What can you treat your work colleagues on your own birthday, but still stick to the budget option? A birthday is a wonderful holiday, but to celebrate it you have to take care of many details. Since childhood, it has been a tradition that on your birthday you must treat your team and friends, and only then accept their gifts and congratulations. With age, the tradition does not change, but on the contrary brings more troublesome questions: buy or cook it yourself, turn to a catering company or do it yourself, and if you do it yourself, then what to cook and what to treat your work colleagues for their birthday?
Why is the tradition of treating colleagues at work useful?
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Employees celebrate birthdays, New Years, promotions, going on or returning from vacation, the birth of children, etc. together. Everything, of course, depends on the policy of the company itself and the principles of its leaders. Some people don’t have any holidays at all. But in vain. When you start work, you will eventually find out whether there is a similar tradition in your team. If not, find out if they are against creating it. What is it for?
- Relationships with colleagues
Let’s be honest, everyone is pleased when they are given attention and not just bought some food for a feast, but cook it themselves. Colleagues will understand that you stood at the stove for a long time, they will be grateful to you for your work and effort. And homemade recipes are much tastier than store-bought ones. So you will have the opportunity to show off your culinary skills a little.
- Friendly atmosphere
Such traditions allow you to relieve tension and stress, and remove excessive formality. Over food and drinks, people tend to relax and begin to socialize more. And this will have a positive impact not only on the atmosphere in the team, but also on the results of work.
Treats on the menu
Often at such events it is customary to serve sandwiches, spring rolls, tartlets with caviar, cold cuts or small elegant snacks (canapés), which serve as a wonderful snack. All these dishes are quite inexpensive and easy to prepare.
Recipe: canapes with herring.
The dish is simple to prepare, but very tasty. You can easily take the ingredients with you to work and start cooking with your colleagues. For this you will need:
- cucumber/apple/kiwi - one piece.
- white or brown bread
- cream cheese/mustard/garlic sauce (or any other sauce you like)
- olives - depending on the number of servings
- any greenery (for decoration) - at your discretion.
- Herring (fillet) - about 160 g
Cooking method
- Cut off the crusts and then cut the bread into thin slices.
You can choose the cutting shape yourself. The more options there are, the more varied the canapes will look on the table. It is important to choose bread that will not crumble too much. It is also necessary to take care in advance that the knives are well sharpened. - Coat the resulting pieces with a thin layer of mustard. It is very important not to overdo it - guests may not like the spicy taste of this sauce or even cause heartburn. If you or your guests don’t like mustard at all, replace it with cheese cream or simple mayonnaise.
- We also cut the cucumber/apple/kiwi into thin slices or rings and place them on pieces of bread. You don’t have to choose between three options, but make different ones using cucumber and apples with kiwi. It all depends on your preferences!
- The fillet should be cut in accordance with the bread slices, so that nothing hangs down or falls out. Then place the fish on apple/cucumber/kiwi slices.
- We pierce the resulting dish with toothpicks and thread whole or thinly sliced olives onto them. If desired, you can decorate the appetizer with herbs and the dish is ready!
Recipe: pancakes stuffed with cottage cheese.
The main advantage of this treat is that it can be partially prepared in advance and fried immediately before serving. You can also put them in the freezer without frying, and then cook them in a frying pan according to the recipe without defrosting. The dish is very convenient because... you don’t have to cook it directly on the day of the holiday. The fillings, by the way, can be completely different. From minced meat and pate to jam.
You will need:
- Wheat flour - 260 g
- Chicken egg - 3 pieces
- Cottage cheese – 250 g
- Salt - to taste (preferably one pinch)
- Sugar - two tbsp. spoons
- Vegetable oil (spoon - in the dough, 2 tablespoons - in the frying pan) - 3 tbsp. spoons
- Milk - about 250 - 300 ml
- Butter (pre-melt) - 1 teaspoon
- Water – 250 – 300 ml
Cooking method
- Break 2 eggs into the chosen form, add a pinch of salt and sugar, as well as one tablespoon of vegetable oil. Mix everything well, and then add milk and mix again.
- Add a little flour to the resulting mixture. Be sure to use small portions to avoid the formation of lumps and monitor the consistency. The result should be a thin dough, reminiscent of sour cream.
- By the time the dough is ready, the pan should be well heated.
Be sure to grease its surface with vegetable oil and fry the pancake on one side only. The most convenient way to grease a pan is to use a silicone brush or half an onion. - Depending on taste preferences, there may be something else besides cottage cheese, but further differences in the recipe are insignificant. So, the cottage cheese in this recipe must be whipped with a blender. Next, add sugar (50 g), an egg and one teaspoon of butter, which had to be melted in advance, into the resulting mass. Then beat again with a blender until smooth. The filling comes out creamy, but despite the consistency, it will not flow out of the pancake. There is nothing to worry about!
