Easy, budget-friendly cookout ideas needed

[Soarin_04]

We're hoping to have a HUGE "oh, no, school's starting already!" party in late August (yep, I'm planning early) for my sons' friends, their parents, and a few of our adult friends. Probably about 40 people.

Yes, we could grill, but I really would rather prep ahead of time and hang out and visit with friends.

I'm looking for ideas / recipes for foodstuff I can make ahead of time that's budget based.

TIA!

 

[mombrontrent]

My first thought was was about potluck?

Or you could do sanwich/wrap trays. You could have a variety of different kinds of sanwiches and than a variety of different salads, veggie and fruit trays. Love the idea that you'd rather spend time with your guests rather than stand over a grill the whole time

 

[Madison'smommy]

A budget friendly side that I always get requested to make....

tri colored pasta
onion
green pepper
zesty italian salad dressing
Black olives (optional) I like them, but some people dont

I make this a day or so before so all the flavors come toegther... its simple and good!


You could do some beef bbq. You can make it ahead of time, and keep it warm in crockpot

 

[HeatherC]

You could do barbecue chicken. Sounds expensive, but I stock up when it is on sale. THis week they had whole chickens cut up for 99cents a lb.

The day BEFORE the party, I basically put it on a baking sheet, season and pour some bbq sauce on I bake it for about an hour and take out and cool. Day of party, we just throw it on the grill to heat it and char it a bit with some more sauce. Takes only a few minutes and people seem to really like it.

Sounds strange, but you also do a couple spiral hams if they go on sale. Easy and unexpected. We just throw it on the grill to heat since they are already cooked. Serve with different mustards and the little slider rolls.

Pulled pork in crockpots is always good.

Baked ziti. Prep the day before and cook before you want to serve.

 

[DizneyLizzy]

I just had a super casual, family cookout type 60th b-day party for my mother in-law and wanted to keep someone of a tight food budget. For our "main dish" we had 3 types of sandwiches - pulled pork, chicken salad, and meatballs. I bought all of the meat when it was on sale and defrosted it so I could have all 3 dishes made before the party.

Other family members brought side dishes and appetizer, and I ordered a sheet cake from Costco. The cake was delicious and was only $17.99 (it was plenty for my 50+ person party) There's no way I could have made dessert for that many people for less than 18 bucks, so I thought the cake was a fabulous deal.

 

[ah1126]

How about a taco or baked potato bar?

 

[Sinderelly]

Hot dogs (grilled ahead of time and kept on warm in a crock pot) with a big toppings bar-cheese, coney sauce, relish, onions, kraut etc. Sam's Club has huge containers of potato salad for under $5. Chips, buns, baked beans, rice krispy treats and maybe some cookies or brownies.

 

[Suz D]

Sloppy Joes in the crockpot. I have a great recipe.

I also second the hot dogs idea. We boil them ahead of time and put them in a crockpot with a little water in the bottom. Works very well. You could do hot dogs AND sloppy joes.

 

[njcarita]

pulled bbq pork... make in crockpot...serve with rolls and coleslaw....

 

[jjsmom]

This is an easy inexpensive side dish, if you can purchase the tomatoes from a roadside stand or farmers market. Do not be afraid to ask them for a better per pound price on a large quantity. Visit farmer's markets about a half hour before closing. They will make deals with you, they'd rather sell it than pack it up. I serve a tomato dish that is prepared ahead and refrigerated. Arrange sliced tomatoes on a cookie sheet with 3/4- 1" sides. Top with mozzarella cheese slices (or shredded, that's cheaper), then drizzle with bottled balsamic vinegarette and sprinkle with Italian seasoning and a little salt. Refrigerate for about 2 hours.

 

[Soarin_04]

Thank you, thank you, thank you! Keep 'em comin'! Keep 'em comin'!

Right now, I'm leaning toward making it a pot luck (especially since the boys keep telling me we need to invite more of their friends), but suplementing it with BBQ chicken (I also picked it up this week on sale at Giant 10 lbs for $10 and stuck it in the freezer), a couscous salad that doesn't need to be refrigerated, hot dogs, and a few other easy salads.

That said, I'm welcome to more ideas!

And in terms of making it easy -- in the past, we were so busy grilling, refilling, and clearing and cleaning that we had very little time to hang out with guests...which kind of defeats the purpose of having a get together I think. We're inviting a number of our sons' friends' families because while we know a lot of them, some we don't and as they become teenagers, I really want that rapport between other parents (poor kids won't get away with anything this way! )

 

[Evi]

you could have a fun theme and give it a back to school vibe make sandwiches like ham and cheese on french bread, peanut or almond butter and jelly on brioche, tuna salad , chicken salad with rolls on the side, serve with potato salad, potato chips and veggies with ranch dressing. For drinks lemonade and milk. For dessert you could have fresh apples, apple pie, chocolate chip cookies. Its all in the presentation if you have good recipes, quality bakery breads and fresh ingredients. It would be awesome. Add a coloring table, a craft table, some kind of team building game for the kids and wine or a signature cocktail for the adults.

 

[mjantz]

I have a great recipe for Buffalo Chicken sandwiches. Basically its a big bag of chicken breasts, bottle of hot sauce & a pkg of dry ranch dressing mix. Put it in a crockpot all day & start shreddiing mid-afternoon. Makes a lot & freezes well. I make it when we're having a ton of company. Its not too spicy. It just has a hint of a kick. I serve it with extra hot sauce, a few sliced cheeses (pepper jack, blue cheese & cheddar) & rolls.