Halloween party meal?????

[riley2008]

Friday night we're planning on out first Halloween party! About 20 adults and 20 kids (most ages 4-9). We have lots of kid friendly child-paced activities available, but we haven't figured out the meal!. Everyone is bringing an appetizer or dessert (and we are decorating cupcakes - specially requested).

I was thinking hot rolls, chicken strips, mashed potatoes, green beans and maybe some gravy. My problem is that I have to work that day and will only be home about 1.5 hours until the party starts. DH will be home most of the day. Green beans and gravy can be done in the crock pot. Is there anyway to cook mashed potatoes the night before and reheat? We can get the chicken strips at Sams, but they take nearly 30 minutes to bake (3-5 minutes to deep fry). I don't want my house smelling like a fried chicken place.

Any suggestions? I do have a warming drawer on my oven.

Different menu suggestion?

 

[D&D's Mom]

I know it's corny, but since my kids were little (the youngest is now in college) we always have Halloweenies (hot dogs) on Halloween. Easy sides would be baked beans, slaw or salad.

 

[marthachick]

Chili beans and hot dogs? BBQ that you can cook night before & have DH put in crock pot? Sloppy joes? Spaghetti - do sauce night before & just cook noodles? Bag salad & rolls & there you are! Make your own subs? Baked potato bar?

If you do chicken, have DH put strips in oven for you? Not sure about reheating mashed potatoes for that many.

 

[TinkOhio]

Sloppy joes! It's been our family tradition for decades. Easy to make and easy to keep warm in a crockpot.

 

[ah1126]

We are having Chili and Baked Potatoes.

I don't know about reheating mashed potatoes, but you could peel them the night before, then cover them with water and keep in the fridge. The night of you would save the time of peeling them and just have to cook and mash. Your husband might even be able to start them for you and preheat the oven for the chicken!

 

[Nicolepa]

If you want to do the mashed potatoes you can cook them the day before and then put them in the crockpot to reheat. I do this every year for Thanksgiving.

BUT, a really easy thing my neighbor does for Halloween is spaghetti. You can have a couple different types of sauces, either homemade or jarred. You could heat them in the crockpot. Then the pasta is just boil some water and cook. French Bread and you're done!

 

[scrapquitler]

You can do mashed potatoes in the crockpot.
http://whatscookingamerica.net/Vegetables/PotatoesMakeAheadMashed.htm

 

[2minnies]

You can do mashed potatoes in the crockpot.
http://whatscookingamerica.net/Vegetables/PotatoesMakeAheadMashed.htm

I make these every Thanksgiving -- they are awesome!

 

[DebMcDonald]

I'm doing two parties on Saturday, one from 5-7 for my 7 & 9 year old's and their friends and the next party at 7:30 for our 16 year old and her friends. I found that when I did pizza (easy) alot of it gets thrown away, so this year for the little lids I am doing mummies (hog dog crescent rolls) and mac and cheese and for the adults I will do two big pots of chili. At 10;00 p.m. for the people that have lingered and the older kids I will order pizza. It's all easy, simple and nothing I have to fuss over too much.

 

[skw444]

We're having a Halloween party on Saturday and we're doing Chili and hot dogs.

 

[beansmom]

we always did chili dogs and fritos, some thing sweet for dessert. I wouldn't try to cook too much that day, especially if you have to work, too. My experience with parties is that the less work intensive the food, the more fun everyone has.

A pot of chili would be good, too...

 

[luckey-lasvegas]

A hashbrown casserole is always quick and easy in the crockpot too!

http://southernfood.about.com/od/crockpotpotatorecipes/r/cpweekly12.htm

 

[Cooky]

.

 

[MSSANDRA]

Halloween says HOTDOGS. If you have a place outside build a bon fire and let everyone roast thier own. Pizza is also easy and no fuss and not to expensive.

 

[PebblesMom]

We do "mummy dogs" every year. They are just hot dogs wrapped in cresent rolls and baked in the oven and chili. Both are very easy!

 

[mward73]

We're having about 15 kids and 15 adults over Halloween night before trick or treating (not sure what possessed me to volunteer for that!). Anyway, we're doing make your own pizzas. I get the pitas in the bread aisle and have sauce and toppings available. Everyone makes what they want. They take about 7 mins to cook (and we fit 10 in the oven at a time). Best part is no waste - most kids split one and adults can easily eat one (they're about 6" across).

 

[grafxgirl]

We are having a party the weekend after. It's also a family friendly event. We are doing "fall comfort foods". My DH will be smoking a big piece of cow on the grill. We'll put some chili in a crock pot and let it cook all day on low. I'll make cornbread muffins the night before. I'll also pre-prep a cheesy potato casserole the night before then just toss it in the oven an hour before the party. Finally, I'll simmer some wassle in another crock pot. All our guests were asked to bring a dish, appetizer, or desert to share.

http://www.knitlist.com/96gift/gwassle.htm

Maybe some of these ideas will help?

 

[riley2008]

Thanks for ALL of the great ideas!!!

The mashed reheated mashed potatoes recipe is exactly what I was looking for! Perfect!

The mummy dogs sound like they would be great for the kids! Definitely has me thinking....

FWIW - we always seem to do the frozen lasagna, salads and bread for the adult parties and hot dogs for kiddo parties. (My boys' birthday was recently and we just did the hot dogs - yes, super easy and a big hit. Most of the same people will be coming for Halloween and I wanted to do something different.) The individual pizza sounds fun too - but it'll be too hot to have the oven on in the house with people in/out too. Might have to think about that one with a turkey theme. If it were cold (shoot even cool) here, I'd do chicken and dumplings or chili.

GReat ideas! Thanks!

 

[kirstenb1]

We're having about 30 people over. We're grilling burgers and dogs, chips and drinks. Guests are bringing side dishes or dessert. I used to do everything myself, but folks always bring something anyway, so this year I've decided to simplify.