It's not just potluck anymore…

Archive for 01/20/2012

Faith, food and fellowship still top the menu after 2,000 years | Church Executive

Faith, food and fellowship still top the menu after 2,000 years | Church Executive.

Interesting story on food service in one of the largest food service ministries in the country.  To compare it to us, First Baptist of Orlando served 225,000 meals last year (including banquets and other events), while Calvary Lutheran served about 12,000 (Wednesday meals only).  They have a 4 walk-in coolers and 8 reach-in coolers…we have a 3 door refrigerator.  Kind of puts things in perspective.

I love a good “Theme Dinner”

Counting this week, we have made 115 Wednesday meals, ranging from burgers on the grill to turkey and dressing with mashed potatoes and gravy.  Sometimes we have theme dinners: Chinese, Moroccan, Hawaiian Luau, Greek, Italian, or my personal favorite…Retro Night (complete with Pigs in a Blanket, Deviled Eggs, Jello Salads, Pimento Cheese Stuffed Celery, Chicken Hot Dish, and Gingerbread with Lemon Sauce).  Add in the appropriate mood music in the background, decorate the tables as best you can on a shoestring budget, and you can create a little excitement on an otherwise ordinary Wednesday night.

Gotta love the Church Ladies on Retro Night!

We baked up 900 of these cute little Pigs in a Blanket that I purchased at Sam’s Club, and the kids where begging for more!

A Plethora of Jello!  Lemon-lime jello salad with crushed pineapple and cream cheese, Cranberry-apple jello salad, and Orange Parfait jello salad with mandarin oranges.

Here’s a recipe for

Hot Chicken and Chips Retro

27 servings per pan, 18 pans 12x20x2.  Total servings 486

 60# cooked chicken breast strips, diced (3 1/3# per pan)

18 cups chopped green onion  (1 cup)

18 cups chopped red bell pepper (1 cup)

9 cups chopped parsley (1/2 cup per pan)

648 oz water chestnuts (36 oz per pan), drained and chopped

36 cups mayo (2 cups per pan)

18 cups sour cream (1 cups per pan)

4 1/2 cups fresh lemon juice,  (4 oz per pan)

3 1/3 cups Dijon mustard (3 Tbsp per pan)

13 Tbsp black pepper (2 ¼ tsp pepper per pan)

18# shredded cheddar cheese (1# per pan)

9# potato chips, crushed (1/2# per pan)

Combine chicken through water chestnuts.  Whisk together mayo through pepper, and add to chicken mixture.  Stir well to combine.  Spoon into greased casserole dish.  Bake at 375 until warm.  Remove from oven and sprinkle with cheese.  Top cheese evenly with chips and bake until filling is bubbling and chips are golden. May serve with buttered egg noodles.

Buttered Egg Noodles: Make 30# of dried noodles = 375 4 oz servings

(4#/50 servings = 50 4 oz cooked noodles)

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