Church Suppers, Synagogue Fund Raisers, Good Food

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In North Fort Myers, Florida, visitors are welcome at ECHO, a non-denominational agriculture mission that develops ways for people worldwide to produce more food with fewer resource.

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Hello, traveler. Have you had a great meal on the road lately? Try attending church or synagogue suppers, festivals, bake sales and fund raisers. You’ll meet hometown folks and discover delicious ethnic regional foods. If your congregation is having a public event that involves food, we’ll publicize it here free.  Please buy from our advertisers to help support this effort.

Some of these suppers are free; some cost very little. However, even fund raiser dinners are served for very modest prides. Call churches firsthand to verify dates, directions, details and reservations if needed.

All Saints Memorial Episcopal Church in Providence, Rhode Island holds a St. Patrick’s Day Supper on March 17. We have no further details. Call (401)751-1747

Vanderburg United Methodist Church, Moorseville, North Carolina will host a pinto bean supper with all the trimmings on March 16. For details phone (704) 663-1690.

St. Paul’s Roman Catholic Church in Cramlington, Northumberland,  England will celebrate St. Patrick’s Night with supper on March 15. Phone: 01670 712476

The (Catholic)  Church of the Presentation in Upper Saddle River, New Jersey will have a soup supper on Ash Wednesday, February 22.  (201) 327-1313 On the first Friday of each month, ladies of the congregation meet for breakfast after the 9 a.m. mass.

Love of Christ Lutheran Church, Mesa, Arizona, has a Lenten Soup Supper on Wednesdays February 29 through March 28. (480) 981-6199

    Here’s an affordable recipe to tote to your congregation’s next potluck supper. For equal  portions and easier serving, assemble it exactly as described below.
Meatball Stroganoff Casserole
2 pounds lean ground beef or turkey
2 tablespoons powdered chicken soup base or bouillon
1 cup one-minute oatmeal
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 cup ketchup
1 pound noodles
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
½ soup can milk
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 pint (2 cups) sour cream
    Mix ground meat, powdered bouillon, oatmeal, garlic salt and ketchup. (I used my hands and disposable plastic gloves).  Set aside. Cook the noodles and drain. Stir soup, milk, nutmeg and sour cream into hot noodles. Mix well. Spread noodle mix in a well greased 9 X 13-inch casserole.
    Form meat mixture into 25 meatballs and space them in rows, 4 X 5, pressing them into the noodle mixture. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees, then uncover and bake 15 minutes more or until meatballs test done (185 degrees for poultry, 165 for beef or pork).
    Let cool 10 to 15 minutes, then use a serrated knife to cut into 20 portions with a meatball at the center of each. Provide a pancake server for removing each perfect square of creamy noodles with a meatball center.
    Cook’s Note: for make-ahead preparation, refrigerate the noodle mixture and meat mixture separately, then assemble just before baking. Increase bake time to compensate. It’s always wise to test meat or poultry with an instant-read thermometer for safe temperatures

Janet Groene’s popular camp and RV weekly recipe blog is available for your Kindle reader for only 99 cents a month. Each week see an easy, affordable  family recipe and a potluck recipe plus tips and tidbits. To order from Amazon go to http://tinyurl.com/7j354zo

Travelers Love Local Church Suppers

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Enrich your travels. Discover local hotdish favorites at church suppers around the world.  You'll eat well, make hometown friends and save money too. 

photo copyright janet groene

Please call each congregation directly for directions, details and reservations if needed. Keep in mind that church office numbers may answer only during weekday hours and smaller churches may not have a full-time office. Plan ahead.
If your church or synagogue is having an event that (1) serves food and is (2) open to the public we will publicize it here free. Allow several weeks notice. Email janetgroene@yahoo.com
* Third graders at Calvary Temple Christian School in Concord, California are having a bake sale February 23-24. They’ll be trying to out-do fourth graders, who have their bake sale in January.  (925) 458.9870 
    * First Congregational Church of Hartland, Vermont has some upcoming food events including a soup supper and a bake sale. Their monthly church suppers, served by a staff of 25 and featuring roast beef and homemade pies, are famous throughout the Northeast. Worth a special trip. (802) 436-2224
* The annual Italian Supper at Beacon Falls (Connecticut) Congregational Church will be held February 25. It’s an all-you-can-eat feast served family style. (203) 729.8802
    *If you’re in the Erie, Pennsylvania area on January 29 you’ll love the big Spaghetti Dinner served at Mount Calvary Roman Catholic Church’s Feeny Hall from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. (814) 454-0061.
* Take a ride in the country in Lee County, Iowa, where Melrose United Methodist Church will serve a Maundy Thursday Supper on April 5. Their annual Winter Soup Dinner will be on February 19, noon to 2 p.m. (319) 838-2705.