- Place the resulting filling on the baked side of the pancake and fold its bottom edge so that the filling is covered. We do the same with the left and right edges. The end result should be a neat envelope. The fate of the prepared pancakes depends on further plans. It can be frozen without final frying, which will not spoil its taste in the future.
- But if you are still going to serve the dish now, then instead of refrigerating, put the pancakes back on the stove and fry on both sides until golden brown. The treat is ready!
Hodgepodge
An excellent solution would be to allow the guest to independently choose the ingredients for their dish. You can slice the bread (warm it if possible) and lay out the various sandwich ingredients. Among them may be:
- Thinly sliced cucumber/tomato
- Sausage (cervelat, doctor's, any other types)
- Thinly sliced meat (chicken, beef, pork).
- Butter
- Caviar
- Various sauces (mayonnaise, ketchup, garlic sauce, etc.)
Other goodies
In addition to the obvious option of preparing all the dishes yourself, fast delivery should not be overlooked. Especially if the budget allows it.
Pizza or sushi are currently recognized favorites at various kinds of holidays and, although this is not the cheapest option (especially if there are a lot of people), it is practically a win-win option and, among other things, will help you save a lot of time on cooking and serving!
Despite the obvious advantages of fast delivery, always order food from services that you have already tested. After all, you don’t want fast delivery to last for hours of waiting, and the taste of the food to turn out to be far from expectations. This is how you can simply please yourself and treat your work colleagues on your own birthday!
What to treat your colleagues at work
- Tea drinking or gatherings at the buffet
Many people forget that they can treat their colleagues to goodies without distracting them from their work. Everyone has a lunch break. So you can share home-cooked meals during a break, or simply place baked goods on the table for anyone to grab while drinking tea or coffee.
- Celebrating an event outside of working hours
After the end of the working day, you can stay with your colleagues and celebrate some event. You can serve both snacks and drinks, as well as more substantial dishes.
- Buffet and banquet
Some workers tend to celebrate holidays with pomp. Food can be ordered or prepared by the employees themselves.
Nowadays, many people are starting to adopt a healthy lifestyle, so pay attention to light meals and snacks. Firstly, they cook faster and you will save a lot of money and time. Secondly, you will be able to offer something universal - after all, not everyone likes fatty nutritious foods (due to taste preferences, diet, health conditions, or simply because they do not want to curb their appetite). Plus, if you don't have a car, you won't have to worry about something happening to the dish when you travel with it on public transport.
But we will not insist and will offer different options, both hearty and light dishes, which you can treat your colleagues to.
Main dishes
Meat dishes have always been the main thing, or at least one of the main ones, on the holiday table; below we will present you with some delicious ideas for your birthday.
Baked chop with cheese
We will need:
- pork tenderloin
- tomatoes
- hard cheese
A hot dish plays a special role on the festive table. As such, you can offer your guests meat and cheese. To prepare it, you need to cut the pork tenderloin into pieces 3-4 cm wide, lightly beat it, and then fry it. After this, place slices of tomato on the finished meat and cover with hard cheese. Place in the oven for 10-15 minutes until the top layer of cheese melts.
Gefilte fish
We need:
- fish
- bread
- milk
- semolina
- eggs
- onion
- greens processed cheese
- mayonnaise
- lemon
Stuffed fish will look quite noble and elegant on the table. It has a special taste and will not leave anyone indifferent. Preparing this dish will require patience and time. The first step is to clean the fish very carefully, without touching or damaging its skin. The head must be cut off and the gills removed. The next step is to separate the fish fillet from the skin. After this, separate the pike meat from the bones and pass through a meat grinder. Mix it with bread soaked in milk. Add semolina, eggs, chopped onions, herbs, processed cheese to the resulting mixture and mix everything until smooth. Stuff the skin with this mixture. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment. For an impressive look, place the head of a fish on the stuffed skin. Grease everything with mayonnaise and wrap in foil. Bake for 1 to 2 hours depending on the weight of the pike. Decorate the finished fish with herbs, lemon and a mayonnaise mesh.
Potato casserole with minced meat
We have to:
- 6 -7 potatoes
- 500 g minced meat
- onion
- 3 - 4 pcs eggs
- hard cheese
- greenery
Cook the potatoes until tender. Make a puree by adding butter and milk, as well as one raw egg. Fry onions and minced meat. Then put it in a baking dish, layer ½ of the mashed potatoes, then minced meat and then mashed potatoes again. Beat 2 eggs and pour over the potatoes, sprinkle with cheese and herbs. Well, put it in the oven for 20 minutes. 200 degrees.
