Family Party Idea!

David and I hosted our Hunt family dinner on Sunday. This included all of David's nieces and nephews at BYU, their spouses, his sister Marissa and their family, and his brother David and their family....which amounted to about 25 people, give or take.

I wanted to make something easy, but yummy and healthy at the same time that could feed a crowd! David and I ended up making a vegan chili and had cooked sweet potatoes and russet potatoes for people to pick from. I also made fresh sourdough bread for those that wanted it.

We then had a large (and I mean large) bowl of mixed green, lettuce, spinach, and broccoli slaw tossed together. We asked everyone to bring their favorite veggie toppings and ended up with: carrots, celery, cucumbers, garbanzo beans, croutons, cheese, broccoli, grated cheese, tomatoes, pasta salad, eggs, bacon bits and I cant even remember the rest. Everyone had the freedom to choose what they wanted. The amount of the meat at the party was very minimal and if you didn't want it, you didn't have to have any! Some people just had a salad bar, some people had a salad potato, some just had a baked potato with chili, and some like me had a little bit of everything. I made a balsamic dressing that fed everyone (I doubled the recipe from HERE). Next time I will try THIS dressing!

"The Best Vegetarian Chili in the World"

from Allrecipes. com....HERE

Adapted by me

(this made a ton...enough to freeze and have for leftovers for the week)

Ingredients:

1 T. olive oil

1 sweet onion, diced

4 large bay leaves

3 T. ground cumin

1 T. sea salt

4 stalks celery, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

2 jalapenos, seeded and diced

6 cloves garlic, minced

2 small cans, fire-roasted chopped green chilies

3 (28 oz) cans whole tomatoes, crushed in blender

2 (15 oz) cans diced tomatoes (I use low sodium)

1 small can tomato sauce

1/4 C.-1/3 C. chili powder

1 T. black ground pepper

2 Cans kidney beans, drained

2 Cans garbanzo beans, drained

2 Cans black beans, drained

1-2 Cans whole kernel corn, drained (optional)

Directions:

1. Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion and add everything through the salt. Cook and stir until onion is getting soft.

2. Mix in everything from celery through green chilies. Reduce heat to low and simmer for five minutes

3. Add tomato's and sauce. Add chili powder and pepper. Stir in all the beans. Bring to a boil, turn to low and let simmer for at least 45 minutes. If you add corn, add just for a few minutes at the end. YUM!

Picture from HERE

(This is what my chili looked like, minus the zucchini. I think I will try the recipe from the link above. It is a Martha Stewart recipe)

It's fun when people show up to a party, when the counter is covered with veggies, like this. Every color of the rainbow. When you ask people to bring their favorite, then they will at least have something they like!
Picture from HERE

Next time, you invite people over, offer many choices and be pleasantly surprised what people put on their plate! Offering a large variety of vegetables allows people to eat what they are comfortable with, as well as maybe getting them to try something new! It's also great for kids to feel empowered by getting to choose the veggies they want. My kids love adding their own toppings.