Ideas for Sunday Cooking

Cooking for Sunday Dinner

From as far back as I can remember there have been special church
occasions when dinner on the church grounds was the order for the
day. Far too many times I watched as person after person walked
in with store purchased fried chicken. Whether the reason for this
was lack of time, lack of planning, or lack of ideas I was never
quite certain. I was certain however, that this was not isolated to
my church alone.

It may seem odd but I have traveled all over the country and lived
in many different areas of the culture. One thing that seems constant
no matter where I live is that someone inevitably brings fried
chicken from a local restaurant or deli as his or her potluck offering.
There is nothing wrong with this of course, but there are so many
great recipes available for Sunday dinner cooking that it seems
odd that so many would resort to this tired old tradition rather
than spicing things up with a spicy taco casserole or sweetening
the deal with some delightfully delicious and simple to make
dessert.

Sunday dinners obviously aren't the only time when cooking a
casserole or making a dessert is a good decision for the day.
They are, however, the most common from my childhood,
which is why I often refer to them. There are also 'pitch ins' at
work that require a contribution and these are an excellent
opportunity to make coworkers envy your culinary talents.
Even for those who are health conscious however, there are
many wonderful types of salads that can be prepared for
occasions such as this that will provide you with a guilt free
entrée at the event for which you are preparing your offering.

You do not have to choose calorie or fat filled dishes for your
Sunday dinner cooking. In fact, when you are doing the cooking
you should cook the things you enjoy eating. Most of us are
much more likely to put our best efforts into preparing the foods
we enjoy rather than those that feel as though they are a chore for
us to make. The same holds true when cooking for potlucks and
such. Just be careful that you do not prepare the exact same dish
every time or people will think that it is the only dish you
can prepare.

I recommend checking out casserole recipes online and in your
favorite magazines. Even magazines that offer healthier eating
options often have a casserole, large salad, or even a healthy
dessert you can prepare for these events. My personal solution
has always been to collect recipes over time that I would like to
try out and use the potluck audience as my recipe guinea pigs.
This way if my family or I do not like it, we won't be stuck with
leftovers for a week and if we do like it, we can put it into our
rotation of recipes for use at home.

Sunday dinner cooking doesn't have to be nearly as stressful as
many of us make it out to be. Many wonderful crock-pot recipes
can actually be prepared while you sleep. Just load your slow
cooker with the proper ingredients and turn it on before turning in.
You should awaken to the wonderful aroma of whatever delightful
dish you have prepared and still manage to get ready for church in
 record time. This tried and true technique is a great way to make
Sunday dinner cooking quick and easy.

Even if you are one of the many who have very limited culinary
talents it is quite possible to wow your friends, relatives, and
fellow church members with the correct 'simple to make' recipe.
Desserts are by far the best way to go in this effort and can also
be made the night before (in many cases) and stored in the
refrigerator. Desserts are almost always a good bet and very
few people ever complain about them regardless. The Kraft
foods website offers some fabulously easy to make and delicious
desserts if you are in need. The next time it is your turn to join in
on the potluck preparation don't resort to fried chicken. Dish up
something that will truly turn heads instead.

 Try this:

One of the advantages of preparing soups in crock pots is the
richness of flavour from the slow cooking process. Today, I
am sharing with you three deligthful crockpot recipes for soups,
great confort dishes any time of the year.

16 BEAN SOUP

1 package 16 Bean Soup
3 bay leaves
1 tablespoon crushed oregano
2 cans no-fat chicken stock
Additional water to cover
3 stalks celery chopped
3 carrots diced
1 large onion chopped
3 cloves garlic sliced
1 pound turkey Italian sausage sliced
2 cans stewed (or diced) tomatoes

Combine first 5 ingredients (liquid should cover mixture by 1"-2")
 in Crock Pot Cook on high for 2 hours Add remaining ingredients
and shift cooker to low and cook for additional 3 hours For more
 zing, add cayenne or crushed red pepper when adding second
set of ingredients. Serve as complete meal or over rice.
Freezes well.


VEGETABLE BEEF SOUP

1 pound ground chuck
1 cup chopped onion
1 large (28 oz.) can whole tomatoes (chopped)
3 cup diced potatoes
1 (16 oz.) can cut green beans
2 teaspoon chili powder
2-3 dashes cayenne pepper sauce
2 (10 1/2 oz.) cans condensed beef bouillon
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup sliced carrots
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Brown meat with onion and celery; drain off fat. Stir in remaining
ingredients and add 1 or 2 cups water. Cover and cook on low for
8-10 hours.


BARBECUED BEAN SOUP

* 1 lb Great Northern beans, soaked
* 2 tsp Salt
* 1 med Onion, chopped
* 1/8 tsp Ground pepper
* 2 lb Beef short ribs
* 6 cup Water
* 3/4 cup Barbecue sauce

Place all ingredients in Slow Cooker except barbecue sauce Cover
and cook on Low 10 to 16 hours. Before serving, remove short ribs
and cut meat from bones. Return meat to Slow Cooker. Stir in
barbecue sauce before serving.

Thanks for viewing,  Enjoy
TR