Party Sandwiches, Potato Soup, Fruit Salad

For the last 3 or 4 weeks our small group has been fasting on Wednesdays for the Advent season. Then, when we get together that evening, we break the fast by eating a meal together and discussing the book we are reading. It has been tough not eating on Wednesdays and it makes the day seem a lot longer, but I have noticed that I am thinking more about what this season truly means and how blessed I am to have the things and people in my life that I do.

Each night a different couple has brought the dinner and last Wednesday was our turn! Audra (one of the group leaders) is a vegetarian so it was a bit tricky picking out meal options that she could eat as well. Here is what we prepared: ham and cheese party sandwiches, vegetarian crock pot potato soup, and fruit salad.

Here is the ham and cheese party sandwich recipe I used (and doubled since we had a lot of people to feed):

1 12 count package Kings Hawaiian Rolls
12 slices swiss cheese
12-16oz thin sliced ham
1/2 cup butter melted
1 tsp ground mustard
1 tsp poppy seeds (optional)
2 tsp onion flakes (or 1 tsp onion powder)
2 tbsp worcheshire sauce

Place ham and cheese on the bottom of the sliced rolls. Cover with the top half of roll. Mix together the remaining five ingredients in a small bowl and spoon over the tops of the sandwiches. It will look like you have too much, but just dump it all on there. Let sit overnight or a couple of hours. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 for 15 minutes or until warmed through and the cheese is gooey and melty. These turned out very yummy!

I decided to go with a crock pot potato soup recipe since we had to work that day. It was very simple and turned out delicious.

First, use a 6 quart crock pot and peel and cut a 5 lb. bag of potatoes.

Then add 1 large onion, diced, 4 cloves garlic, minced (I used a little more than that), 2 teaspoons seasoned salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I used crushed red pepper flakes).

Next, add 8 cups vegetable stock since the recipe is vegetarian!

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours. The potatoes should be fork-tender.

Once that is done, cut 16 ounces of Neufchatel cheese into blocks and use an immersion (we used a hand blender with the immersion attachment) to puree the soup.

Finally garnish with shredded sharp cheddar cheese, chives or green onions, and bacon bits. The soup was a little thinner than we imagined for potato soup, so we added a SMALL amount of cornstarch/water mix and it was just perfect! I highly recommend trying this recipe next time you have a big crowd to feed.

Finally, we look along a fruit salad so Audra would have something else to eat! Ha. This turned out to be delicious and we had extras that stood up in the fridge for a couple days after. Here is the fruit salad recipe I used:

1 (20 ounce) can pineapple chunks, juice reserved
2 apples, peeled and cored
1 (21 ounce) can peach pie filling
2 bananas, peeled and diced
3 kiwis (I used grapes)
1 pint strawberries (I did not use since they are ridiculously priced right now!)

In a small bowl, toss the chopped apples in reserved pineapple juice. Allow to sit for 5 to 10 minutes. In a large salad bowl, combine the peach pie filling and pineapple chunks. Remove apples from pineapple juice and add to pie filling and pineapple mixture. Add chopped bananas to reserved pineapple juice and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes. Add chopped strawberries (if you used them) and kiwi (aka grapes in this case). Remove bananas from pineapple juice and add to pie filling mixture. Chill and serve.

**Be sure to add the apples and bananas to the pineapple juice because it helps them not turn brown! Genius.

Hope you are having a great week!