My first lunch for Metro Division....

I have delivered dinner twice to the officers in the Metro Division (3rd shift), but this was my first lunch for 1st/2nd shift -- February 5, 2021. 

Was I nervous? YES! After all, I was making lunch for officers I had never met before, not to mention delivering lunch on a weekday presents a nice possibility that the Captain, Lieutenant, and Sergeants might fix a plate (and they did), so I wanted to get it right. 

Ever since the Covid outbreak, the officers in my own division haven't been able to gather at my table, so I have been delivering meals and have extended my cooking and deliveries to divisions outside my own. 

Delivering lunch and a promise to be there by a certain time doesn't leave much room for kitchen snafus and setbacks. I'm not a professional caterer and don't know all the tricks of the catering trade, but one thing I have learned in the past 11 years is, the more you can do the day before, the better. 

I decided to make the lasagna the night before so all I would have to do is pop it in the oven the morning of the lunch. Seems simple, right? WRONG!! Bringing cold lasagna to room temperature before baking takes way longer than you would think. I even put it in a warm oven 200-250 degrees for 20 minutes before cooking for another hour or so at 350, and it still took forever. I even scoured the internet for helpful tips on making lasagna the night before and the only thing I could find was that you cook it longer and, in my opinion, cooking longer can make it dry. It was a dilemma, for sure.  

I was a nervous wreck. 

They say 'a watched pot never boils'....well, watched lasagna is slow to cook. But planning to be there 30 minutes before the start to set-up helped make up a little time -- I just didn't have the time to make the layout all pretty once I got there. 

I love all the helping hands I had when I arrived. Once I notify someone that I'm there, officers pile out the back door for the 'unloading of the car'. And they're so strong, they can carry a lot at one time. 

Everyone at Metro was so welcoming and appreciative. In my brief 2-hour visit, they made me feel like part of the family. About halfway through lunch, the words 'our house, is your house' came across loud and clear. My appreciation for them was so quickly reciprocated.

At exactly 2:00 pm, my car (and the old girl in it) was heading home with all of my nice thoughts of the afternoon. 

Stay safe my new friends.  💙

Nothing says 'dig in, boys' like four pans of Lasagna.

One big salad.

My banana pudding that everyone seems to like so much.

Two boxes of cream puffs.

 

I stand with this line.....

With Covid-19 and other world events going on, it hasn't been a good time for the officers to gather at my table. I miss seeing my friends around the table and looking out the window waitng for the first patrol car to round the corner, but it's not about me....it's about them, so I have been making a few meal deliveries. 

I have delivered meals before, but with so much unrest right now, it felt different. So much pressure on law enforcement officers. Protesting at unprecedented levels; so much hate; so much uncertainty. And for all those that disrespect the badge, the officers have to protect even those who hate and protest against them. 

They're our protectors. We work, and they protect. We sleep, and they protect.

I am so proud of my own CMPD and the few officers that I was honored to feed this past month.    

I made lasagna each time because it's so easy to transport. But after three deliveries and nine pans of lasagna in the last month, this will be it for lasagna for a while. I say that now, but truth be known, if they said that's what they wanted for dinner....that's what I'd make. 

Thursday, June 11 was lunch for the South Division. What a nice visit. I haven't seen these officers since March when Covid-19 exploded so I was really looking forward to my visit. It is the South Division officers I have known the longest, even though so many from my early days of cooking have now retired. I usually set up my meals in the roll call room. I was  there for about 2-1/2 hours as I watched the officers come, eat, and go. We kept our distance and we did a few 'elbow bumps' to say hello and goodbye. I'm smiling just thinking about it. That's my happy place. 

Friday, June 26 was dinner for the awesome detectives with the ABC Unit. Really, just a super bunch of guys. They have gathered at my table a few times and I have delivered once before. They all were so welcoming and made me feel like I was a family member they hadn't seen for a while. A few were sharing family and pet pictures with me from their cell phone while we enjoyed a nice dinner. They always make me feel like part of the family. I received a nice thank you note from the sergeant a few days later which surely guaranteed another dinner in their future. So nice....thank you, Sir. It was my pleasure.   

