HELP with preparing a good meal...

I always end up at co-worker's who make "weird" dishes... I'm a very much "normal food person" - and have never had venison.  Not that I wouldn't try it, but still.

I think it's a very good idea to have either your chicken broccoli casserole or even something as easy as penne with sauce, literally boil the noodles and add a jar of warmed sauce.  You can bake with cheese as well.  But that, or as mentioned, a fettucine dish or even lasagna if you want to get fancy, is a nice side dish and a good alternative.  I always like to have way more food than have some things run out or something.

Plus, would one roast that you could fit in a crock pot be enough for 8 people?  Our crock is 6 or 6.5 quarts and it's pretty full with enough food for only the two of us!  I put the roast in with some gravy mix, a bullion cube, plenty of water though you only need a few inches, and some carrotts and potatoes.  We're pretty simple people. 

You could even hint to folks that it might be a good idea to bring a pasta dish.

I have a great recipe for kugel that I love making for things like this - most people have never had it, and it's a good side dish almost desserty type of food.  It's Jewish but so what.  It's egg noodles baked with a mixture of sour cream, cottage cheese, egg, cinnamon.  It's poured over corn flakes that act like a bit of crust and baked for maybe an hour.  It's mostly sweet but filling and we normally eat as a side dish.

Good luck!

I've never even tried venison before, but I'm not too big on gamey meats. Anyway, if you have access to good venison and that's what you want to make, try one of these recipes from epicurious:

Venison Daube with Cumin and Coriander http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/232877 

Roasted Venison http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/240247

Pan Seared Venison with Rosemary and Dried Cherries http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/104558

All three sound good, and are fairly simple with not too many ingredients. If you are going to roast venison it sounds like you need to make sure it's not too well done or it will be dry. Either buy or borrow a meat thermometer, I use one all the time when I making a pork tenderloin or a turkey. It makes it really easy to tell when it's done.

But I think the first recipe would be the easiest to do since you're bringing it somewhere, and also the timing is less critical because it's a braise, which means it's cooked in a liquid. Braising is a method that makes tougher cuts of meat tender by cooking long and slow over low heat, and this recipe can easily be done in your crock pot instead of in the oven. To adapt this recipe I'd cook the bacon, brown the venison and saute the onions and garlic as stated, but then put everything, meat and veggies, pan drippings, bacon and wine (not the cilantro) into the crock pot on low and cook for a couple of hours. Check it, and if the meat's not tender yet, cook an hour or two longer, until it's almost falling apart. You can make this totally ahead of time and refrigerate. I'd put it in separate pot in the fridge, reheat it, and then you can toss it back into the crock pot to transport and keep it warm. Sprinkle with cilantro before serving.

What I like about epicurious is that you can read reviews of people who have made the recipe and see how many would make it again, what kind of modifications or substitutions they made or would make next time. Check the number of servings and adjust if necessary - recipes can be easily doubled or more for a crowd, and you can reheat or freeze leftovers for later. I have had great success with recipes from this site.

fuzzy_dogs_mom

On another thread someone mentioned that they did chicken breasts in a slow cooker and they came out so dry they were almost inedible because chicken breasts have very little fat. 

I almost always use chicken breasts when I cook, and have tried them in slow cooker recipes too. I agree that they don't do so well, but chicken thighs, which I almost never use any other time, are terrific in the crock pot. Perfectly tender and falling apart!

I just re-read your first post, and it looks like people are actually coming to your house. I'd still do something in the crock pot vs roasting in the oven because it can be made totally in advance and reheated and you don't have to worry about getting everything done at exactly the right time. I think that recipe, or anything else in the crockpot that has some sauce would be great with mashed potatoes. An easy recipe would be one russet per person, more if you want some leftovers, which reheat nicely in the microwave. Peel, cut into quarters and boil in salted water until tender (pierce with a fork to test). Drain, add anywhere from a half stick to a whole stick of butter, salt and pepper to taste, and mash. Add lowfat buttermilk a little at a time and mash in until the potatoes are the desired consistency. Taste, and add more salt and pepper if necessary. You can keep these warm on the stove in a covered pot for a half hour or more.

Cheesy baked potatoes would be good too, like a gratin. That would take more time, but could also be made ahead and reheated. On epicurious you can do recipe searches by ingredients, by course (main dish, side dish, dessert, etc), and more - I'm sure you could find something really good and easy too.
 

Cassidys Mom

What I like about epicurious is that you can read reviews of people who have made the recipe and see how many would make it again, what kind of modifications or substitutions they made or would make next time. Check the number of servings and adjust if necessary - recipes can be easily doubled or more for a crowd, and you can reheat or freeze leftovers for later. I have had great success with recipes from this site.

I love epicurious for the same reason and have found many times that the reviews and suggestions made a huge difference in how the recipe came out. I've thought something looked really good and then found that the reviews said it was horrible. I appreciate finding that out before I waste my time and money. I love to try new recipes, especially when entertaining, but I'd never risk it unless I knew others had tried it and liked it too.

I think it's most important to have a good time and try not to stress out. Do as much as you can in advance so you can enjoy your company when they arrive. Have lot's of wine and beer and munchies and it should be a fun time

Pasta side dishes are a good idea because they're so filling.  If you live near a Costco, get a jar of their pesto sauce. It comes in a 16 oz. plastic jar so it's enough to cover two bags of penne.  Just toss a few pine nuts and maybe a bit of feta or gorgonzola on top and you've got a meal.

Joyce

Venison is not an issue.  They already know that's what we are having and no one is a veggie, everyone said they wanted venison.  In West Michigan, venison IS a "normal" food, lol.  I like ham a lot, but that's what we had last year, a big ham.  We try to change it up every year.  The other couples are bringing other stuff so I'm only responsible for the main dish(es). 

I tend to agree with the above that one crock pot isn't going to feed 8 people.  The mushroom soup idea works awesome with nearly any kind of meat -- then you could simply make pasta to put under the vennison and 'sauce' (from the mushroom soup).  But that way you could fill the crock with a full venison roast and likely have enough.  Not a LOT but probably enough.

Alternative?  Borrow another crockpot and make venison chili!  Chili is easy -- it's just ground meat sauted.  Add diced tomato, chili beans (from a can is fine) and chili pepper to taste.  Then some cheese, raw diced onion and bread on the side and you DO have quite a lot of food.

I'd probably also fix the chicken brocolli casserole as an alternate dish. 

 If you end up making chili, you could use "Cita's special recipe" (lol) and put a bunch of cumin and some ground cloves in the sauce. Gives it a kind of complex taste that for some reason seems to really impress people (at least the ones I'm feeding)! My BF's family likes chili over rice, I prefer it with bread, but either way it is filling, cheap, and really easy to make.

If you end up making the roast, I would put some garlic cloves in there with the veggies, probably either halved or quartered. I'm a garlic nut and loooove roasted garlic, and I think it adds a great flavor to roasts. :) 

Chili is a good idea! i made a wonderful chili the other night. I browned some ground beef in a skillet with a green pepper, and added HOT chili seasoning, black, pinto, and kidney beans all in a pot and cooked it for about 20 minutes. It was delicious!