Pasta with Broccoli, Ham, fresh Red Peppers, Sun Dried Tomatoes & Parmesan

It was 104 degrees again in Tucson today & it was quite hot !!  We cooked another semi-cold pasta salad to keep the homeless somewhat cooled off, especially since serving the food outside.  We also made a great big bucket of fresh tossed salad with lots of cucumbers, tomatoes & fresh cilantro. 

We used 7 bottles of "Kraft - Italian Roasted Pepper" dressing in the pasta salad, along with a lot of  sun dried tomatoes & it turned out really yummy.  A large amount of added Parmesan cheese made it all quite tasty & refreshing.  Again we used 10 lbs. of ham, 8 lbs. of pasta, 6 lbs. of broccoli, 8 red peppers & 32 oz. of grated Parmesan.   :)   I will make this again pretty soon during the summer months, it was fairly easy & quicker than any of the other meals we have made so far. 

Since we only fed 44 people, many of the homeless got seconds, which of course is always great when we can do that.  :)   The left-overs will be donated to the people at the Yaqui Indian Sweat Lodge again & the children that show up hungry there.  Since school is out now, there are more children that show up, so more mouths to feed.  :)  

Thank you Faith for helping me chop & stir, you are the best !!   :)   I am very grateful for your loving help always !!  Thank you also for baking all those wonderful cookies.   :)  Marilyn, J.J. & I liked them too !!  ;)   I have some left over, so I can take them next Saturday to go with the pizzas.  :)

J.J. & Marilyn, thank you once more for your help serving the food !!  :)   What would I do without you ??!!   :)

Dave & Linda, thank you once more for your kind help with some of the groceries for the meal !!  I'm sending a big hug to both of you !!  :)  

Lee, thank you for helping me out with loading up the car with the food & water !!   :)   

We had some really good giggles today at Santa Rita Park.  One of the homeless dropped his plate of food accidentally & a slew of pigeons came to have a feast off the pavement in front of our serving table.  They especially liked those long Penne noodles & kept picking them up with their beaks.  The noodles wouldn't fall apart so they were shaking their little heads back & forth, and back & forth, trying to break them up so they could swallow them.  :)  Noodles were flying in the air everywhere & this show went on for quite some time.  We laughed so hard that we even threw some more noodles on the ground for them so we could keep giggling while watching their antics.  So we fed the pigeons too today & got quite a show in return.  :)   Who would have thought that pigeons could be so entertaining ??!!   :)  

Time to put up my legs & chill for the rest of the evening.   :)   It has been another successful meal & our hearts are happy, knowing that some of the homeless have full bellies tonight !!   :)