How to Feed 140 Men, Cheap!

A couple of weeks ago my friend Maggie & I were asked to coordinate the meal for the Stake Priesthood Dinner. We were told it was for about 100 people and given a budget. Instead of asking a bunch of other RS Sisters to help, we "volun-told" our kids.

We settled on Pulled Pork on a Bun, Tossed Salad, & Baked Potatoes with all the fixings & Pumpkin Sheet Cake for dessert & Ice water with either lemons or cucumber to drink. We found two simple, inexpensive recipes for the Pulled Pork & Pumpkin Sheet Cake online. We came in way under budget, when I am given a budget in is always a sport to see how far under I can be, this was my best score yet. With our 9 "overly willing" kids to help, prep work was actually a breeze.

We used 3 large pug in turkey roasters (Buy one they are worth every penny!, I have two and use them for everything) one for the Pulled Pork( The big pork loin at Costco was the cheapest.) and the other two to bake the potatoes. We tossed the salad in a giant Zip Loc Bag, worked awesome and made storage super simple. The pumpkin sheet cakes were iced on the pan, pre- scored, and frozen, we top each piece with a pumpkin candy because we were worried about possible nut allergies (I like the cake better with the toasted nuts on top) I then used my dough cutter(my favourite kitchen tool) to slice the cakes will still slightly frozen. We planned for 100 but fed more than 140 with salad and potatoes left over.

I learned one valuable lesson too. The difference between Relief Society Sisters & Priesthood Brethren....TABLECLOTHS! I said to my dear, sweet Grant as we were heading to the church, "First thing we need to do is get the tablecloths on the tables." To which Grant replied "What for?" Me: "So it looks nice!" Grant "The Men don't care." Me: "Well I do!" Grant: "You're just making more laundry" (he almost had me there) Me:" I don't care" Grant: "Fine....What about table centerpieces?" Me: "Funny Grant! Funny"


PUMPKIN SHEET CAKE
Ingredients
1 (15 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
FROSTING:
1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
5 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
3 teaspoons milk
Chopped nuts
Directions
In a mixing bowl, beat pumpkin, sugar and oil. Add eggs; mix well. Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; add to pumpkin mixture and beat until well blended. Pour into a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until cake tests done. Cool.
For frosting, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla in a mixing bowl until smooth. Gradually add sugar; mix well. Add milk until frosting reaches desired spreading consistency. Frost cake. Sprinkle with nuts.

**I buy the big 28 oz can of pumpkin and double the recipe to make two cakes; always grease and flour the pan to avoid sticking**


ROOT BEER PULLED PORK
Ingredients
1 (2 pound) pork tenderloin
1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle root beer
1 (18 ounce) bottle your favorite barbecue sauce
8 hamburger buns, split and lightly toasted
Directions
Place the pork tenderloin in a slow cooker; pour the root beer over the meat. Cover and cook on low until well cooked and the pork shreds easily, 6 to 7 hours. Note: the actual length of time may vary according to individual slow cooker. Drain well. Stir in barbecue sauce. Serve over hamburger buns.

**we did not drain completely and added the bbq sauce to the dripping which worked just fine**

After I posted this the bill for this meal came to just over $220 nearly $80 under budget...pretty awesome