making a budget meal for 25 people

[pannm]

My family is helping out with a local organization that houses up to 25 people. We are making them a meal and need ideas. It will be served out of a large kitchen and prepared in that same kitchen where they all are staying.

I know that they have A LOT of people who come in and do Chili, breakfast for dinner and spaghetti. I think that those meals are GREAT, but also getting a little 'over done' there. So, other than Chili, breakfasts and spaghetti...what meals would be great to do on a low budget and that are filling and yummy?

I know that I could do a tater tot hotdish- or almost any hotdish for that matter...And, that may be what I need to do. I was just seeing if any of you creative, budget minded people had any other ideas to share.

 

[scrapquitler]

My family is helping out with a local organization that houses up to 25 people. We are making them a meal and need ideas. It will be served out of a large kitchen and prepared in that same kitchen where they all are staying.

I know that they have A LOT of people who come in and do Chili, breakfast for dinner and spaghetti. I think that those meals are GREAT, but also getting a little 'over done' there. So, other than Chili, breakfasts and spaghetti...what meals would be great to do on a low budget and that are filling and yummy?

I know that I could do a tater tot hotdish- or almost any hotdish for that matter...And, that may be what I need to do. I was just seeing if any of you creative, budget minded people had any other ideas to share.

Soup or stew (beef stew, chicken noodle soup, vegetable soup), salad and bread

BBQ pulled pork on hard rolls, coleslaw, baked beans

Turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans (you still might be able to get turkeys at a low price between now and Christmas)

Baked Ham (usually on sale this time of year), macaroni and cheese or scalloped potatoes, green beans


for any of the above, you can make cake or cupcakes for desert. Add some jello or a jello salad if you wish.

 

[MSSANDRA]

I like the turkey dinner idea.

One thing we have done is to buy the big pork loins if you can find them on sale or at Sams and have them sliced and do roasted pork.

We also did roasted potato. We took large potato and cubed them into one inch pieces. Tossed them in a little olive oil and added garlic, salt and paper and baked about an hour. YUMMY

We also did fried/cooked apples- canned from Sams
Green beans
rolls

Maybe a warm comfort type dessert like warm fruit cobbler and ice cream

 

[2disneyboys]

Chicken (or Turkey) Chow Mein
Meatballs & Gravy (Or as my MIL calls it, Hambugers & Gravy) served w/ rice and veggies on the side
if you can find it on sale, pork roast or beef roast is a easy meal to make for large groups... just put several roasts together in pan(s), season & roast and then also roast or othwise prepare veggies for sides & serve w/ hot rolls
Last week we had a soup & sandwich buffet for about 35 people... crock pot of chicken noodle soup, crock pot of tomato soup (or you could do different soup/stews like PP suggested) and then a pile of sliced up grilled cheese sandwiches (some just cheese & some w/ ham or other meat added). dessert was cookies (made earlier in the day while the soup was cooking in the crockpot. but you could also do store bought)

 

[LJSquishy]

It is nice of you to try and think of something that is different rather than just whatever the easiest thing is.

What about a taco bar? You could do crunchy & soft tacos with seasoned ground beef, Mexican rice, beans, lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, guacamole, sour cream, etc.

I also like the turkey dinner idea although it would be more labor intensive because of cooking the turkeys. Or, some sort of main dish with a baked potato as a side dish would be very budget friendly.

 

[chimilady]

Taco bar sounds yummy. For 25 people I wouldn't imagine you would need more than 2 turkeys.

 

[jeepgirl30]

Taco bar sounds yummy. For 25 people I wouldn't imagine you would need more than 2 turkeys.

I was going to suggest a taco bar or a hot dog bar.

 

[pannm]

ALL great ideas! I was reminded by pp that I have a huge amount pork loin in the freezer... we stocked up when it was 1.59/lb. We bought 3 large ones and had one cut into chops and two of them cut into 3 pieces, so they are still large. We bought them about 2-3 weeks ago and put them directly into the freezer. My husband does a great smoked pork loin, so we always stock up on them when they are on sale. It would be fun to do it for the group, but it won't work to smoke anything then- or to bring his smoker with.
Pork loins are great and it could go SO MANY ways!

