BBQ SANDWICHES
MASHED POTATOES
CORN
DESSERT
SWEET TEA / WATER


SAVANNAH / ELLYN / ANNA / MEREDITH / LANE / TYLER / MERRITT / HAMPTON / MARK / T. J. / CECELIA / KAYLA / WILLIAM / JACK / BRIANNA / LINDSAY / LAUREN / ELAINE / BLAKE / PEYTON / HAYLEY / EMILY / ISAAC / DAVID / ALAINA / JENNA / MORGZILLA / CREEEEEECH! / ALEXANDRA / TOM / KATHLYNN / BRIEN / WAYNE / CHARLES / ROCK 'N ROLL / STEVE / DON / PHILIP / CARTER /  ZUPONNNNNN! /  were a lot of fun to spend time with this week while they invested themselves in other peoples lives.


We made 160+ sandwiches and gave out all but 5.  We had 2 pans of BBQ extra that didn't get made into sandwiches, so we just spooned it out onto plates if anyone wanted. One of the best feelings is having lots of food that you can pile on as long as they keep coming and that's what we had this week.


Twig was in Charlotte this week, so I didn't decide what to serve until around noon on Tuesday.


  Carter Sutton, who is 5, and his dad, Philip, came out to see us this week. Carter made Valentines for our friends and they brought them and passed them out. The pictures are from Elaine's cellphone, so enlarging them made them a little grainy.

Here's Carter  passing out his Valentines



 They had extra Valentines they let me keep for the next stop, but I had to put them in a different bag. Carter wouldn't let me keep his TOY STORY bag.   

  





Huevos Rancheros?
Yep.
Why?
Not really sure how those words popped out of my mouth last week but they did. Someone said they could get bell peppers and onions, so I said Then let's do Huevos Rancheros.
Have I ever made Huevos Rancheros?
No.
I've never even ordered them in a restaurant.
But those are the words that came out of my mouth, so when a bushel of bell peppers and 25 lbs of onions showed up, we froze our barbecue we had left from the SUPER BOWL PARTY and went with something new. It threw our friends for a curve because they all assumed we'd be eating barbecue sandwiches, so that was good.
Hate to be predictable.


KAYLA / DANNI / KILLER / ANNA / CAROLINE / LUKE / BRETT / LAUREN / LINDSAY / BRIANNA / BLAKE / ALEXANDRA / JENNA / AILANA / DAVID / EMILY / JERRY / CHARLES / TERESA / TWIG / TYLER / ANDY / STEVE / MEREDITH / ELIZABETH / MORGZILLA / CREEEEEECH! / DON /  came out and stayed on a cold night when they could have been doing something else.


For us Huevos Rancheros meant a tortilla with eggs that had been scrambled with peppers, onions and garlic, with a grilled deer sausage link or bacon on the side and salsa, chili con carne and cheese for toppings.
We served home fries with it.
There was a lot of positive feedback on it so we'll probably do it again.

Super Bowl Recap

TWIG / DON / CRAIG / PRUDEN / COLLEEN / GARY AND LAINE McKNIGHT / MORGZILLA / CONNIE / THERESA / DAVID / ANNA / ALAN / MARY / ANDY / MALIK / CLEO / ANDREW / KIMBERLY / TOM / JOHN / WAYNE / JACK / CANDACE / ERIC /  all spent their time, resources, and efforts Sunday night to help our guys enjoy the Super Bowl.


T.J. / ELAINE / PATRICK / ELISE / EMILY / CECELIA /  stayed after church on Sunday and helped me mix, bake and decorate the 12 cakes we had for dessert.


It was a long day for me and Twig. We got to the church about 8 in the morning to get the pig on the grill. We were there the rest of the day getting ready for the party. We started baking cakes around 11. We put some chicken and baked potatoes on the grill and stopped about 12:30 to eat and let the cakes cool. Then we decorated them, made tea, counted plates, etc.
 I ran and got the bus at 3:30 and people started showing up to help between 4 and 4:30. The folks that came were incredible and did a fantastic job.
We chopped up half the pig and put the other half on the table to pick . It looked pretty cool laying there. Somebody gave Twig 3 gallons of a BBQ sauce called SPIVEY'S SAUCE. It was just about as good a sauce as I've ever had on pork. It's a vinegar base but it's heavy and dark. Way good.


I picked up the Mercy House guys at 5:20, the other folks came around then too and we ate from 5:45 til kickoff, with walk-ins showing up throughout. At halftime we went back in to Fireside Hall for another round of eating, this time putting out appetizers and finger foods, plus more of the "meal" food if they wanted.


As good as the game was, it's as much fun to watch them watch it. It's hard to imagine there was a crowd anywhere else that laughs harder at the commercials or reacts more to the plays than these guys. Alan and Mary brought about 20 "Terrible Towels". Everybody wanted one, even the Packer fans.