Saturday, July 18, I delivered lunch to the brave officers in the Independence Division. This was my first visit to Independence. After 10 years of cooking for my friends, I still get a little nervous when feeding a new bunch of officers, and nervous, in general, when I'm cooking for others, but the officers were very personable and made me feel welcome. 

I was so pressed for time I didn't take one photo. With 12 officers standing in line for food, taking a few photos for this blog post was not an option. The photos in this post are from my June 11 lunch, but the meals were identical.  :)

I tried my best to arrive 20 minutes early, but it's very hard. Everything is so unpredictable. Kitchen snafus, under-estimating cooking time, forgetting the ice (which is what happened Saturday). Oh, I remembered it, but I forgot to put it in the car. I'm not a professional caterer -- just a working girl -- and an 'old' working girl at that. The heat index was like 102 degrees outside, so after 6-7 trips from the kitchen to the garage to load the car, I looked like I had mowed the yard by the time I arrived. But I can't complain when these officers are working in this heat wearing a 6 lb. bulletproof vest and a 20 lb. duty belt. God bless them all! Now I know why one of my officers loves winter so much.  

This was the second time I made the lasagna the night before and popped them in the refrigerator to cook the next morning, but allowing enough time to bring them to room temperature takes longer than you would think. As a result, I had to cook them longer -- I just couldn't get them to heat through. So STRESSFUL! Because of the extra cooking time, I thought they were rather on the dry side, so I won't make these a day ahead again.   

One officer invited me to do a ride-along which made me feel all the more welcome. They are more than happy for you to ride with them if you complete the required paperwork and application (and I have to complete it too each time), but I can't recall anyone ever asking me first. I have done four ride-alongs in the past 10 years (South, Steele Creek, Metro, and Hickory Grove). I enjoy seeing the response area each officer is protecting -- some roads I have never traveled. I'll enjoy a ride with Independence in the near future.

My long-time and best girlfriend in Tampa surprised me with a generous contribution towards my lunch for Independence. I won't call her out so not to embarrass her, but last week she sent me a photo taken several years ago of the two of us and another mutual friend. I was expecting the photo in the mail, but the check that fell in my lap was a big surprise. You are a true 'BLUE' friend, dear girl, and I love you. 💙  We all have that one 'forever' friend, and she is mine.

While coordinating this lunch, in one of my emails exchanges with the sergeant, he ended his email with "Thanks so much for caring for us." 

It made me tear up a little.

You are very welcome, Sir....you are very welcome!

♥

AHOP's 10th Annual Christmas Lunch

My work is interfering with my blogging! So busy at work....so busy at home, and I have so much to share! In particular, another CMPD volunteer assignment that I am very excited about (I'll save that for another post), and I celebrated my 10 year anniversary of cooking for my friends! I am having my blog redesigned to commemorate my anniversary. 

I wanted to share the highlights from my 10th CMPD Christmas lunch for the South Division. It was a hard meal to make because I had one of my busiest months ever at work and couldn't take off the time I needed to stay on track -- I thought I would have a nervous breakdown. I was getting so far behind, but thanks to my sweet and long-time friend, Melanie, who came to my rescue the night before.

It was a very nice turn-out. After lunch, the 1st shift officers left to deliver the toys they had collected for the families who were having a rough time of it. I had just enough time to tidy up the kitchen and load the dishwasher when around 1:45 pm, several 2nd shifters stopped by. A new sergeant stopped by too who had never been to my home before, and that's always nice.

I'll share the secret to the 'make ahead' mashed potatoes in another post, but what a time-saver that was, and the macaroni and cheese recipe I found on YouTube was restaurant quality. 

I hope everyone had a lovely holiday. My holiday lunch is always the highlight of my Christmas, and I look forward to it every year. I just wish it didn't go by so darn fast.

