November Homeless Dinner (Loaves and Fishes Cookbook)
Do Unto Others . . .
This week our Moms group will prepare dinner for 50 homeless men, women and children. Our church offers them a hot meal and a warm place to stay for the night. My role is to plan the meals that can be prepared ahead of time and then reheated by another ministry and then served by another set of volunteers. I am a small part of this weekly miracle.
Since it is the month of Thanksgiving our meal will approach a feast! This month our desserts are being donated from the local 4H group . . . I’m constantly amazed at how generous people are with their time, resources and most importantly teaching their children compassion!
Menu:
- Baked Chicken Breast
- Cranberry Stuffing
- Mixed Veggies
- Cranberry Sauce
- Chicken Gravy
- Mixed Greens Salad
What we need:
- 50-5 oz chicken breast
- 100 tomato slices
- 100 carrot slices
- 100 cucumber slices
- 8 lbs of romaine, leaf lettuce, iceberg lettuce
- 1 huge bag of spinach
- 5 bottle of salad dressing
- Stuffing for 50 (I’m making this)
- 10 jars of chicken gravy
- 10-15 jars of cranberry sauce
- 10 bags of frozen veggies (total of 25 cups of mixed frozen veggies)
The Prep:
The salad will need to be cleaned and dried and then bagged. At the time of serving all of the greens will be combined to create a mixed salad–they will be served in individual bowls and topped with carrots, cucumbers and tomatoes.
The frozen veggies will be combined to make one huge medley. The idea is to have each plate that is served be the same portion. Consistency is the key so that everyone gets the same dinner. There was a time when we would serve Macaroni and Cheese for the kids but it because an issue when the adults insisted that they have it as well. So to avoid any conflict we make every effort to serve 50 identical meals!
I always use my family as my test kitchen! This was our dinner. I cut the 5 oz chicken breast in 1/2 for our dinner and we had left over sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes. I didn’t have cranberry sauce but that would have been really good! The Vegan option was to not have the chicken or the gravy.
The Cooking:
Preparing this meal is fairly simple and straightforward, if you are in your own home . . . things get tricky when you are trying to cook in the basement kitchen of a tiny church. Our volunteers do a great job of following “the rules”. I know it doesn’t always make sense to them when I make certain requests but in order to put out 50 plates of food that look exactly the same is not what a typical Mom does. When I worked on “the line” my fellow chefs would cringe when the head chef would come in and look at my plates–I would argue, I would lose, I would have extra jobs at the end of the night for being insubordinate. I never learned. I never stopped thinking that there was a better way. Now I get it!
Bake Chicken thawed chicken breast @ 400 for 30 minutes. Lightly coat the chicken breast with olive oil–as a little salt and pepper and bake covered. The chicken will be reheated, so it must remain as moist as possible.
Stuffing:
I am preparing the stuffing for 50 tomorrow. I will have a separate post just for stuffing. I am including a Vegan and Non-Vegan recipe.
You have done unto me!
(ok–I’m probably totally getting that bible quote wrong but you get the idea. who so ever does this to the least of my brothers . . . oh wait–that’s a song, not a bible verse! I’m not a biblical scholar . . . or anything coming close to it. But I love to sing and dance in church . . . and yes I do get the evil eye because dancing is not part of the Mass!)
It is very important to me to serve the best quality food for these meals. Each and every time I prepare the menu, create the recipes, cook the food–I think about Jesus at the last supper. Some might say that this is hyperbole–but I believe that when we create a meal we share in the bounty and harvest of the universe. When we dwell among the energy of service, compassion and love it is beautiful, who wouldn’t want that?
[tweetherder]For me, when I prepare a meal, it is to nurture, nourish, and bless those who will eat it. [/tweetherder]
Be blessed during this month of Thanksgiving.
