Help with school dinner planning

[4Seasons]

Next week I'm in charge of my daughter's weekly swim team dinner, and normally they do pasta but I want to change it up and do a taco night.
Our average count is about 80 people (teens and parents).
Trying to think of any budget-friendly items to serve. So far

Tacos (of course), soft and hard shell
mexican rice
cornbread
refried beans
chips and salsa

Any other ideas that won't break the bank? What about the amount of taco filling? I'm thinking a lb of meat will serve an average of 3 people, does that sound right?

 

[tinytink]

If you have a local asian market near by I would pick up one of this big tubs of tofu and mix it in with the seasoned ground beef to stretch it out. I remembered I has some tofu I needed to use up so I put it in my taco meat with my own family and I cubed it and my family didn't know the difference other than it to point out what are those kinda white looking cubes? You don't taste it and it will plus up your meat filling. Those tubs of tofu come in big tubs that have about 8-10 pcs for about $5 and I would use 1 brick for about 1 1/2 lb of meat. Good luck.

 

[WickedElphaba]

I would be very careful on stretching that way unless you are ok w/ letting everyone know since someone may be soy allergic/avoidance. You may want to think Turkey as this is usually 1$ a lb vs 2.39 for beef and mixed in it tastes the same and it would save some $

I cant think of any (budget) desserts mexican themed but that may be something to add

Also Lettuce, tomato, jalpeno(sp)

Are you a HS or a club team?

 

[4Seasons]

This is a HS team, the parents take turns coordinating dinners each thursday which is the night before the meets.

 

[stephbillalec]

just keep in mind...not everyone eats red meat!

 

[scrapquitler]

How about chili instead? I think that it would be logistically easier to do chili rather than tacos, and with tacos there are all the toppings which add up $$$

 

[ekatiel]

We did taco meat in crockpots for my boys' combined b-day party last summer. We had about 60 people, and I ended up buying way too much meat!! We froze the leftovers and had tacos at least once a week for months!! I think I figured on a lb for every 4 people. In reality, people ate less than I thought they would (of course, being after swim practice, the kids may be REALLY hungry). Also, the recipe I used had you pour salsa into the meat, in addition to the taco seasoning packets, so that may have "streched" the meat a little. --Katie

 

[micheleq]

I'm a former HS Varisty Girls' Track coach, so I've been to my fair share of team dinners

Keep in mind that you may have some girls or parents that are vegetarians, and therefore won't want meat/turkey. Have a meat-free option for them.

Also, I understand mixing it up, but part of the purpose of having a pasta/high carb dinner the night before a meet is to fuel energy for the next day. Tacos may be too greasy for some stomachs to handle a night before a big meet. I'd ask the coach if s/he has any thoughts on that.

It's great to hear of parents getting involved with their kids' teams and providing a social outlet for the parents and kids to share. Good luck to your DD's team!!

 

[Maddie2]

Could you have taco salad makings there too ... lots of lettuce, tomatoes, shredded cheese, olives, sour cream, and tortilla chips, along with the taco meat? This way, if you do have a person that does not care for red meat, they could simply make a salad for themselves. Put it all out and let them choose how they put it together.

After all the spicy food, ice cream is a great dessert. Buy a few buckets and let them make their own sundaes or cones. It doesn't require preparation, it isn't overly expensive when considering how many you are feeding and it is easy to keep if it doesn't all get eaten.

For veggies, how about a couple trays of carrots/celery/broccoli/cauliflower and ranch? Rice, cornbread, and beans are great, but I don't think they are overly necessary with all of the taco & salad makings.

It does all add up quickly $$$, but since you take turns, hopefully it won't be too bad? Do you have other parents to share this meal expense with?

 

[ekatiel]

Oh, another thing we did at the b-day party was to have a crockpot full of Rico nacho cheese dip and have chips on hand. This might provide a good vegetarian (albiet NOT vegan) option. It will also cut down on the amount of meat you will need b/c some kids will choose nachos only (which is what I think happened at our party). --Katie

 

[Anne34]

I'm a former HS Varisty Girls' Track coach, so I've been to my fair share of team dinners

Keep in mind that you may have some girls or parents that are vegetarians, and therefore won't want meat/turkey. Have a meat-free option for them.

