Favorite recipes to feed the shivering masses

Well, it's official! "Hotel Lois" is completely booked up for the rest of the week. My best friend moved in last night when her power hadn't come back on for nearly a full 24 hours. Then, this morning, my brother broke down and asked if he and his birds could stay with us till his power came back on. (He'd been trying to heat his very tiny home with just the BTUs off his gas stove. I told him that was not a good idea, but he wouldn't listen . . . until today when his birds started acting a bit "off".)

So, I'm looking for spur-of-the-moment recipe ideas to feed a houseful of people with widely varied taste preferences (I'm the only "foodie" in the bunch; the rest are strictly meat-and-potatoes kind of folks). Can't be spicy (that eliminates a lot of MY favorites like Jambalaya). No seafood (DH is so picky).

I whipped up a pot of chili last night. Hubbie says he's getting tired of ground beef dishes. We had my world famous Chicken Tortilla Soup a few nights ago.

If you've got a house full of family, friends and other ice storm refugees, what are you fixing for supper tonight?

Lois

Here's an easy one (hope you have the ability to grocery shop).... Get one of those great big packages of chicken (I generally get the thighs). Lay it all out on a sheet pan or a big baking pan,... salt and pepper, drizzle with olive oil and soy sauce, sprinkle with "italian" seasonings, some cumin, a little sage, slice 10-20 cloves of garlic and sprinkle around the chicken.... Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes or so. Bake a bunch of sweet potatoes.

Senate soup, or a similar type stew. Jut throw a ham bone (with ham) into a soup pot with prepared beans and smmer for a couple of hours, add the usual (onion, garlic, celery, potatoes, salt, pepper, seasonings of your choice), and let simmer for another hour. Remove ham bone, trim fat, cut up ham and put back in soup.

Also, if I were in the position of having a bunch of emergency house guests, I'd probably buy a lotta pizza too.... Also, taco fixings.

And of course there are all the pasta variations.

Okay Lois, given the requirements of non-spicy, no ground meat, and no seafood and, added to the fact that you have already served chicken and DH is a meat and potato guy, how about an old fashioned meal of scalloped potatoes with ham? Additionally, how about doing the brunch thing with breakfast burritos or creamed chipped beef served over scrambled eggs and English muffins?

We are also hosting friends without power. Tonight we're making Shepherd's pie (ground beef, browned, combined with mixed veggies and brown gravy. Top with mashed potatoes and cheese. Broil until bubbly.) We've also made plans to do a chicken stir fry, a roast and make Hot Browns if the outtage continues long enough.

Greyt ideas, folks! Might be useful to several of us who are playing hosts to family, friends and others.

I'm thinking of making a chicken pot pie tomorrow. Will thaw out some chicken in the fridge tonight.

Lois

Well for all of us that are going to be at work tonight I threw all the fixigs for beef stew into a crockpot to cook. I don't have to worry about messing with it while I try to catch up with the massive amount of paperwork I need to catch up on and it's great for a cold night. Other favorites that can be done in large amounts and are great in cold weather are chicken & dumplings and tomato soup with grilled cheese (bacon added for those who can't go without meat sandwiches. For me all this cold just makes me want good old fashioned comfort food like my Grandma used to make for me.

I did a double-batch of chicken & dumplings last night for our crew. ( let me know if you need a recipe). Tomorrow night we are having Chicken Tetrazzini because it sounds good, love her recipes and it makes alot for cheap. My recipe is from Giada DeLaurentis' "Family Dinners" cookbook, but it's also on the Food Network site:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/chicken-tetrazzini-recipe/index.html

DEb

Lasagna...stick to your bones kind of meal.

Hot Brown Casserole.

For breakfast ...breakfast casserole.

Soup beans and cornbread. Basically a bean soup - I use ham broth and great notherns, but whatever you have is fine, make pans of corn bread, cut up some onions for the top of the soup. Very warm and filling.

Oh, yes, Sarita, I do love my "Breakfast Casseroles." We're talking the overnight breakfast casserole, right? I love them with croutons, day-old bread or frozen hash browns. I love them with Cheddar cheese, Fontina cheese or Monterey Jack. I love them with country sausage, Italian hot sausage or diced ham. I don’t think I ever make it the same way twice! But my two favorite versions start with rye bread cubes, Swiss cheese and diced corned beef or with dried bagel cubes, cream cheese, onion and chopped lox. When the grandchildren are here, I often prepare a half-and-half version, with dried white bread cubes, shredded Colby cheese, and diced ham at their end of the pan, and something a bit more jazzed-up at the grown-up’s end.

I make one up for Christmas morning using Christmas Eve ham, peppers, onions and mushrooms sauted (sp?) in wine and spread over cubed bread then topped with swiss cheese and egg of course. Very tasty. You could also do a french toast or bread pudding with a little Makers in the sauce.