I love Italian food. MIL used to make both ravioli and gnocchi from scratch. She showed me once how to make gnocchi. I buy both ravioli and gnocchi frozen and they are pretty darn good. I do make my own sauce, then again using jarred sauce isn't a crime. Glad you were able to celebrate his specisl day with family!

They are S & W brand Santa Fe beans..Actually, I just got the can out and it reads.. Santa Fe Recipe. The can says....... .......... Pinto beans, small red beans, Yellow kernel corn and diced onion in a southwestern sauce. and they are goooooood! lol

Although fish boils are very popular around the lake here, I have yet to get to one, it's on my bucket list. I have done salmon or tuna on the grill, frozen fish would be the best thing I could get where I live right now, and considering how expensive it is, not any particular incentive to serve it for entertaining, although I have. And I also love enchiladas and baked ziti or any other type of pasta, but in the summer I like to take full advantage of the grill. I did the kebabs two years ago for a porch party and it was easy peasy to prepare ahead of time and marinate, and easy to serve. Also easy for picky eaters to avoid something they didn't like from the selection. I think I did some type of rice pilaf in an insulated serving dish and I think I made it ahead and reheated. Now I have an instapot which I would use as to avoid heating up the kitchen. I can't remember what I did for sides . . . but I made a whole round two layer frosted cake for dessert (chocolate with almond coconut frosting) served up on my crystal cake stand, and almost no one ate a slice . . . I get so frustrated at how all my friends never eat desserts anymore. I mean I get it, I don't either, which is why I always want to make some nice fancy dessert that I never get to eat when I entertain, for special. And then I end up with a ton of it left over . . . A friend brought fruit salad and that was what folks ate, it was good too. I had a friend over a couple of weeks ago and we just loved noshing on guacamole, hummus and spinach dip on the porch with some store bought sangria. So easy as I bought everything at the deli. But it could also be home made in advance too. Pita and corn chips. I always make some type of chopped salad in the summer, marinating the veggies a bit ahead of time and then serving them over fresh chopped lettuce. So many great combinations. One of my favorites is home grown tomatoes, crumbled bacon, diced avocados over lettuce with whatever else seems good. Or just the tomatoes and other veggies with a green goddess dressing. If you want to stick with a bit of a Mexican vibe, yellow rice with peas makes a tasty and colorful entry. In fact, that may have been what I served last time. It's just rice with tumeric added, and whatever seasonings you like . . . peas optional, just for the color constrast. Could use red onions or red peppers too. Here's an unusual potato salad I like to make in summer for my lighter Mexican meals. I tasted it from the deli at Wegman's once and fell in love with it. I also sometimes make sweet potato salad but find a lot of my friends don't like it even though it looks pretty. If you par boil sweet potatoes they are nice on the grill though. Latin Red Potato and Corn Salad - Recipe from Wegman's Edited to add that I forgot to mention another dish that is always well received, a southwestern black bean and corn salad. Here's a link to one recipe. I'm not sure if it is exactly like the one I got from Annie on CF years ago, but very similar if not exactly the same. https://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/all-purpose-southwestern-corn-black-bean-salad

Happy birthday!. Mine was the 15th. I'm sure we had a nice meal but i've forgotten. Most likely seafood. Pasta looks great. Hick-ups in loading on here. My issue is having to log in every time. You will like the silicone lids Annie. Super for little hands if a snack is prepped ahead or for opened salsa in the fridge. I use reverse osmosis water filters and keep jars in the fridge so not much ice is needed. I could use a few more 4 oz and six ounce jars. Making some fruit salads with yogurt and layered chia pudding. Blueberries are good this year. Just put in three more plants. Mine are 15+years old. I made my version of Greek lemon Chicken. Head start quartered steak potatoes. Lots of lemon with 6 small boneless skinless chicken thighs. After 1/2 hour i piled on olives, cherry tomatoes, baby artichoke hearts, tucked in big cubes of fetta and back in the oven for 20 to roast. Usually a Fall/Winter dish so seemed a bit heavy. Made chicken salad lunches but so much left-over we had it again but with thin sliced massaged greens and some pasta. So much better with lots of veg.