The perfect meal for the Firehouse?!


Question: I asked this yesterday, but want more ideas.

So... I'm going to be making dinner for my shift in a few weeks. They don't know that I *CAN* cook. I want something that's impressive, but not too much. I can't take a lot of time doing this, because I'll be on call. It can't be too expensive either. I want everyone to eat.

Note: chili is almost expected at a firehouse. It cannot be chili!


Thank's Everyone!


Answers: I asked this yesterday, but want more ideas.

So... I'm going to be making dinner for my shift in a few weeks. They don't know that I *CAN* cook. I want something that's impressive, but not too much. I can't take a lot of time doing this, because I'll be on call. It can't be too expensive either. I want everyone to eat.

Note: chili is almost expected at a firehouse. It cannot be chili!


Thank's Everyone!

Crockpot Chicken & Dressing

4 Chicken breasts, cooked, deboned, and chopped
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 stick margarine melted
2 eggs
1 T sage & ? t. pepper
5 cups cornbread crumbs
2 cups white bread or biscuit crumbs
*for cornbread/biscuit crumbs I use a combination sometimes stuffing mix also but total of around 7 cups of whichever
1 medium onion chopped (optional)
? cup chopped celery (optional – I don’t use it)
1 can chicken broth
Put ? can cream of chicken soup in bottom of crockpot. Mix breadcrumbs, can of cream of chicken soup, can of chicken broth, and margarine. Add eggs and optional ingredients if used. Mix well. Layer chicken and dressing ending with chicken on top. Put ? can of cream of chicken soup on top and cook for 3 hours on low.
Can be made up the night before and put in removal crock in refrigerator. Let stand at room temperature for 15-30 minutes before starting to cook.



Poor Man Beef Stroganoff

1 lb Hamburger Meat
1 8oz Sour Cream
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup

Brown hamburger, drain grease, add Sour Cream and Soup

Serve over either: Mashed Potatoes, Baked Potatoes, Rice or Egg Noodles

This is for 4 people so multiply it


Poor Man Chicken Parmesean

Breaded Chicken Breast Patties
Spaghetti Sauce
Mozzarella Cheese

Put Chicken Patties on Backing sheet, Spoon Spaghetti Sauce over the Patties. Cook the patties as per instruction. 5 minutes before it is done spread Mozzarella Cheese and cook until melted.

Braised beef short ribs, mashed and peas. BTW, thanx for what you do.

Willie's Chicken Enchilada Casserole - Serves 10-15 people

* 2 Large whole chickens
* 1 (12 oz) tub sour cream
* 2 Large onions, diced
* 40-60- white corn tortillas
* 1 jar pickled jalapeno peppers,
* diced 1 lb mild cheddar cheese, grated
* 1 Tbsp margarine
* 1 lb Monterey Jack cheese, grated
* 5 cans cream of chicken soup
* Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
* Boil and debone chickens.
* Retain 2 quarts broth in sauce pan.
* Shred chicken.
* Dice onions and 3 jalapenos.
* Saute onions and jalapenos in margarine and 3 Tbsp juice from jalapenos.
* Add cream of chicken soup, sour cream, and chicken meat.
* Cook two minutes over medium heat.
* Heat chicken broth in sauce pan.
* Dip tortillas in broth to soften and put one layer of tortillas in bottom of large roasting pan.
* Put approximately 3/4" layer of sauce mixture over tortillas.
* Add a thin, even layer of both cheeses.
* Layer tortillas, sauce, and cheeses again and continue until all sauce is used.
* Finish with remaining cheeses.
* Bake uncovered 45 minutes.

Recipe by Firefighter: William McLain, T1-C Austin Fire Station #1 Central Austin, Texas

some sort of pie? like smoked fish pie or shepard's pie. a pasta bake's always a favourite. curry and rice? fried noodles? just a few suggestions. good luck

Shredded BBQ pork. Easy Breezy.
Get how ever many pork butts or shoulder roasts--usually very cheap--make either in crockpots or a big roaster, season them up, I use some brown sugar, salt and pepper, when they start to get done add a can or two of Coke of Dr. Pepper, when they are done (160 with a meat thermometer) take them out, chop into pieces and put in a food processor or take two forks and shred. Put your favorite BBQ sauce over the shredded meat and mix, then put that back into the crockpots or roaster (drain the juice from them) mix and heat through. Serve with pickle slices and buns.
We make this for every potluck or graduation party we have. Usually 2-3 roast will feed 50

my brother in law was a fireman

there was big pot of soup since we are in maryland it was maryland crab veggie soup which was a hit

also

lasagna , green salad a bread

spaghetti

buffalo chicken wings and fries

Low Country Boil
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen


Crab boil, 2 teaspoons per quart of water
12 red new potatoes
6 (4-inch) smoked sausage link sausage
6 ears corn
3 pounds fresh shrimp, unpeeled

Fill a large pot with enough water to cover all of the ingredients. Add the crab boil and bring to a boil. Adjust the crab boil to suit your taste. When the water boils, add the potatoes and sausage. Cook on medium heat for 20 minutes. Add corn and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Add shrimp and cook for no more than 3 minutes. Drain and serve with warm bread.

Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 43 minutes
Yield: 6 servings


Or jambalaya
Turkey and Sausage Jambalaya for a Crowd
Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse



1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 cups chopped yellow onions
1 cup chopped green bell peppers
1 cup chopped celery
1/8 cup chopped garlic
1 1/8 teaspoons Essence, recipe follows
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
2 bay leaves
1 pound kielbasa or other cooked sausage, cut into 6 to 8-inch segments
2 smoked or cooked turkey legs
2 pounds cubed or shredded cooked turkey meat
1 cup chopped tomatoes and their juices
1 1/4 cups medium-grain white rice (about 1 1/8 pounds)
8 cups water
Hot Sauce
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup chopped parsley leaves

In a very large roasting pan measuring approximately 21 by 17 by 7 inches with handles on both sides, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions, bell peppers, celery, garlic, Essence, salt, pepper, cayenne and bay leaves, and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are very soft and starting to turn golden, about 15 minutes. Add the sausages and cook, stirring, until they start to brown on the outside, about 7 minutes. Add the turkey legs and meat and stir well. Add the tomatoes and their juices and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add the rice and stir well to incorporate and coat evenly. Add the water, stir well to combine, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover tightly, and cook without stirring until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender, 35 to 40 minutes, adding more water as needed if the liquid is all absorbed before the rice is tender.
Remove from the heat and let sit for 15 minutes before serving.

Remove the bay leaves. Stir in the green onions and parsley, and serve hot.


Essence (Emeril's Creole Seasoning):
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.
Yield: about 2/3 cup

Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Intermediate
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Yield: 10 servings

spaghetti, put lots of veggies as well as meat;
i use cerery, onions, and green peppers,
and hot italian sausage and hamburger, it goes a long ways and fills you up. don't forget the garloc bread!

If you have a long shift, boil a chicken, debone and deskin it and add 2# or more of frozen vegies. cut up the chicken into bit size and add back in. Add a large can of cream of chicken soup. Let cook until veggies are done. Get a can of buttermilk biscuits and drop on top of the boiling liquid when veggies are done. Cook 10 minutes uncovered and then 10 minutes covered for a quick chicken and dumplings with vegies. (you can use bisquick mix or other biscuit recipe for this. I make my own.) I have to make several rounds of the dumplings. Just put them on an oven safe dish and put in warm oven until all are done. (170F degrees)

at our fire house the guys love anything in a slow cooker. or fried chicken.

i saw make a heart stew or soup. with a crusty bread.

i can email you lots of slow cooker recipes.

Chicken Alfredo with penne pasta.... It taste so much better than with plain o spaghetti / fettucini noodles. Serve it with garlic cheese bread and a salad.

What about Stromboli, its like a Calzone and super easy to make all you need to go with it is a good filling salad or fruit salad. I know the guys dont want things like that but its a nice change up to the usual sides. Ive included some darn good recipes to give a try. Also what do you guys usually make? I know you said Chili is a FH staple, but what do you want to make to change it up? Let me know Im more then willing to help anyway I can. I too cook for my FH on occasion, I deliver it but never tell them I make it. Its nice to feed the Firedogs as we call them..lol . Also do you have a budget for meals for the week? What is it? I can better assist you then in meal ideas. Good luck
Gotcha,well do what you want to do or give the ones Ive suggested a try. What ever works for the crew.
Keep up the good work to you and your crew. Many blessings to you all.

CHICKEN & RICE CASSEROLE

1 c. raw rice
1 c. milk
1 tsp. salt
2 pieces chicken per person (about 20 pcs)
1 can EACH cream of chicken, celery AND mushroom soup
2 green onions, chopped (tops too)
1 can water chestnuts, drained & sliced
1 stick butter
Put rice in bottom of greased, LARGE pan. Pour milk over rice. Layer chicken on top. Mix soups & onion and pour over chicken. Add water chestnuts and dot well with butter. Cook uncovered at 325 for 2 hrs. ... Serves 10-12

Serve with a green salad and maybe a fruit salad too....

