Meals for a Crowd

I'm a fan of casseroles! For breakfast I like to make different quiches and casseroles for a crowd. There are tons of good ones out there but one my favorites is French Toast Casserole by Paula Dean. I usually make 2, one with nuts and one without, for all our major family gatherings and it is a hit. You prep them the day before and then just bake them the next day. It's easy and way delish.

Other than that things like roast chicken, baked potatoes (you can do those on the grill), lasagna...things like that.

For lunch I think just basic sandwich stuff is good for most days, especially if you're having bigger breakfasts and dinners. You could also do a salad day or a potato bar day or a pizza day!

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Egg strata for breakfast (make ahead and bake in the morning).

Pulled pork/shredded chicken/ or shredded beef in crock pot for putting on buns.

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I'd make a couple large trays of lasagna now in those disposable tins, wrap tight in foil and freeze. Then you can just pop it in the oven frozen a couple hours before you need it.

Sounds like a blast!

:)

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When we had a family reunion, we had each individual family group take one day and they planned and cooked the evening meal so that way one person didn't get stuck in the kitchen the whole time. We had bbq, spagetti, tacos, and ham and potatoes each on different nights. For b-fast, we had cereal and for lunch we had leftovers from the day before and/or sandwiches. Other ideas for a group are a salad bar, potato bar, and cold cut sandwiches.

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This Creme Brulee French Toast is SO good! And it's put together the night before--so all you do is bake, serve & throw the 9x13 pan (or two) in the dishwasher!

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/creme-brulee-french-toast/de...

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Chili.... Mmmmm and goes a long way! :)

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yogurt parfait (15 disposable clear plastic cups, some yogurt, some cereal and fruit.

I just read a recipie for "pull away cinnamon rolls" that were faked by cutting into a sour dough loaf, smearing with cinamon sugar and butter, wrapping in foil, baking till warmed through and gooey, and then topping with glaze. seems like these would be easy to prep, and have that almost home made feel.

why not do something totally unorthodox and memorable, have ice cream cake and coffee for breakfast. have savory belgian waffles for dinner.

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We like doing pulled bbq chicken. If you use the roterssie chickens and put it in a crock-pot it is ready within a few hours and the only time spent is pulling the chicken off the bone. Also if you use a crock pot liner there is no mess. :)

For breakfast we do pancakes, cereal and breakfast cassrole.

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BREAKFAST:
Scrambled eggs, hashbrowns (frozen, add your own onion and veggies, tortillas and cheese and salsa) Add sausage, bacon, or scrambled egg for more protein, pancakes (I've also heard about bananacakes, which are banana slices dipped in the pancake batter). What about a breakfast casserole quiche? You could make it the night before and pop it in the oven in the a.m.

LUNCH:
Leftover chicken (from the night before's dinner) - made into chicken salad sandwiches or top the chicken on top of salad have taco salad

DINNER:
Roast Turkey or Chickens. Or make the meat ahead of time and use the cooked chicken to make tacos. Put the cooked meat into a skillet and add salsa or seasonings and veggies. Have shredded lettuce, cheese, salsa, guacamole, pico de gallo, queso and chips.
Pot roast in the crock pot -- use the meat and veg for dinner, maybe with potatoes on the side. Then with any leftovers, make bbq sandwiches the next day for lunch.

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A huge Taco salad and Twice Baked potatoes :-) YUM
Have a FUN week!!

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for lunches make a taco bar - chop up tomatoes, shred cheese, have a bowl of taco meat, lettuce, cilantro, sliced green onions, sour cream and have taco shells and tostadas and flour tortillas - everyone makes their own.

I also like doing a large pot of sloppy joes.

I've heard about the omelet in a bag idea but instead of making them all the same, put out all the add-ins and let people "make" their own by putting their favorite ingredients in the bag. Then you add the egg and boil. Make sure they write their name on the baggy so they know which one is theirs.

Just this morning I read in the food section a recipe for : Omelet In A Bag!
Serves 4-6:
8 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
salt and pepper
1/2 cup chopped onioin
1/2 cup chopped green or red bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
1/2 cup chopped zucchini
1/2 cup chopped yellow squash
Beat eggs and milk together and season with salt and pepper. Divide equally betwen 4-6 gallon zip lock bags. Combine all veggies and divide it among the bags then seal the bags.
Fill a large pot 3/4 full with water and bring to a boil. Drop the bags into the water and cook for 10-15 minutes or longer, until eggs are firm to the touch. Then take out and serve. ADDITIONS could also include chopped cooked bacon, ham or sausage. A dash of hot sauce added to eggs and milk adds zip. Enjoy

You have received lots of advice - the best being assign meals or days to teams or families so everyone gets a break and same people aren't cooking every meal. Make ahead stuff is great. Sloppy joes can be made in advance and thrown in crock pot or buy a turkey breast, and make ahead in the crockpot with chicken broth, cream of chicken soup and lemon pepper and cook on low for 8-10 hours. Delicious shredded thurkey on a bun.

