This salad can be made ahead and will keep over several days.

Mom's Black Bean Salad

1 lb. can of black beans, drain, rinse, drain again
1 8 oz. can whole kernel corn, drain
4 oz. Monterrey Jack cheese, diced
3/4 cup green onions, chopped with their tops
3/4 cups celery, thinly sliced
1 small red or green bell pepper, diced

Mix all together in a bowl.

Dressing:
3/4 cup medium hot salsa, chunky (I use Pace)
1 TB olive oil
2 TB lemon juice
1 t. ground cumin
1 clove garlic, minced

Mix dressing ingredients well and pour over the salad. Toss well to blend, chill.

Garnish with chopped parsley or cilantro.

Good as a side salad or with "scoops" chips to dip.

Another good salad to do ahead when you get to the beach:

24-Hour Salad

Twenty-four Hour Salad

Use in of the following ingredients layered in a large glass bowl or casserole, layered in this order:

chopped iceberg lettuce
chopped fresh spinach leaves
1/2 package frozen green peas, thawed
1 small thinly sliced red onion
1/2 lb. crumbled, cooked bacon
2 chopped hard-cooked eggs, chopped
1/2 to 1 cup grated sharp or medium cheddar cheese

Combine:

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
opt. 1 TB sugar
opt. 2 TB finely grated Parmesan cheese

Spread over top evenly to seal in salad ingredients. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 24 hours.

Optional: top the creamy dressing with a sprinkle of paprika for some color.

Pizza Chicken Roll-ups
350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes

Serves 4
this can be prepared and frozen before baking; thaw prior to baking.

4 chicken breast halves, sliced horizontally into 2 pieces and pounded thin

Deli pepperoni, very thin slices, 2-3 slices per roll

Deli provolone cheese, 1 slice per roll

Pasta sauce, large jar of Prego or homemade tomato sauce

Mozzarella cheese slices, 1 per roll

On each piece of pounded chicken breast, layer on 2-3 slices pepperoni and 1 slice provolone cheese. Roll up and secure with a toothpick.

Grease a 9x13 or equivalent baking dish. Pour in 1 cup of the pasta sauce. Place rolls in dish and pour rest of sauce over all.

Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes. Uncover and top with the slices of mozzarella then return to oven to melt cheese. Sprinkle with chopped basil or parsley and serve over hot cooked spaghetti that has some melted butter and garlic salt, pepper added.

Have a great time!
Teresa

Legomom, Maybe you have already done this, but I would confirm with your friends, that they would appreciate you doing the majority of the cooking.

I only mention this, because if it were me, I wouldn't want my guests bring meals. I enjoy cooking and when I have guests arriving , I already have most of the meals planned.

Unless the beach house is in a remote area without access to decent grocery stores, I would probably still shop for meals if not on a daily basis, at least a couple of times during the week so that vegetables and meats/fish would be fresh.

It might be nice though to be able to pull a homemade lasagna or chili out of the freezer on a night that one didn't want to really cook.

~Ann

Thank you Teresa for those ideas! All three sound like great additions. The chicken is a great idea - similar but different than a lasagna.

Ann - I agree, but I know they are good with this:) We travel a lot together and they do not really enjoy cooking. I do, and try to help in this way. I feel like we've had all my regular dishes though!

We will definitely do several nights of grilling with fresh meats and veggies, but like you say, we will probably be happy to pull something out of the freezer once or twice!

Legomom, if I were cooking ahead, I'd probably make things like muffins, homemade bread, cookies. If it's a beachhouse I probably wouldn't want the oven on all the time and wouldn't want to take two hours to bake bread or watch coffee cake or whatever.

If you are going to be able to keep things frozen and transport them, lots of things freeze well, like chicken pot pie and pasta dishes. I'd also be planning some "leftovers" like roasted chicken or chicken on the grill one night and leftovers for sandwiches the next day.

Something that's fast to grab and go are homemade "hot pockets", just rounds of dough filled with anything you like, from pizza filling to pulled pork. They freeze well and are easy to grab, thaw and go. Cornish pasties are along the same line and burritos of all types are a similar option from bean burritos to breakfast burritos to beef or chicken.

So how long are you staying?

Annie

Not knowing what kinds of foods you enjoy nor how long you'll be there, it's hard to suggest. If it's a couple days you wouldn't want to spend much of the time together cooking, but if you're going to be there a week or two, then some fresh baked bread and rolls (sweet and otherwise) would likely be welcomed. And not knowing what you usually make, it's impossible to know if it's different. :)

A couple ideas though. If you are traditional breakfast fans, having some pre-cooked bacon, sausage, ham and even some baked/boiled potatoes to make hashbrowns would cut prep time and save mess to clean up. Assuming weather is nice, I'd aim to do as much outdoor cooking as possible, assuming they have a good grill available.

If you're going to be there quite a while there's a lot you couldn't prepare ahead of time (breads, fresh fruits/vegs, baked goods other than maybe cookies). However if you're planning something that needs spice rubs or coatings, you could easily make them up front. If you're making something like a pasta dish, you could prepare the meat and freeze it. If you're a bread fan you could make some refrigerator rolls and have fresh bread every day with minimal effort. You could freeze muffins or sweet breads.
I often enjoy making things I wouldn't normally have at home or would have infrequently. And I often check with the others to see if they have anything special they'd like.