If you want a stew, this is a favorite of mine and super easy. People always want the recipe. Five Hour Oven Stew 1-1/2 # cubed stew meat (I prefer chuck) 5 medium potatoes-cut in 2" cubes 2 cups baby carrots 1-2 medium onions-quartered 1 cup celery-cut in 2" slices 2 cans(14-1/2oz) stewed tomatoes (I use the ones w/basil, garlic & oregano) 2 Tbls. quick cooking tapioca 1 Tbls. sugar 1-1/2 tsp. salt 1/8 tsp. black pepper Combine all and bake in a heavy dutch oven at 275degrees for 5 hours. With a loaf of good crusty bread and a green salad, this makes a great, easy, fool-proof meal.

I used to run a wilderness outpost and every week had to plan menus for 19-23 people, very picky kids mostly. Fridge and freezer but no stove, only grill and open fire. Transported stuff in coolers. Plan, and also plan for flexibility like folks have said. Here are some tips I learned. Unless you family hates it, bring Bisquick or some other type of baking mix like that. There are a gazillion things you can make with it--pancakes, waffles, biscuits, dumplings, quick breads and muffins, coffeecake, shortbreads with fresh fruit, etc. Something like that is sure to cheer everyone up, since most people like those kinds of foods. Mayo + ketchup is French dressing Mayo + ketchup and pickle relish is Thousand Island dressing 1/3 red wine or blasamic vinegar or lemon juice + 2/3 olive oil is Italian dressing--add dash of garlic salt and italian seasoning if you want. Use rice wine vinegar and soy or canola oil and you have asian dressing--add cilantro, ginger and toasted sesame seed oil and dash of chili flakes if you want. Kids like shish ka bobs. Shish ka bobs can be tofu, lamb, pork, chicken or beef meat, cubed and mixed with veggies to taste. I like green pepper, cherry tomatoes, summer squash or zuchinni and mushrooms. Marinate for an hour or more in a bottle of italian or greek dressing. I like Ken's brand or Newman's Own. If you prefer asian style, buy something citrusy or make your own, your MIL can help. Bring soy sauce or tamari, I love that for marinade. Do you have a crockpot? Shredded beef or pulled pork are dead easy and make everyone happy. Search here or online for recipes. Worst comes to worst, keep lots of pasta and bottled sauce on hand. Don't know what kind you like. I kept spaghetti sauce on hand, but you can keep ingredients for peanut sauce if your family likes asian better. Canned baked beans can be jazzed up on your own with some brown sugar, hot sauce, onion, garlic, mustard, etc. Also good and easy in the crockpot. I've got a great recipe for calico beans for a crowd if you think that might be something your folks would like. It's basically a can of kidneys, can of black beans, can of white beans, hamburger, onion, etc. cooked in the crockpot. Let me know if you want me to post the whole recipe. Potatoes keep well and everyone loves them. Fried up in the morning with veggies of your choice or not, scrambled eggs and sausage or fresh caught fish, cinnamon toast--everyone very happy!! Can be covered in aluminum foil--get the heavy kind--and baked over hot coals. Use sweet potatoes for a fun change of pace. Not too close to the heat or they will burn. Too far away and they won't cook, have fun learning the difference, lol! Crackers and chesse and mixed nuts mixed with chocolate and dried fruit and/or granola makes good snacks, along with fresh fruit. Apples, grapes and bananas travel well. See my "new uses for old bananas" if they get brown. Celery sticks spread with peanut butter and dotted with raisins makes a great snack too--ants on a log it is called. Peanut butter, crackers and dried fruit also good snacks. Carrots sticks with store-bought hummus. Lots of ice tea is a good drink to have on hand. Lemonade goes over well and is dead easy to make with reconstituted lemon juice, which keeps well on the road. Add a few fresh sliced lemons to the pitcher to jazz it up. Granola bars for the kids--easy to take on the trail. Worse comes to absolute worst--pop tarts, lol!! Instant oatmeal for late risers who miss breakfast. Kids love to roast marshmallows. Add grahmn crackers and chocolate pieces--s'mores. Don't roast on dry sticks, use green ones, or better yet buy some metal weenie/marshmallow roasting sticks. Hot cocoa if the weather turns nasty, or if lactose intolerant--hot tang or hot lemonade!! Ginger tea for the grownups. Tea with lemon, honey and whisky for the really grown up!! Sangria for a punch--cheap dryish white wine, bottle of 7-UP, glog of peach schapps or cointreau, lemon, lime slices and other fruit you have on hand. Lots of ice. Serve in clear pitcher. Rice freezes extremely well. Make in batches and freeze lots. Woks do great on the grill or campfire.

