Any easy suggestions on cooking for a group of 12 +?!
Answers: I meet with a group of 12 adults and 3 toddlers every week to eat dinner. It is my week to fix dinner. Any ideas on what I should fix that would be quick and easy. I was thinking maybe picking up so chicken fingers and sides from a local deli or making something in my slow cooker. Some ideas I have come up with are: Potato Cheese Chowder / soup, Taco Soup / Chili. Any suggestions? Thanks.
Sounds like you will have a variety of people which usually means a variety of tastes, so I tried to think of some things that can please everyone.
You could do a pasta party. Cook two types of pasta (a spagetti and a farfalle for example), heat up two types of sauces (if you don't want to make your own, you could buy an alfredo and a red sauce), and let people pick their combo. Round it out with salad in a bag, grated parm for topping and loaves of crusty bread. You could cook the pasta ahead and reheat the day of to make it easier.
Mac and cheese is also a crowd pleaser that could be made ahead and baked before the guests get there. You could do one plain and put meat (hot dogs, sausage) in the other. Again round out the meal with salad from a bag.
This could be more work than you're looking for, but a pizza party could be fun. I'd buy a large deli platter of cut up veggies to start/add to the meal. But then you could buy individual premade crusts like Boboli's and set out toppings and let people top thier own. The downside of this is that people may need to eat in shifts. Or you could buy the Pillsbury crust in a can and make and top a variety of pizzas, some for adult tastes and some simple for kids. I don't know where you live, but if you can still grill, grilling pizzas is fun and it only takes about 5 minutes for each pie to cook if you're starting with an uncooked crust.
If you don't want to cook anything, I think you're better off putting together a party platter with quality ingredients yourself than buying premade from a grocery store. You could get several types of bread or rolls, then some deli salami, turkey, cheese, etc. for sandwiches. You can make it special by putting out pesto, chipotle mayo, etc. instead of your standard mustard. For veggies you could do a variety of olvies, roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts, etc. with a Mediterrainian flare.
If you wanted to use the slow cooker, how about a beef or chicken stew? Meat, store bought stock, whatever veggies you like, thicken at the end with corn starch. Pick up some rolls or bread to go with it and then you have a complete meal in a crock pot only. The only downfall I can see with trying to crock pot a main course is that you have to be sure there are no picky eaters among the group because people will have no choice.
You could end the meal with an icecream sundae bar. A container of vanilla, chocolate, and all the fixings for everyone to choose from.
Make chili but not too hot for the little ones.Have spices ready for last 20 mins take out enough for the wee ones add hot spice for the big uns.Grate some sharp cheddar cheese for toppings and a bowl with hot biscuits and a bowl with nacho chips for dipping into the chili.Easy as 1,2,3,Have fun!
To me chicken fingers are football watching food, OR kids food. I love them, don't get me wrong but parents are probably sick of them. Slow cooker is a good idea , here is a link to some great slow cooker recipes.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipes/Meat-and-P...
Another idea might be to do a baked Zita type of dish... I make one where I brown up some Sausage, (I use hot but with kids you might want to try Mild) add a jar of store bought sauce, Mix that all up with the Cooked Pasta, any shape you like, then mix in ricotta cheese, parm cheese and Mozzarella cheese( the amount is up to your taste buds) put it in a baking dish top with more Mozzarella Cheese and bake till bubbly.
Big Crock Pot Recipes
How about a tostada bar? That's always a hit when I have small gatherings. Cook up like 3 lbs of ground turkey (or beef if your prefer), buy a couple of bags of shredded lettuce, shredded cheese, a bag of tostada shells, chop up a couple of onions, tomatoes and cilantro. Make a side of spanish rice (think Rice-a-roni, follow the directions, but add corn) and warm a large can of refried beans.
Spread it out so people can make their own tostadas. My kids (who are little), usually are happy with the meat, some rice and a tostada shell broken up like chips.
I liked the pasta idea with different meats and veggies and sauces to choose from. what about a burger bar or taco bar with all the fixins. on the side of burgers you could make cheesy potatoes in the slow cooker or some type of potato salad. tacos you can make a big batch of refried beans and Mexican rice!
