STONE SOUP SUPPER

We are up to bat, its our Thursday to make Stone Soup Supper at United Community Church, I started out Wednesday with a nice sharp knife and 50 pounds of Chicken, I have gotten pretty good if the knife is sharp an I can cut up a chicken with 4 slices for the wings and legs, and then 2 slices and have all the breast meat off in about 8 minutes, while cutting up the chicken Wednesday Anna Mae was out sitting up the tables and chairs in dining room where we can seat about 85 people.

Danny and Ginny our team mates arrived and Dan and I cut up the rest of the chicken, had it boiling in Chicken Broth, onion powder, dash of garlic powder, butter, salt and pepper and and Ginny helped anna mae finish up the dining room.

After the chicken boiled for 3 hours we let it sit and cool and then took all the meat off and put it in the frig so Thursday would be easier.

In the picture below is Virginia, she was a cook at the hospital and recently lost her husband and I talked her into joining us and helping cook the Chicken help me make the gravy, we had 14 gallons of Chicken broth stock and we made it ALL into gravy and naturally we had to sample it to see if it was OK and it sure did turn out OK!! Then we mixed the Chicken and Gravy together and let it slow cook from noon until 4PM and it came out great EXCEPT it had to have just a little more Onion Salt!!!.

Dan and I had to watch the 5 kettles of Chicken and Gravy cook and every now and then would have to sample a piece of chicken to make sure it was cooking OK!!!!!

Anna Mae and Ginny had to sample some of the Fresh Home made Biscuits that our ladies from the church made, we had our neighbor ruth make 8 dozen soft, delicious light biscuits which tasted great with jam and the picture below shows!!!!! Pam made 6 dozen, Donna made some, Virginia, Marlene, and we ended up with about 25 dozen delicious biscuits, some of which tasted delicious with apiece of chicken jammed in between them!!!,, *(TASTE TESTED), OK!!

Our new helper Virginia made some great Chicken GRAVY !!!!!!!!!

Ginny, Virginia and our new helper Doris and Anna Mae set the dinning room, made coffee, punch, and then cut up home made Pies, Cakes and cookies, brownies and other delicious goodies the ladies from church made.!!!!

Dan and I let them sit down for a few minutes to rest!!!

We set up the serving table, with everything ready we opened the doors early as it was raining, litterly pouring outside and we let people come in early and sit in the church and at 4:45PM it was a steady stream of HUNGRY, WET people streaming in thru the door for Chicken and Biscuits, Corn and Green Beans and desert.

At 5Pm some of our church members showed up and jumped into the kitchen to start washing dishes, We fed the first 85 people and then the girls cleared and reset the tables that were empty and we invited another group waiting in church to come in and enjoy dinner, We ended up serving until 7PM and fed 154 people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We got many compliments and atta-boys and atta-girls for the meal, finally at 7:30 The help sit down and got to sample our 2 days worth of work and I must say it was delicious.

We got every thing cleaned up finally, everything was put away, we both came home dragging, BUT the first thing we did was offer a prayer that the *(Man Upstairs) gave us the strength, fortitude and patience and keep us pretty much pain free to get thru these 2 days, I did have to put on a Nitro Patch before it was all done and said!!!

We refrigerated all the left overs BECAUSE Saturday we are turning right around and feeding 25 to 30 of our church members who are going out on a Work Day in the community and guess what, we are going to feed them Chicken and Biscuits!!!!!!!!!

Lets not forget our Men and Women serving their country for us!!!!!