Food For The Work Crew

Not being one for heavy labor, I did my part yesterday in the kitchen by making sure the crew was fed.

I wasn't sure if I was going to be home the entire day, so I kept things simple, so the guys could eat whenever was convenient for them. I put hot dogs (in water) in one Crockpot, and bratwursts (in beer) in another. I'd made big batches of macaroni salad and baked beans on Saturday that just needed to be removed from the fridge, or in the case of the beans, warmed quickly in the microwave. I made a big jug (6 quarts) of homemade Gatorade.

As it turned out, I was home most of the day, so I also made a big batch of oatmeal cookies, half with dried cranberries. It's a good thing I made as much food as I did, because Shane's sister and nieces ended up staying and having lunch with us, too.

Things got a little crowded and hectic, so I didn't get pictures of anything but the cookies. But I do have some of the recipes.

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Homemade Gatorade

1 package Koolaid drink mix, any flavor
3/4 cup sugar (or slightly less)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon salt substitute (potassium chloride)*

Combine all with water to make 2 quarts.

*Do not omit the salt substitute or substitute regular salt for it. The potassium is a key ingredient in sports drinks.

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Chewy Oatmeal Cookies (big batch)*

3 cups real butter, softened (does not work well with margarine)
3 cups packed brown sugar
3 cups flour
1 Tablespoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
6 cups oats
3 cups raisins or dried cranberries (optional)

Heat oven to 350°.

Cream together softened butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in flour, baking soda and cinnamon. Stir in oats and dried fruit, if using. (I made half the batch plain, then added 1-1/2 cups dried cranberries to the rest.)

Spoon onto ungreased cookie sheets and bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes. (Mine actually took 16 minutes.) Bake until cookies are just starting to brown around edges, but do not over bake.

Makes about 8 dozen cookies. (I baked half the batch and froze the rest, after scooping into cookie-sized portions, for later baking.)

* Not a misprint; there are no eggs in these cookies.

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Quick & Easy Macaroni Salad

1-1/4 cups tartar sauce*
1 Tablespoon mustard
3 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
4 cups cooked elbow macaroni or small shells, drained and rinsed with cold water**
Additional tartar sauce or mayonnaise as desired

Combine tartar sauce, mustard and egg. Stir into macaroni to coat. Chill several hours or overnight. If salad seems dry, stir in additional tartar sauce or mayonnaise just before serving.

* Cheat #1: I had LOTS of packets of Long John Silver's Tartar Sauce left over from when my in-laws asked us to pick up fish for dinner for all of us one night. 27 packets, to be exact, so I used those in this recipe.

** Cheat #2: I made this salad with previously cooked and frozen pasta. Pasta can be frozen without sauce (sauce makes it turn to mush). Just drain cooked pasta, toss with just a spoonful of oil, then package as desired (I like zippered freezer bags). To use, you don't even need to thaw it. Just put the frozen block of pasta into boiling water, cooking just long enough for the pasta to separate into individual pieces and heat through. Drain and use as you would just-cooked pasta.

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No recipe for the baked beans, because I just wing 'em and never make 'em the same way twice. However, they do always start with pork and beans, barbecue sauce, brown sugar and a little mustard. From there, you're on your own.