Game Day Fun!

This weekend was a BIG game for my Georgia Bulldogs…we played #1 ranked Tennessee at home with high stakes for the College Football Playoff rankings to come. (Spoiler alert: Dawgs WIN!)

We had 16 people over (all Dawgs fans of course) to watch the game and enjoy a Saturday evening of football, food and a few shenanigans here and there.

Now, I love to host people in my home. I want my home to feel welcoming and inviting and for it to be a place where people feel relaxed and seen and enjoy good company and good food.

That said, entertaining a crowd can be intimidating.

And my OCD, planner personality can get overwhelmed easily and focus on making everything perfect and presentable – and completely wear myself out to the point that I don’t enjoy the actual gathering. (Anyone else feel me here?)

So, when my husband said “we should have some folks over for the game” a few weeks ago…and started naming off the list of people, I may or may not have internally been resisting the little voice screaming in my head, “noooooo!”

But, I’m currently reading Amy Hannon’s book “Gather and Give,” which focuses on biblical hospitality. (Hospitality is not about everything being perfect and presentable, but it’s about being present and loving the people around us in meaningful and hospitable ways, the way Jesus did.)

So, I approached this gathering with this new perspective…I am going to keep it easy and not stress over things that don’t matter. And, I’m going to sit and visit with my guests, enjoying their company and being present.

But, let’s be honest. I still had to make lists and do prep work to feed 16 people. And what better way to feed a crowd than chili?

I kept it easy and made three slow cookers of chili. (And yes, I actually own three slow cookers. Don’t judge me.)

One pot had a classic beef recipe with tomatoes and beans as a base with some bell peppers thrown in for flair (sort of a throw it all in kind of non-recipe). A second pot had our favorite spicy version (Gaines Family Chili, Magnolia Cookbook Vol. 1) with beef, southwestern-style beans and tomatoes with chiles. And the third pot was a creamy dreamy white chicken chili with white beans, rotisserie chicken meat and some creamy broth (kind of a mish-mash of various recipes).

I had prepped all the meat and cut up the veggies for each recipe the day before, along with setting out all the varying ingredients near each slow cooker so that on Saturday morning, all I had to do was dump everything in the slow cooker and let it simmer. (A super simple and stress free recipe for success.)

Just before folks arrived, I set out various toppings like sour cream, green onions, cheese and hot sauce along with corn chips, crackers and some homemade cornbread muffins (I baked those from a box mix the day before too).

We kept it super easy with paper bowls and plastic spoons, which made cleanup a cinch!

Most importantly, it seemed like everyone had a great time and left with full bellies, and even fuller hearts having spent an afternoon together in fellowship and a welcoming home.