Harvest Cook-off

My Aunt Laura is so funny, she decided last weekend that we needed to have a harvest cook-off. All the veggies are in season and the farmer's markets are exploding with produce. Also, since my Grandma was widowed almost a year ago she has become accustom to eating very little in the evenings, so my Aunt wanted to rectify that by making many tasty dinners that could be frozen.

On Saturday we got an urgent call, "bring pans, we need your help!". E and I ran up to my Aunt's house to see the entire kitchen and living room in a state of organized chaos. Boxes of potatoes and apples lined the floor. Bags of spinach and onions peeked from corners. Mushrooms and chicken bubbled on the stove, while lasagna was being prepped in the next room.

E and I jumped right in, and before we knew it we had diced 25 chicken breasted, sauted 13 pounds of onions, made 6 gallons of homemade spaghetti sauce, diced dozens of tomatoes, and made 10 huge pans of eggplant parmesan.

It began to rain outside, then snow. Inside we were hot, with all the ovens, boiling water, and hot frying pans made for a steamy kitchen. We opened all the windows and continued to work. Soon E had to run to the store for more sauce while I finished my 16th huge pan of veggie lasagna.

Our cook-off really felt like the beginning of the holidays, we were all laughing, and cooking, and working, all while it was storming outside.

Soon we had lunch (some of the best eggplant parmesan I've ever had) and started on the chicken pot pies. Kendra and Mike were in charge of the homemade pie crusts while Taylor looked on trying to convince Kendra he was a "pie expert." Sixteen pies later, numerous loads of dish washing and telling the dogs over and over again to get out of the kitchen, E and I headed home with our pans full.

We brought home two lasagnas, two chicken pot pies, an eggplant parmesan and two huge dishes of chicken enchiladas. Now we are set for the winter, our freezer is full of tasty things, so on cold winter nights we can have a hot dinner.

Oh, and you read it correctly, this was Saturday. It was snowing! Sunday turned out to be clear and warm, so it was perfect for Frightmares. What a great weekend!

All photos are from Google Images