Pellet Fan
All Things Considered => General Discussion--Food Related => Topic started by: Kristin Meredith on January 12, 2025, 07:16:36 AM
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Every month I cook with Manna Ministries. This is a ministry of my church which offers lunch to all who come on Mon, Wed and Fri. 5 years ago, we were feeding about 60 t0 70 meals at each lunch. Today we are feeding between 185 to 200 at lunch, but without a real budget increase. We are lucky that local grocery stores donate a lot and places like Panera, Chic-fil-A and the Country Store also provide.
We have been donated two good size corned beef -- about 28 or so pounds total. Obviously not enough for 200 so need to stretch. I thought a hash -- add cooked potatoes, cooked onions, maybe carrots to stretch to feed 200. It will be hot and filling for the cold spell we are having.
Any other thoughts on what could be done with the corned beef? Or any thoughts on other things to add to help stretch it? Thanks.
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Just some thoughts. If you can grind or chop it could you make one of the following: tacos, meat sauce for pasta or bake beans. You could also make rice dish with it and onions.
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I think the hash would be good, as far as stretching it, I may consider something urnmor mentioned, maybe grind through a 3/8 plate for pieces about the size of the chunks. Good luck to you, if I was given that and told to make something to feed close 200 people, I would be lost.
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When I was growing up, we were dirt poor and my mom made an abundance of gravy with virtually every meal and it was always served over rice. She feed the eight of us for very little cost. Of course, we lived in southern Louisiana, where rice was very abundant and cheap. If you made a stew with lots of gravy and served it over rice and/or potatoes, it should go a long way.
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My mother regularly made what she called New England Boiled Dinner. I think it was corned beef and the normal potatoes, carrots and cabbage. I think she did it in order to make the corned beef go farther.
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My mother regularly made what she called New England Boiled Dinner. I think it was corned beef and the normal potatoes, carrots and cabbage. I think she did it in order to make the corned beef go farther.
I second this idea. It is a great meal and I think it would work well for what you are doing!
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My mother regularly made what she called New England Boiled Dinner. I think it was corned beef and the normal potatoes, carrots and cabbage. I think she did it in order to make the corned beef go farther.
Please do not take offense to what I am about to write as this meal almost traumatized me for life. Back then Cornbeef was a poor man's meal. No No No I remember as a child my Mother would make that with turnips, along with the carrots and cabbage because my Dad being Irish loved it, however, I have only bad memories of the meal. I hated it and would not eat it. So I had to sit at the dinner table long after everyone finished and often was given to me for breakfast if I did not finish it that night. I once even got sick from it as I gagged on it. I have not eaten since and will only eat cabbage in coldslaw, nor do I eat turnips or squash unless I can hide the flavor.
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It was a poor man's meal, just like brisket was also poor person's meal and that's why is many immigrant Jews ate brisket. Wish I could say the same for today as both are very expensive in my book! But we all have those meals or dishes from our childhood that we avoid I think. For me, it is peas.
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It was a poor man's meal, just like brisket was also poor person's meal and that's why is many immigrant Jews ate brisket. Wish I could say the same for today as both are very expensive in my book! But we all have those meals or dishes from our childhood that we avoid I think. For me, it is peas.
You are correct and that is why it became a stable for the Irish immigrants. I agree with you on the price. Isn't it amazing ow food some of us grew up on was looked upon with distain and now some think it is a gourmet meal.
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It was a poor man's meal, just like brisket was also poor person's meal and that's why is many immigrant Jews ate brisket. Wish I could say the same for today as both are very expensive in my book! But we all have those meals or dishes from our childhood that we avoid I think. For me, it is peas.
I am with you on green peas. Those things are nasty. We didn't have a lot of money growing up and my mom didn't have a lot of free time either so we ate a lot of cabbage that was cooked in the pressure cooker and got a little salt and butter. I still like it though. My dad grew up as one of nine kids and they always stretched ground beef with oatmeal. So it wasn't just how they did meat loaf. I am an oatmeal in meatloaf guy rather then bread crumb, but my dad also always put oatmeal in hamburgers and the like as well. So I guess they were more of a meatloaf burger, but they were always tasty.
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It depends on the pea for me. A canned green pea, that is a tough sell and for me can only be used for a mushy pea, which has its place in your British cuisine. Frozen peas, boy I love them, specially in a cream sauce!
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My wife will not eat peas, however, she has a real dislike for mash potatoes that go back to her very young childhood. In fact if a restaurant puts them on her plate she will send it. If my accident mash potatoes touch any part of her meal she will ask for a new dinner. As a result of her phobia I usually only make mash potatoes on Christmas and New Years.
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It was a poor man's meal, just like brisket was also poor person's meal and that's why is many immigrant Jews ate brisket. Wish I could say the same for today as both are very expensive in my book! But we all have those meals or dishes from our childhood that we avoid I think. For me, it is peas.
I can tell that those of you that don't eat/like green peas did not grow up in a household like the one that I grew up in. Not liking something was never an option. As a matter of fact, Over time, I grew to like them. Split pea soup with ham is now one of my favorites.
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My Mother was a very simple cook, not many meals in her aresenal. Money wasn’t the issue her lack of childhood cooking and the fact that she was a nursr kept her away many hours. S.O.S. was about once every 2 weeks (chipped beef on toast) I hated it then but have gotten it a few times at a livestock sale barn and I love it. Fried bologna sandwiches were also in the rotation.😀
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We may have stolen the purpose of this thread however I am very much enjoying the thread.
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I can tell that those of you that don't eat/like green peas did not grow up in a household like the one that I grew up in. Not liking something was never an option. As a matter of fact, Over time, I grew to like them. Split pea soup with ham is now one of my favorites.
We had options in our house. Stay at the dinner table until you finished it, have it for breakfast the next morning or go hungry. I quickly realized the last one was not an option for me.
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Split Pea soup with some hocks is a very fine soup. Might have to look into that this week. Will never find hocks, but do have some ham!
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If you have a Winco in your area,they carry great ham hocks
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We had to try something once and some things (like liver and onions) weren't optional. But I think Mom realized that having a kid not eat peas was preferably to having a kid upchuck peas at the dinner table.
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What did you end up doing for the dinner? Starting to think about St. Patrick's Day and corned beef!
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We did a corn beef hash -- had more potatoes in it than normal and also added some sautéed onions and corn to stretch it. Also had canned peaches as a side. We fed 186 meals that day. Pretty good for only having 2 corned beef that weighted about 32 lbs raw.
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We did a corn beef hash -- had more potatoes in it than normal and also added some sautéed onions and corn to stretch it. Also had canned peaches as a side. We fed 186 meals that day. Pretty good for only having 2 corned beef that weighted about 32 lbs raw.
Great job! That's a lot of folks and a good budget friendly meal.