Vegetable Lasagna
Bean chili
Vegetable pasta salad
Roasted winter veggies
Vegetable jambalaya

Joe

I think I would do roasted vegetables: carrots, potatoes, onions, green and red bell peppers and acorn or butternut squash - toss with olive oil, salt pepper, and some dried bouquet garni herbs or any good herb blend that you like.

Here is a link that might be useful: Here is a popular sample recipe.

With all due respect to your "customers", make it as familiar as possible. I've done quite a bit of volunteering at my local shelter, in downtown LA, and beans, potatoes, carrots, all go over well. Unfamiliar stuff sits there. Green vegetables sit there. Purees are popular (lots of people have teeth problems) as are baked potatoes with toppings.

Here's one I've made for potlucks that is easy to reheat.

CARROT CASSEROLE (10-12 servings)

8 cups sliced carrots
2 medium onions, sliced
5 Tbs butter or margarine, divided
1 can condensed cream of celery soup, undiluted
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup seasoned croutons

Place carrots in a saucepan and cover with water; cook until crisp-tender. Meanwhile, in a skillet, saute onions in 3 Tbs. butter until tender. Stir in the soup, salt, pepper and cheese. Drain carrots; add to the onion mixture. Pour into a greased 13 X 9 X 2 inch baking dish or other shallow casserole dish. Sprinkle with croutons. Melt remaining butter; drizzle over croutons.

Bake, uncovered at 350 degrees for 20 Â25 min.

I was going to suggest a big pot of green beans cooked country style - very easy to reheat.

Also roasted vegetables which is easy to make, good, healthy and easy to reheat - quartered potatoes, carrots, etc.

I had some other recipes to post but looked above and idee has a very good point as far as something familar and teeth issues.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I am going to make a potato turnip puree and the roasted veges teresa linked to. I also have an abundance of carrots so will probably make the glazed carrots anyway as those are definitely familiar.

I am so glad I asked here. My cooking style is much more gourmet than is needed for a soup kitchen and I was originally planning a green vegetable but idee is right...now that I think of it when I do go in the dining hall I notice the green veges in the trash.

I was going to suggest peas and carrots with a simple bit of butter and salt and pepper.,....but perhaps peas are too "green".
But I will guarantee that greenbeans overcooked with a bit of bacon and a luittle onion will be very popular.
Linda c

LOL Linda...But I will guarantee that greenbeans overcooked with a bit of bacon and a luittle onion will be very popular.
I agree and was thinking about the dreaded green bean casserole...there's nary a bit left when I feed it to my guys :)

A recipe for future reference...well, not really a recipe, I guess, just an idea.

RachelÂs Veggie Casserole

I make this two different ways, depending on my mood. I either precook the veggies quickly on a very hot grill so as to get grill marks but leave them only barely cooked, or I use raw vegetables without the grilling step.

It's very simple, and you need a fairly deep casserole dish.

Slice a variety of vegetables in a 1/4 inch slice. I like eggplant, zucchini, crookneck squash, mushrooms, asparagus (unsliced!). A layer of yam, sweet potato or regular potatoes is nice as well, generally I precook these a wee bit.

Sometimes I get a little jazzy and add a layer of other items, like artichoke hearts (from a jar) or if I am grilling, baby artichokes. Roasted red bell pepper, kale or other greens (especially if I have some left over that I cooked with bacon & red pepper flakes). Frozen peas or corn add some variety if I'm lacking that quality-this is a dish I usually make on the spur of the moment with whatever I have on hand. I only add onions if I'm grilling, as I don't care for the flavor they add without the char for some reason. If I want to up the protein ratio, I'll add a layer of garbanzo (or other) beans. If I've got fresh basil in the garden, a layer of leaves or two is very nice. If IÂve some leftover lentils or Indian dal, IÂll add a layer of that.

Anyway, you get the idea...it's veggie madness.

Alternating between layers of vegetables and cheese (mozz, Parm, pepperjack, or even blue), are layers of whatever tomato sauce I have on hand, whether it be home made or Classico from a jar.

Then I bake it until the cheese layer on top is hot and bubbling and a skewer pushed through the layers proves the veggies to be tender. If I grilled the veggies, I use a hotter oven, as I want the cheese to melt without the vegetables turning to mush, I'll also tend to put more of the cheese on the top layers for the same reason.

Anyway, it is a very pretty dish, with all the different vegetables, and very tasty too.

Deborah, I was thinking green bean casserole, too! LOL

Loves2Cook, I'm thinking the turnips, and maybe even the roasted veges (which I LOVE) might be too "gourmet" for this crowd, too. I love Linda's idea of green beans, bacon, and onion. And I do think the Carrots are a good idea, too.

Thanks guys. Deborah, I did think of the green bean casserole but figured it was "overdone" if you'll excuse the pun :)

I think I am going to enjoy cooking for a crowd of hungry men. Leaving out the gourmet will be hard but seeing my food wolfed down should make up for it.

I have offered to join the monthly rotation so look out for a request for main meal dishes in about 4 weeks :)

We used to make this for Sunday lunch or potlucks when our children were growing up. Now that we are watching our fat intake we dont make it often. It does seem like a comfort food, kind of on the order of the green bean casserole.

Scalloped Corn

1 (#2) can (2 1/2 c.) cream style corn
1 c. milk
1 well beaten egg
1 1/2 c. cracker crumbs
Salt an pepper to taste
4 tbsp. butter

Put corn into greased casserole dish. Mix milk and egg in the corn can. Mix in with the corn. Add soften butter, cracker crumbs, and seasonings. Mix well. Sprinkle a few cracker crumbs over corn, if you so desire . Bake in moderate oven, 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until bubbly.

One of the regulars at my local mission/soup kitchen told me today that he was always glad to see green beans with bacon, but he didn't trust greens cooked by people not from the South.