,v
t
Cooking
For A Crowd
BY BONNIE BRECHBILL
Franklin Co. Correspondent
These recipes all come from a
cookbook compiled by the Old
Order River Brethren. The River
Brethren serve a fellowship meal
after most Sunday morning wor
ship services: hence the need for
many crowd-size recipes.
The meal is simple but filling,
and, in our congregation, usually
consists of one hot dish, various
finger foods such as potato chips
or carrot and celery sticks, fruit
and dessert. In cold weather, cof
fee or tea is usually served. The
family who sponsors the worship
service provides all the food ex
cept the dessert; the other sisters
bring in a pie or cake or cookies --
whatever the host family plans.
In our congregation, a Sunday
service -- called “meeting” - may
include 80-250 people, depending
on which districts are worship
ping together that particular day.
We serve the meal cafeteria style
and usually use disposable plates.
Immediately after meeting is
over, the brethren set up long
tables for the cafeteria line. The
sisters help the hostess in the
kitchen and carry items out for the
food line.
Sharing a fellowship meal
together ~ and sharing the work
of setting it up and washing the
cups and silverware afterwards -
promotes closeness among the
brotherhood. It helps us get ac
quainted with visitors and pro
vides an opportunity to catch up
on the lives of brothers and sisters
who live in other districts.
Because the meal is kept simple
and because everyone helps, the
hostess is not overburdened. I
have often chatted with visitors to
my own meeting while the other
sisters did the dishes.
As many preparations as possi
ble are done on Saturday -- for
instance, when 1 serve barbecue, I
brown the meat and stir up the
sauce Saturday afternoon. Sunday
morning, I mix them together in
an electric roaster and by the time
meeting is over, my barbecue is
ready.
Occasionally, of course, things
don’t go that smoothly - at least
for me. (The sisters who grew up
helping their mothers to make
“meeting meals” never seem to
have these problems!) The last
time my husband and I had meet-
Recipe Topics
If you have recipes for the topics listed below, please
share them with us. We welcome your recipes, but ask
that you include accurate measurements, a complete
list of ingredients and clear instructions with each
recipe you submit. Send your recipes to Lou Ann Good,
Lancaster Farming, P.O. Box 609, Ephrata, PA 17522.
Jan.-
7-
14-
21-
28-
Home On The Range
ing, I didn’t serve anything hot,
but just had sandwiches. I made a
batch of Florence’s cheese spread
and bought three gallons of
chicken salad. The 228 sandwich
rolls ran out long before the
chicken salad did.
Fortunately, I had a loaf of
bread in the freezer, and everyone
got a sandwich. 1 still had a lot of
chicken salad left over.
My worst miscalculation was
not one of quantity, however, but
of cooking time. I filled the large
electric roasters with about 200
frozen fish fillets and expected
them to cook in an hour or so. The
ones around the edges did; the
ones in the middle were still fro
zen solid at noon. I frantically
flung them on cookie sheets and
baked them all in the oven - no
time to chat with the visitors that
day!
The recipes printed here
shouldn’t give you any of those
problems as they are all specific
as to quantity and length of time
required to cook.
Even with the inconvenience
cooking for a crowd sometimes
causes, I wouldn’t want to see our
church give up the Sunday noon
meal. Sharing what has happened
our lives the past week and
discussing the morning’s teach
ings seems to go better over a
sandwich of Carrie’s pressed
chicken or a bowl of Emma’s rice
soup.
CHEESE SPREAD
FOR SANDWICHES
4 pounds Velveeta cheese
1 pound sharp cheese
16 Ounces cream cheese
8 hard-boiled eggs
4 jars pimento peppers
1 medium onion
8 eggs, beaten
'A cup sugar (8 tablespoons)
'A cup flour (8 tablespoons)
'A cup vinegar (8 tablespoons)
'A cup prepared mustard (8
tablespoons)
2 teaspoons salt
Grind Velveeta cheese, sharp
cheese, cream cheese, boiled
eggs, peppers and onion. Cook,
stirring until smooth, the remain
ing ingredients. Mix these two
mixtures together well, using your
hands. Serves approximately 100
people. This freezes well. Family
sized portions of this recipe can be
made easily by dividing the above
portion into 8.
Warm Up With Soup
Homemade Breads
Oat Bran Recipes
Sugar Free Eating
f f fT rr t f f'T'f w rrrMrrvf rr«r» r rjrr r v * ** - - .
S 'A quarts dried beans (navy
beans, pea bean, etc.)
