Eating from the Pantry - Feeding Company on the Fly

My inlaws came by - and stayed for dinner last night. My older daughter just basks in their adoration and special attention.

My husband and I threw together a "from the pantry" dinner for company on the fly for the occasion. Here's how it broke down:

Dinner:

Chicken drumsticks (from the freezer), baked with honey, sesame oil, garlic powder, and ginger powder
Steamed frozen asparagus, dressed with spray Caesar vinaigrette
Steamed frozen edamame pods
Fresh baby carrots (pretty much a staple at our house)

And for dessert:

Thawed/warmed slices of sour cream loafs (sour cream muffin mix in mini loaf form), from last November's Baking Day - much like fluffier pound cake
with
Mixed Berry sauce (frozen berries, splash of juice, white sugar brought to boil in saucepan)
and
Whipped cream (a carton of heavy cream soon-to-be-past-its prime from the fridge) with drops of vanilla extract, brandy extract, and a dash of ginger powder

My inlaws raved on the dished-out dessert (which I really should have photo'ed for the blog). It was without question the most creative element of my "Eating-from-the-Pantry-With-Company" meal. It shows how you can transform a humble Baking Day frozen item into a warm gourmet-looking dessert with steaming hot berry sauce and melting-on-top whipped cream.

Also, I'm beginning to be convinced that having a small carton of heavy cream on hand at all times (like eggs and milk) could be worthwhile for the convenience and taste factor (much more luxurious than even Reddi-Wip). Regular heavy cream is generally cheaper than aerosol whipped creams, and it has a pretty long shelf life, so unless there are aerosol whipped cream coupons/sales available, doing the 30 seconds of work with an electric mixer to whip the heavy cream into soft peaks is worth it, and company will testify as much!