It's not just potluck anymore…

We had a good crowd of 410 for dinner this week.  With the weather getting nice and the church school year coming to a close, our attendance has dropped a little bit as it does every year at this time.  Everyone seemed to enjoy the BBQ sandwiches, baked beans, oriental coleslaw, and angel food cake with fresh strawberries and cream.  Here’s the recipe for the baked beans which is always a great side dish for a summer BBQ or potluck.

Southern Baked Beans (500 servings)

5 pounds bacon, cut into fourths (or 150 slices pre-cooked bacon)

18 #10 cans pork and beans or canned baked beans.  Drain most of juice off beans.

12 pounds finely chopped onions

16 cups  ketchup

16 cups  mustard

6 cups  molasses

Vegetable or olive oil for sauteing onions

Saute onions until caramelized. Mix ketchup, mustard, molasses and onions, then combine with pork and beans.  Pour into disposable foil roasting pans. 1 #10 can of beans will fit perfectly in a half size pan.  Top with bacon strips.

Bake at 325* for 1 hour until bacon is lightly browned. Stir beans well, stirring the bacon into the beans, and bake for at least 1 hour or longer until bubbly and juice is mostly evaporated.

Southern Baked Beans (12 servings)

4 slices bacon, cut in fourths

3 (16 oz) cans pork and beans

½ cup chopped onions

¼ cup ketchup

¼ cup mustard

2 tablespoons molasses

Vegetable oil for sautéing onions.

Saute onions until caramelized, then mix with remaining ingredients.  Pour into 9×13 casserole dish.  Bake at 300 degrees for 1 ½ hours.

 

For dessert we made angel food cake in 8 full size sheet pans, using 3 boxes of angel food cake mix per pan.  The pans were lined with parchment paper first, which made for easy removal from the pans after running a knife around the edges.

Angel Food Cake Parfaits with Fresh Strawberries and Cream (500 servings)

24 (15 oz) boxes angel food cake mix, prepared as directed for full sheet pans

32 quarts fresh strawberries, hulled and diced

3 gallons heavy whipping cream, whipped with powdered sugar added to taste (lightly sweetened)

Tear or cut angel food cake into small pieces, and layer with strawberries and whipped cream.  Delicious!

 

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