♥  

I found this Mac/Cheese recipe on YouTube. It was EXCELLENT!
I'll share the recipe in another post!

Make-ahead Mashed Potatoes -- I'll share this secret in another post. Wow! What a time-saver!

What a lovely view....

Beautiful holiday flowers from my friends in the South Division.

Why are chicken pot pies so hard to make?

I have made Chicken Pot Pie twice over the last decade for my friends behind the badge. Once in 2012 in individual ramekins and again in 2015.

In 2012, I made the gravy from scratch. It was a nightmare to make, but in the end it turned out great, but I vowed to never make it from scratch again.  

In 2015, I simplified the recipe by using Campbell's Cream of Chicken Soup and canned vegetables. It was pretty good and I won't forget how Sgt. BJ raved about it, but for this lunch, I wanted a 'showstopper' pot pie for the officers at my table. 

Last week, I had a moment of temporary insanity and decided to make it from scratch (again).

I found this recipe on YouTube by chef, Laura Vitale, and tested it twice for myself. Each time I made it it was delicious! The thickness was just right and it had a good flavor.

I took a half-day off from work the day before my lunch and had the lunch prep under control. I made chef, Laura Vitale's recipe again, only this time, the gravy was way too thick and it was greasy.

What changed? Why didn't it turn out like the last two pot pies?

Well, here comes the problem of not being a professional chef, because I don't know what changed.  Was it because I tripled the recipe to make a giant Pot Pie? Maybe I didn't need to triple the butter or the heavy cream? I must've goofed it up somehow trying to triple the recipe. All I know is that I was at the grocery store at MIDNIGHT Friday night buying more chicken broth.

If you make it 'as written', I think you will also love it. By Laura Vitale (click here).

Saturday morning the alarm went off at 5:30 am and I shot out of bed like a piece of toast. The first thing I did was fire up the stove and I started making the chicken pot pie sauce again, but this time I used a different recipe. With the lunch just a few hours away, I couldn't risk another fail. The pot pie had to go in the oven at 9:30 am.

The second batch had a good flavor, by Food Network's Tyler Florence (click here), but I thought it was a little too soupy. Being a novice cook, I was afraid to start adding thickeners. Three hours before these officers were to arrive is no time to be experimental! Had this batch not turned out, I would've been ordering pizza.

All in all, it was a wonderful afternoon! Great conversation and these guys can make me laugh. The four officers who came have been coming to my house for more than 9-1/2 years and it was the first time this sergeant stopped by. By the time the last two officers left, it was almost time for 2nd shift to log-on, so I asked the sergeant to let them know in case they wanted to stop by and make a To-Go box (and a few did).

After the three 2nd shift officers left, I rested for about 90 minutes and around 4:00 pm, I made a To-Box and delivered it to an officer across town. 

So this old girl's job is not done -- the search for  the perfect 'fool proof' Chicken Pot Pie continues and I will find it! If anyone has a chicken pot pie recipe that you family raves about, I would love to hear from you -- please share in the comments.    

♥

Sweet Cornbread (click here)

Easy Southern Banana Pudding (click here)

Happy New Year!

2017 was filled with all kinds of challenges. Some things I didn't handle very well, like house repairs. Expensive and major house repairs. But some very good things happened too, and God's grace, once again, reminds me just how much He cares for me. His grace definitely helped to outweigh the bad.

• January:  On January 24, 2017 after serving my friends for eight years, I delivered cream puffs one night to the Westover Division officers and they were happy to give me a picture. My first! It was definitely a bright spot in my year. I'm sure that sounds kind of silly to be so excited over a picture, but it was important to me and I had waited so long. When the officers are at my home, they enjoy a hot meal and conversation in peace and privacy. Except for taking pictures of the food, there are no pictures.
• February:  I started a new job. I thoroughly enjoyed my nice little paid break after losing my job in July 2016, and then it was nothing short of divine intervention that I was able to return to the company I left 12 years earlier.
• June:  I was honored to be recognized in CMPD's 2016 Annual Report. I think everyone has their 'moment in the sun' at least once in their lifetime, and I guess you could say this was mine. Thank you CMPD!
• July:  My 56-year-old house started falling apart. Major moisture issues plagued my crawlspace and, unfortunately, the remedy was very expensive. But it had to be done. The moisture damaged a wall in the den and it had to be replaced (twice) after the first handyman botched up the job.   
• September:  I found an awesome handyman to redo the wall the first handyman botched up. Super glad to have this behind me so I can get back to doing the things that I love. 

