Easy

Our girls are huge lovers of green beans, so they are a must-have on the menu. (We try to accommodate everyone in some way or another.) Of course, the smokiness of the pig doesn’t hurt, either

GINA It wouldn’t be my party without some piggies, and these are the good old-fashioned finger-food kind. Our twist is to serve them with barbecue sauce. Watch your guests come runnin’—they’ll be shamelessly stuffin’ ’em down!

SHELBI I love ice cream, anything ice cream! (I guess I’m a lot like Dad.) But I also love icing and cake, so I thought it would be a great idea to mix ice cream and a cupcake, and make a mini– ice cream cake. That way, everyone can have their cake and ice cream, too. GINA AND PAT These make us want to be a teenager again, too. Luckily, that’s not a requirement for making or eating them. Just check out the ingredients and you know you’re in for a real treat. Make a dozen, no matter how small your party is, because they’ll keep in the freezer for several days.

GINA This is not your off-the-shelf variety of cranberry sauce, although that can work in a pinch (remember my emergency run to the store during my first Thanksgiving at Mama Neely’s?). In this recipe I’m talking sweet, zesty, spicy, and savory: you don’t know whether to slow-dance or cut a jig. I say mix it all up, just like the relish, and let it go.

GINA Kale is my newest and most charming friend. It’s in the green-veggie family, but is often overlooked. Boy, are you guys missing out on this one. Preparing it is very easy: all you do is chop some garlic, sauté it in some olive oil with red-pepper flakes for a kick, add in some salt, pepper, and broth, and steam. Now, we all can use an easy dish to prepare on such a busy day . . . so I gift you with this one.

The key word here is “Gouda”: it takes your mashed potatoes right to the VIP list. This way, please!

Corn on a stick? Did somebody say big-kid treat? Don’t forget the mayo: you’ll need to make the chile powder and cayenne stick. No grill? No worries, you can go the old-school route with a hot cast-iron skillet.

The great thing about this glaze is that it can be used for any grilled meat. You can brush it onto pork chops, chicken, ribs—anything you feel like grilling on game day!

Fall is a perfect time to try this bisque. The healthy and delicious sweet potato, which certainly represents the season in our home, is one of the stars of the soup. And if you’ve got leftover pumpkin flesh after carving your decorations, you can always substitute that for the canned purée. Using chicken broth instead of water gives this thick soup a rich-tasting down-home flair.

Easy to transport and to eat while unpacking, these moist and dense muffins are more like little pound cakes with blueberries than your typical crumbly muffin. If blueberries are out of season and you want to use frozen ones (a perfectly fine option!), increase the oven temperature to 375 degrees F.

Everybody likes something to munch on for extra energy, or to accompany that glass of wine earned by a day of unpacking! You may think you’ll never find ancho-chile powder, but McCormick packages it, and it is readily available at most grocery stores. It’s really important to keep the heat on low in this recipe, because the nuts and spices are inclined to get too brown.

Filled with the energy of oats and the antioxidants of blueberries, this is the mix for a kick-ass day. Keep it on hand and nothing can stop you. What’s nice is, it’s not too sweet, not too fatty, and really flavorful. It’s just right; and when you’re away from your family or what’s familiar to you, this kind of homemade love will soften the blow.

This all-nighter mix is for those extended study groups or projects that go on and on, till eventually everyone is too lazy to go get something to eat. Our sweet, salty, and fruity combination will satisfy all their cravings, as well as keep them away from less healthy options (including coffee!).

Ready for a grilled salad? This late-summer mix will end your wait. No meat, just fresh, tasty grilled vegetables over baby arugula, basil, and cherry tomatoes.

GINA Salad helps lighten the fare, and these green beans with cheese tortellini are a nice change from the traditional tossed salad. I am a big salad-eater, and there are a lot of women like me out there. Honey, we’re trying to stay as “fabulous” as we can, eating all those greens. We just have to mix it up a bit so we don’t get bored!

Since Labor Day is a holiday when most are off work, people are always stopping by the Neely house, and we’ve got to have something at the ready for our guests to munch on. This seven-layer dip is absolutely beautiful as well as flavorful, a great item to set up to get the party started!

Rich pink dressing and lovely greens give this salad a splash of color. Remember: what the eye sees translates to greater taste and greater overall pleasure.

GINA You could easily order pizza for delivery, but why not have flat-bread instead, and cut it into little squares? You can just buy the dough from your local grocer (or your local pizzeria, if you ask nicely) and add in all the other ingredients. Ripe figs will turn your traditional pizza into an amazing party favorite. We absolutely love this dish: it’s hearty yet light, fruity, and flavorful. If you find the taste of blue cheese too strong, you can always substitute a mild goat cheese, which has a creamy tang that also goes well with the figs. We add the handfuls of fresh arugula to the flatbread while it’s still hot, to add a pop of bright peppery flavor and color.