A Favorite Community Meal

Last week was another Community LinC meal, the community meal that our volunteer organization provides twice monthly to anyone who wants to come for food, fellowship, and faith-based connections. This menu of bbq shredded chicken sandwiches, pasta salad, cowboy beans and assorted desserts was my favorite so far! We were preparing for a crowd, but these recipes are easy ones to prepare at home also.

Barbecue Shredded Chicken

Our preparations included 40 pounds of chicken, but we were serving about 120 plates. There are no exact measurements for this preparation.
Chicken breasts - remove visible fat and cut into thirds, layer in slow cooker, roaster or casserole pan
add a layer of sliced onions
cover with barbecue sauce
Bake at 350 degrees for 2-3 hours, until done (chicken internal temperature should be 165 degrees)  and tender. In a slow cooker that would be about 5-6 hours. Shred and serve on buns.

Diners are greeted with a smile
and a plate of hot food.

Pasta Salad

Pasta salad is easy to make in large or small amounts  

The great thing about pasta salad is it is so versatile. You can include what ingredients you like for the preparation. For our Community LinC meals we used tri-colored rotoni pasta, sliced olives, diced bell peppers,  chopped red onions, chopped carrots and chopped celery. Italian salad dressing from the bottle was mixed with the pasta and vegetables - instant pasta salad!

The littlest helper enjoys a taste

Here's another recipe for Pasta Salad that I made for a church funeral dinner last week. The dressing is a little different for this, mixing mayonnaise with Italian salad dressing to made a creamier dressing. The cherry tomatoes made a colorful salad.

Italian Pasta Salad

1 ½ cup uncooked spiral pasta

1 ½ cups halved cherry tomatoes

1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

½ cup chopped sweet red pepper

½ cup chopped green pepper

3 Tablespoons thinly sliced green onions

1 cup zesty Italian salad dressing

¾ cup mayonnaise

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

⅓ cup cubed provolone cheese

1 can (2-¼ oz) sliced ripe olives, drained

Directions: Cook pasta according to package directions; rinse with cold water and drain. Place in a large bowl; add vegetables. Whisk together the salad dressing and mayonnaise until well blended. Add cheeses and dressing to pasta mixture and gently stir in. Refrigerate a few hours before serving.