Like this....

Finally, after literally months of dealing with house repairs, I was able to invite my friends over for a holiday lunch.

I made these candy bar wrappers for the occasion and personalized them for the South Division.

Wishing everyone a Safe and Prosperous New Year

"May your troubles all be small ones, 

And your fortunes ten times ten,
May the good Lord bless and keep you, 

Til we meet again."

~ Meredith Willson

Lunch for the bunch......

What a great weekend!!  I made up 12 boxed lunches for my 1st shift friends in blue and delivered them around 11:00 am yesterday.  Thanks to my Facebook page, I could quickly refer to my photos to recall the last meal I cooked for 1st shift.  It was a 'To Go' breakfast on June 15. Seems like a lot longer than that, but I guess I just miss seeing my friends.

And yes, in case you're wondering, I even miss waking up at 4:30 am on Saturdays to start the breakfast process (with only 3-4 hour of sleep).  It always turned my ordinary Saturday into something extraordinary!

But I love how AHOP has evolved into a mix of To-Go and 'dine-in' meals.  Yesterday I made this awesome club sandwich on Honey Wheat Berry bread (my first cold meal).  It was LOADED with turkey and ham, swiss and cheddar cheese, lettuce and tomato, and bacon. Deliciousness!

The Boxed Lunch

Club Sandwich

Pasta Salad

Chips

Cookie

Sweet Tea

Pasta Salad recipe below

A big thank you to Robert at Mac's Speed Shop off Sandy Porter Road and South Tryon for his contribution towards this meal.  He donated 25 containers for my pasta salad (without hesitation).... and he was so kind to chat with me about cooking and kitchen stuff.  I actually learned a few helpful kitchen tips.
  

Mac's Speed Shop
2414 Sandy Porter Road, Charlotte, NC  

And a big thank you to Newk's Eatery (Blakeney/Rea Road) for donating plenty of mayo and mustard packets for my boxed lunches. It all helps!

Newk's Eatery
Blakeney Crossing - 9815 Rea Road, Charlotte, NC

Easy Pasta Salad

• 1 box Tri-Color Rotini
• Diced Sun Dried Tomatoes (softened in sunflower oil) - diced
• Red Onion (diced) -- I didn't measure, so use whatever you think looks good with the amount of noodles you have.  
• Newman's Own salad dressing "Parmesan and Roasted Garlic"
• Shredded Parmesan Cheese
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Here's what you need. 

Boil noodles until tender, but don't overcook because you don't want them to fall apart when you stir in all the other stuff. Drain in a colander and run cold water over the noodles until they cool down. Transfer drained noodles to a large bowl and put in the refrigerator until cold.

After the noodles are well-chilled, add the onions, sun-dried tomatoes, shredded Parmesan, and salad dressing and toss. I used my hands (w/ plastic gloves), but use whatever method is easiest for you.  You are just trying to coat the noodles really well.  Keep adding the salad dressing and a little salt and pepper until you get the flavor that you want.

Return pasta to refrigerator until ready to serve.  

♥

Napkin Folding 101

I have hosted my fair share of dinner parties.  A comfortable evening with my friends for drinks, dinner and cards.  I'd always try to make the evening a little special, especially if the party coincided with a holiday like it did one year on Valentine's Day.  Even though none of my guests were (my) Valentine....I had a blast finding just the perfect gift for each one of them -- especially the guys (but we won't go there).

