Anyone able to help me with menu plan?

[Chocolate Rose]

I don't know what the problem is, normally I love to plan menus. But, I am totally drawing a blank with this one.
Here's the situation:
We'll be gone all day and then coming home to guests arriving for dinner. There could be as few as 6 and as many as 11 people total. The dinner needs to be on the "lighter" side in terms of fat, etc. I'd like to have something that is mostly prepared ahead of time and then just last minute kind of finishing, or something that can be thrown together at the last minute. I thought about a crock pot dinner, but I haven't found anything that would be guest worthy. I'd like to avoid anything like lasagna or chili. Also, we don't eat beef and are on a budget. I'm thinking it might make sense to have some kind of an appetizer ready to serve to hold everyone over until the dinner is ready. I'd like to serve something that is totally impressive or at least extremely yummy.
Does anyone have any ideas?

[PattiA]

For dishes that go together quickly and have some do ahead steps, chicken piccata or chicken marsala work. I buy boneless breasts and cut them into scallopine so they cook very quickly. Add rice and a steamed or roasted green veggie.

[Julzer]

How about a slow cooker French Onion Soup? You could then get some great crusty bread and broil it with cheese right before serving.

[cchhbb]

I'd consider making beef stew the day ahead. It always tastes better the second day. Add a green salad and some great bread and a dessert and you are good to go.

[ChristyMarie]

What about a butternut squash soup? Add salad and good bread. Maybe sorbet and berries for dessert. Have some light appetizers out for when guests arrive.

Going a different direction you could do a taco bar - shredded chicken in a crock pot, have all the ingredients chopped and in bowls. Put out salsa and guac when guests arrive then do a taco bar.

Or do breakfast - an egg casserole, salad, bread can work really well for dinner. A simple veggie tray for an appetizer and maybe angel food cake with fruit for dessert? Or a make ahead tart?

[mcgee]

How about chicken pot-pie served in pastry shells. You would just have to bake the pastry shells and heat up the filling when you get home. We love it and it looks very elegant.

[avariell]

What about baked shells or manicotti with a cheese filling?

Hummus or tapenade are easy to make ahead and store - serve with veggies and/or crackers.

There are a lot of beautiful lentil soups out there that would be budget friendly and impressive.

[gobluem82]

I'd suggest making a couple of different soups--one meat-based, one vegetarian (CL's broccoli-cheddar soup always gets raves when we serve it)--and serve them with a nice loaf of bread and a salad. Put out some veggies and pita chips with hummus for people to nibble on beforehand, and you'll be all set.

[Canice]

Not surprisingly, I'd also recommend a couple of soups and green salad; very scalable for more guests or if you have leftovers. You could clean all the greens the night before and toss them together and keep in air-tight packaging to stay crisp. Make the dressing the night before as well. Then you need only pick up some good bread. Moosewood's Very Creamy Vegetable Chowder always impresses and is vegetarian (unless you use chicken broth as I do) so it's inexpensive. Joe's lasagne soup is also a crowd-pleaser, and I make it with chicken Italian sausage, so no problem about beef or pork.

[North Shore]

I had a similar situation last summer and decided on chicken fajitas. I bought peppers already sliced, Southwestern chicken strips, etc. I heated the chicken and peppers and everyone added what they wanted (cheese, sour cream, salsa). To save some money you could prep before you left.

[CookinginMO/KS]

Soup came to mind first. You could also have pork carnitas in the crockpot with all the taco fixings ready ahead of time. Put out some chips and seven layer dip you made ahead of time while you reheat some black beans and rice to go with the tacos. Very casual, but normally a hit with everyone. Plus, very inexpensive & the carnitas freeze very well if you don't have the whole gang show up.

[heavy hedonist]

i would also suggest a potpie, perhaps with a nice potato topping instead of crust-- salad on the side, olives and pepperoni or crunchy veg and a lowfat dip for apps-- if you build up the veg into a pretty design beforehand, it looks good and can help them keep better, as not as much air gets between them. you can pop the pie into the oven to reheat or speed it up with a little microwave time first, while people are munching and gathering.
oh, good luck! those big-variable number dinners are sort of a pain to plan, aren't they?

[Vinca]

If you are budget minded (and who isn’t these days) I was thinking of a nice black bean soup with an assortment of toppings such as cheese, diced tomato, green onion, olives, corn, ect. The list is only limited to your imagination. Served with tortilla chips and a simple green salad. And the best part is everything can be made in advance.

Or another idea I had and this can also be made in advance is chicken gumbo. Served with rice and/or crusty bread along with a salad.