PREPARATION IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS!

I had a great friend a long time ago that taught me the secret to a successful dinner party, whether for 10 or 110!  She sat down with me and we went through each recipe we were going to use and wrote down every ingredient and if we needed 5, 10, or 20 times the original recipe - we calculated how much of each ingredient it would take and we would write that down.  Then we went through and counted all of the - let's say eggs - then we figured how many dozen we would need to buy - and made our second list to shop by!  It works!  Thanks Cyndie - wherever you are!  Tonight I was getting a Veg-All Casserole ready for tomorrow night and because we could not find the vegetables in restaurant sized cans, I bought and opened 20 cans of the vegetables and 4 restaurant sized cans of corn.  Tomorrow we will open 18 cans of Apple Pie Filling to have enough to fill 140 tortillas for "Apple Tortilla Dessert."  Thankfully my Mom cut up my four cups of onions and 4 cups of celery for the casserole!  However, tonight we also had 65 pounds of potatoes to wash and cut up (decided not to peel - you know the vitamins are in the peel!) in order to cook them tomorrow afternoon for Homemade Mashed Potatoes!  Men, especially, seem to love them!  Ladies - take the time to make them from scratch rather than from a box -- the smiles on their faces will be reward enough.  Just cook until good and tender, drain, add some good butter, salt, pepper, and half and half and beat with mixer until smooth, and creamy!!! 
Have you ever wanted to take a friend something special - but knew they had more food than they could handle at the moment.  Maybe the wife is sick and the husband is going to be in charge of meals for a while.  Well, here is what I like to do!  CHICKEN TORTILLO SOUP

1 Large can Chicken                              1 Can Cream of Chicken soup
1 Can Chicken Broth                             1 Can Whole Kernel corn
1 Can Ranch Style Beans                      1 Can Rotel
Combine in large sauce pan and cook about 25 minutes.  Serve with grated cheese and tortilla chips.

No - don't make it and drag more food over to a refrigerator already spilling over!  Buy the cans of food, and the chips -- put in a cute basket or bag - with the directions included.  Now - when the leftovers have been thrown out, eaten or whatever - "Mr. Mom" can make a delicious meal in no time at all. 
It is also a very good meal for any family!  It is one of those things that sounds so simple - it could not possibly be good -- but I've made it - and not added any of my "secret" ingredients and it was great!!!

Well - try the recipes and let me know the results!  Look for ways to "Play it Forward" - and be kind to one another.  Tomorrow night will be short and sweet because after I have cooked a meal at church - I am usually totally exhausted - so God Bless and I will at least let you know how the meal turned out!