I have always tried to make each AHOP meal (breakfast, lunch or dinner) a little special for the officers I cook for -- either by setting a special table or with the meal itself.  I tried using paper plates once, but I didn't like it. The best for the best is what I always say, so I purchased 20 plain white plates from Pier 1.  White plates are great because you can change the color scheme of your table so easily.

Since I've started making up To-Go boxes and taking them down to the station, I wanted the To-Go box to be special too.  I couldn't bear the thought of just throwing the plasticware in a bag or laying it all out on the table, so I learned how to fold this cute napkin pocket.  I use paper napkins, but the video is with a cloth napkin - either way they are adorable and it lets your special guests know you loved serving them.

Mozzarella Cheese Sticks -- I get an 'E' for Effort

Some girls walk away from relationships empty-handed -- they might be mad; their feelings could be hurt; and they might even have a broken heart. I seem to maintain distant friendships with my ex-boyfriends. I walked away from my last heartthrob with recipes and all the free cooking advice a girl could ask for. Thanks to my ex-boyfriend and culinary chef, Jeff, for not only giving me this recipe (which I revised slightly), but for being my 'phone-a-friend' and safety net when my insurmountable amateur cooking questions start to take up too much space in my brain. Another ex-heartthrob hung my AHOP neon sign that proudly hangs in my dining room window. He did an awesome job (thank you Mike)! I'd say I'm one lucky ex-girlfriend...lucky me!

These cheese sticks didn't turn out as pretty as I had hoped, but for my first attempt, I think I did OK. They were good, I'll have to say that! I hope to have an appetizer lunch and dinner for 1st and 2nd shift soon. If I can master these cheese sticks, I'll serve them with the potato skins posted on June 26, and I just saw this awesome patty melt that would go perfectly with it. Click here.  I still need to test it out, but doesn't it look good? ♥  Update: Tested the Patty Melts on 8/27/12 - click here.

  

Here's what you need

Cut cheese 4” x ½” x ½” sticks (I think I goofed
some of these up -- it was my first try)

The production line

Ready for the freezer (2 hours)

Mozzarella Cheese Sticks
Recipe given to me by Culinary Chef Jeff 

• Mozzarella cheese cut into approx. 4” x ½” x ½” sticks. 
• 2 eggs
• Italian bread crumbs
• Flour
• Salt (I used coarse salt)
• 1/2 tsp. garlic power
• Set up a breading station with flour / eggs / Italian bread crumbs – left to right. Jeff didn't say how much flour and bread crumbs to use -- I guess it depends on how many cheese sticks you're making. I didn't measure,  but I started with about a cup of each, I guess.  
• Season the Italian bread crumbs with some coarse salt and 1/2 tsp. garlic powder.  
• Use your left hand to drop the cheese stick into the flour, roll and coat, then drop into the egg.
• Use your right hand to pick the cheese stick out of the egg and toss into the bread crumbs, roll and coat. With this method, you don’t bread your fingers.
• Line a plate with wax paper (I didn't have any and used parchment paper). As each cheese stick is coated, place it on the wax or parchment paper.  
• Freeze for 2 hours.
• Deep fry – 1” of vegetable oil in a pan, heat on med-high until a drop of water crackles and spits (be careful).  This kind of scared me (all the crackling)...if you have a cooking thermometer, I would recommend you use it.  I'm going to buy myself one.    

Fry a few at a time until golden on the outside, but not too long or the inside will come out. Scoop out and put on a paper towel or a rack (like a cookie cooling rack) when done. I highlighted this part because I forgot to do that. I put however many the pan would hold which is why they probably didn't turn out as pretty as they could have (the oil cooled down too much with too many in the pan.) Also....I put the cheese sticks on a paper towel -- if  you have any cheese coming out, the cheese (sticks) to the paper towel. As you can see, my first time was a lot of trial and error.  

Serve with your favorite tomato/marinara sauce (fresh basil chopped into the sauce at the end will add a lot).