It's your birthday . What do you like to eat? For my gang a roast, meatloaf, ham, spaghetti with meatballs, tacos or chicken n dumplings is enjoyed and eaten by all. Enjoy the new baby.

You may want to consider a chili made with roasted chicken breasts. It takes a bit more effort, but the result, a lighter and tastier chili, is well worth the effort.

I serve that with the usual toppings, diced tomatoes, onions, and sour cream, along with corn bread and a crunchy chopped salad.

https://www.food.com/recipe/chicken-chili-81812

Congratulations on the brand new grand child! What a very lovely birthday present.

PS This is a nice chopped salad. I would omit the olives, since I don't think their flavor blends well with the chili.

https://www.acouplecooks.com/incredible-chopped-salad/

Personally I don't make a dish that I have never made before for company. I would consider a roast beef with vegetables or a baked ham. Depending on who it is I might make Gumbo or jambalaya or some other Cajun dish. I also frequently cook a big brisket in the oven. Love a good beef brisket.

Something like a big pan of lasagna and garlic bread.

I think something easy without a lot of cleanup so you can enoy the day too. Maybe baked ziti or lasagna with garlic bread and salad. Maybe a cheesecake for dessert

In a week we are having a family meal for my birthday and my youngest son in law! It will be at their home. We decided to have soups and sandwiches plus whatever else we want. I am going to make cream of potato soup and one daughter is making chili soup. I am also making ham salad for sandwiches. There will be chocolate cake and I requested as always for my birthday, a Hummingbird cake. Another daughter is making that. I am sure there will be some cheese and crackers and most likely some crunchy raw stuff. I would just fix and have what you and your family like. Yours sounds good to me.

Sue

Although I'd love chili, it's YOUR B-Day, do you like chili that much? You say you've never made it so I'm wondering. If it were my B-Day I'd either make something that I really like and have made before or order food to bring in. But if you are insisting on chili, something cold and refreshing such as slaw would be a good accompaniment, plus maybe some kind of appetizer such as nachos or guacamole and chips would be good. And if you want to stay with the Mexican theme, chocolate cake is an old standby.

Cara, I think that it's a great idea to make something that you can prepare in a big pot and not have to worry about it much. There are a zillion good recipes for chili out there and it's a dish that is hard to mess up.

I like to add bowls of shredded cheese, sour cream, chopped onions, and sliced jalapenos on the side for people to serve themselves. Crackers are a must in my household, or crunchy warm bread.

Congratulations on that new baby; you must be so excited to welcome a new little one into the family.

I also recommend against trying new recipes for company. It gets really stressful if you’re not confident of the results.

If you want to do a large pot of something, why not something you regularly make- stew? spaghetti sauce? etc.

If you are unsure of making chili, stick with a basic such as Flatlander Chili recipe from Allrecipes.com. You could use a chili seasoning mix such as Chili-O to get traditional flavorings. Cornbread and chips sound great and toppings for the chili such as sour cream, chopped scallions or grated cheese are popular. I would serve a salad alongside and hopefully a birthday cake will arrive for dessert. Maybe serve ice cream to counteract the spiciness of the meal.

Late in life I discovered here in the Midwest people eat cinnamon rolls with chili. I have never, but passing along an idea. Happy Birthday!! A family meal, cozy in your home is my idea of the perfect bday too!!!

My family is giant, there are 6 of us siblings, everyone has a spouse but me, and everyone has at least one kid except me. 15 nieces/nephews in all,plus our parents. For a family meal, it's either a labor(and love!) intensive ordeal of a million little bites of things, or a big pan of baked pasta with salad and cheesy garlic bread. Or a couple slow cooked rump roasts in gravy with mashed potatoes and rolls. Chili is quick and easy,and goes well with the requested cornbread.

Happy Birthday Carabubble!!! You are making meatballs also, so you have several different dishes. I think that it is going to be a memorable get together with the baby and I hope you enjoy the day thoroughly. Any plans for dessert?

