Good, simple food ideas for entertaining.?!
Good, simple food ideas for entertaining.?
I'm having a group of teens over at my house next week, and am wanting some ideas that will serve approx. 30 people:)
Answers:
Oh that will be fun.....
Take tater totas and strips of ham and cheese, defrost the tots partially and roll up with cheese and then ham strips, place on sheet seam side down and bake according to package directions orr longer, serve with dippig stuff, like mustard or ketchup and horseradish sauce.
Take bagels and cover with pizza sauce and pepperoni and cheese and bake at 450 for 10 minutes.
All kids love Pizza Rolls too, but by making your own, you cut out on all the bad stuff and salt.
Buy large french rolls and make your own sub and cut into 2 inch pieces, You can buy them premade,. but they cost more.
Make sausage balls. Recipe on Bisquik box.
Kids like finger stuff. Have fun and be creative.
Subway 6 ft subs, and chips
Teens, as in 13-14, or 18-19?
mini quiches,spinach dip,scallops wrapped in bacon( do it yourself) and dip them in salsa
chips and salsa goes over well.
Subway-type sandwiches, with several types of chips are always good.
Pulled pork sandwiches made in a crockpot (easy!) on hamburger buns with cole slaw and chips are also good.
Sodas and lemonade or water are good to drink.
Cupcakes are fun for dessert.
Pizza, they all like it.Or do a sandwich spread with chips and pasta salad.
Curry puffs are really easy to make, they dont make much mess, and most people like them.
You need some of the rice type pastry used in spring rolls (you can get it from an Asian grocer), chicken mince, mild curry powder and onion.
Fry the mince up with the onion. Add a little curry powder to give it a tang, but not so much as to make the mixture hot. When cooked, spoon the mixture onto small squares of the pastry. Wrap them up into small parcells and deep fry in very hot oil for a few minutes until the pastry goes crisp.
Serve with sweet chilli dipping sauce. Easy.
If you want something that's quick & relatively inexpensive.... try pasta. Marinara sauce will be really cheap because it doesn't have meat in it. You could add meat for a minimal cost. I also like to add a few cans of mushrooms (slices, pieces & ends and button mushrooms) to bulk it up a bit. If you throw in bread sticks or garlic bread, then you have a filling meal.
If you're looking for snack foods, then nachos are another inexpensive option. 3-5 bags of tortilla chips, 2-3 jars of salsa, a container of sour cream, and a brick of cheese grated (you don't need the entire brick). A good variation on that is to add pre-cooked chicken strips or exchange the salsa for a marinara sauce & the cheese for mozzarella cheese. It makes a "pizza" version of nachos.
Perferably pizza because it serves enough people say you can buy like 5 large pizza's with like 12 or 16 slices and if it's 12 slices then everybody will get two pieces. lol DON't FORGET THE SODA!!
Teens might be picky eaters. A foolproof plan would be to have a make-your-own pizza night. All you have to do is put out lots of "blank" pizza crusts either made from scratch or store bought, a big tub of sauce and a bowl of mozzarella. Put an assortment of different toppings on a divided platter such as cooked ground sausage, pepperoni slices and various veggies. You can put a copy of a pizza cookbook for the kids to look through for inspiration. You could borrow an assortment of pizza stones from all the women you know, but cookie sheets would suffice.
Other ideas: Fajitas are easy to make for a crowd. So is a taco bar. Do you have any awesome fresh local tomatoes right now? If you do, BLT's are HEAVENLY. Try mixing fried green tomatoes with the regular ones with the bacon and lettuce! Then you could just do assorted drinks and chips to go with them.
Have fun!
teens can be pretty picky.......pizza is always a favorite but taco bars could be an alternative.
You could have a choice of hard or soft shells.
Then have chopped tomatos, shredded lettuce,
shredded cheese, sliced olives, sour cream, seasoned ground beef or seasoned grilled chicken that has been sliced. Have side dishes of mexican rice or a crock pot full of nacho cheese dip.
Frozen lasagne is easy and you could serve garlic bread and tossed salad.
Sloppy Joes and tater tots
Hot dog bar...........all the trimmings
Bar-b-qued chicken sandwiches or pulled pork sandwiches (pulled pork is so easy to make, very economical and delicious)
spaghetti and garlic bread, tossed salad
all desserts party..............
make your own ice cream sundaes.......whipped cream, nuts, cherries,
hot fudge and caramel...........
I hope some of this helps you.
If you want food and humor together sever chocolate covered marbles. Lots of laughs there and people will be talking about your party for months and months.
Vegetable platter and cheese and sour cream dips
Chips and Salsa
Sloppy Joes (Put in a crock pot let them serve themselves)
Taco bar with chicken and beef
Monster Cookies
Ingredients
1/2 c Butter or margarined
-softened
1 c Sugar
1 c Plus 2 Tablespoons firmly
-packed brown sugar
3 Eggs
2 c Crunchy peanut butter
1/4 ts Vanilla extract
3/4 ts Light corn syrup
4 1/2 c Regular oats, uncooked
2 ts Baking soda
1/4 ts Salt
1 c M&M's
1 6 oz package semisweet
-chocolate morsels
Instructions
1. Cream butter; gradually add sugar, beating well. Add eggs, peanut butter, vanilla, and corn syrup; beat well. Add oats, soda, and salt, stirring well. Stir in remaining ingredients.
