Mom, Dad said that you had some meeting that you had to attend on Tuesday...what time would work best for you?
AnnMarie, what would you like me to do? I have been so busy trying to get things ready so that Braden is prepared for two years of service, that I haven't really thought about the Utah Open House. It seems like it is coming too quickly for me. Would you like me to call Sam's and have Eric put together a few meat and cheese trays like we did for Siovhan? We could have him save some of their rolls for us as well. Then I could pick up the trays on Tuesday afternoon and store them in your refrigerator. Vegies are always a sure hit, as well. Does Sam's do a good vegetable tray, or would it be best to put one together by ourselves?
Let me know what your thoughts are.
Thanks.
Mel
I think I could do pulled pork or bbq chicken sandwiches or sloppy joes. (I can't remember what all I have had at some of the other gatherings Braden has been to.) I usually do either of the first two meats for large gatherings in my crockpot, because it is very easy and feeds a lot of people. Or we could do the deli meats with sliced cheese. Brandon and I just did that on Sunday for a ward youth training conference, and it went well. We don't need to buy premade platters, it is a lot more expensive. I actually bought Land O'Frost meat because it was on sale, then folded each slice in half and placed them "decoratively" on platters. I bought sliced cheese, cut them in half and arranged them on another platter. I got a bottle of pickles. I bought a head of lettuce and tore it into roll sized pieces and put them and some carrots on another platter. Add a bottle of mustard and mayo and the youth thought they were having deli sandwiches, they ate it all up. Whatever he wants to eat, we can do it economically and very easily.
Walmart has steak rolls that are really inexpensive and great for serving a lot of people. I could pick up four of those bags (they have around 24 rolls in them). I would just do carrots, celery, some cherry tomatoes, and some pea pods, with just a dip. I have platters. Someone could bring some bags of chips. We could ask attending family to bring side dishes. I would also buy a big bag of salad.
For dessert, I bought some Betty Crocker brownie mixes on sale, and then thought we could make some cookies (easy-to-serve sweets), and then Braden could request whatever he wants for his last dessert out of the MTC.
Just let me know about the menu. I was planning on picking up the food on Tuesday so you could enjoy hanging out with your son.
It would be good if he could estimate how many people will come, just so we don't end up with too much food.
As far as the times go, any of those will work just great. I will be home all day except from 3 to 4:30 running children all over.
The basement will not be done, so we will be crossing our fingers for sunshine and place tables and chairs outside. If it is raining, we can put the tables and chairs up downstairs, it just will be on concrete. The flooring guys were supposed to work all this week and they are coming tomorrow.