Happy birthday! I, too, think there is nothing wrong with making chili for a crowd when you’ve never made it before. It’s super easy - easier and faster than lasagna or similar - and even if things are off a tiny bit, no one ever knows. It's really hard to goof up. I agree with the suggestion to offer a variety of toppings to go with it.

Arcy, I have lived in the Midwest all my life and have never heard of eating cinnamon rolls with chili! That would be a hard pass for me.

Congrats on the baby and happy birthday!

I often make new recipes for company...no idea why, but it seems to come out that way and it's always successful. Esp with chili, it's easy to meet with success. I have a vegetarian chili recipe that comes out good every time in the crock pot that has cocoa powder in it for a meaty flavor.

It's probably too late at this point, but for a big company meal that's easy, I'd do ham in a crock pot (just line the bottom of the pot with a layer of brown sugar and stick the ham face down on the sugar and let 'er rip). A broccoli and cheese casserole and baked beans would finish it up, and I like to serve the ham with pineapple chunks. Best part of it is everything can wait until you're ready to eat...nothing fussy but very cozy. And a side of corn bread would work with it.

Arcy_gw - A Midwesterner who has cinnamon rolls with chili. I can remember that served for hot lunch at school in the 60’s.

I remember cinnamon rolls and chili from school lunches!! And Seattle is pretty far from the Midwest :-) However, I have grown up to prefer it served with cornbread. Or corn chips (Fritos).

I think chili is great for a casual big family meal....even if you have never made it before. As others have mentioned, it is pretty darn easy to put together and pretty darn hard to mess up!

Cinnamon could make an interesting addition to chili. But cinnamon rolls, which are generally pretty sugary? doesn't sound appealing, but I'd try a sample....

Congratulations on the new baby, nothing better than an infant to cuddle :-)

I'm assuming you're using your SIL's recipe for the chili since you liked it. Personally, I think the chili with accompaniments such as sour cream, shredded lettuce, green onions, tortilla chips or Fritos corn chips and corn bread is sufficient. Apple crisp for dessert is easy, or even chocolate chip or peanut butter cookies to make ice cream sandwiches would go nice. Maybe a platter of fresh fruit cut up but not necessary.

My husband grew up thinking that eating peanut butter sandwiches with chilli was normal. Turns out that it's a real thing in a limited part of the country.

I like peanut butter with chili soup and a glass of milk, I have never heard of eating a cinnamon roll.

Sue from Central Indiana

Actually cinnamon doesn't sound so weird with chili to me - doesn't Cincinnati chili have cinnamon in it?

Cincinnati chili is awful. Not that anyone asked me...

My spaghetti sauce has a little bit of cinnamon in it. Got the recipe from an Italian friend.

Ijk1 My first teaching job--school lunch --was the first I ever heard of it too!!! That, breakfast food for lunch and rice pudding.

A couple of my italian sauces have nutmeg, I don't think cinnamon. Chocolate dessert seems like a good pairing with chili to me.

Have lots of fun Cara, and Happy Birthday!

I made a big pot of chili for a fund raiser today. None of it was left after the meeting. My recipe is below.

Ground beef 2 lb

1 medium white onion

Carrots 4 to 6 large roots, the amount can vary.

Celery stalks. 4 to 6 large stalks: small stalks can be used. Its the amount that counts. not stalk size.

! bell pepper, either green or red.

Optional: Cloves of garlic

Kidney of dark beans, 2 15 oz cans. When 2 lb of meat is used, a 3rd or 4th can of beans may be added. For smaller batches, the ratio is 2 cans of beans to 1 lb of meat.

Diced tomatoes, 2 15 oz cans.

Chili powder.

Brown sugar, about 2 table spoons.

Cooking oil

Red pepper. Depending on the brand of chili powder, its ingredients can vary. The red pepper is optional, but may be used to adjust the taste of the chili powder.

