Sample recipes that serve a crowd

The big family reunion is this weekend, and our family is the host for the festivities. That is a bag of mixed blessings in that we do not have to travel and be away from home, but we wind up doing all the work. But that is just fine with us, and when everyone arrives it makes it all worthwhile.

In preparing menus and grocery lists, I thought I would share a few recipes with you that we will be serving this weekend for the Powell family gathering. Some of these recipes are for large groups, so you might be able to use them at your next group gathering.

My Uncle Bill always made barbecue chicken for every reunion, and his tradition continues. We will do 50 to 55 chicken halves using his basting sauce. During the last 20 minutes of cooking, we mix the remaining basting sauce with barbecue sauce and finish basting and turning the chickens to brown the sauce.

Uncle Bill's Chicken Basting Sauce

20 cups apple cider vinegar

4 cups water

6 pounds margarine

1 scant cup salt

5 rounded tablespoons pepper

In a very large kettle, combine all ingredients and heat until margarine is melted. Baste chicken every 5 minutes at start, then every 15 minutes as the fire burns down and cools off. Finish with combining the remaining basting sauce and your favorite barbecue sauce and finish basting during the last 20 minutes of cooking.

Cherry Salad

6 (3-ounce) packages cherry gelatin

6 (3-ounce) packages lemon gelatin

4 cups boiling water

2 cans crushed pineapple, undrained

2 cans cherry pie filling

Mix gelatin packages with boiling water. Stir until dissolved. Add pineapple and pie filling. Stir well. Pour into a large pan and chill until firm. Top with the following topping mixture.

Topping:

1 cup sugar

1 (16-ounce) carton sour cream

2 (8-ounce) bricks cream cheese, softened

2 teaspoons vanilla

Combine all ingredients and beat until smooth and creamy. Spread over chilled layer. Top with chopped pecans if desired.

Fluffy Lemonade Salad

5 (3-ounce) packages lemon gelatin

6 cups boiling water

1 (12-ounce) frozen lemonade concentrate

1 (12-ounce) carton frozen whipped topping, thawed

Dissolve gelatin in boiling water; stir in lemonade until dissolved. Chill until partially set. Fold in whipped topping. Pour into a large flat baking dish or bowl to chill until ready to serve.

Strawberry Gelatin Salad

2 (3-ounce) boxes strawberry gelatin

2 cups hot water

1 can crushed pineapple, drained

3 mashed bananas

1 box frozen sliced strawberries

1 cup sour cream

Pecans, chopped

Dissolve gelatin in hot water. Cool. Add all fruits. Mix well. Pour half of mixture into 9-by-13-inch dish. Chill until form. Spread sour cream over chilled layer. Sprinkle with pecans. Pour remaining gelatin mixture over this and chill until firm.

Fruit Salad

2 cans fruit cocktail, drained

1 can chunk pineapple, drained

2 cans Mandarin oranges, drained

1 small bunch red seedless grapes

3 sliced bananas

2 apples, cored and diced

Combine all ingredients and gently stir until well combined, being careful not to break up the oranges. Chill until ready to serve.

Pay Day in a Pan

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup light corn syrup

1 cup sugar

Microwave or heat in pan until all melted together very well.

Stir in:

1 cup coconut

1 cup dry roasted peanuts

6 cups corn flakes

Gently stir together until well combined and press evenly into a lightly buttered 9-by-13 inch dish. Cut into squares to serve.

Coleslaw Dressing

1 1/2 cups Miracle Whip

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1/4 cup milk

1 tablespoon vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and serve over chopped cabbage or packaged coleslaw mix. This recipe nicely dresses about 2 1-pound bags of prepared slaw mix.

Mom's Homemade Ice Cream

Cartoned pasteurized eggs to equal 6 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 (3 ounce) package vanilla instant pudding mix

1 envelope Dream Whip

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 quart liquid coffee creamer, like Coffee Mate or Coffee Rich

1/2 gallon 2% milk

Beat eggs. Mix all other ingredients together except milk with the eggs in a large bowl or pitcher. Pour into a 6-quart ice cream freezer and add milk. Freeze according to your manufacturer's instructions.

Blueberry Pie

1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese

1 9-inch baked pie shell

4 cups fresh blueberries

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 cup water

3 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Soften cream cheese. Spread in bottom of cooled pie shell. Fill with 3 cups berries. Combine 1 cup berries and the water, bring just to boiling point, reduce heat and simmer 2 minutes. Strain, reserving juice, about 3/4 cup. Combine sugar and cornstarch. Gradually add to juice, until thick and clear. Cool slightly and add lemon juice. Pour over berries in pie shell. Chill and serve with whipped cream.

When making this recipe I skip the straining step and thicken the cooked mixture and it work just fine.

Pecan Pie

3 eggs, slightly beaten

1 cup dark corn syrup

1 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup evaporated milk

1 1/2 tablespoons margarine

3/4 teaspoon vanilla

Pinch salt

1 rounded cup pecans

1 9-inch unbaked pie shell

Mix together slightly beaten eggs and syrup, brown sugar, milk, butter, vanilla and salt. Beat on medium speed of mixer or briskly with wire whisk. Place pecans in bottom of pie shell. Pour filling over the pecans. Bake at 350 degrees for 55 to 60 minutes until browned and set. Filling will puff up high, but will fall and settle when removed from oven. A nice addition is to use maple syrup in place of the dark corn syrup or a combination of the two.

I hope you have enjoyed a little bit of our family recipe collection. Over the three-day reunion, we will serve several hundred meals. In all of the times we have been hosting the reunions, we have never been rained out, and our weather for this weekend is not looking good. So, we will be talking to the man up stairs about that! Have a delightful holiday weekend and I hope yours is filled with family in abundance as mine will be. Until next time, happy cooking.

Susan McClanahan is administrator at the Cape Girardeau Senior Center. Send recipes to her at smcclanahan@semissourian.com or by mail at P.O. Box 699; Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63701. Recipes published have not been kitchen-tested by the Southeast Missourian staff.