Food for Birthday Party

I understand birthday parties and stress, my birthday is December 24. My children are mostly grown and have families of their own so now they have to split their holiday visits with their spouses' families. I celebrate my birthday by picking up lunch meats and a few salads from the deli and then cake and ice cream. We get a simple meal and no one feels the need to stuff themselves. But we are able to have fun. Since I am not Christian I have the kids over for dinner between Christmas and the New Year and serve lasgne and salad. We can exchange gifts and have a great time again no pressure. You could also make a big pot of soup ahead and just heat it up for lunch. Then serve something that you can re-heat or put in the oven during the party. Depending upon your budget you could also call Subway or Dominos and have one meal delivered. There is nothing wrong with having a potluck either for one meal.
I worked in retail for years and my daughter works in a restaurant so timing always gets interesting. And having Thanksgiving or Christmas dinners on a day near the holiday is sometimes better. Two years in a row I had to get up by 3-4 in the morning to get to work on Black Friday. Last year we did Thanksgiving at my daughter and son-in-law's home on Saturday. It felt great to be able to relax and rest Thanksgiving day.
What ever you decide to do keep it simple and have fun. And happy birthday to your little one.

I have to agree with most of the responses prior to mine. My first thought was sloppy joes, but really anything you can put in the crockpot or make ahead and pull out to bake or eat. That will keep the day of a little easier! Blessings on your party, S.

My favorite meal for a medium group is bbq pulled pork and hashbrown casserole.
This is the easiest recipe ever.

1 pork roast 4-6 lbs.

1 can cream of chix soup

1 1/4 cup bbq sauce

1 Lipton onion soup mix.

Put in a big roast pan, layer in order bake at 350 for 3-4 hours. We shred it then but could be sliced too. This is so tasty!!

You could do "walking tacos". Sounds strange I know, but they are super easy and REALLY good. You get those small bags of cheese doritos. You crunch up the chips, open the bag, add taco meat, sour cream, cheese, lettuce, etc. into the bag stir it all up and then grab a fork and eat right out of the bag. All you need to do is make some taco meat and then set out all kinds of taco toppings. Your kids will love them!

I've done chili a couple times. EZ to freeze and throw in crockpot for day....

for one meal you could do an all time favorite sloppy joes. you can keep it warm in a cock pot and then everyone can eat as they want. and some chips with a platter of raw veggies would be a perfect meal~~~

Sloppy joes are easy to put in the crock pot. Good luck!

Hi,
My sister in law did this, so I did too...it is very good and can be made ahead of time this week so you can just stick it in the oven when needed..
Baked Spaghetti.
1c. chopped onion, 1 (12oz.) pkg. spaghetti, cooked and drained, 1 c. chopped green pepper, 2 C. shredded cheddar chesse, 1 T. margarine, 1 can of cream of mushroom soup, 1 (30oz.) jar of spaghetti sauce, 1/4 c. water, 1 (4oz.) can mushroom stems and pieces, drained, 1 c. shredded parmesan cheese, 1 (2 1/4 oz.) can sleced ripe olives, drained, 2 tsp. dried oregano, 1 lb. dround beef, browned and drained.
In a large skillet, saute onion and green pepper in maragrine, until tender. Add spag. sauce. mushrooms, olives and oregano. Add ground beef. Simmer, uncovered for 10 min. Place 1/2 of the spaghetti in a greased 9 *13*2 inch baking dish. Top with half of the vegetable mixture. Sprinkle with 1 cup Cheddar cheese. Repeat layers. Mix the soup and water until smooth. Pour over casserole. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until heated through. Yields 12 servings.
And leftovers of this taste just as good or better. :)
Have a fun party.

Oh yeah, another REALLY easy one is to buy a beef roast and a jar of Pepper rings (vlasic) mild is usually what I do. The Peppercini colored peppers. and some bread and ranch dressing.
Put the roast in a crock pot, pour the juice from the pepper rings over the roast and cook it till it shredds. Usually I cook it on low All day and it's ready at supper time. Then about 10 min before serving, I shredd it up with a fork and dump the pepper rings into the meat and serve over bread. Either rolls or the italian bread cut about 1 inch thick. and if you like..drizzle ranch over it. Then just have chips and veggies on side. Super easy.