I also have a great stuffed shells recipe you can make in advance but only a day or two

Don;t forget sweet corn and watermelon, relatively easy and inexpensive ways to fill-up a big crowd.

Another favorite breakfast item for our gang is breakfast burritos - scrambled eggs, sausage, salsa, cheese and tortillas. The kids also love "vacation cereal" - the individual assorted boxes

Another favorite are paninis - cold-cuts, cheese and bread (and if you have a panini maker) toasted for a little extra flavor and melted cheese

Our final favorite is "schlock plate" which is basically leftovers. Every couple days, clean out the refrigerator and put all the leftovers out buffet style. Draw straws or have cleaining competitiions to see who gets to go first to insure they get their favorite before it disappears ;-)

Have fun and good luck!

Definitely make ahead breakfast casseroles which can be sweet or savory. For big groups we often make pulled pork in the crockpot. Can be made ahead and frozen which helps! Just reheat on stove or in crockpot. Baked potato bars are easy & fun (if it's not too hot!) and everyone can make their own with whatever toppings you provide. Have fun!

If you are a Cost-co member they have excellent frozen lasagna that really tastes home made/authentic. It comes 2 trays to a pack, you can buy with meat or without. I served this at a large family gathering...I am 100% Italian and even my Nonna (grandma) loved it! Anyway, all you have to do is heat and serve. So easy, no mess...make a salad to go with it and you are good to go!

We buy a couple of pounds of Italian beef with the juice from caputos and put it in the crock pot. Doesn't take long and stays warm. Very quick and easy. Have a great party.

Grill some chicken wings! They don't have to be made spicy. We love them marinated in some Stubb's Moppin Sauce and then thrown on the grill. You could easily grill 100 wings for not much $$ and they are still good served cold.

For breakfasts, do some breakfast casseroles. Eggs, cheese, ground sausage, peppers/onions, salt/pepper and bake. Make 2 batches (so 18-24 eggs?)
Chef salads are always a hit too. Set out all the "topping" items in smaller containers and the lettuce/greens in a big tupperware type bowl. Roll up the slices of deli meats and slice into pinwheels. Boil some eggs and slice/chop. Some Black olives. Cherry/grape tomatoes. Shredded cheese. Sunflower nuts. Red onion chopped. Self serve.
Have fun!

Chili, spaghetti, Taco's, lasagna, pizza (grill it). Eggs, cereal, toast easy items for breakfast. Maybe breakfast casserole one day. Casserole's always go a long way.

My husband's Filipino family has "small" family get-togethers frequently and there's usually about 40-50 people and one of the main things they serve also happens to be the best Filipino dish of all time named Pancit (also spelled Pansit). It's a noodle stir-fry with veggies, chicken and a little bit of sauce (soy sauce and oyster sauce, I think)--there are lots of good recipes on the web, just make sure they sound authentic! Goes together super-quick because it's a stir-fry. The most time consuming part is chopping veggies, but if you get pre-chopped or get some kitchen helpers, it can go really quickly and it's ready in no time. We like using the pancit canton noodles (a lot like the noodles in ramen), but some of the other folks like the thinner vermicelli-like rice noodles.

There's also a Filipino fruit salad that is do die for and feeds a crowd. A couple items are easily available at Asian grocery stores. And you can always cut the recipe in half if it looks like this will make too much. This one I actually have a killer recipe for:
3, 30oz cans fruit cocktail (I usually throw in a can or two of tropical fruit cocktail)
2, 20oz cans pineapple chunks
1, 15oz can mandarin oranges
6 oz jar coconut sport (macapuno)--available in Asian food stores
6 oz sugar palm (kaong)--at Asian food stores
6 oz jackfruit (langka)--at Asian food stores
8 oz cream cheese, softened
7 to 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
1/2 bag mini marshmallows
Drain all the fruits, but reserve some of the fruit cocktail juice in case you want to use a little in the sauce to thin it up a bit. Rinse the coconut, sugar palm and jackfruit before adding. Place all fruits into a large bowl. Blend cream cheese with condensed milk (start with less condensed milk, but if you want it sweeter, add more). Pour over fruits and mix. Stir in marshmallows. Serve cold and refrigerate leftovers.

Mmmmm...I'm getting hungry just thinking about these!! But these would at least go with a "theme night" idea for meals.