Cook Talk

Soup kitchen cooking
gordo
09/17/06 		Do you know of a good recipe for chicken enchiladas (approximately 175 servings) that can be made in a few hours? I got a good deal on about 50lbs of chicken breast and ready to cook chicken fritters. It's not enuf to serve everyone as much chicken as they'd like but may in an enchilada casserole it would work. (I also have about 100 or so tortillas). I have rice so I thought I'd do spanish rice to go with it.
ellen
09/18/06 		Hi, Gordo!

See the veggie enchilada casserole in the basic budget entree section. 50 pounds of chicken breast, cooked and shredded, is plenty to add meat to this dish. A side dish of borracho beans or refried beans is an additional "stretcher".

gordo
09/26/06 		I found a good recipe on line, make the spanish rice and refried beans like you suggested. It was well liked so I thought I'd include the recipe. Course I never make it exactly as written cuz we have certain things available that I like to use up:

Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Did not use tomatoes or tomato soup. Used 10 lbs sour cream and 4-5 lbs béchamel sauce and couple lbs of alfredo sauce in place of soups and cottage cheese. No green chiles. Topped with enchilada sauce and some cheese.

Serves: 100

Ingredients
2 (50 oz) cans Campbell's Condensed Cream of Mushroom or 98% Fat Free Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 (50 oz) can Campbell's Condensed Tomato Soup
7 lbs tomatoes, stewed
9 lbs chicken, cooked, diced
6 lbs cottage cheese (1% fat)
3 lbs 8 oz cheddar cheese, shredded
1 lb green chillies, canned, drained, chopped
(144) 6" corn tortillas

Method
Mix 1 can mushroom soup, tomato soup and tomatoes. Mix remaining mushroom soup, chicken, cottage cheese, 2 qts cheddar cheese and chillies.

In each of 4 baking pans (12 x 20 x 2") spread 2 cups tomato soup mixture. Top with 12 tortillas and 1-1/2 qts chicken mixture. Repeat layers. Top with remaining 12 tortillas and 2 cups tomato soup mixture. Sprinkle with 1-1/2 cups cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 degrees F. Bake until internal temperature is 165 degrees F or higher for 15 seconds, about 40 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes. Hold at 140 degrees F or higher. Cut each pan into 25 portions. Portion 1 piece each.

ellen
09/27/06 		Thanks for the report and the recipe. How much chicken did you use for 175 people?
gordo
10/16/06 		Sorry I didn't notice your response til today. I used , close to 30 lbs. I think. I know I didn't have 50 lbs, but it seemed like plenty of chicken--meaty and flavorful.
gordo
10/16/06 		P.S. I saved the remaining 20+ lbs and will add some turkey I just got at a good price for a chicken and rice dish that the people love on cold nights. I got more frozen bechamel sauce and some cream soup from Olive Garden generously donated to one of our local food banks. Last time we ran out of food so this month I'm going to plan for 200 servings for sure!
andrew c.
04/04/07 		hoso-stud.

cheese and their accompanments
need 4, Cottage ,Gouda parmesan, blue Vein
help

ellen
04/04/07 		Question is unclear, please try again.
gordo
04/28/07 		Someone got a bit overzealous and picked up 9 cases of creamed corn. Tried serving it before and it didn't go over well. I just read your corn pudding/souffle page and the traditional recipe might work for us. I don't think our people would go for the corn/tomato casserole. I know you can't just multiply so can you give some direction as to increasing the traditional recipe? I usually fix about 175 servings. Any other suggestions for how to use this much creamed corn? Thanks.
ellen
04/29/07 		Corn fritter is the immediate suggestion- fried or deep fried after mixing with corn muffin mix. powdered sugar, syrup, a side of ham or bacon.

