21 DINNER GUESTS!

Don't wait for ...... to show hospitality to someone! Just keep the meal simple, use what you have and DO IT! You won't be sorry. If you don't have many decorations, just take a walk outside and see all that God has given you to decorate with, in the way of nature! My daughter is always cutting things outside to bring in and stick in a vase.
I remember the days when we were first married. We lived in a tiny little 2 bedroom apt. When we had dinner guests over, I would set up the ironing board, cover it with a sheet and use it as my buffet! haha The food fit perfectly on it, and then we ate in the living room with our plates on our laps. So don't let the lack of space keep you from having friends over. And the meal can be anything you want it to be. From soup and sandwiches, to a fried chicken dinner, to burgers & dogs on the grill, or just dessert and coffee. And your house doesn't have to be the Taj Mahal. Just be thankful for what you have, keep it clean and neat and remember, people don't come to look at your house - they come to visit YOU!

Today we had a blast with our Sunday dinner guests! The whole Maxwell clan (3 families) came over for dinner! I had just rearranged my living room last week to a more user friendly set up for our family. And amazingly, it allowed room for 2 long banquet tables end to end in there! So we all fit perfectly! I didn't make any new dishes. I stuck to good ol' standbys. And don't judge me for the paper plates and plastic cups! They were Chinet - does that count? haha I still used tablecloths and cloth napkins - oh, and real flatware!

The menu:

2 hams (got them on sale for 1.49 / lb)
Party potatoes
Cheesy broccoli
Corn
Hot yeast rolls
Pumpkin gooey butter cake
Hot fudge pudding cake w/ ice cream

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For those that like the Party potatoes - (they go perfect paired with ham by the way) I came up with a MUCH easier way to prepare them! I'm also going to edit that post to include the amounts for "feeding a crowd."

OK Wow - I just looked back through my recipe files and realized that I've never posted the recipe for Party Potatoes! I can't believe that! It's such a great recipe! I'm surprised it wasn't one of my first recipes! I'm going to post it w/out a pic this time and the next time I make them, I'll come back and edit this to include the pic. They really are just delicious - they go especially well with any meat that doesn't have a gravy - such as ham or meatloaf. I'll post the original recipe and then below it, the edited version for "feeding a crowd."

PARTY POTATOES

8 servings of Instant potatoes, prepared according to pkg directions.
1 (8 oz) cream cheese, cut into chunks
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp. garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
1 stick butter
Paprika

In a large saucepan, prepare 8 servings of instant potatoes according to pkg directions. Stir in cream cheese, sour cream and garlic powder. In 2 qt baking dish, melt 1 stick of butter. Pour potato mixture on top of melted butter and then spoon some of the butter from the edge, over the top. Do not stir. Sprinkle with paprika and bake uncovered at 350 for 30 - 45 minutes or until bubbly. Allow to cool for several minutes before serving. Good with BBG meat, meatloaf or ham.

*An easier way to prepare these is to mix the cream cheese chunks and the sour cream into the hot water, milk and butter mixture, BEFORE you add in the instant potato flakes. Once the cream cheese and sour cream are melted and blended in, then add the potato flakes and proceed from there.

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PARTY POTATOES FOR A CROWD

6 1/2 cups water
4 cups milk
2 sticks butter
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 (8 oz) cream cheese
2 cups sour cream
2 tsp garlic powder
6 1/2 cups instant potato flakes (or more depending on consistency)
Paprika

In large stock pot, heat water, milk and 1 stick of butter until heated through and butter is melted. Remove from heat and stir in garlic powder, cream cheese chunks and sour cream. Whip with wire whisk until cream cheese and sour cream are both thoroughly blended in. Slowly add potato flakes and whip with wire whisk until they are the consistency of nice creamy mashed potatoes. If they are too thin, add more potato flakes. If they get too thick, add a bit more milk.
Melt the other stick of butter and pour it into a large dutch oven or roasting pan, pour the potato mixture over the melted stick of butter. Spoon some of the melted butter from the edges, over the top. Sprinkle with paprika and bake at 375 for 30 - 45 minutes or until bubbly.
Serves 20