This recipe is not fussy. Its ground meat with garden vegetables and chili powder, however, the onion and celery is not optional. These are necessary for flavor. The other ingredients can be varied. Varying these will shift the texture and flavor, but not ruin the batch. For example, most people will not notice if you omit the bell pepper.

Onion, celery and carrots require the most cooking time to break down and soften. This set the order in which the ingredients are added to the pot.

1. Begin by browning the meat. Put a little cooking oil in the pot, add the meat and break into small pieces.

2. Dice the onion and celery add to the pot. Stir in.

3. Dice carrots, add to the pot and mix in.

Occasionally stir.

4. Dice bell pepper and add to pot.

5. Remove husks from garlic, dice into small pieces and add to pot

6. After the meat has browned, add cans of beans, diced tomato.

V8 tomato juice is great to add when more liquid is needed. Water is okay, but the V8 juice adds liquid and a bit of flavor.

After the mix is hot, begin adding the chili powder. Do this in stages. Add a little and taste test. Add until it has the right 'bite' and flavor. If the flavor seems a bit off, sprinkle in red pepper until corrected.

Continue heating until the celery, onion, and carrots soften. At this point, it is edible, but this last step will make the consumer wonder where you got this recipe. Begin adding brown sugar. Be very careful. A little goes a long way and the batch can be ruined. For the first addition, use about 1 teaspoon and stir in. Taste test. If you do not notice a shift in flavor, stir in another pinch of brown sugar and taste test. Continue until you notice a flavor change, then stop. The batch is done.

Left overs (if there are some). It can be refrigerated and re heated multiple times. Before reheating, you can add a can of beans or corn if you wish.

A variation: Instead of brown sugar, raisins can be added. If you use raisins for a bit of fruity flavor, add these along with the vegetables. The raisin adder is not critical. Add as many as you like. For this batch size, 1 cup or more may be about right.

In the Kansas City Chiefs territory, all of our food tomorrow will be for the Super Bowl....but then I read this was for your birthday...so have a great day!

Yep, in the Midwest, cinnamon rolls is a must with chili. I think that sounds like a great idea...easy cooking....easy clean-up...but if you are not fond of chili, do you like Taco Soup?...it is so easy....just brown some ground beef, add a little taco flavoring, and start dumping cans of a couple kinds of beans, crushed tomatoes, drained corn...top with sour cream and shredded cheese and serve with corn chips...google it and you will find many recipes.

Enjoy your special day!

I have used a chili recipe that has Cinnamon as an ingredient and it was excellent.

I make chili just like jemdandy's but I add a splash of a.c. vinegar to counteract the brown sugar. Now I need to make some!

How was your dinner and your visit? Happy Birthday! Hope it was fun.

Not that anyone asked me - but if I'm making my own birthday dinner, I'm making stuff that I like.

army -- I'm from the midwest and we never had chili and cinnamon rolls but I'm from KC -- now live in SE Kansas and it seems that THAT was a deal here! So it may be regional midwest!

Hope you pop back in to tell us what you made and that you had a nice visit.

As for chill, I don't add sugar to mine, but I know some add chocolate to theirs.

I always add a bit of sugar to anything with a tomato saucy base. It counteracts the acidity of the tomato product but doesn't really add any significant sweetness. And I'm not sure you can make a proper chili without adding a beer to it :-)

Thank you for all the ideas! I did use some! I went ahead and made chili and instead of meatballs, made tacos as someone had suggested. Both foods shared the same types of toppings which was great. I also made cornbread muffins. Forgot to pick up a salad but they all survived without it. Since I didn't want to be stuck with leftover cake, one of you also said that ice cream would be a great dessert and you were right!

We had a terrific visit. My older son got to give his niece a bottle and laughed until he had tears when he went to burp her but she was just a sound asleep sack laying in his hands. My younger son gave me a cutting board and spoon made from the same wood he had used to make his baby's cradle. Such a sentimental surprise.

Thank you all, again!

My younger son gave me a cutting board and spoon made from the same wood he had used to make his baby's cradle.

That is awesome, what a wonderful gift!