-shredded pork taco bar with all of the toppings...I like that idea
-roast pork dinner with potatoes and a veggie and home made buns- I make buns from scratch and they are very good- plus they'd be cheaper than buying them.
-I also love the idea of doing a slow cooker pork loin, seasoning it with BBQ and shredding it to put on buns and as pp said, we could do a cole slaw and beans!

Thank you all so much, you got my head spinning with fun ideas!

So how many lbs. of pork loin to cook, so we don't have a TON of leftovers and so we don't run out. I suppose we'd use about 1/2 the amount if we did tacos...right? And if we made roast pork loin? I just get nervous about running out!

We are working on ideas for a 'Christmas treats plate' for each family to bring back to their rooms with them (there's 8-10 rooms/families total)...a mixture of some decorated sugar cookies, pretzles and almond bark, and a few pieces of peppermint bark.

OR, since it's a large group...should we have plates and treats available for them to make their own treat plate- so if they don't like something it doesn't go to waste???

Lots to think about! Thanks for ALL of your input and help!

 

[tinkmom2]

Arroz con Pollo or chicken and rice is something that can be made for a large group. You can buy bulk chicken thighs very inexpensively. This could be made in batches. Normally when I make it, there is plenty of left overs. Rice is a great budget extender. Here is my blog: http://tinkmomfoodie-foodobsession.blogspot.com/search?q=arroz+con+pollo

 

[lovehoney]

Baked potato bar - for toppings you can make bbq pulled pork and broccoli cheese as well as the usual toppings.

Hamburgers and baked frozen french fries.

Lasagna, salad and bread sticks is always super easy.

 

[TaraPA]

I did pulled pork for 125 people - along with other main dishes - and it worked out very well. I don't know the size of your loins (OMG where's the tag fairy??!?!!!) but I used the smaller ones - about 4-5 lbs. each, and I slow cooked them. I had to use several crock pots to do them all at the same time! I think I did about 5-6 - you wouldn't need that much. It took a LONG time to pull that many apart, and boy did my wrist hurt after that!

I also love the baked potato bar idea. While I've never made them together, I see nothing wrong with pulled pork sandwiches & a baked potato bar.

 

[pixiewings71]

Just a thought, you can freeze the uneaten meat and reheat it later for another meal if you're worried about having too much.

We make something called Fiesta, I have no idea where it came from but we had it at my Aunt's once and we were hooked. lol It's really good, easy and can be very inexpensive for a large meal. You put Fritos on a plate (crushed but still sort of chunky, the Fritos can be skipped), cover that with white rice, cover that with chili, then add the same kind of toppings you would use for tacos, lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, onions (I like cucumbers), sour cream, guacamole, hot sauce, then you just eat it up. lol It looks gross on the plate but OMG it tastes good...in fact, I may do this for dinner tonight! LOL

 

[anelson81993]

As far as your treat plate question goes, I suggest making a "treat plate bar" and letting each family make up their own treat plate. That way, you don't have to worry about likes/dislikes/food going to waste, or any other issues (like allergies). Seems like less stress for you that way.

 

[Nicolepa]

It is nice of you to try and think of something that is different rather than just whatever the easiest thing is.

What about a taco bar? You could do crunchy & soft tacos with seasoned ground beef, Mexican rice, beans, lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, guacamole, sour cream, etc.

We used to feed tent city nice a month. 80 people. We would do soft tortillias, ground beef, shredded chicken, beans, lettuce, cheese. We did brownies for dessert, you can cook 2 boxes on a cookie sheet cot into 40/sheet.

 

[Minnie's Pal]

Chicken stew is always a good one...not too expensive to make either. (I make mine with diced potatoes & carrots in it too.) Taco soup is a big hit in my family too. You can use chkn or beef in it...yummy!

 

[amyngary]

I recently fed 15 people with a walking taco bar - that's a "walking taco" bar not a "walking taco bar" - the people walk, not the bar....

Anyway, you buy those small bags of doritos and/or fritos and have them add all the usual taco toppings into the bag.... hand them a fork and they can eat and walk and there's no mess to clean up. Everyone loved it when we did it, and one of them even used the idea a few weeks later for a post-funeral service dinner.

 

[dsanner106]

My wife and I have done this several times and had luck with pasta based dishes like chicken alfredo etc. you can buy the sauce premade or make it yourself and make large batches. relatively inexpensive, easy and a fan favorite.

Drew