençal 2 teaspoons olive oil 12 garlic cloves, crushed 1 (2\-pound) boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 2\-inch cubes 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided 1 cup red wine 2 cups chopped carrot 1 1/2 cups chopped onion 1/2 cup less\-sodium beef broth 1 tablespoon tomato paste 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme Dash of ground cloves 1 (14.5\-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained 1 bay leaf 3 cups hot cooked medium egg noodles (about 4 cups uncooked noodles) Chopped fresh thyme (optional) Preheat oven to 300°. Heat olive oil in a small Dutch oven over low heat. Add garlic to pan; cook for 5 minutes or until garlic is fragrant, stirring occasionally. Remove garlic with a slotted spoon; set aside. Increase heat to medium\-high. Add beef to pan. Sprinkle beef with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Cook 5 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove beef from pan. Add wine to pan, and bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Add garlic, beef, remaining 1 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper, carrot, and next 8 ingredients (through bay leaf) to pan; bring to a boil. Cover and bake at 300° for 2 1/2 hours or until beef is tender. Discard bay leaf. Serve over noodles. Garnish with chopped fresh thyme, if desired. Note: To make in a slow cooker, prepare through Step 2. Place beef mixture in an electric slow cooker. Cover and cook on HIGH for 5 hours. Yield 6 servings (serving size: about 3/4 cup stew and 1/2 cup noodles) Linda

Thanks for your comments, everyone. I have been going non-stop since I posted this, with 2 soccer games, a baby shower and a kid's birthday party on Saturday, and my son's First Communion and ensuing party on Sunday. Thankfully, my in-laws made the ham and a fantastic lasagna, along with eggplant fritters for the party yesterday. I made a ceaser salad with homemade ceaser dressing, Sol's honey rolls, shrimp cocktail, pineapple upside down cake and Amish Friendship bread. My mom made insalata caprese and a blackberry cobbler. And I purchased frozen Torta Stella from Costco as an additional appetizer. We had 17 adults and 4 kids. Everything turned out so tasty. Nothing quite like a homemade lasagna from an Italian mother-in-law. And when I get her recipe for those eggplant fritters, I'll be sure to share. They were inhaled! Nancy

well, as usual, I am late to the party - my 25th reunion bash which I coordinated, was last night, and we didn't get home til almost 2. I am often awake at 2 AM, but normally it's after already sleeping for 3 hrs... We had great fun, but still had to run to the store for ingredients for our dinner, today. It's just us. For starters we are having the grilled flatbread with carmelized onions and blue cheese and mushrooms posted by Sharon. We got King Crab Legs on sale so dipped in butter they'll be! We got a dozen ears of finally fresh corn and I'll mix up some chili lime butter. I was going to do the grilled asparagus with proscuitto too, but the asparagus was about as big around as a toothpick. So I looked for soba noodles. nope. what are they like, anyway?? Ahhh, I remembered a great looking recipe for fingerling potatoes! Nope. They NEVER have them. sigh. so, I guess it's corn and crablegs. I guess our theme is BUTTER. we should probably have toast and popcorn, too. maybe i'll save the flatbreads to serve with our dinner...or maybe whip up a quick mac salad or something. I got some watermelon, blueberries, lime sherbet and lemon italian ice. i'm not too organized. I think I"m going to go take a nap in the pool. :-) Stacy

Oly, that's a great idea-- and they'll be easy to distribute to the nieces and nephews to take home/back to college too! I just spoke to my nephew-- for a little background, he's the oldest of my brother's kids but he has some developmental issues resulting from a stroke in utero. He is functional but has a lot of struggles as he is an adult with the mental capacity of an 8 yo. He is aware that he is an adult and wants to do adult things but he has a lot off limitations. Anyhow, I described the menu and explained the plan for a "beer garden" theme and he got really excited about some old bay pretzels he had at a recent oktoberfest-- he wanted to bring a small bag he purchased for the party. I explained that a small bag would be hard to share with the whole family but suggested that he come over next week and we'd find a recipe and make a batch. He is so excited-- he told me "I got this, Aunt Beth!" hahah.. I am thrilled to be able to include him in this way. He'll take GREAT pride in coming up with the idea and making them. I am really pleased with how it's all coming together.. again, thank you all for your suggestions and for helping me to work through the details.