Kids are moving.....food ideas?

Our kids are moving to a new home. Moving days are at the end of next week with moving the really big stuff on the weekend. Rick is going down Thursday morning and will come back home on Friday night. I cannot help move large, heavy boxes due to back issues. My DIL has said that I can get her kitchen in order by unpacking the kitchen boxes and putting things in cupboards. When they bought their last house, that's what I did and she was really pleased with her kitchen being all set up for her. So that will be my task again this time.

I thought I'd take food down with us next Saturday to help feed hungry movers. I've already decided to make my shredded BBQ beef for sandwiches. I can make it on Friday night, then take it down in a crock pot to keep it warm til we're ready to eat. Same with my crock pot beans....get it all together really early on Sat morning then take that in a crock pot, too. I thought I'd throw together some cupcakes for something sweet. I'll make iced tea and lemonade (we have large plastic beverage containers that will work perfectly for that), and grab a couple cases of soda on the way down.

I always have a large supply of paper supplies on hand: plates, cups, plastic silverware, napkins, etc. I can throw all that in my picnic basket. That way we don't have to worry much about washing dishes and such. Buns for the shredded beef. Potato chips, things like that.

But I'm not sure about a salad. They'll be moving the fridge on Saturday while they have everybody there to help with the large items, so I don't know if a fridge will be available. And I don't want to leave any salad out for a long time, not even in an ice chest. I might be tempted in the winter, but certainly not at the beginning of August.

What else can I made as a side to the beef sandwiches and the crock pot beans?

What about a nice salad or coleslaw?  It could help cut down on the richness of the sandwich.
 

Cole slaw would work, with a plain oil and vinegar dressing, nothing commercial as that goes bad. I tart up my cole slaw dressing with a bit of sugar, celery salt, pepper and celery seed. I also make it with enough vinegar to sort of pickle the cabbage if it has to sit out.

For outdoor picnics, I make a zucchini, tomato, green pepper and onion salad with homemade Italian dressing. Dice everything the night before and chill it with the dressing to make the veggies soft. You don't have to worry about anything really going bad (no mayo or anything) and it's very tasty.

Thanks, guys! I'm now leaning toward a pasta salad with the zucchini and the other vegetables and mixed with Italian dressing, kind of along the lines that calico2222 suggested.. Talked to our son last night; he said there will not be a refrigerator that day as it will be moved to the new house, but won't be plugged in right away. The Italian dressing should work out OK. Sk-pacer, I had thought of a pickled cole slaw, but our son doesn't like cole slaw. (I do though!)

The pasta salad sounds perfect.

I believe refrigerators should not be plugged in immediately after being moved anyway to let the freon (?) settle first.  We always let ours sit overnight before plugging in.

Good luck with the move - sounds like the food is going to be great.

Yosemite said:

The pasta salad sounds perfect.

I believe refrigerators should not be plugged in immediately after being moved anyway to let the freon (?) settle first.  We always let ours sit overnight before plugging in.

Good luck with the move - sounds like the food is going to be great.

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It;s the oil in the compressor that needs to settle out of the lines. The refrigerant (A135, no longer Freon) will be fine but if you plug in the fridge too soon, any oil in the suction line will keep right on going through the evaporator and condenser to the dryer and plug that solid and then no fridge.

That sounds really good...do they need more help moving?

Aqualoon said:

That sounds really good...do they need more help moving?

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We can always use more help! I'll feed you!!

I'm making the shredded beef for sandwiches, the crock pot beans, the Italian pasta salad, and cupcakes. The cupcakes will be yellow with a peanut butter cup in the center of each cupcake and a whipped peanut butter frosting. And since our grandkids are cookie monsters, I'll throw together some chocolate chip cookies and some snickerdoodles. I'm going to start cooking tomorrow afternoon, but I'll throw the cookie doughs together tonight and chill in the fridge. (I'm thinking about taking tomorrow off work to bake the cookies in the afternoon.)

Thanks for the salad ideas! And if anybody wants to come help us move, we'd appreciate it!

cornbread and a chunk of onion...........

Hope the move goes well! :cross:

sk_pacer said:

It;s the oil in the compressor that needs to settle out of the lines. The refrigerant (A135, no longer Freon) will be fine but if you plug in the fridge too soon, any oil in the suction line will keep right on going through the evaporator and condenser to the dryer and plug that solid and then no fridge.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the clarification.  I knew it was something but not sure what or why except that I shouldn't plug the refrigerator in too soon after moving it.