2. Drop dough by one-fourth cupfuls, four inches apart, onto lightly greased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes (centers of cookies will be slightly soft). Cool slightly on cookie sheets; remove to wire racks and cool completly
Taco/Burrito bar. Make up a big pan of taco meat a pot of refried and a pot of black beans. Lettuce, tomatoes, guacamole and sour cream., black olives if you like them. Put out taco shells and flour tortillas and let them make their own. My mom used to do this for my parties when I was a teen. Then chips and salsa too. It does take a little prep and a decent amount of food, but it's easy and everyone always loved it.
take ritz crackers and top with sliced sheese of your choice, but i would recomend the sharp varieties, then take raw bacon and cut each piece in half, and wrap around the crackers and cheese, then bake on a cookie sheet in a 350F oven till bacon is crisp. these are really good, and you can experiment with the cheese too!.
another quick one is to take fresh asparagus and clean and trim, wrap in bacon, then bake the same way as the ritz ones.
hope you have a wonderfull time, enjoy.
something I enjoy is my very tasty meatballs, all you need is 1 jar of grape jelly and a jar of chili sauce. A big bag of frozen meatballs will do from the frozen section in the grocery store.
Great appetizer and cheap is take tortillas ( vary the colours and flavours ) spread three cheese ranch dressing on them sprinkle grated chees of your choice finely chopped broccoli and carrots roll them up tight slice into 1.4 inch pieces and you got pinwheels that taste amazing.....cream a cup of mayonnaise with a brick of softened cream cheese together and spread in the bottom of a pan, top with salsa and chopped tomatoes, top that with shredded monteray jack cheddar cheese and green onions jalapenos are great to serve with tortilla chips. for 30 people make 2 or more they are a hit at every party.....pulled pork sandwiches and corn on the cob are a crowd please here too check out the www.cattleboyzsauce.com for a great recipe. and for dessert I would go with cupcakes they are the big trend right now and you can really dress them up however you like....good luck
Cheesy Chili Dip
8 oz. Pkg. Cream Cheese 1 Can Hormel Chili (no beans)
Sm. Pkg. Shredded Cheddar Cheese Nacho Chips
Spread cream cheese on bottom of baking dish. Spread chili over cream cheese. Top with cheddar cheese. Microwave several minutes until bubbly. Serve with nacho chips.
Artichoke Dip
1 can artichokes 1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup parmesan cheese Garlic salt to taste
Mix all ingredients and bake at 350 degrees for approx. 20 min until bubbly.
Serve with rye crisp crackers.
Taco Dip
1 pound ground beef 1 can refried beans
1 pkg. taco mix 1 can frzn guaccomole/avocado dip
1 pkg. shredded cheddar cheese (2 cups) 8 oz. Sour cream
1 package taco chips
Brown meat and drain. Add taco mix and refried beans to meat. Spread meat mixture on bottom of baking dish. Spread dip over meat, then sprinkle with cheese. Top with sour cream. Bake at 400 degrees for approx. 20 min. until bubbly. Serve with chips.
Seasoned Oyster Crackers
1 Pound Bag Oyster Crackers 1 Pkg Orig. Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing
1 tsp. Dill weed 1 Cup oil
In a large bowl, mix oil with dressing mix and dill weed. Add crackers and mix well. Mix at least 30 minutes before serving.
BLT Dip
1 Jar Real Bacon Bits 1 Cup Mayonnaise
1 Cup Sour Cream 1 Tomato cut up and well drained
Toast - cut up in quarters
Mix all ingredients and serve with cold dry toast. Very good!
Star Bread Dip
1 pkg. Good Seasons Italian Dressing 1/2 cup mayonnaise
8 oz. Cream cheese 2 or 3 tubes of french bread dough
1 cucumber sliced thin
Mix seasoning mix, mayonnaise, and cream cheese. Let chill.
Spray the inside of a metal star shaped bread mold with no stick spray. Place the dough inside the bread mold and cut off any remaining dough(about half). Place vertically in a preheated 350 degree oven. Bake for 35 to 40 min. After bread cools, slice about 1/4 inch thick.
When ready to serve, spread dip over bread and top with cucumber.
* If you don't have a bread mold, just bake the french bread as directed on the package or buy pre-made french bread.
buffalo wings, mozzarella sticks, baked ziti, nachos
make lasagna and a cake with lot of frosting and coffee
snacks-
finger sandwiches (ham and cheese, turkey, tuna fish)
hot wings or just baked chicken wings
chips and dip or nachos
main dishes-
spaghetti and meatballs
red beans and rice
mac and cheese
stuffed potatoes