Company for dinner????

I love to entertain! I mean I really LOVE entertaining people! I have catered weddings, parties, church events (all volunteer, I am NO professional)and get a special thrill when being allowed to serve others through being a hostess. I get excited to set the table, choose the menu, do the grocery shopping and put all the pieces together. I am not always serving gourmet foods, although I do have a passion for that type of cooking, but I feel confident in saying that those who eat in my house are rarely disappointed. All of that to say....OH MY GOODNESS, how do I have company over for dinner on this new diet!?!?!?

Last night I had company (okay it was "only" my sister and her boyfriend) coming over for dinner. I totally panicked! I thought I knew exactly what i was going to make (chicken makhani, http://chicchefs.blogspot.com/) I looked over the recipe everything met my current diet guidlines. I did have to make some tomatoe sauce for the recipe but it was all looking like a go. THEN, I realized we would be on huge time constraints because we were meeting up at church first and then coming back to my place for dinner they had something to do later that evening. There was NO way I wanted to try a new recipe and risk them being late. I started to consider my alternatives to have dinner ready before I left but not be a mess when we got back. It was then that I realized all my old stand by recipes were out, crock pot meals all tended to have canned something or other in them, casseroles were laden with pasta or white starches or cream soups. I decided to go on a limb and try something new.

I threw some peppers, chicken, black beans, and spices in the crock pot in hopes of it turning into some kind of delicious taco filling. I made corn tortillas, and cantaloupe salsa and called it good. The dinner turned out to be pretty tasty. I will definitley work to refine that idea to come up with a recipe to share.

I now have a great challenge ahead of me to create these type of fast meals that can be done in the crock pot or made and saved. I tried to look online and am sure I will find some but, most I saw did not meet me requirements. If you happen to have ideas please share!