For the casserole, you want 18 9x13 pans for this size group. For each 9x13 pan, you want 4 cans creamed corn with no whole corn, reduce sour cream to only 1 cup. That will use up 3 cases each time.

gordo
04/30/07 		I could not find a corn fritter recipe on your site. Do you have one? I'm from the NW and that isn't part of our repetoire of foods. Sounds good tho. Also, I use big pans (the 20 x 12 x 2 or 4). How does that compare with the 9 x 13?
ellen
05/02/07 		The 2 inch is about double, the 4 inch is quadruple.
No corn fritter? They are a lot like hushpuppies, procedure-wise. I never used a recipe for corn fritters, just added about 1 egg per can and enough corn muffin mix to make it about like pancake batter. Maybe add some chopped green onion if they are to accompany fried chicken... Corn fritters can be deep fried or fried in about an inch of hot oil in a frying pan.
Try cooks.com or recipe bazaar.
ellen
05/02/07 		Check this recipe, remember you want 2-3 fritters per serving

recipesforacrowd.com/corn-fritters-pancake-mix

gordo
05/03/07 		Thanks for the additional info. I think our people will really like these. Do you think we could fry them on a grill? We don't really have a fryer or more than one or two fry pans.
ellen
05/06/07 		I have done these on the grill as sort of corn crumpets, they are not as crispy as fritters, but they are pretty good- just get plenty of butter and syrup.
gordo
05/07/07 		Thanks
gordo
05/18/07 		I was given many lbs. of overripe bananas. I thru them in the freezer til I figure out what to do with them. I've used them in banana bread before but that doesn't use much. I'm cooking again next Friday and wondered if you had any suggestions. P.S. I'm planning on doing the corn fritters on Friday.
ellen
05/20/07 		You could make a banana sherbet for dessert with the frozen babanas, some orange juice concentrate, maybe some frozen strawberries and a blender...
gordo
05/28/07 		Thanks for all your ideas. Friday I made Mexican chili (chicken, various beans, tomatoes...) and corn fritters. I tried to use plenty of oil so that they would be a little crispy. I'm sure they weren't like the real thing, but a grill was all I had. The people loved the corn fritters (thanks to you). In fact they liked them so much I'm going to make them again, especially since we still have plenty of extra cases of creamed corn and it seems to be the best way so far to use that stuff up!
ellen
05/28/07 		Good work. Corn fritters, mmmm.
Anthony
07/30/07 		Recipe for Chilled Mango and Cucumber Soup Brunoise for 65 people (please) Most make tomorrow 7-31-2007 at 10am
ellen
07/30/07 		Anthony, mango and cucumber brunoise is just finely diced mixed mango and cucumber. Put this exact phrase into google search just ike this, with the quote marks, and choose your own recipe:

chilled Mango "Cucumber Soup"

Anthony
07/30/07 		Thanks your the Best (_)? Question Will you Marry Me (SMILEEEEEEE) LOL
gordo
08/18/07 		I'm thinking of doing corn fritters again to try and finish off those cases of creamed corn. But this time as a main dish with the addition of sausage and veggies of some kind and served with sour cream and salsa. Can you think of any other dishes that would round out this meal? Thanks for everything.
ellen
08/18/07 		What came to mind right away was either a bean dish such as my deacons' sweet and sour butter beans, or a scalloped tomato casserole, which can be made with canned tomatoes, or broiled tomato halves if someone give you a case of fresh. Or maybe a broccoli and rice or spinach and rice casserole such as green rice?
The other possibility might be a nice little fruit salad.
Hope you and your diners are tolerating the summer heat safely.
gordo
08/19/07 		Beans sounds great. We'll see what comes our way in terms of fresh fruit or veggies. Thanks for the ideas. It's been reasonably cool here lately but it's supposed to heat up mid week. Love standing over a hot griddle for hours in the heat! :)
gordo
08/25/07 		The meal turned out great. We had sausage/corn/spinach/red pepper fritters and veggie only fritters, served with sour cream and salsa, beans, bananas whole for the taking, canned pears topped with a few mandarin oranges, pasta salad (kind of a weird combo but it was donated) and a variety of drinks and desserts. Thanks again for you help.
gordo
09/17/07 		I hate to bother you with this but I've poked around the website and can't find where you might have info on the amount of condiments (ketchup, mayo, mustard, relish) when serving burgers. I'm going to be making a minimum of 300 burgers for the next dinner and I need some sense of the condiments to purchase. Thanks.
ellen
09/18/07 		Hi, check the sandwich events page for the condiment chart.
gordo
10/22/07 		I'm planning my meal for Friday and have just about settled on a chicken ala king kind of dish over rice. I have about 35lbs of chunk chicken and turkey and will be looking for whatever veggies I can get. I had planned on making a gravy for the sauce, but wondered about adding some of that creamed corn that is still lying around. (I think I'm the only one who uses that stuff and there are still 2 cases left!) Do you think it would take away from the other flavors, enhance the creaminess....?
ellen
10/22/07 		Hi, Gordo,

You could just run the corn through the blender and end up with a creamy rather sweet base for your gravy. You would want some frizzled onion and bouillon pwder to season it up.

