Party Foods for Birthday

you can have a crazy backwards party,I love making this one...it is a meatloaf cake. it uses 5 pounds of ground turkey or any meat, you season as desired. then cook in two circular or square cake pans. then when they are cooked, place one meatloaf on the serving tray. then cover the top with mashed potatoes and peas or corn or both. then put the other meatloaf on top and then cover the whole "cake" with mashed potatoes. if you want to get fancy use a piping bag for decorations and corn and peas as embellishment as well. you can also make cupcakes. then you can make pizza "pies". cut a pastry puff into circles. then mix 1 package of cream cheese with 1/2 cup confect. sugar and 2 teaspoons lemon juice. spread half the mixture as the "cheese". spread strawberry preserves on top, but dont mix the layers. then add dollops of the remaining "cheese". then sprinkle some mint leaves on top of the pizza. bake accordingly to the puff package. you can add items to the "pizza" as well like kiwi to look like peppers or chopped bananas to look like garlic....!!! when you bring out the "cake" with candles and all, I promise, people will be amazed. Family and friends now request that I bring it to parties....!!you can also have friends or family come over and help make the "cakes".im sure when you tell them what you are making, the intrigue will be enough. one cake feeds about 10 people, if you have other food, like salad and snackers, then 12-15 people.have a great party and let me know how it goes or if you have any questions!!!

My first advice would be to have at least some guests bring a dish whether it be an appetizer, side dish or beer. This will allow you and your husband to relax and enjoy the party. A good entree could be beef sandwiches. I heard the beef at GFS is incredible. You could have crock pots with the beef and a jus sauce and people can help themselves all day. It will always be hot.
Below is a great side dish recipe for the summer. It is time intensive but VERY good. I just made it last night for a party today.
Good luck and happy birthday to your son.

JELLO PRETZEL SALAD

2 c. pretzels, coarsely crushed
1/2 c. sugar
3/4 c. melted butter

Mix and cover bottom of pan. Bake in 9 x 13 inch pan at 350 degrees for 9 minutes.

MIDDLE LAYER:

1 (8 oz.) softened cream cheese
1 c. sugar
1 (9 oz.) Cool Whip

Combine cream cheese and sugar; add and spread Cool Whip on cooled pretzel layer. (Be sure to seal this layer around all edges of pan.)

TOP LAYER:

2 (10 oz.) pkg. strawberries, thawed and sliced into fours
2 (3 oz.) pkg. strawberry Jello

Dissolve Jello with 2 cups boiling water. Add strawberries, juice and all. Let set until it begins to jell. May want to place in freezer for 20 minutes or so to speed up the process. Pour onto middle layer. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before cutting.

I just had a birthday party for my daughter's 3rd birthday. We ordered fried chicken from Super Wal-Mart and it was excellent and very inexpensive! We had 75 pieces of chicken, rolls and two potato salads and I think it was about $70. Plus we ordered beef from Caputo's in Addison - we had 6 pounds of beef plus the bread and it cost less than $20.
I like the idea of having pot-luck parties - it's nice to get different foods. I'm like you, I always tend to make the same things so it's nice to have other people bring their "normal dishes" to your party for a change of pace.
Also, there's a place in Addison called Corky's Catering and their food is really good and they are very reasonable. They're a full service caterer. Good luck with everything!

A taco bar is fun. We do this and everyone can make it how they like.With corn pudding as a side (1 box cornbread mix,1 egg, 1/2stick melted butter/margarine, 1 chopped onion, salt and pepper to taste and 1 can cream style corn.mix in 9 x 13 pan and bake covered for 50 minutes at 350 serves about 8-10)and sides
Also, since chicken wings are cheap, you could do BBQ buffalo wings-not spicy with a big pasta salad and baked beans. Bread, jello, and salad are always good fillers.

T.,

Whenever I'm planning a huge family party for the kids I find that potlucks are the way to go. I provide a main dish or two and ask people to bring some type of side. I also provide drinks, tableware, & dessert. One year we did hot dogs on the grill & sloppy joes. Another year I did a cold cut buffet (with different types of deli meat, cheeses & breads), which was a huge hit! I always used to feel bad asking people to bring food, but I've since come to learn that most people don't mind pitching in!

If you really want to do it all yourself I would recommend doing a few dishes and then getting the rest catered or buying foods from GFS (Gordon Food Service). As for recipes - try doing a web search for 'cooking for crowds' or 'large quantity cooking'. It's amazing what you can find online these days!

Good luck & have a great birthday party! ~Jen C.

Why not do an old fashioned bbq? Burgers, dogs, watermelon, water balloon tossess, things like that. Keep it simple to save your sanity!

My sons birthday was like that. We did the tradtion hot dogs, hamburgers, brats, lunch meat tray, fruit tray, vegtable tray, homemade pasta salad. When someone asked if they could bring something I would say sure. Then you also get a variety of salads. Potato, macaroni, taco(really easy to make) thay also would bring small desserts too. Try letting friends and family pitch in and help instead of putting the whole burden on yourself.You may get more food then you expected.(and more help)

Hi T.,
I have personally used "great american bagel" for catering and my close friend just used them for her 3 kids grad parties. I don't know if you have one close by.. we have one in Crystal lake..she said she loved the different salads and sandwiches. They cut the bagel sandwiches into smaller sections and everyone gets a variety to choose from. they put all of the toppings on the side too for your guests. It is nice and fresh for warm weather! Let us know what you finally decide! Catering from somewhere is the WAY TO GO!