This one travels well. IRISH POTATO CASSEROLE 8 to 10 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered 1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened 1 (8 oz.) pkg. sour cream 1/2 cup butter, melted 1/4 cup chopped chives 1 clove garlic, minced 2 tsp. salt Paprika Cook potatoes in boiling water about 30 minutes or until tender. Drain potatoes, and mash. Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth. Add potatoes and remaining ingredients except paprika; beat until just combined. Spoon mixture into a lightly butter 2-quart casserole; sprinkle with paprika. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Remove from refrigerator 15 minutes before baking. Uncover and bake at 350° F. for 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Yield: 8 to 10 servings. My best friend made this for her Thanksgiving luncheon at work this past week and said it was heavenly: THREE CHEESE GARLIC SCALLOPED POTATOES 1-1/2 lbs. Yukon Gold potatoes, thinly sliced 2 Tblsp. butter, divided 1 pint heavy cream 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced salt and pepper to taste 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese 4 slices Provolone cheese 1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese 1. Preheat the oven to 325° F. Grease a 1-1/2 quart or larger casserole dish with butter or nonstick spray. 2. Layer half of the potato slices in the bottom of the casserole dish. Dot with half of the butter cut or pinched into small pieces. Arrange half of the garlic slices over the potatoes, and then pour half of the heavy cream over. Sprinkle one cup of Cheddar cheese over the layer, and season with salt and pepper. Repeat layering of potatoes, garlic, cream and Cheddar cheese, and then top with the slices of provolone cheese. Season again with salt and pepper. 3. Bake for 1/2 hour in the preheated oven, then sprinkle the Parmesan or Romano cheese over the top. This will create a semi-hard cheese crust. Continue baking uncovered for another 30 minutes, or until potatoes are tender when tested with a fork. Yields: 6 servings. Submitted by: KarlaLV. © 2007 Allrecipes.com.

I've cooked many a meal for large family gatherings. It is so wonderful to have everyone together. Most important thing is to relax and enjoy the day. With that many folk any mishaps will go unnoticed!! There are two ways to approach this. One is to have lots of people bring different dishes, whatever they want from certain categories, ie dessert, veggies, casseroles, pickles, breads etc. The advantage of this is that you end of with a wide variety and people get to bring a favourite dish. The downside is that there is only a little of each thing and some dishes will be gobbled up by the firt 10 people through the line! The other way is to set a menu and then ask people to bring a dish from the menu. The advantage of this is you can control the amount and variety of the food. Must admit this is my preferred method for example here is a menu and ideas on quantities. This is just an example, you can adjust the numbers as you wish, depending on the numbers contributing. People can choose to bring what they want from the menu. Baked Beans, 1 people brings enough for 40 people Squash casserole 4 people bring enough for 10 (fearlessem's recipe is amazing) Green Bean casserole 4 people each bring enough for 10 Dressing, 2 people each bring enough for 20 Rolls, 1 person brings enough for 40 Pickles and cranberry sauce 1 person brings enough for 40 Mashed potatoes and gravy might be best done by the hostess or give that one out too and you do things like pickles and rolls that will take no time and allow you focus on other things. Butternut Squash Gratin With Rosemary Breadcrumbs (fearlessem) Servings 10 1/4 Cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter 4 Cup thinly sliced onions (about 1 pound) 2 1/2 Lb butternut squash peeled, seeded, cut into 1/2-inch cubes 1 Tsp sugar 1/2 Tsp salt 1/2 Tsp ground black pepper 3/4 Cup canned low-salt chicken broth 2 Cup fresh breadcrumbs made from soft whitebread 2 Cup (packed) grated sharp white cheddar cheese 1 1/2 Tbl chopped fresh rosemary 1/2 Tsp dried thyme Preheat oven to 350F. Butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions; saute until onions are light golden, about 8 minutes. Add squash; saut 4 minutes. Sprinkle sugar, salt and pepper over vegetables; saut until onions and squash begin to caramelize, about 5 minutes.~ Spread vegetable mixture in prepared dish. Pour chicken broth over. Cover tightly with foil and bake 45 minutes. (Squash mixture can be made 1 day ahead. Cool, then cover and refrigerate. Reheat in 350F oven until heated through, about 10 minutes.) Increase oven temperature to 400F. Mix breadcrumbs, cheese, rosemary and thyme in medium bowl. Sprinkle over gratin. Bake uncovered until top is golden brown and crisp, about 30 minutes. Makes 10 servings. Emily~ NOTE: Can use sour dough bread cubes instead of crums, and Gruyere instead of cheddar, add some diced apples too Here are my "cheater" baked beans , fast and easy but good, especially with the ham. Baked Beans Servings 12 - 15 1 Can kidney beans drained 1 Can lima beans drained 2 Can Brown Beans (like Bush beans) 1 1/2 Cup of chili sauce 2 Tbl brown sugar 1 Tbl Dijon mustard 1 Tbl Worcestershire sauce 2 Tbl molasses 3 Slice bacon cut in half Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In a medium baking dish, mix kidney beans, lima beans, brown beanas, chili sauce, brown sugar, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce and molasses. Top with bacon. Bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, until thick and bubbly.