Work weekend menu help, please

[mammabooh]

Several of our friends will be spending Thursday-Monday July 4th weekend to help us build our addition and I'd like your input for the menu. I'd like to get as much as possible made ahead and frozen or canned so that I can enjoy them and help with the building.

So far, I've decided to make and can vegetable beef soup and to make spinach lasagna and freeze it before baking. I'll probably make and can chili in case we get a cold evening and want to have that. I'll also be baking muffins and cookies and cakes and freezing them. We have plenty of salad goodies in the garden and should have zucchini by then.

So, what do you recommend? Breakfast is pretty easy...casseroles and muffins and pancakes and sausage some days. Any ideas for me?

Thanks!

P.S. I should mention that none of us are bologna and chips kind of people, so I want to fix yummy food that will give us plenty of nutrition and keep us going in the hot sun.

[pheasantplucker]

Ever make chicken divan?
Boil or grill skinless, boneless chicken...cut up into small bite sized pieces.
Steam some broccoli till it's bright green. Don't overcook. Drain.
Put chicken and broccoli in bottom of oven proof pan or casserole dish.
Mix a can (or two) of Cream of Chicken Soup with half that same amount of real mayonaisse. Stir till well blended. Smear all that goodness over the broccoli and chicken.
Sprinkle a couple of handfus of sharp cheddar cheese over that.
Here's the killer part...in a small skillet, melt some real butter (around 1/3 stick). Take some bread, and tear it apart, and "mop" it through the melted butter. Place the butter side up.Do this till the entire casserole is covered. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35-40 minutes. Guarantee there will be no leftovers.

[Melissa]

Sanwiches are nice for a quick lunch. Would you have time to make up some chicken, ham, or tuna salad a day before they get there? It would keep for several days. Serve with fresh veggies, and a selection of fresh fruit.

[Cabin Fever]

Forget all the vegetarian, hotdishes and salad stuff, hard working men want meat...at least for one meal a day. I'd suggest hamburgers, steaks, chops, brats, etc.

Get that grill out and have it ready to go at the end of each work day.

ETA: Cold beers at the end of the day would be welcome too.

[mammabooh]

Originally Posted by Cabin Fever

Forget all the vegetarian, hotdishes and salad stuff, hard working men want meat...at least for one meal a day. I'd suggest hamburgers, steaks, chops, brats, etc.

Get that grill out and have it ready to go at the end of each work day.

ETA: Cold beers at the end of the day would be welcome too.

I know that's what MOST men want, but not my hubby and our friends. Most of us could go out and graze in the garden and through the red raspberry bushes and through the strawberry patch and be happy. Yeah, we're weird!

P.S. I'll probably be the only one to drink the beer, so I'd better get what I like, huh?!?!?

[chickenista]

Slow roast ribs with red onions and peppers and freeze/fridge. It only gets better with time.
Baked veggie mac and cheese that can freeze as well.
A big ol pot roast with veggies. That also gets better with time.
Or stew beef over rice (greenpeas, onions, carrots, potatoes) Make the beefy part and freeze. Fresh make the rice.
Black bean chili and cornbread.

[Hears The Water]

How about Aztec Chicken Salad? A HUGE hit here at casa HTW.

Take one bag of boneless skinless chicken breasts, and cook until browned. Cube and return to pot. Add to that: frozen corn, taco seasonings (I use cumin, chili powder, onion powder and garlic powder, but you can use the pre-packaged too) and sliced black olives. Heat until corn is cooked. You put the salad togeather like this: on the plate, layer tortilla chips, the chicken mixture, shreaded cheddar cheese and then what ever salad fixings you like. We use Ranch dressing and we just love this meal. The chicken mixture can be made days ahead and it freezes well. HTH.
God bless you and yours
Deb

[mammabooh]

Originally Posted by Hears The Water

How about Aztec Chicken Salad? A HUGE hit here at casa HTW.

Take one bag of boneless skinless chicken breasts, and cook until browned. Cube and return to pot. Add to that: frozen corn, taco seasonings (I use cumin, chili powder, onion powder and garlic powder, but you can use the pre-packaged too) and sliced black olives. Heat until corn is cooked. You put the salad togeather like this: on the plate, layer tortilla chips, the chicken mixture, shreaded cheddar cheese and then what ever salad fixings you like. We use Ranch dressing and we just love this meal. The chicken mixture can be made days ahead and it freezes well. HTH.
God bless you and yours
Deb

Thanks...I'll do something like that. I make a great picante salsa, so I'll make it to serve that day too.

[wyld thang]

Cabin Fever, you can come work at my house anytime. I'll feed you right

(ahem, no dis meant to vegetarians...just reassuring CF if he ever comes to Ory-gone he will eat good )

[soulsurvivor]

It sounds like you've got it well planned and ready to go. I'd consider having ice and beverages always available in a fix-it-yourself place as not everyone gets thirsty at the same time while working and you want everyone to stay well hydrated.

For me, I'd have to add in baked beans, coleslaw, and BBQ chicken somewhere on the menu. Oh, and an iced down watermelon or two wouldn't be bad either.

[Jan Doling]

Cook a pork roast in your crock pot and make pulled pork using the 2 fork method. Add your favorite bar-b-que sauce and fresh rolls or bread.

How about a crock pot full of beans and ham with warm corn bread?

If you have a fire pit, use your dutch oven for stew or cowboy potatoes....the guys like to see and smell the next meal being prepared for them. Use a second dutch oven to make corn bread or biscuits. Put a chicken on a can of beer on the grill....they get a kick out of that, too.

[mammabooh]

Originally Posted by soulsurvivor

It sounds like you've got it well planned and ready to go. I'd consider having ice and beverages always available in a fix-it-yourself place as not everyone gets thirsty at the same time while working and you want everyone to stay well hydrated.

For me, I'd have to add in baked beans, coleslaw, and BBQ chicken somewhere on the menu. Oh, and an iced down watermelon or two wouldn't be bad either.

Yep...I'll have our little camper fridge set up on one of the porches stocked with beverages. I'll have a pitcher of iced tea, gatorade (I hate the stuff, but other folks like it), and bottled water.

[mammabooh]

Any suggestions from the afternoon crowd?

[DW]

make it and then keep it warm in the crock pot. Cold vege snacks w/dip.

[Megabeth]

I like to serve big "sub" style sandwiches to a work crowd. That way you can please the meat-eaters and the garden-grazers at the same time. Ahead of time, you could bake big long loaves of bread and then pre-cut meat, cheese, and veggies galore. Put the basics on the bread, score it or slice it all the way, and then let people put on all the extras they want on their own personal sandwich piece. Don't forget the cold dill pickles, cole slaw, tater salad, whatever else is easy to make ahead.

[Yvonne's hubby]

Potato salad, pasta salads, bbq chicken is cheap and delicious, corn on the cob, cantelope, watermellon, you want to keep the meals light (as in low in grease) during this warmer weather but keep the nutrition levels up. Maters stuffed with tunasalad are also packed with nutrition, low in heat building. Once the work has ended for the day, and all power tools have been stowed, then some good brandy or sippin whiskey beside a dish of ice cream can be a good thing. Specially if the folks that know how to use them have brought along their fiddle, banjo and guitars.

[mammabooh]

Originally Posted by Yvonne's hubby

Once the work has ended for the day, and all power tools have been stowed, then some good brandy or sippin whiskey beside a dish of ice cream can be a good thing. Specially if the folks that know how to use them have brought along their fiddle, banjo and guitars.

There probably will be at least one guitar...and lots of singing. We sing about everything. We are very silly around here.