15 3 /< gallons water
10 '/> quarts shredded cabbage
10 'A quarts tomato juice or
cooked tomatoes
5 'A quarts diced celery
S 'A quarts cubed carrots
5 A quarts cubed potatoes
5 'A cups uncooked rice
7 cups chopped onion
21 beef bouillon cubes or broth
from soup bones
7 tablespoons salt
5 'A teaspoons pepper
S 'A teaspoons basil
10 'A pounds ground beef
Soak beans in water overnight
in a 20-quart kettle. Next day di
vide into 3 (20 quart) kettles and
simmer beans 45 minutes. Add all
the ingredients, but ground beef
and bring to boil. Brown beef in
skillet and add to boiling soup.
Cover and simmer 1 hour. Serves
150 or more.
RICE SOUP
12 quarts rice beef broth
4 pounds brown rice
4 quarts chopped, cooked roast
beef or ground beef
salt and pepper to taste
In a heavy 20 quart kettle bring
broth to a full boil. Add meat
Bring to a boil and add the rice.
After it boils, turn to low and
simmer 1 to 2 hours. (The more
you stir it, the thicker it gets.)
Season to taste. We made 3 can
ners for lovefeast meals.
Emma Sander
Florence Myers
approximately 40 large scrubbed
potatoes
melted butter
3 to 4 cups water
thyme, basil, oregano (optional)
Pour water in bottom of greased
electric roast pan. Roll potatoes in
melted butter with seasonings if
desired and place in pan. Cover.
Bake at 350° for 2 hours, turn
very low and steam an additional
hour.
crowd? Make several batches of lasagna, freeze until ready to use. Then
into the oven and bake until thoroughly heated.
iga
pop frozen
POOR MAN’S
SOUP
Nancy Funk
BAKED POTATOES
Ruth A. Conley
PRESSED CHICKEN
35 pounds chicken
3 to 4 tablespoons salt
pepper to suit taste
3 'A to 4 quarts broth
2 cups vinegar
5 tablespoons gelatin
Cook chicken with salt and
pepper until soft; debond and re
move skins. Place chicken slices
lengthwise in oblong pan. Bring
broth to boil. Add vinegar and
gelatin (softened in small amount
of cold water). Add to chicken.
When jelled, slice with electric
knife. Serveds 100 to 125 people.
For Family Size Use:
1 (3 to 4 pounds) chicken
1 'A teaspoons salt
'/• teaspoon pepper
3 cups broth
4 tablespoons vinegar
1 tablespoon gelatin
Carrie Shirk
Featured Recipe
For the judges in the Woman’s Day Specials/Prego spaghetti
sauce Quick Family Favorites Recipe Contest, there was something
about Holiday Hambalaya that made it a winner. The recipe, sub
mitted by Roxanne Chan of Albany, California, is a hearty, deli
cious stew of juicy ham cubes and features Prego Extra Chunky
spaghetti sauce with sausage and green pepper, com, rice, olives
and onions.
Equally important to the judges, however, was the fact that stew
dishes signify “home” for many families. They appreciated the
family appeal of this dish, as well as its appetizing appearance and
good nutritive value and labeled Holiday Hambalaya a winner.
HOLIDAY
HAMBALAYA
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 large onion, chopped
1 jar (13.5 ounces) Prego Extra Chunky spaghetti sauce with saus
age and green pepper
2 cups cubed cooked ham
2 cups cooked rice
'A teaspoon chili powder
1 cup cooked whole kernel com
14 cup sliced pitted ripe olives
Vi cup chopped fresh parsley
Sour cream
1. In 4-quart saucepan over medium heat, in hot butter, cook
onion until tender, stirring often. Add spaghetti sauce, ham, rice,
chili powder and com. Reduce heat to low. Cover; simmer 15
minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Stir in olives and parsley. Serve with sour cream. Makes 7
cups or 6 servings.
BEEF BARBEQUE
17 pounds ground beef
3 large stalks celery
12 green peppers
12 large onions
1 (7 pounds 2 ounces) large can ■.
ketchup ,■
1 'A cups brown sugar 1
Vi cups vinegar .
3 tablespoons dry mustard >
Worcestershire sauce, salt and i
pepper to taste *
Brown hamburg in a skillet.
Chop vegetables fine in a food *
processor or blender. Mix with ;
remaining ingredients. Add *
drained browned beef. Mix thor
oughly in large electric roast pan.
Bring to a full boil, then simmer 1
hour. Fills approximately 120
rolls. ;
Ruth A. Conley
(Turn to Page B 8)