Need Meal Ideas

[collins0616]

Space is really not an issue I dont think. And I have thought ahead about extra pans/etc. There are 2 coffee pots, microwaves, etc in the house we are using. We are doing paper plates/plastic ware. There is only 1 crockpot, but we are bringing extra of those.
There are 7 families going total so each "family" will have one day to worry about cooking/clean up. Just one day wont be too much I figure, so everyone should be ok.

You are much braver than I am.

I am assuming you are renting a condo or house while on vacation?? Things to consider:

Do you have enough kitchen capacity to easily cook for 40 people? If you are going to make pasta for 40, you need quite a few large pots for boiling water for example. If you are staying in a rental, just having the proper number of pans/oven space, utensils, etc might not be a reasonable expectation, so you'll have to plan for that ahead of time. When we rented a condo, we had one cookie sheet, one 9X13 pan, two saucepans and one larger size pan, plus about 6 of each utensil (fork, spoon, knife) and dishes for 6. With 40 people eating in that sort of kitchen, you are going to need to supply paper plates and plastic utensils, I think (you can't get that much in the dishwasher, and who is going to want to wash all those dishes even if you bring them from home?)


buffet style continental breakfast (muffins, fruit, coffee, cereal, milk, juice) will definitely be the way to go. You can probably go with a little more on some days (frozen waffles, sausage, for example) but that will take a while to cook even that for so many people.

For dinners, I think the PP had some really good ideas, esp. the crockpot ideas, but you're going to need multiple crockpots and it's going to take a fair amount of planning and coordination. You'll also probably want options for any picky eaters in the group (and with that many people, there will be at least a few).

I do think you'll either want to take turns doing all that cooking/shopping/clean up or at least have a few nights where you get take out of some sort, because nobody is going to want to spend their entire vacation cooking for 40 people for every meal.

Honestly, I'd probably go with the breakfasts, let each family group figure out and make their own lunches to go and bring their own snacks. Then I'd pick just A COUPLE of days to cook a communal dinner for everyone, and those nights would likelly be cookout of burger/hotdogs, pizza and maybe ONE of those crockpot meals. For the other nights, go out or have each family group figure it out themselves.

 

[collins0616]

No need for bulk stores as I am a couponer, so that will help cut costs alot there. I will be checking out the store sales flyers in the area we are staying when they come out the week before. Just trying to get ideas flowing of what I can make with what I find on sale

I just dont want them to have to eat cereal every morning. We will be taking sack lunches to the parks with us each day. I am hoping to get by with mostly crock pot type meals so its ready when we get home.

It is a group of kids and moms for chaperones, so at least Im not feeding 40 adults, Thank goodness! We will have about 1/2 & 1/2 kids/adults.

That's quite a group there.

Does anyone have a Sam's Club or Costco or a local store similar to the two that they are members of? Bulk buying could become lots cheaper.

Breakfast
Cereals, fruits, toast with jelly, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, applesauce

Bag lunches are a good idea.

Dinner:
Spaghetti, rotisserie chicken, order pizza, burgers, hot dogs, chicken nuggets/strips, taco soup and frito pie isn't bad either.

Popcorn is a good snack. My grandma used to always pack crackers, cheese that's in the can, and peanut butter for a snack.

 

[collins0616]

They range from 9-11 years old. Luckily our girls arent really picky. I have 2 that are on a special diet, and their moms are going to take care of theirs. They have celiacs & dairy allergies.

What age are these girls? I have a 14 3/4 and a 9 1/2 yo! Let me tell you they only eat: Cheese Pizza, Macaroni and Cheese, Spaghetti (no bumps please!), Lasagna, Make your own Sub Sandwiches, Baked Potato Bar, Chicken strips and Tator Tots, BBQ Beef Sandwiches and Salad, Taco, Nachos or Burrito Bar (can also be taco salads), and tonights dinner: Candy Chicken and Rice.

Candy Chicken:
In Crockpot place 6-8 Chicken breasts or thighs cutup, 1 C Brown Sugar, 1/2 C Vinegar (I use rice vinegar), 2T Soy Sauce, 3 Cloves of minced Garlic, 1/4 C 7Up or Sprite!!! Cook all day on low or 4-5 hours on high! Can be doubled, tripled etc!! Serve over white rice! Everyone loves this!!

At Girl Scout Camp they will eat oatmeal made in the crockpot every day with brown sugar on top and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches! At home forget it!!

