Heads Up! How to Feed A Bunch of Folks!

We had anticipated this week-end for a while. Our two nieces, daughters of SH’s brother who died 14 years ago, were coming to visit. (Their mom had also passed away this past year). One of them lives in Texas and the other in Florida.

As southerners do, we immediately started talking about the food we would have. We knew we would invite our extended family and we also knew that everyone would be coming at different times during the day (Saturday).

I also have come to the realization that I have no sense when a large group of people are in my kitchen and I’m trying to cook. Soooo… this what we decided to serve:

Broccoli and cheese soup (with chicken)

Taco Soup

Chicken and dumplings

Mexican cornbread

Assorted crackers and chips

Iced brownies

peanut butter cookies

Halloween candies

I doubled all recipes and prepared everything in advance. I cooked two fryers early in the week, had lots of nice stock, froze the meat for dumplings and broccoli & cheese soup.



I actually completed the Taco soup, placed in gallon freezer bags, froze, and it was good to go.



Oops….
Please replace this chili seasoning mix with a TACO SEASONING MIX.



Taco Soup



Paula Deen’s recipe:

• 2 lbs. ground beef
• 2 cups diced onions
• 2 cans pinto beans
• 1 can pink kidney beans
• 1 can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• l can tomatoes with chiles
• 2 cans diced green chiles
• l can black olives, drained, chopped
• 1/2 cup green olives, sliced, optional
• 1 package taco seasoning mix
• 1 package ranch salad dressing mix
• Corn chips, for serving
• Sour cream, for garnish
• Chopped green onions

Brown ground beef and onions in large skillet, drain excess fat, then transfer beef and onions to stockpot. Add beans, corn, tomatoes, green chiles, black olives, green olives, taco seasoning, and ranch dressing mix. Simmer over low heat for about l hour. To serve, place a few corn chips in each bowl and ladle soup over them. Top with sour cream, green onions.

Yield: 12 to 16 servings




Beginnings of Broccoli cheese soup, sautéing onions in butter.



Chopped broccoli in chicken broth



Mmmm…adding chicken to soup.





Done!


Broccoli Cheese Soup w/chicken

• 1/2 gallon chicken broth
• 1 lg. onion, chopped
• 1 lg. package frozen chopped broccoli
• 1 lb. Velveeta cheese
• approx. 2 cups chopped chicken
• 1 stick butter
• lemon pepper to taste

Melt butter, add chopped onion and sauté. Thicken broth with flour. (make paste of approx. 1/4 c. flour and water. Dilute with some chicken broth. Add to melted butter and onion. Combine broth, flour mixture, and chopped broccoli in stock pot. Cook gently until broccoli is tender. Add chicken. Add cheese last and simmer until melted. Serve with Mexican cornbread.

Chicken & Dumplings(recipe from Southern Plate blog)

3 or 4 chicken breasts
32 oz Chicken Broth (feel free to use water with bouillon cubes added)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1-10 count can Pillsbury layered biscuits
salt and pepper to taste
flour
Cook chicken breasts in approx. 4 c. of water until fork tender, about 45 minutes. Place broth in medium to large sized pot. Stir cream of chicken soup into gently boiling broth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pull biscuits apart into three layers. Dip each layer into flour and then tear each layer into three pieces and drop into gently boiling broth mixture. Do not stir biscuits a lot, or they will cook up, only gently push dumplings down into broth as they float to the top. Cook about ten minutes after last dumplings are added. Add shredded chicken and turn on low until ready to serve. added, Tear up chicken, add to broth mixture.Turn to low until ready to serve.

note: I actually use my rolling pin and roll each layer of dough as thin as I can. We like thin dumplings.




These brownies are impressive and sooo easy!



2 boxes of Duncan Hines brownie mix, mix as directed, add lots of nuts (pecans & walnuts). Icing is homemade coca-cola cake icing. To die for!

Coca-Cola Icing

• 1/2 cup butter
• 3 T. cocoa
• 6 T. Coca-Cola
• 1 box confectioners’ sugar
• 1 t. vanilla
• 1 cup broken pecans

Bring to boil the butter, cocoa, and Coca-Cola. Add the sugar, vanilla and pecans. Pour over brownies in pan while icing is hot.




.

Irresistible Peanut Butter Cookies

• 3/4 c. Creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 stick Crisco butter flavor shortening sticks
• 1 1/4 c. packed brown sugar
• 3 T. milk
• 1 T. vanilla
• 1 large egg
• 1 3/4 c. all purpose flour
• 3/4 t. baking soda
• 3/4 t. salt

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Combine peanut butter, brown sugar, milk and vanilla in large bowl. Blend well. Add egg, blend. Mix flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to creamed mixture. Mix until just blended. Drop by rounded Tbls. of dough 2 inches apart on greased baking sheet. Flatten slightly in crisscross pattern with tines of fork. Bake 7 to 8 minutes or until just beginning to brown. Cool 2 min. on baking sheet. Makes 3 doz. cookies. Add hersheys kisses when cookies are almost cool.


I baked the Mexican cornbread on Friday, kept it in a warm oven on Saturday and it was perfect!
Sorry, I didn’t get a picture of the Mexican cornbread but it is sooo good

• 1 1/2 c. self-rising cornmeal
• 3 eggs
• 1 small can mexicorn
• 1 t. salt
• 2/3 c. cooking oil
• 1 c. buttermilk
• 1 sm. can mild green chiles
• add jalapeno pepper(finely chopped) to taste
• 1 c. sharp cheddar cheese, grated

Mix all ingredients, except cheese. Pour half of batter in greased 13 by 9 pan. Pour cheese over batter. Add remaining batter and bake @375 until golden brown, about 40 min.



Life is so much easier if you wash as you go.

First published on 10/20/09 - bcp my life - Cindy & Susie's Visit