Food Ideas for Large Baptism Party

C. I have a great cool summer recipe that many of my friends and family really love. You could serve it a side dish, goes great with a summer out door BBQ. Let me know what you think and if you have any questions. This is a Pampered Chef recipe that I teach at my Pampered Chef Shows. It is really easy.

Mandarin Pasta Salad

Dressing
1 teaspoon finely chopped, peeled, fresh ginger root
1 garlic clove, pressed
1/3 cup Rice vinegar or white wine vinegar
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 envelope Onion Soup Mix
2 teaspoons sugar

Salad
8 ounces uncooked bow tie pasta, cooked
½ cucumber, scored, seeded and sliced
½ cup diced red bell pepper
½ cup coarsely chopped red onion
1 package (6 ounces) fresh baby spinach leaves
1 can (11 ounces) mandarin orange segments
2 cups diced, cooked chicken
½ cup sliced almonds, toasted

Yield: 12 servings.
Nutrients per serving: Calories 210, Total Fat 9 g. Saturated Fat 1 g. Cholesterol 20 mg. Carbohydrate 21 g. Protein 11 g. Sodium 210 mg. Fiber 2 g.

I always throw parties.. the cheapest and tates great is
Fajita's made in a large cooker..
boneless chicken leg meat of breast add vegtables
make mexican rice or buy a tray.. make pinto beans or buy..
serve with all the fixings sour cream, guacumole, salsa.
warm tortillas easy and every one eats.. in large glass jugs serve lemoadeor (horchatta) = that you but a smart and final easy.. spend about 200.oo or less.

This works great for a large party that is somewhat casual and very cheaply too. Have a make your own taco/nacho party. You lay out the 1 or 2 kinds of meat, taco shells/chips/and/or tostada shells, lettuce, cheese, tomato - all stuff you can buy pre-made, or pre-shredded. Minimal work on you and fun for the guests an not to mention kids.

Believe it or not but supermarkets make great chicken for a great price. Ralphs makes fried, bar b que and rotiserrie for a bargain...much cheaper than Pollo Loco and this way you have a variety. You can also buy the sides from them or better yet, buy the sides from Cosco, Sams, or whereever you have a membership. Chicken goes great with many sides so if you have a variety of chicken and sides...you are sure to have a good spread. You will have delicious food for a very reasonable price. Have a fun party and best wishes to your son.

C., Hi I just did my son's First Communion last weekend I went the easy way out and have it catered from Lascari's there Italian and reseaonsible in there price or you can have mexican food like the "taco man". There reseaonsible also. No cooking, no mess that my kind of talking :)
Good luck.

R. Aguilar
Whittier, CA

I had Peppino's cater for me for my children's Baptism parties. Here is their website. http://www.letseatoc.com/info/peppinos_org.htm

They did a great job at a resonable price. Italian is an easy good way to go.

If you want to do it yourself may I suggest stuff like garlic bread, different kinds of pasta or a Costco / Sam's lasagna. With salad.

Hope things go well for you

sounds like all the other moms have put in their 2 cents and they all have amazing suggestions I want to let you know I just started a new business called "Spare Hands"

I can help with set up/clean up and keep things runnning smooth. I have been in the service industry for 20 years and for a fair price I will give you precious time with your guests and to say the least a pair of spare hands.
Love to help
J. Bitting ###-###-####
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To feed this many people, I would consider a meat of some sort, like a very large ham or several hams(1/2 lb per person), potato salad, macaroni salad, green salad and fruit salad. An assortment of breads, cut veggies, and a few hot pasta dishes like lasagna and a very large sheet cake for dessert would provide the most economical food for the most people.

We had a large Baptism and got the 5 ft burrito from Old Town Cafe in downtown Yorba Linda. We actually had to get a couple so we had the place deliver the burrito. I provided a salad and chips and dip and it was a hit!