Rolls with ham and cheese
To make ham and cheese rolls, you need the following ingredients:
- ham - 500 g;
- hard cheese - 150 g;
- chicken egg - 4 pcs.;
- mayonnaise - 100 g;
- garlic - 2 cloves.
Recipe:
- Boil the eggs, peel and chop into fine crumbs.
- Add grated cheese, mayonnaise, mix everything.
- Cut the ham into long thin slices.
- Place the filling on them and roll them into rolls.
To prevent the rolls from unrolling, you can pierce them with a skewer.
Snack in lavash
To prepare a snack in pita bread you will need the following products:
- lavash (you need to choose a thinner type) – 2 pcs.;
- pickled cucumbers - 2 pcs.;
- fresh cabbage - 300 g;
- onion - 1 pc.;
- carrots - 1 pc.;
- sunflower oil - 4 tbsp. l.;
- salt - on the tip of the knife;
- mayonnaise - a little.
Recipe:
- Grind the cabbage into thin strips.
- Grate the carrots and pickled cucumber on a coarse grater.
- Pour boiling water over the onion and cut into small cubes.
- Add mayonnaise, mix.
- Place half the mixture on the pita bread and roll it up.
- Do the same with the second pita bread.
- Cut the rolls into portions.
- Fry in a dry frying pan on both sides until crispy.
Dessert
At the end of any holiday, each of us looks forward to something sweet, tasty, unusual, that is, a festive dessert. Holiday desserts should be appetizing, delicious and very beautiful to look at, and we will help you with this task.
Fruit cake
To prepare you will need:
- eggs
- sugar
- Cherry juice
- pastry cream
- cottage cheese
- gelatin
- banana
- apple
- orange
- kiwi
- chocolate
The main dish at a birthday party is still cake. It is he who symbolizes this date, so he should be given special attention. But not every person has confectionery knowledge and skills, but it’s still worth serving it to the table. We offer you a recipe for a simple but at the same time delicious cottage cheese cake. Its base is a biscuit. To prepare it, you need to take eggs, separate the whites and yolks. Beat the whites separately with sugar until fluffy. Mix the yolks with flour and whipped whites. Do not mix too hard, otherwise the mass may settle and the biscuit will not rise. Place in a mold and bake at 180 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool. Cut lengthwise into 2 parts. Soak the bottom cake with cherry juice and place in a round springform pan. For the top layer you will need pastry cream. They need to be beaten well and mixed with cottage cheese. Dilute gelatin in a small amount of warm water and add to the curd mass. Place chopped bananas, apples, kiwis and oranges on the biscuit soaked in juice. The layer of fruit should not be more than 4 cm. Next, lay out the curd mass, smooth it out and put it in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Thanks to gelatin, the curd mass will harden. Decorate with grated chocolate and fruit.
Kiwi smoothie
We need:
- 4-5 pieces kiwi
- 300 g natural yoghurt
- ½ cup orange juice
- 1 tbsp. l honey
- 1 glass of ice
First, you need to crush the ice in a blender and put it in glasses (here you can see for yourself how many people you will count on). Then you need to peel the kiwi and cut it in half. Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Then all that remains is to pour into glasses over ice and stir.
Tangerine smoothie
We will need:
- 2-3 pcs tangerine - 2 pcs.
- 1 piece banana
- 1 glass of milk
- 1/3 cup yogurt
- 1 tsp. honey
- vanillin to taste
You need to peel the banana and cut it into small pieces, then put it in the freezer for about 20 minutes. Next, peel the tangerines and add the frozen banana to the blender. Add yogurt, milk and vanillin. Whisk all this until smooth.
Canapes with ham and cheese
To prepare canapés with ham and cheese you will need:
- baguette - 150 g;
- ham - 80 g;
- fresh cucumber - 1 pc. (large);
- tomatoes - 3 pcs. (small);
- hard cheese - 50 g;
- olives (pitted) – 10 pcs.
Recipe:
- Cut the baguette into slices about 1 cm thick.
- Place them on a baking sheet and dry them in the oven.
- Cut the cucumber lengthwise into slices.
- Divide the olives into halves.
- Cut the tomatoes into slices, cheese and ham into slices.
- Place cheese and tomato on the bread (cool it first).
- Thread an olive onto a skewer and then a slice of cucumber to create a wave shape.
- Carefully insert the skewer into the resulting sandwiches and press down a little.