BLONDE BROWNIES
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
2 c. firmly packed brown sugar
2 slightly beaten eggs
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2/3 c. vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla
1 c. chocolate chips (or butterscotch, peanut butter, mixture?)
1/3 c. chopped nuts
Add sugar to oil and mix well. Put in all dry ingredients and stir until very well blended. Stir in chips & nuts. Spread in greased 9x13" pan. Bake at 350 for 30 min. Cool and cut into bars

Make this and the guys will be impressed!! Simply serve with a salad and garlic bread.

Pasta e Fagioli

1 lb Ground beef
1 sm Onion, diced (1 cup)
1 lg Carrot, diced (1 cup)
3 Celery ribs, chopped (1 cup)
2 Garlic cloves, minced
2 cn Diced tomatoes (14.5 oz. ea)
15 oz Red kidney beans, with
liquid
15 oz Great northern beans, with
liquid
15 oz Tomato sauce
12 oz V-8 juice
1 Tblsp White vinegar
1 ? ts Salt
1 ts Oregano
1 ts Basil
? ts Pepper
? ts Thyme
? lb Ditali pasta (1/2 package)

Brown the ground beef in a large saucepan or pot over medium heat. Drain off most of the fat. Add onion, carrot, celery, and garlic, and saute for 10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, except pasta, and simmer for 1 hour. About 50 minutes into simmer time, cook the pasta in 1 1/2 to 2 quarts of boiling water over high heat. Cook for 10 minutes or just until pasta is al dente, or slighty tough. Drain. Add the pasta to the large pot of soup. Simmer for 5-10 minutes and serve. Makes about 8 servings, and is easy to double the recipe.

Meat balls and spaghetti ., slices of supersod and a hard cheese for appetizers, Italian bread ,mixed salad tomatoes,olives (black & green) sliced red onion, olive oil, Canolis for desert. Easy to prepare and the main course is usually well received. The sauce if you are a good cook make it otherwise try Prego. Since I would assume wine ,a red, is not allowed soda will have to due. Manga

Depends on how much time you wanna spend and how many you are cooking for. bbq spare ribs... clean, season and slow cook them (so they are fall of the bone tender!) on 250-300 for around 5 hours, drain the liquid and then pile on your favorite bbq sauce. Corn on the cob is an easy and tasty veggie, and creamy mashed red or yukon gold potatoes are really good.

hamburger steaks with mushrooms and brown gravy with mash potatoes and a salad and a dessert like a pie or some cookies

Pork chops, loaded mashed potatoes, carrots Serve with a fruit juice, like apple juice or apple cider. Also, garnish the meal. Parsley always look nice, with a couple slices of tomato.
This meal shouldn't take long. You can add brown sugar to the carrots if desired, but without it the meal provides good variety of color, which is something most restaurants, and the military, try to do when preparing a meal. Mashed potatoes, cauliflower, and grilled fish would not be a good choice for a meal because of their similarity in color.

Quite a few of the recipes listed would take a while just getting all the ingredients together. So, you'll probably want one with few ingredients.
I've also got a good recipe for fudge, but I'm not about to give it out to everybody. But I'm willing to give it to you if you want it. Just e-mail me.

I have one recipe that can be eaten hot or cold - which I guess would be good for you in case you get a call during dinner. I have also included some other recipes for you. Hope that you and your firehouse stay safe!!!!

MEDITERRANEAN PASTA

1 package of Brown & Serve Sausage
? tsp. Oregano
2 Onions (minced)
? tsp. Salt
Minced Garlic (add to taste)
Dash of Pepper
1 tbs. Olive Oil
2 Tomatoes (seeded & cubed)
2 Zucchini (sliced thin)
Hot Cooked Vermicelli
? tsp. Basil Leaves
Grated Parmesan Cheese

Cook sausage in large skillet until brown. Remove, cut into 1/3’s and reserve. Add onions, garlic and oil to skillet. Cook until onions are soft. Add zucchini, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes more. Add tomatoes and sausage; cover and simmer 10 minutes more, stir occasionally. Serve over Vermicelli.

HOT TACO RICE

1 lb. Hamburger 1 Onion (minced)
1 ? c Salsa
8 oz. Can Tomato Sauce
1 cube Chicken Bouillon
1 ? c Rice (Minute Rice)

GARNISHES:
Nacho Chips, Mozzarella Cheese (Shredded) and Hot Peppers


Brown hamburger and onion in skillet. Add salsa, tomato sauce and bouillon. Bring to full boil, reduce heat to low; cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Serve over rice and add garnishes.