Also, I understand mixing it up, but part of the purpose of having a pasta/high carb dinner the night before a meet is to fuel energy for the next day. Tacos may be too greasy for some stomachs to handle a night before a big meet. I'd ask the coach if s/he has any thoughts on that.

It's great to hear of parents getting involved with their kids' teams and providing a social outlet for the parents and kids to share. Good luck to your DD's team!!

Our kids do pasta every Friday night before swim. They want the kids to carb up -- they have pasta, salad, garlic bread, water & gatorade. The coach wants them to stay away from too many sweets, but there are always desserts too. When we do ours -- every family signs up to bring to two of these events throughout the year & the host family only makes the pasta.

 

[4Seasons]

Could you have taco salad makings there too ... lots of lettuce, tomatoes, shredded cheese, olives, sour cream, and tortilla chips, along with the taco meat? This way, if you do have a person that does not care for red meat, they could simply make a salad for themselves. Put it all out and let them choose how they put it together.

After all the spicy food, ice cream is a great dessert. Buy a few buckets and let them make their own sundaes or cones. It doesn't require preparation, it isn't overly expensive when considering how many you are feeding and it is easy to keep if it doesn't all get eaten.

For veggies, how about a couple trays of carrots/celery/broccoli/cauliflower and ranch? Rice, cornbread, and beans are great, but I don't think they are overly necessary with all of the taco & salad makings.

It does all add up quickly $$$, but since you take turns, hopefully it won't be too bad? Do you have other parents to share this meal expense with?

Oh yes there will be all the "fixings" to go along with the tacos.
All the parents share in the cooking and buying. We just alternate weeks as to who is in charge of coordinating the dinner.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

 

[MSSANDRA]

Maybe do 1/2 ground beef and 1/2 chicken as the meat??

 

[stitchfamily]

How about chili instead? I think that it would be logistically easier to do chili rather than tacos, and with tacos there are all the toppings which add up $$$

That sounds GOOD to me! YUMMY!!! You could do a small portion w/out meat for the "meatless" munchers... you could offer Cheese, crackers and, Sour cream for those that like add ins...

 

[Jsme]

We did taco meat in crockpots for my boys' combined b-day party last summer. We had about 60 people, and I ended up buying way too much meat!! We froze the leftovers and had tacos at least once a week for months!! I think I figured on a lb for every 4 people. In reality, people ate less than I thought they would (of course, being after swim practice, the kids may be REALLY hungry). Also, the recipe I used had you pour salsa into the meat, in addition to the taco seasoning packets, so that may have "streched" the meat a little. --Katie

I was going to say something similar. I had a themed birthday party this summer and I served Tacos. OMG we only had like 10 people and I made 6lbs of ground beef into tacos in my crockpot. We had tacos for a week and then we made a cheese dip with the meat.

If you have an Aldi close by they have great deals on ground beef and taco seasoning. The also have black beans, refried beans,taco shells, cheese and sour cream.

If you the taco meat in the crockpot be care not to use too much water. We had way too much water and had to dip some out and add spices to make it tastey again. The water took out the taco pack seasoning taste.

I would just do the tacos and have various toppings.

However, who ever suggested chilli, I think that is a good idea. Might be a bit cheaper too.

 

[disneyfan007]

I'm a former HS Varisty Girls' Track coach, so I've been to my fair share of team dinners

Keep in mind that you may have some girls or parents that are vegetarians, and therefore won't want meat/turkey. Have a meat-free option for them.

Also, I understand mixing it up, but part of the purpose of having a pasta/high carb dinner the night before a meet is to fuel energy for the next day. Tacos may be too greasy for some stomachs to handle a night before a big meet. I'd ask the coach if s/he has any thoughts on that.

It's great to hear of parents getting involved with their kids' teams and providing a social outlet for the parents and kids to share. Good luck to your DD's team!!

I agree with the Coach. When my son ran cross country in high school the purpose of the team dinner was to help carb up for the race that was coming up. I would at least offer some pasta of some sort.

 

[gopack]

My daughter has been swimming competitively on a year-round team for 6 years and she also swims on her high school team. The purpose of the pasta is to "carbo load" the night before the meet. I would check with the coach before you switched it up to tacos. Hope they have a great meet!