Pages

6/10/13

Cooking for a Crowd: Cheesy Chicken Casserole, Macaroni Salad and Punch for 50



With a lot of irons in the fire this week, I'm hoping to keep up with a couple new posts on An American Housewife; housewifebarbie.com however, I need to be honest and realize my super Mom powers are meeting their match this week!  One of the hundred things things I'm juggling is preparing for a mini-family reunion of sorts.  Although we are not expecting 50 people and I'm not serving the items listed below, I wanted to post them because as I searched my own site for recipes for a 'crowd' these popped up from some posts I did back in 2008.



Punch for a crowd

2 cans frozen limeade concentrate
2 cans frozen lemonade concentrate
2 cans unsweetened grapefruit juice
2 cans pineapple juice

Mix and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Just before serving add:

3 quarts ginger ale
1 prepared ice ring (or a lot of ice cubes if you didn't get a ring made)
1 quart water

Ice Ring for punch bowl

Make an ice ring using at least one of the punch ingredients so that as it melts it will not dilute the punch. Use a bundt pan or an angel food cake pan for a ring or if you don't have one, just use a bowl or pan (making sure the bowl can be frozen)for a solid circle.

Mix up the fruit juice ingredients a day in advance. Pour into pan and freeze over night. You may add cherries and sliced pineapple to the ring before freezing. If you want them to float symmetrically, set a timer for 1/2 hour and rearrange fruit before it freezes to hard. (To remove ice ring from pan, set pan in warm water in your sink until it loosens or place a hot, wet towel on the backside of the pan.)



Macaroni Salad for 50

3 pounds cooked ham, cubed
3 pounds macaroni, cooked and drained
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 bag frozen peas, thawed
6 cups chopped celery
1 large chopped onion
1 5-3/4 ounce cans pitted sliced ripe olives

Macaroni Salad Dressing:
1 quart mayonnaise
4 ounces Western brand salad dressing*
1/8 cup vinegar
1/8 cup sugar
1/2 cup light cream
1 teaspoon onion salt
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Make dressing in a separate bowl. Combine all ingredients and pour dressing over salad. Refrigerate.

*I thought this was an interesting addition but it's certainly not a must have. You can leave it out and just use an additional 1/2 cup of mayo if you'd like.



Cheesy Chicken for 50

20 cups diced cooked chicken
10 cups chopped celery
4 bunches chopped green onions
16 ounces chopped green chilies (canned)
2 - 6 ounce cans sliced pitted ripe olives (drained)
4 cups slivered almonds
4 cups mayonnaise
4 cups sour cream
10 cups crushed potato chips
10 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Combine the first eight ingredients with 4 cups of the cheese. Mix well and spoon into four greased 13" x 9" x 2" deep baking dishes. Sprinkle with chips and remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 25 minutes or until hot. Print Friendly and PDF