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OT – Recipe for a Crowd
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Hi All –
I just committed to hosting a large group (about 20, with kids) for lunch after church next Sunday, and now I am trying to come up with a crowd pleasing meal that I can do (mostly) ahead of time (and without going broke).
Since we are all from different parts of the country, I am wondering…
What do you all cook when you are having a big, casual crowd over?
Ideas appreciated :).
Spaghetti w/ french bread and salad! Fairly easy…I like to make my own sauce BUT I might use organic sauce in a jar for this! Muier Glen and Newman’s Sauce are tasty!
Big Pot of Chili w/ lots of optional toppings! Cheese, onions, yummy bread croutons. sour cream, crackers, or chopped up hotdogs! Another fairly easy thing to do. May serve w/ baked potatoes just in case noone loves chili!
Big Pot of Veggie Soup and Potato Soup w/ cornbread…use frozen veggies and add chopped potatoes for veggie soup.
You may want to check on some great crockpot recipes too!
I think all of the above would be fairly easy as well as not too expensive! And all are such comfort foods! 🙂
Have fun!
Agree with previous suggestions. Another easy but not the healthiest meal:
Hot dogs and hamburgers in crock pots! For the Hot dogs fill the crock pot with hot dogs and cover with water, turn on low. For the hamburgers (just did this today!) take premade patties and layer loosly in a second crock pot (mine were frozen patties). Add some worchestershire sauce and spices if desired. No water. Put on low for 4-5 hours.
Another idea = baked potato bar. Bake up a bunch of potatoes and lay out toppings.
I like chili! That’s my go to. You can really cut the cost of the beef by doing a couple things. One I use black beans and only 1/2 the meat. Do shredded turkey/chicken instead of beef it always “looks” more filling.
Another thing I like to do is soups. There are so many out there and you can do it all ahead of time.
Thanks so much ladies! Great ideas, as usual.
Tristan, I had thought of hamburgers and hot dogs, but didn’t want to have to light up the grill and keep everyone waiting after church. I had never thought of doing them in the crockpot – though I use it for everything else :).
And I love the chili toppings ideas – never thought of croutons, but that would be so good and easy.
Thanks again!
I like reg soft croutons but really LOVE cornbread croutons! After you cook the cornbread..which I like a little sweet 🙂 we use Pamela’s cornbread..cut in cubes, toss in a little olive oil w/ a smidge of salt and pepper..then toast in the oven! YUMMY!
Red beans and rice with a big green salad (we like rice vinegar and oil) and bread (or white beans and rice). It sounds like fun!
A huge pot of chili (or soup) is so easy! I freeze mine ahead of time and serve it with fun toppings of sour cream, cheese, avacados, chips/cornbread.
I often feed large crowds. Here are some of my go-to menus.
Sloppy Joe’s in the crock pot with a variety of salads and cookies for dessert.
Taco or Fajita bar. I do fajitas with vegies and chicken. That can go in the crock pot, then just add toppings.
White chicken chili, or chicken wild rice soup. Both make a huge pot, and I’ve been asked for the recipe 100 times — go ahead and make it 101 if you’d like. :>
One of my favorites is Mexican Gumbo. This is chicken, corn, black beans mixed with salsa and seasonings. That can be made ahead and put in the crock pot. I serve it over rice with cheese, chopped green onions, sour cream, chips, guacamole, etc. LOVE this. This can also be set up buffet style so that people can walk through and help themselves.
I fed about 25 people after Thanksgiving and did a take on Chipotle’s burrito bowls. If you’re not familiar w/ Chipotle, it’s a restaurant that has all different meats, veggies, and toppings to build a burrito or burrito bowl (for those that don’t want a tortilla). So I made seasoned ground beef and seasoned shredded chicken and some cilantro brown rice for the base of the meal, and then had all different toppings lined up buffet style (guacamole, sour cream, grated cheese, black beans, salsa, lettuce). Everyone could choose if they wanted a tortilla or have it on a bed of lettuce, then go down the line, choosing their meat and then piling everything on top. I did all of the prep work in advance (grating, making salsa, chopping, cooking rice, cooking meat), and warmed everything just before serving. You could keep the meats in a warm crock pot or roaster, and most of the other stuff is fine on the counter for an hour or so. It was easy and fairly inexpensive.
Agreeing with the other suggestions. Chili and soups are a go to wintertime favorite here.
Also maybe a Stuffed Baked Potato Bar – Wrap and bake your potatoes, this can be done in the oven then kept warm in the roaster. (NOTE: to speed cooking time of potatoes, if you have metal scewers, wrap potatoes and skewer then cook. The metal conducts the heat to the center of the potato so it cooks more quickly. Obviously not necessary, but if you have them or have friends from whom you can borrow them…)
Toppings:
Cheese
Sour Cream
Taco Meat
Chili
Broccoli
Onions
ButterServe with fresh tossed salad
If you are comfortable baking your own bread, it is much less expensive, and you can do any of the meals suggested with fresh baked bread as well as have PB&J available for any potentially picky children (or adults).
I was going to suggest rice for those with gluten sensitivities, but looks like that’s been mentioned. Then there’s one of our favorites… BFD (Breakfast for Dinner!). Waffles, pancakes with jam (syrup is pretty messy), eggs, sausage, toast, hashbrowns or country fries, etc. Lots of those can be made ahead and warmed up/baked further when needed. Waffles and pancakes (smaller ones) can be tossed in the toaster. Meats can be cooked days earlier and warmed up that day. If you do mexi-eggs with peppers, tomatoes, spinach, and onions, you could squeeze in some veggies. If it’s a fun gathering, you could have kiddos (and kids at heart) come in their jammies, or at least bring some fuzzy slippers.
All I know is that I’m going to have to make something yummy for dinner tonight after reading all these recipes.
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