As far as I know, no one knocked over a drink that sitting on the floor, which was a first.


We went through 40 dozen hush puppies.
Drank 9 gallons of tea.


A couple mentioned they expected leftovers this Tuesday and we planned enough BBq to have some left over for sandwiches but we won"t do that this week. BBQ will freeze.
We're planning HUEVOS RANCHEROS this Tuesday.    Ole'


Our goal for the night was to provide them with a great meal and a relaxing place for to them to enjoy the game and to let them know we were doing it because we cared for them and wanted them to know that God did, too. By those criteria, the night was huge success.

PICTURES! PICTURES! PICTURES!

SUPER BOWL PARTY report:
It was Great! Wish you could've been there.

Pruden and Twig

David and Jenna

The Cake Table

Hanging out

Malik and Cleo. Friends of Andy at UNCW

David and Don

Morgzilla and some of the Guys

More eating and relaxing

JENNA!

Alaina, Connie, and Jenna pulling for the Steelers. That's Kimberly and Laine in the background.

The serving line

Pete and Danny

Charles, with Colleen in the background fixing drinks

The one thing our guys ask for every year is Cocktail wieners wrapped in bacon and baked with brown sugar. Morgzilla and her parents always oblige.

Chopped pig. Mmmmmm......



Behind the scenes in the kitchen



Mary Dyar



Andy showing Twig how it's done while Morgzilla supervises



Alan and Mary Dyar, the Terrible Towel suppliers

Halftime

Connie and Theresa

More Halftime. Most everybody had gone back to Fireside Hall for the appetizer portion of the night. We had the lights off during the game

Morgzilla "supervising" Andy again

Pictures today - words tomorrow.

.........TEXAS PETE !

 / BRIANNA / KILLER ELAINE / CECELIA / ANNA / JOHANNA/ ALEXANDRA / BLAKE / MARK / WAYNE / ELLYN / ZUPON! / BRIEN / STEVE / DON / TERESA / CHARLES / came out last night and put Love into action and their faith into practice.


Sunday night was a church get together to discuss business that needed to be taken care of. Folks were invited to bring a pot of chili. When it was over they were invited to donate their leftover chili to us to use. When it was all collected and compiled, we had about 9 gallons of chili to use.
Some people might say Eeewww? You just dump different chili's together?
Yes. After all, chili is a dish where you dump various things together to begin with, so dumping different chilis together isn't all that different. Once you let it cool and sit in the fridge for a couple of days, it's good to go.
MENU
CHILI
JALAPENO CORNBREAD
COLLARDS
DESSERT
SWEET TEA / WATER
We made jalapeno cornbread and put crackers and some foccacia out if they wanted it. Cheese, sourcream, jalapenoes, and TEXAS PETE rounded out the table. We had someone give us a big pan of collards at the last minute. That's not how I roll, but some people loved it.


One of the guys whose name you see listed every week is homeless. He joined the church and is there every week. He attends a Sunday School class and many of the social functions offered. He has spent most of the past year sleeping under the Isabella Holmes Bridge. Occasionally there has been money to put him and his buddy in a motel for a week or two at a time.
The first thing he did when he saw me last night was hold up some keys on a keyring and tell me he had moved in to his new place. He was very excited about it and he should be. After we finished and I drove him home, I walked up with him to take a look at it. He said the power guy hadn't showed up to cut the power on and it would be dark, but there was a hanger on the doorknob saying he'd come by and things were good. The look on his face when the lights came on was something I wish you could have seen. A lot of good people were instrumental in making this a reality and although they don't want thanks , they deserve it.


Plans have been made to take a High School Spring Break Mission Trip to New York City to help with homeless ministries in the area. More on that later as it gets closer.


Our friend in the hospital was discharged and doing OK.


Elaine King is a freshman at Hoggard High School and the person I trust most to make the Sweet Tea every week. She has "apprenticed " under me for a long time now and I know all I have to do is say Elaine- you got Tea, and in 40 minutes she'll be handing me a cup of iced tea to taste. I don't have to check in or look over shoulder to make sure she's doing it the way I would. That's peace of mind.


When it comes to our SUPER BOWL PARTY! we've been fortunate in several ways; I've had great help every year, we've gotten larger by approximately 10 people each year, and the games themselves have been fun and exciting. This year's should be as good as the others.


I want to have some door prizes this year, but I haven't figured out what to use for prizes. I don't want do things like blankets or gloves, because that feels like I'm saying One person wins a basic life necessity and no one else does!YaY! I thought about getting some Packer or Steeler gear, or maybe some gift cards. Not sure. I'm open to suggestions, though, if you have any.


We're getting a bigger pig (120 lb) this year because we're expecting more folks. Last year's 85 lb'er was just enough. Gonna pick it up Saturday. Part of me wants to get some of the skin and try to make some homemade pork rinds. That would be cool!
If I did, you know the first flavor I'd try to make? .............