Food Ideas with Recipes If Needed

I went to a child's bday party and they had hotdogs with crescent rolls wrapped around them and they were really good. I have a lot of recipes for different dips and great appetizers...I could give you some of them if you give me a more specific idea of what you want.

I went to Sam's Club and got a deli tray for several of the parties I've had for my nearly 2 year old (baptism, birthday). It's nice because you can buy several different kinds of bread/buns and have several different condiments (most of which you already have at home) but everyone can make their own sandwiches and it's pretty simple. They also have wonderful side dishes (potato salad) and desserts there! I think it is convenient and reasonable considering other catering costs or the time in preparation for other kinds of meals. Plus, we planned my daughter's 1st b-day party around her nap time, which meant that it was perfect for a light lunch for everyone. I hope that helps!

I am not sure about home much you are looking to spend, but a favorite in our family is taco parties. meat kept warm in the crock pot. lettuce, tomato,cheese ect... also my mom is a fan of making her own big sub sanwiches. good luck!

If you aren't interested in having a mess to clean up, you might want to see if Subway fits into your budget. I've done this for parties and it's as simple as picking them up from the store and slicing it. I've never fed 40 though, so it may be a little pricey. Also, my hometown Arby's offered a catering service. Basically, they made meat trays of what ever type of lunch meat you needed and provided the buns and other add-ons and then you picked it up. It's been many years since the last time my family used them but, I remember it being very affordable. Might be worth a call. other than that-- the ol pitch-in is still the best way to go. It is a given among our group of friends and family that every get together is a pitch-in. If you have any reservations about asking people to bring a dish and a gift for your child, make sure you have cool treat bags for the little ones and heap the thanks on the adults.

Yeah...have the party at 3:00 and just serve cake and ice cream. Good Luck.

A.,
Aren't there any family members who could help pay/provide food? Grandparents? AUnts uncles? What about your girlfriends? I wouldn't mind bringing something for a friend of mine who was having a first birthday party.

I don't think you can get any cheaper than nachos. :) The fruit dip mentioned sounds good with some apples. What about nilla wafers or graham crackers?

Is your boyfriend the father of both children? Is there a marriage in the future for you two? :) Wish you the best.

B.

I have a yummy fruit dip I make and it's good with almost any fruit....you just mix a jar of marshmallow fluff and an 8 ounce package of cream cheese...my kids love it and it's pretty cheap....also if you like those mini weanies they are really good in a crock pot with bbq sauce and grape jelly...sounds gross but it's really good.....ok here is another....it's called tater tot casserole...you fry up hamburg but it in a bakiing pan...top it with cream of mush soup, put tater tots on top of that.....then another layer of soup, and then if you want you can add bacon bits and/or cheese....hope this helps if you need others feel free to give me a yell.....I have a sweet cheap cookbook.....have a great party!!!!!!

Ya know I just wanted to say count your blessing that you even have this problem. I just celebrated my youngest 5th birthday. How I wish I had the problem of feeding so many people. unfortunately I don't know anyone. It would be great one day to post on here myself this same problem lol. *sigh* And to add my own advice Chili I believe is a nice change to a party many ppl love it, it's cheap to make and goes a long way. Gl hun and have fun. Truly count your blessings!

Hi A..

For my daughter's birthday, I shopped around and found a good deal on a nice roast (I usually hit Sam's for those, but Meijer had a really good sale). You might want to get two with that many people. Cook them (it) in the crockpot and then slice and half and serve with rolls - you can buy big bags of them at Sam's or Costco (or GFS if there's one near you).

You can also buy big tubs of potato salad and coleslaw at those places to serve as sides. Pick up some veggies to slice yourself and make a veggie tray instead of buying one and use dressing for a dip.

Makes a nice presentation and isn't terribly expensive. I also did something similar for my daughter's christening.

what if you had a pot luck. You could supply the cake, cups, and plates, they could supply the rest. That is what we have done in the past with all of our family events. In the summers we just do a big outdoor picnic.

Something that would be easy and if you shop around could be relatively cheap is lunchmeat sandwiches. For the kids you could use cookie cutters and cut out shapes in the meat and cheese and give them crackers (homemade lunchables) and just set out a tray for the adults with some meat, cheese and bread. Add a variety of chips/pretzels and maybe some fruit and then you are done.

What has worked for me on feeding a group is a soup, an entree, & finger foods. Here is a recipe! Cheap, easy & fast!
Baked Spaghetti with Meat Sauce *** 8 oz spaghetti, 1 lb italian sausage, casings removed, 1 28 oz jar pasta sauce, 2 C shredded mozzarella cheese. Cook pasta, drain & set aside. Brown sausage in large skillet while breaking apart, drain. In greased casserole dish, combine sausage, pasta & sauce. Top with cheese. Bake 15-20 min (in a 350% preheated oven) or till bubbly & cheese is starting to brown. Let stand 5 min. Serves 6, recipe is easily doubled, tripled,etc. Let me know if you want my Mexican Meatball soup recipe & some finger food ideas as well! Good luck & have fun! S.

Baked Ziti is good, it's pretty inexpensive to make - the ziti's usually less than $1/pound, then all you really need is sauce and cheese. Get it ready ahead of time then just bake it an hour before the party. You can also do spirals made from turkey, ham, cream cheese and tortillas. Just spread whatever kind of cream cheese on the tortilla with thin sliced meat and roll it tight then cut into bite sized pieces. My sister-in-law likes to use jalepeno cream cheese with turkey - they're always popular at her parties. You can also do hot dogs, not gourmet or anything, but just boil a bunch in a stock pot and have the fixin's ready, ketchup, mustard, maybe even chili and cheese. Throw in some baked beans and cold salads (macaroni salal, potato, salad, broccoli salad and you can have an indoor picnic.

Toss several bags of frozen ravioli and a few jars of pasta sauce in a crock pot or large baking dish, bake up some garlic bread(walmart has nice sized loaves in their bakery for $1.00 each). If there are going to be a lot of adults maybe a salad too. It's easy, inexpensive and not nachos!!!

D.

Hi A.! We're about to celebrate our daughters first birthday in a couple weeks too. Money is kind of tight and we have around 40 people coming too! We are having pasta and a ham. The ham was only $23 at Giant Eagle it's 19 pounds,already cooked you just have to heat it up in the oven. It's not sliced tho so we'll have to do that ourselves. My husband is making Pasta. He makes his own sauce w/a couple cans of paste, sauce and crushed tomatoes. The pasta itself isn't too expensive either, so that's a cheap dish to make. My mom is bringing a potato dish and my grandmother is making deviled eggs. I'll make a salad,and we'll have some pickles and olives on the side. My sister said we should probly get about 10 liters of pop for that amount of people and if you want to go cheaper, and are having kids at the party Koolaid is a REALLY cheap drink to make for them.

That's what we're doing. I hope that helps!

S.

I know how you feel. I am having a birthday party for my son and daughter in a couple weeks, and am having a huge crowd over also. What I have done for the last couple years is I have provided the meat and I have asked everyone to bring a side dish and whatever their family would like to drink. I personally dont have space to store enough food to feed everyone nor do I have a budget that allows me to pay for it all. You always have people that will ask you what you would like them to bring, so just take this opportunity to tell them what you need. It is much easier that way as it is hard to cook for that many people and find something that everyone likes, and you will have plenty of choices. I also agree with the ones that say a pasta dish, I have a turkey roaster that I fill with Baked Ziti, it goes a long way and is really cheap to make. Also dont know if you have a GFS Marketplace near you. You can buy stuff in bulk and save alot and with that many people you are gonna need it.

Good Luck!