Here's a recipe to bake for your congregation's next bake sale. To save time and mess use canned julienne carrots instead of freshly grated.
Pineapple Carrot Quick Bread
    This is a dilly at church and synagogue bake sales, so double or triple the recipe and bake it in disposable foil loaf pans.

8-ounce can crushed pineapple
12-ounce can julienne carrots
Water
3 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon each salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
    Drain pineapple and add water to juice to make 2/3 cup liquid. Drain carrots and discard liquid. In a small bowl, whisk pineapple liquid, eggs and vegetable oil. In a large bowl, lightly combine dry ingredients. Mix wet mixture into dry ingredients until evenly moistened. Fold in pineapple and carrots and turn batter into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees 45-50 minutes, or until it tests done with a toothpick.
    If you’ll be removing the loaf from the pan, cool 15 minutes first. Or cool thoroughly in the foil pan and wrap for the bake sale.

Love potluck recipes? See a new one posted each week at Camp And RV Cook. Easy enough for camping, chic enough for church, home or school.
blog copyright janet groene, all rights reserved. To donate in support of this weekly blog, go to your PayPal account and designate HosterPoster@live.com

Travelers Welcome at Congregation Suppers, Bake Sales

blog copyright Janet Groene, all rights reserved. To sponsor a post or to advertise on one or more Janet Groene blogs get details by emailing janetgroene@yahoo.com

Easy as pie, good as gold. See recipe for your congregation's next potluck or bake sale. Scroll down, down, down. 











On the road again? Our goal is to encourage travelers and locals alike to attend church and synagogue food events that are open to the public. Travelers get a real sense of the hometown and region, meals are generous for a fair price and the events usually benefit a good cause.
Please call each church directly to verify information, get directions and make reservations if needed.

* In Tybee Island, Georgia, All Saints Episcopal Church holds its annual Shrove Tuesday Pancake and Gumbo Supper on February 21 from 5 to 7:30 p.m. The entire island turns out for this joyous event. Hear Dixieland music, feast on a choice of pancakes with sauce and apples or gumbo and rice for a donation of $5 adults and $3 for children under age 12. (912) 786- 5845
* Also hosting a Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper on February 21 is Christ Church on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (202)547.9300. What are you doing on Fat Tuesday? A pancake supper is probably being held at an Episcopal church near you.
    * Wednesday Night Family Suppers at West Jackson (Tennessee) Baptist Church are different and delicious every time. They’d love to see you there and for the additional  orphan benefit supper and silent auction on February 9.  (731) 660-4535
    * Join the JoyFest Celebration at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Lincoln, Nebraska for breakfast, lunch and lots of laughs with the guest comedienne. It’s for women of all faiths, all ages. The $35 fee includes continental breakfast and the luncheon. The affair begins at 8:30 p.m. (402) 437-2452
*Christ Church Episcopal in Pompton, New Jersey holds a potluck wild game dinner on February 12. Get details by calling (973) 835-2207
* Attend the wine and cheese reception that opens the annual Used Book Sale at Beth David Synagogue in Greensboro, North Carolina. Cover charge is $5. The sale runs February 25-28, the reception offers a sneak preview. (336) 294-0007
    * Men of of St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Hoosick Falls, New York hold free Sunday Suppers once a month. Dates include February 12 and March 11.  Learn more by phoning (518) 686-4982   
Church Potluck Recipe of the Week
Good-as-Gold Apricot Pie
    They'll think you slaved for hours to make this luscious dessert.  They’ll never guess your secret that it takes only minutes to throw it together. Important:  Note that one can of apricots is used with juice, the other is drained. Use the leftover juice in fruit punch. If possible buy “lite” or natural fruit, not apricots in heavy syrup.

2 large (28-ounce) cans apricot halves (preferably in their own juice)
2 sleeves buttery round crackers, such as Ritz or Town House
2 sticks butter
16-ounce box brown sugar

1. Using your hands, squeeze sleeves of crackers to crumble them. Put one sleeve in a sprayed, 9 X 13-inch pan. Spread in an even layer.  Drizzle with one stick butter, melted.  Empty one can of apricots, with juice, over crackers. Arrange the fruit in an even layer.
2. Drain the other can of apricots, reserving juice for another use,  and arrange fruit in the pan. 
3.  Sprinkle with brown sugar.  Sprinkle remaining sleeve of crumbled crackers over the apricots and dot with the remaining stick of butter. Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove foil and bake 10-15 minutes more or until the top is crusty and golden. Cut in squares and provide a pancake turner for serving. It’s good warm, cold or at room temperature, plain or with whipped topping.  Serves 12 to 16.
   
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