How to Prepare Spaghetti Meal

This is the Team Lead checklist for Spaghetti Night — shopping list, prep flow, and timing rules. Keep dinner calm, keep food safe, and protect the 6:05–6:15 covered-food window.

Timing Rules (Protect These)

Arrive by 3:00 PM and stage the kitchen for your crew.
By 5:30 PM — drinks + table setup complete.
6:05–6:15 PM — food goes out covered.
Remove covers after Pastor prays.
Desserts go out at exactly 6:15 PM.

Serving posture: calm, clear direction. Delegate and keep the kitchen peaceful.

Spaghetti Shopping List

Use approved Summit funding procedures and keep receipts as required.

20 lb hamburger
Italian seasoning — 1 cup total
Fennel seeds — 1/4 cup
White pepper, season salt, garlic (to taste)
Rotel (if available)
2 chopped peppers + onions (for sauce mix-in)
Spaghetti sauce — 6–7 jars
Noodles — 3–4 boxes

Fruit (Spaghetti Night)

1 container grapes
2 containers watermelon
2 containers cantaloupe
2 containers pineapple
2 containers mango
1 container blueberries
2 containers strawberries

Salad (Spaghetti Night)

3–4 heads of lettuce
1 pk of bell peppers
1 can garbanzo beans
2 cucumbers
1 onion
Roma onions — 4–5

Salad Sides

Sunflower seeds
Bacon bits
Shredded cheese
Olives (black/green)
Beets
Pickles
Yellow peppers
Croutons
Parmesan cheese

Dressings

Ranch
Blue cheese
Italian
Thousand Islands
Ceaser

Cook Flow (Kitchen)

1) Set the kitchen up (3:00 PM)

Assign roles (Prep Cook / Beverages / Desserts / Setup / Clean-Up Crew).
Confirm serving layout is set for Spaghetti Night (setup team handles table orientation).
Start dish flow plan (Clean-Up Crew begins dishwashing coverage at 5:00 PM).

2) Start the sauce + meat

Brown 20 lb hamburger.
Add 1 cup Italian seasoning and 1/4 cup fennel seeds.
Add white pepper, season salt, and garlic (to taste).
Add 2 chopped peppers and onions.
Add 6–7 jars spaghetti sauce.
If available, add Rotel.
Simmer and stir regularly so nothing scorches.

3) Cook noodles

Cook 3–4 boxes of noodles (as needed for your crowd).
Drain and stage for serving.
Keep covered until the food line is ready.

Food-out rule: Put food on the line covered between 6:05–6:15. Covers come off after Pastor prays.

Fridge Rules (Use Anytime You Store Food)

Keep clean & clean spills. (Do not store raw meat to thaw without a pan.)
Date all food. (Use marker and write clearly on food label.)
No date or expired = auto-discard. (Not dated or beyond 2 weeks is thrown away weekly.)
Fridge is audited first of each month. (Cleaned/sorted; no date/expired discarded.)
Staff and elder board may remove any food at their discretion if it’s a health risk.