Help with feeding a crowd.

[pattyp.]

I will be having a crowd for about 5 days, My 6 children, 11 of 13 grandchildren and 2 other couples. I will have ham and a turkey breast with salads on one day, probably cook burgers one day but need some help. I thought about roasting a couple pork roasts and shredding it for bar-b-que. I need some ideas. HELP :confused: :confused:

[Kristi]

A couple of lasagnas, or a big pot of spaghetti and meatballs...both would only require a salad and garlic bread.

A couple of pots of soup

Taco bar

[gertdog]

Oops! I was posting at the same time as Kristi- looks like we were thinking the same thing! :)

Take up a collection for pizza delivery? :p Seriously, though, I do hope you'll have lots of helping hands, especially when clean up time comes! 20+ people is a lot of cooking!

How about pasta? If you did some sort of pasta casserole, you could make several pans of it in advance, and even one or two "plain" pans if any of your grandkids are picky eaters. You could do lasagna, baked ziti, or macaroni and cheese.

A soup or chili night? Make big pots of one or two kinds of soup, serve with rolls and green salad.

Tacos or burritos or even fajitas- you could have one or two filling plus lots of toppings and let everyone assemble their own to taste.

[Terrytx]

I just entered this into MC from the new Southern Living that I plan to do the next time I have a crowd. Serve it with a big batch of pinto beans and corn on the cob.


* Exported from MasterCook *

Roasted Lime-Cilantro Eye of Round Roast

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 12 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Beef

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
8 cloves garlic
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup lime juice
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon coarse-grain salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 (4.5 pound) eye of round roast
Garnishes: fresh cilantro sprigs, lime
wedges
Corn tortillas
Fat-free sour cream
Pico de Gallo:
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 medium onion, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
Citrus Onions:
1 medium sweet onion, thinly sliced
1/3 cup fresh lime juice

For roast: Process first 8 ingredients in a food processor until a thick
paste forms, stopping to scrape down sides.

Make 3 or 4 (1 inch) cuts in each side of roast with a sharp knife. Fill
each cut with about 1 teaspoon of paste. Spread remaining paste over
beef. Wrap tightly with palstic wrap; chill at least 8 hours or up to 24
hours. Unwrap roast; place in a 13 x 9-inch pan. Bake, covered, at 325
for 3 hours and 15 minutes or until meat shreds and a meat thermometer
inserted into thickest portion registers 180 degrees. (Meat will not
shred below this temperature.) Let stand 10 minutes before shredding or
chopping. Garnish, if desired. Serve with corn tortillas, sour cream,
Pico de Gallo, and Citrus Onions, if desired.

(meat only)-231 cal, 7.4g fat, 37.2g pro, 2g carb, 0.4g fiber, 88mg chol,
3mg iron, 551mg sod, 19.4mg calc.

Pico de Gallo: Stir together all ingredients. Cover and chill until ready
to serve. (12.8 g cal, 0.1g fat, 0.5g pro, 3g carb, 0.6g fiber, 0mg chol,
0.2mg iron, 52mg iron, 5.5mg calc.)

Citrus Onions: Combine onion and juice in a small glass bowl. Use
immediately, or chill until ready to use. (6.7 cal, 0.2g pro, 1.8g carb,
0.3g fiber, 0mg chol, 0mg iron, 0.5mg sod, 3.8mg calc.)

Source:
"Southern Living-4/04"

[SueK]

I vote for Stephanie's suggestion of soup and/or chili. I don't know if I'd make burgers, since they'd be more of an individual type thing. I think you're better off making big pots of something. And the pasta casserole suggestion is a great one as well. You could make lasagnas or baked ziti, etc., and then just defrost and bake. It would save you time on prep and cleanup, too, if you can do it ahead of time. You can also make the chili ahead of time as well.

Will they be there for breakfasts? Maybe make some waffles or pancakes ahead of time and freeze them as well.

Lindrusso's marinara w/meatballs freeze fine, and I also love to make the Northwoods Bean Soup ahead of time as well, as it gets better as it sits.