**Oriental Chicken Casserole**

3 cups cooked chicken (cubed)
1 ? cups thinly sliced celery
1 medium onion (chopped to desired size)
1 small can (1/2 C.) sliced mushrooms (chopped)
1 8 oz. can sliced water chestnuts (chopped to desired size)
2 T. butter
? cup mayonnaise (more if needed)
? cup sour cream (more if needed)
2 T. Soy sauce
2 T. lemon juice (1 T. if a concentrate)
1 can (3 oz.) Durkee French fried onion rings
1 pkg. pasta egg noodle.

Directions
Boil chicken until done (don’t overcook) (remove any bones/skin), Set aside

Preheat oven 350oF

Sauce: Mix mayonnaise, sour cream, soy sauce and lemon juice together in small bowl. Set aside.

Sauté in large pan: 2 T. butter, the celery, onions, mushrooms (until onions are a little translucent – do not brown).
Add water chestnuts and chicken, and sauce mixture. Mix thoroughly.

Pour into ungreased 12 x 8 (?) glass casserole dish. Sprinkle with onion rings.
Bake 20 minutes or until hot.

Cook egg noodles (per package directions) to be done when casserole is done.

Serve over egg noodles (or plain, or over crunchy Chinese noodles) and enjoy!

HINT: I HATE mushrooms and celery so I subsitute a 1/2 can of bamboo shoots (chopped) instead. It comes out just a great.

**Chicken Noodle Casserole**

3 C. uncooked no-yoke noodles
1 lbs white meat chicken – cut in strips or cubes
1 med. onion – chopped
1 Can whole kernel corn (drained) (small or large
depending on what you like)
1 Can fat free cream mushroom soup
? C. fat free sour cream (may need a little more
depending upon consistency)
S & P

Cook noodles according to directions, drain and set aside. In a large skillet, cook chicken and onions until meat is no longer pink. Stir in noodles, corn, soup, S & P, into chicken mixture. Mix in noodles. Put in casserole dish. Cover and bake 350o for 30 min. Uncover, bake 15 min. more.

Note: can use beef, port or chicken

**Southwest Chicken**

3 Cups cubed cooked chicken (I boiled it)
1 Pkg. Pasta (I used no yoke noodles)
1 T. olive oil
2 red peppers – cut in strips or cubes (as desired)
2 green peppers – cut in strips or cubes (as desired)
1 med-large onion - chopped
3 cloves garlic (mashed or diced)
1 medium jar salsa (I used mild)
2 C. package of shredded cheddar cheese (I used
Nacho/Taco flavored shredded cheese
1 sm. Container of sour cream (or more - to desired
consistency
1 T. chopped cilantro
4 dashes of Tabasco sauce
Sprinkle paprika
Sprinkle parsley
Pepper

Cook pasta according to directions, drain and set aside.
Saute pepper, onion, garlic in olive oil until softened (5 – 6 minutes). Add paprika, parsley, pepper, Tabasco, cilantro.
Add salsa, chicken, sour cream and cheese.
Add desired amount of pasta.

Place in 13 x 9 casserole dish and bake 30 minutes (approximately).

Or – you could mix all ingredients on stove (except for the pasta), until hot, then pour over pasta and serve.

How about pork steaks, baked with a little chicken bouillon granules sprinkled on (put a bit of water in the baking pan so keep them tender--you can season as you like, but don't salt because of the bouillon). Bake 400 til done, usually about 1 1/2hr. Make scalloped potatoes, either packaged or from scratch; add corn on the cobs (the little frozen ones), tossed salad or fruit salad. Make a cake or brownies for dessert..

How about Chicken Oscar. Very Simple and Very tasty!! Here are the main ingredients. No need for measuring, accommodate to however many serving. You may add salt, I usually don't, due to the salt in the Knorr.
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts Olive oil
Canned Crab Lemon juice
Steamed fresh asparagus Pepper
Pkgs. of Knorr Hollandaise Sauce Sm. pinch of tarragon
(Only use Knorr) Sm. amount parsley.
Saute chicken breasts in olive oil, lemon juice, pepper, tarragon, and parsley until done. To serve: Place chicken on plate, top with some crab, a few spears of asparagus, and pour some hollandaise over top. Serve with basmati rice and a nice salad.

Firehouse Special

1 1/2 lb Ground round
1 Onion -- diced
1 tb Oil
2 cn Cream of chicken soup
1 cn Milk
4 oz Green chiles -- diced
24 Corn tortillas
1 lb Cheddar cheese -- shredded

Brown beef and onion in oil, stirring to crumble meat. Combine soup and
milk in saucepan and cook, stirring, over medium heat until smooth. Then
add chiles. Cut torillas in 1 inch squares and make 1 layer in baking dish
using half of squares. Spread with layer of half of cooked meat, then with
half of soup mixture and half of cheese. Repeat layers. Bake at 325F 20 to
30 min.





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