Oh my gosh guys, my weekend was so so so insane.  I told you guys about all the million things I had going on and I’m happy to say I survived!  I’m also happy it’s OVER!

My goal this week is to get all my Christmas shopping done and Christmas cards ordered so I can just sit back and enjoy the rest of the Christmas season.  I want to spend some time sitting by the tree, listening to Christmas music, making Christmas treats, going on Christmas drives and enjoying some time with the kiddos.  I love Christmas….just not the busy, hectic part of it all.

Anyway, I thought I would give you guys some “visuals” from my crazy weekend.  My poor kitchen got killed and still hasn’t quite made it back to normalcy.

Just to recap, I was in charge of helping with the food for our church Christmas party Saturday night.  We planned to have 300 people come!  Crazy.

Even though it was a daunting task, I didn’t mind helping at all.  One of the things I really love about our church is that everyone helps!  There are always so many people willing to pitch in and help in any way; setting up, cooking, passing out flyers, decorating, entertainment, cleaning up, etc.  I love it.

Soooo, I was more than happy to “take my turn” because so many others work so hard as well.  I ended up cooking almost 40 pounds of roast beef (2 other people cooked the same amount of roast as well.)

Eeeewwww.  That’s a lot of cow!  I’m so sorry to all my vegetarian friends out there.  Actually, I’m sorry to all y’all because this pic is pretty gross.

I cooked all the meat overnight in these roasting pans and it turned out so tender and flavorful!

I had Kev shred it all and it pretty much just fell apart….it was so tender!

I also made some Cheesy Potato casseroles as well.

We had a bunch of other people make these potatoes too, but I made a few pans so we would be sure to have enough!  These potatoes are actually very popular in Utah and are often called “Funeral Potatoes”, lol.

It’s quite common in the LDS (aka Mormon) church for members to come together and make a nice dinner for a grieving family after a funeral.  These potatoes are often served and that’s why people call them “Funeral Potatoes.”  Needless to say, they can be served any time though!  I will share the recipe in a minute.

I also made a couple desserts.  We asked a bunch of people to bring desserts, but we wanted to make sure to have enough so I made a couple things as well.  I made Scotcheroos and Seven Layer Bars.

I think it goes without saying that these treats are obviously NOT healthy, but they are the perfect thing to make for a large group of people.  They are both very quick and and so easy to make!

I also made 200 homemade rolls (by choice!) and afterward I decided I was crazy.

I LOVE homemade rolls so much and wanted the Christmas dinner to be “special.”  Store bought rolls are just not very yummy. 🙁

Anyway, here’s my crazy kitchen during the process….

In fact, I don’t think this picture does it justice.  It was pretty nuts.

It was a great party though and everything turned out well.  AND, it’s OVER!  Oh, and FYI, we also served green salad and Jello salad, but I didn’t have to make any of that. 😉

Anyway, I thought I would share the recipe for “Funeral Potatoes” with you guys.  There are a million and one different variations of this recipe, but this is how I make them.

Oh, and you CAN make these potatoes a little healthier.  I will include healthier substitutions and options in parenthesis as well.

Funeral Potatoes

• 1 (2 pound) package frozen hash browns; thawed (you can boil and shred real potatoes if you prefer)
• 1/4 cup butter (you can cut this to 2 tablespoons for a healthier option)
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can cream of chicken soup (you can use my Cream of Chicken Soup Substitute recipe!)
• 1 (8 ounce) container sour cream (you can use light or fat free sour cream)
• 1/2 cup onions; chopped
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (you can use light varieties of cheese)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• dash black pepper
• crushed cornflakes or Ritz crackers (can can omit this step altogether if you like!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In large saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat.  Add onion and saute 3-5 minutes or until tender.

Add hash browns, soup and sour cream.  Mix well.

Add cheese, salt and pepper.  Mix well.

Place mixture in greased 9 x 13 pan.  Top with cornflakes or crackers if desired.

Bake, covered, in preheated oven for 40 minutes.

This is really a yummy recipe!  You can even add some ham to it and call it dinner.  YUM!

Well, I gotta go clean up my thrashed house after this crazy weekend.  Enjoy your Monday!