Challenge: Help for church dinner menu?

[quiltymom]

In a few weeks I need to cook for our church's Wednesday night dinner. Since it's choir night it's mostly kids, I need to come up with something that is SIMPLE to cook - both with and without meat - and that a bunch of picky kid eaters will eat.

Here's what we usually have & I don't want to serve:

• pizza
• mac & cheese, chicken fingers
• pasta & sauce
• enchaladas, both chicken and cheese
• chili

We need new ideas and I'm stumped! It has to be simple since my Wednesday's are crazy. I will have to shop the day before and be able to transport the food to DD's ballet class before going to church. When there, I'll have 45 minutes to get everything ready.

Any ideas?

 

[Katy Belle]

breakfast for dinner??? pancakes, sausage patties, orange juice, and sliced fruit.

Meatballs...don't know what vegetarian thing you could offer...grilled cheese?

Footlong or longer subs...cut into slices. Your bakery will make you a long loaf.

Fish sticks??

Chilli dogs

Roast Beef and mashed potatoes

tacos or loaded nachos

I will keep thinking!
Katy

chili pie

 

[piratesmate]

Do you have the option of working further ahead? If so, you could make lasagna & even freeze it this weekend, then just thaw & heat on Weds. You could make it with & without meat sauce & both freeze well. I've never tried freezing a real veggie lasagna, though...just the meatless variety.

 

[MazdaUK]

In the summer I make a lovely lasagne that has no meat sauce, just layers of pasta, cheese sauce (with pesto swirled through it) spinach and cherry tomatoes.

Various quiches? (Always popular over here at church do's) with salads (potato, pasta, green, rice)

 

[quiltymom]

Thanks so far for the ideas! I also forgot to mention that lasagne was the other dish always cooked, although no one has cooked a veggie one.

One person did make pigs-in-a-blanket, using both beef and veggie hot dogs, but that took her forever. The kids did love it, though. I lkie the chili dog idea, but then we'd need both regular and veggie chili... It's tough when you have to cook both. I could do a veggie chili, but then half of the kids wouldn't eat ti.

It's a tough crowd, that's for sure! I love the loaded nachos dish, but we'd have to make up servings ahead of time or the kids will just devour all of one ingredient (they're from 4 years to teens).

Yes, I could make up something the day before, but I also don't want to spend all day on it. My DH suggested a meatball soup I make that my kids love, but soup gets messy with the little ones.

Maybe I'm just worrying about it too much. But maybe with all of our minds we can come up with something!

Thanks so far for your help. Maybe I'll check out my crock pot books...

 

[Honu]

A super easy and really popular thing I've brought is wild rice. I usually just prepare according to the Uncle Ben's box then I'll mix in a diced carrot and some toasted slivered almonds before putting it in the crock or serving dish. It's also good with boneless chicken pieces in it.

 

[disykat]

Taco Salad. You could mix together a veggie version (lettuce, kidney beans, cheese) and a w/meat version (lettuce, seasoned meat, kidney beans, grated cheese) and then put the dressing, chips, and extras like onions and olives on the side. This is one that is popular at our midweek church suppers. My kids don't like salad at home, but they ate it up at church.

Baked potato bars are a favorite too.

 

[quiltymom]

Thanks again, everyone! I'm going to make a list of all of these suggestions and give them to all of the parents on our dinner list. Hopefully we'll be getting some variety in our dinners! If I see a lasagne or a pasta and sauce meal one more time I think I'll die...

Disykat, your taco salad idea reminded me of my mom's tamale pie! That I could easily make both veggie and meat, and it's something that I can easily transport.

Or else the breakfast for dinner idea sounds easy, too. It wouldn't be hard to get some veggie sausage as well as the real stuff. And with a little Disney magic I can transform the pancakes into Mickey heads and voila - dinner is served!

You all have been most helpful! Thanks!

 

[MazdaUK]

I suppose as its for church it wouldn't be right to label one pot veggie chilli and one pot regular but put veggie in both

 

[quiltymom]

You're too funny! We've had all veggie meals before, and it hasn't been a problem.

In all honesty, DS has a great adversion to veggies of all sorts (I try to hide them as much as I can in my meals!), and right now he's having enough social trouble with the kids his age that I don't want to add any unwelcome meltdowns regarding food into the mix, giving the kids new "ammo" against him. So I'm just trying to find something new that he'll like, eat with gusto, and not make a fuss over.

 

[clh2]

I know someone already suggested pancakes...I'm going to suggest a little bit more. Of course, we don't know if you are serving 20 or 50. For your sake, I hope it is 20 and not 50.

What about a "brunchy egg casserole thing" you know, the ones that can get made the day before and cooked before you serve them. Also - stuffed french toast can be made ahead of time too, and then just cooked like regular french toast. The 'egg casserole thing" can be made with with and/or without meat. I think there are several recipes on this forum for the casserole stuff.

 

[quiltymom]

Yes, it would've been a bit more helpful if I said just how many people show up for dinner. Silly me.

It is anywhere between 20 to 40, and we usually don't know until people show up. They're all supposed to RSVP, but somehow the system has broken down and we just play it by ear. Many times people have cooked for 40, and have only 18 show up, and the opposite has happened as well.

So, it would have to be something that could be easily made, possibly frozen and used for leftovers, or just split up between people and taken home. You just never know. And I happen to be cooking for the last meal of the choir season, so who knows how many people will actually be there.

Don't ya just love all these variables? That's why it's been driving me nutso-cookoo! (p.s. - that's me!)

So, that's why I'm so appreciative of everyone's help!