I second the Girl or Boy Scout camp cooking ideas!

Good Luck ... you are one brave lady!!

 

[collins0616]

Thankfully each family will have their own bathroom, so at least shower duty will be a little easier!

A daily visit to Sams or Costco might save the day. They have lots of family size casseroles and other frozen foods that you could just throw in the oven. It sounds like you need a full time cook to take care of those duties.

Even worse, can you imagine getting all those girls through the showers in the mornings?

Sheila

 

[collins0616]

Oh, we have girl scouts, so they will be making their own lunches.
We have the choice of either assigning one family per day to be in charge, or just work together. The group of moms that will be there are a great group and we all work well together. If I give each mom a task during the meal it will only take us a few mins of prep.

I don't think you can deal with accomodating picky eaters with alternate hot meals in this situation, if for no other reason than the kitchen is going to be full with the actual meal. Have bread, peanut butter and jelly available for make-your-own sandwiches. The girls won't go hungry!

But please please please take a few minutes to contemplate how much time this will take. It sounds like you are thinking "make sack lunches and throw stuff in crock pot and everyone goes to the park for the day." Just making 40 sack lunches and loading them into the vehicle is going to be seriously time consuming. You need a good plan and a detailed menu.

One idea would be that one adult stays behind each day. That person's job is to prepare the meals for that day and buy any groceries needed for the next day.

 

[cluvsdisney]

No need for bulk stores as I am a couponer, so that will help cut costs alot there. I will be checking out the store sales flyers in the area we are staying when they come out the week before. Just trying to get ideas flowing of what I can make with what I find on sale

I just dont want them to have to eat cereal every morning. We will be taking sack lunches to the parks with us each day. I am hoping to get by with mostly crock pot type meals so its ready when we get home.
It is a group of kids and moms for chaperones, so at least Im not feeding 40 adults, Thank goodness! We will have about 1/2 & 1/2 kids/adults.

French toast casserole is easy and delicious.

There are lots of recipes online for things like this:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/scrambled-egg-muffins/
which would be great for breakfast on the go. You can precook the meat and chop the onions, etc in advance.

Silver dollar pancakes can be made in advance and frozen.

 

[collins0616]

Thank you for all the great ideas so far. We will have lots of crockpots so I can cook frozen veggies etc too. I love the "taco bar" idea. BBQ sandwiches one night will be great. I am also thinking of doing a couple of roasts one night. I was also thinking spagetti one night and chicken alfredo one night. I think those will go along way and will be inexpensive with salad. I think hot dogs one night on the grill would be good, quick & easy. Crock pot chicken would be good too. Maybe a couple of roasted chickens too?

Maybe for breakfast cereal a couple days, muffins/yogurt parfaits one day, and maybe something like biscuits and gravy one day??

 

[collins0616]

Very nice. Didnt even think of the egg muffins. Do you have a great recipe for french toast casserole?

French toast casserole is easy and delicious.

There are lots of recipes online for things like this:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/scrambled-egg-muffins/
which would be great for breakfast on the go. You can precook the meat and chop the onions, etc in advance.

Silver dollar pancakes can be made in advance and frozen.

 

[Nanu57v]

You know you can cook a whole chicken in the crockpot, right? That'd be easy. Just takes time to get the meat off.

 

[java]

Best french toast casserole imho

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/...casserole-with-maple-syrup-recipe2/index.html

Is everyone going to carry their own lunch around? Or are you going to bring in one cooler and store it? If they are carrying it around I would be careful to do things that could survive in the heat- like hummus and crackers *we're bringing those. Costco sells a huge box of the individual cups = easy to pack. Maybe even bringing some carrots to dip too.

Have fun!

 

[cluvsdisney]

This is the french toast recipe I use:

grease a baking pan (I use an alluminum lasagne type pan) and line with sliced challah (or french) bread (my slices are about 1 1/2 inches thick and I cut each slice into a serving size)

mix together 6 eggs, 3/4 cream, 3/4 cup of - milk and 2 teaspoons of vanilla.

pour liquid mixture over bread and let it set in fridge over night. (I make sure all the bread gets access to the mixture)


The next day melt 1 1/3 cups of brown sugar, 3/4 cups of butter and 3 tablespoons of corn syrup in small sauce pan.

Pour this over the top of the bread that's been soaking over night.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.