There’s so much we could discuss on this assignment! I think I agree with you about chips and veggie trays, if you are saying that we don’t need both an appetizer and the main meal. I think that’s overdone. My mother didn’t serve appetizers. She served dinner on time. I’ve come to feel uncomfortable about not serving appetizers. But recently I heard another hostess complain that she fixed a big dinner that was not appreciated because guests filled up on appetizers. Yes — too much food. And perhaps also too much focus on the food.

My mother had a standby recipe for noodle goulash, and that is often what she served as a company meal. We all thought it was delicious. We never worried about when we served it last or to whom. Mother kept most of the ingredients on hand and ready for a quick, delicious, one-dish meal served with a green or a fruit salad and breadsticks. Simple describes it. I got out of the habit of serving noodle goulash because my children didn’t like tomatoes — and still don’t. My standby dishes are chicken enchiladas or lasagna — both more labor intensive than Mother’s goulash.

What would teens today think of tomato soup and light sandwiches? Do you think this meal would be promoted in a home-ec text published anytime within the last 30 years?