Well that was fun

We had a cooking fest here at Yarnkettle's house this weekend. Hey when I make multiple batches of chili and cornbread I call that a fest. Now we were not hosting a party at our house but taking the food to one. Let me explain

We got rid of cable TV a while ago and have found the perfect way to watch football on Sunday. We go the American Legion. When we started going we noticed a sign up sheet. Each week someone brings in "snacks" and this Sunday was ours.

Now we had a couple of months to prepare so we discussed what would be easiest since we've never done anything like this before. 20 to 30 people is not beyond my skill set, but I've never been the sole contributor before. I am much better at pot luck.

We decided on chili because it is pretty darn hard to completely screw up. Yes, you can burn it but even that takes some doing. And of course what goes with chili? Fritos! We had those too but something more homey is corn bread.

Once you decide what to make, then you get to decide how much to make. I tried looking on line but I don't know how much some people are eating but I don't think two pounds of meat only feeds 4-6 people. Maybe that is because I like a chili with as many beans as you can fit into it. I thought I would stick to three bean chili; pinto, kidney and black beans. 

But still how much do I make? Once I relaxed into the idea of if we run out, we run out. Most likely that would be the second or third bowl for people. So I realized why they call it a snack and not an official meal, then I was OK with my plan. 

Earlier in the week I had cooked all the meat up, then froze it. So Saturday morning I started in making batches. It still seems like I cooked chili all day long, because I sort of did. I'd make a batch and let it simmer for a few hours before starting the process over. I wish I had remembered to add in a touch of liquid smoke, but hey I got all my beans in there. 

Poor D had to make an emergency milk run on Sunday for the corn bread. I had enough to make one batch the night before but on Sunday I was a cornbread machine!

After we arrived at the legion I heated two batches together and put them in the crock pot to keep them warm. They filled the crock with just a tad left over. That was round one. Round two and three came later and were a bit smaller but still tasty. 

Our spread went over pretty well. But heck they were just happy they were not back in their military days eating rations (MREs) or on KP duty. They know how to be grateful for what they receive.

Thanks guys for taking it easy on me!  I am already thinking about next year.