Or you could serve the chicken southern shortcake style over split cornbread squares and make the cornbread using the creamed corn.

Ellen

gordo
10/23/07 		Thanks--great suggestions.
gordo
10/27/07 		The creamed corn worked great in the meal and really made it thick and creamy. Made a gravy using bouillon, spices--started with a roux. Turned out fabulously well. Thanks again for your advice. Your a life saver. It seems I always have at least one question about what I'm cooking each month. I guess if I cooked the same things all the time, I would know the answers, but I'm always looking for something new, plus it just depends on what food I can get ahold of 'on the cheap'.

By the way, we got a case of cukes donated at the last minute. We cut them up, added some jars of pimentos we found in the store room and mixed them with some caesar/italian dressing. It was a huge hit. Not bad for pulling something off at the last minute.

ellen
10/27/07 		Keep up the great work, I am sure the diners taste the love as well as the seasoning. Getting cold where you are?
Gordo
12/29/07 		Just want to thank you again for your website. Last night I made about about 180 servings of sloppy joes following your recipe as a guide, and same with mac and cheese, altho we were able to get about 18 lbs of swiss cheese sauce so we used that for the mac and cheese. Fabulous night--made a tropical fruit salad including a case of pomegranate that was donated. People went crazy cuz they never get pomegranate seeds. Anyway, just wanted you to know I'm still using your site as a guide and telling others what a great place it is for info. Happy New Year.
ellen
12/29/07 		Thanks. Your note arrived as I returned home from a longish travel with a broken and rifled suitcase that the airline blamed on the TSA and refused to cover, to begin searching the city for a new place to live. I needed that!
Ellie
01/04/08 		how much chicken and veggie would i need to make chciken soup for 100
ellen
01/04/08 		Please see some of the soup recipes for 100. For example, you can use the veggie beef and make veggie chicken instead.
Krista B
04/08/08 		Hi Ellen,

I'm doing a hamburgers meal at the soup kitchen I work at. What are some ideas for sides that are inexpensive? I can't do raw veggies because the majority of our community have dental problems.

ellen
04/09/08 		Baked beans or other beans, of course, or mac and cheese. If it is still cool where you are, hot tomato soup. A hot fruit cobbler for a dessert treat. Corn pudding/casserole is popular and goes well with this meal.
Pasta salads are easier and faster to prepare than potato salads.
Krista B
04/14/08 		Thanks! I didn't think of a soup (I'm in Northern Canada, so it's still quite cold!!).

Do you have a recipe for corn pudding?

ellen
04/15/08 		yes, see the corn side dishes in the holiday cooking section at the top of Big Pots.
Krista B
04/18/08 		Ellen,

It went over really well. Thanks for the suggestion!

K

Krista B
05/26/08 		Hi Ellen,

Another question for you! The community really wants grilled cheese and tomato soup and have been pestering me to make it. What is the best way to cook 400 grilled cheese sandwiches? I have a grill (can fit 25-30 sandwiches at a time) and 2 industrial ovens.

Options?

Thanks!

gordo
05/26/08 		I don't know about you but when I was cooking at a soup kitchen, we grilled tons of sandwiches ahead and put them on trays with foil over them so they wouldn't dry out--with vent holes or openings so steam could escape. Then one of us would continue to grill sandwiches while the others served, etc. It's a lot of work, but can be done. We did grilled cheese and ham too--for a more filling meal once.
Krista B
05/26/08 		Good idea!

I can't do ham in the sandwiches - many muslims. But they don't know that I have a T-bone steak BBQ scheduled for June :)

ellen
05/27/08 		One very good industrial "secret" for grrilled cheese- instead of trying to soften up butter/margarine and coat the outsides, or using melted butter/shortening in the pans, spread the outside of the sandwiches with a thin layer of real mayonaisse before grilling. Adds just enough oil to get the crunch and browning, is quicker than buttering.

An alternative is cheese toast. If you use French bread split longwise, simple in your big ovens. See the Cajun Parmesan garlic bread at the bottom of the meatballs for 25 page for another possibility.

Krista B
05/27/08 		Wow - I didn't know the mayo secret! thanks.
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