I found the best thing to serve is Taco Salad. It's quick and easy and people can make it to their liking. I usually include: For 10 people I'd make 3-4 lbs. of taco meat
Soft shells--- shredded cheddar cheese
tortilla chips --- kidney beans
salsa --- refried beans
cheese con queso --- rice (Mexican or white)
shredded lettuce--- tomatoes

Another thing that people seem to like are tastees. Which are basically a sloppy joe without the tomato sauce. They're easy to make, because you put it in the crock pot for 3-4 hours and serve on buns. If you want the recipe, just let me know :) ____@____.com

Have fun :) :) :)

I would do soups since it is getting cold outside, soups are easy you can make them ahead of time and keep them warm in a crock pot. I have a really good receipe for chili. If you want it just email me at ____@____.com
Good Luck
I love to have parties but they stress me out also.

You could just have BBQ shredded pork or chicken in a crock pot, or sloppy joe mix and buns. Then just have chips, and maybe a veggie tray or potato salad if you're up for it. You could go to Sam's Club or Costco if you have a membership and get all this stuff there. Very easy! Good luck!

I had 25 people here for my granddaughter's 2nd birthday (all family) and what I did was a Taco Bar. It was set up on the table with soft shells, hard shells and chips, this way they could do taco salad or tacos or even super nachos. You can cut the lettice, tomato and onion early and could make the taco meat up and keep it in a slow cooker. You can heat up the cheese sauce in a slow cooker also. It was a hit. I had made Spaghetti for her first birthday and this was much easier. For the other meal you could do Pigs in the blanket (hot dogs and cheese wrapped in crossant rolls and cooked with the crossant directions) 2 packages of crossant rolls will give you 16 pigs in the blanket, throw in some fresh fruit, salad and or chips and you have a good popular meal with not much work.

make a crock pot of sloppy joes,add some chips on the side,some fresh veggies an dip...

For my daughter's 2nd birthday, I made one of her fav dishes and I had slightly more people than you. I got the Encore chicken parmigian, with a side of mostaccoli noodles in marinara sauce, choice of broccoli or carrots, with mozzarella sticks (also frozen) and garlic bread (also frozen). The majority of the food could be baked in the oven, veggies could be microwaved, and the noodles with marinara sauce in the crock pot so I wasn't stressed and the guests loved the menu.

I don't know what your son's fav is, but I would look for stuff that can be either microwaved, baked, or thrown in a crock pot. This way you are not cooking over a stove which leaves you no time to relax and all you have to do is linger around the kitchen to hear the bell go off. I set a kitchen timer so I know when I need to take items out of the oven. I hope I helped!

Angie

spaghetti with salad and garlic bread

a roast with veggies cooked in a crock pot

my family loves shepard pie, i cook it in a cake pan
for that many people it would be 2lbs of hamburger browned (i season with salt and pepper and italian seasoning) mixed with 2 cans of green beans and 2 cans of diced tomatoes (undrained). mix all together in the cake pan. top with instant mashed potatoes (make according to package) cook at 375 for about 20 mins (until center is hot) place sliced cheese on top and cook until cheese is melted (about 5 mins)

My daughters birthday is in December and last year I did a chili bar for her party and it worked out well. I had everything done in advance so there was nothing to worry about the day of the party except to set out the bowls and uncover them.
I had a Nesco (slow cooker basically) full of the chili base and meat, non spicy. Then I had other things set out for people to add as they chose: spicy chili powder, fritos, sour cream, shredded cheese, onions.

I had a lot of kids at the party too so i also had an additional slow cooker on warm and filled with hot water and hot dogs. So people could choose if they wanted a hot dog, a bowl of chili, both, OR some people really enjoyed making a build your own chili-dog!

I would make lasagna or a casserole that I can make ahead of time or even keep in the freezer until I need to pop it in the oven. Then I would serve it with bagged salad and french bread. You could also ask family to help out by bringing some food and have a potluck type meal.