Christianity Oasis Member Forum & Chat Room

Any ideas what to feed a huge group. Right now there are 16 we are feeding on Friday night and 3 more are joining.

We serve dinner for a bible study every week. Looking for ideas that are not a huge expense yet yummy.

We have had chili dogs, tacos, spaghetti, chili, and soup. We have also had a few more costly meals like chicken strips and french fries and even a turkey dinner last fall. We've had BBQ chicken on the grill and pulled bbq chicken subs as well as an italian chicken sub.

The bread (buns) for such a crowd can be $10-15 alone.

With the group just growing and growing I'm considering meals that can be spread out and not as costly yet I like to spoil these young folks with home cooking.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thank you and God bless.

Ok try this...a BLT Salad

1 lb of elbow noodles and cook them
1 package of bacon cooked and broken in pieces
1/2 head of lettuce
1 large or 2 medium tomatoes
mix up with mayo or miracle whip

You can put shredded cheese on the top if you like

Serve it with a couple of loaves of french bread.

And some type of pudding for dessert.

Hope this helps.

luv ya

mmmmmmmmmm yummy....ima try that :D

pulled pork!
I get a big fresh picnic leg on sale, put it in a big pot of water with a bottle of barbeque sauce (will get them on sale) and let it cook all day at simmer after it boils...
then take out of pot, pull apart with two forks, put back in pot with some of water and two more bottles of barbeque sauce and cook longer... adding more cooking water if needed but not too much to make soupy.(keep the water if you can because it soaks in if you wait until next day)
let them put on rolls themselves and done

Oh, at one picnic, a girl used hot dog roll instead of hamberger and it actually worked better. Didn't fall apart as she ate it.
Can get hot dog or hamber buns on sale and put in freezer until need.

I think what you are doing for these young people is great!

I can only think of a couple recipes to suggest, but I am not sure just how cost effective they would be.

*Taco Soup....a million recipes out there...some simpler than others. Garnish wiht tortilla chips and shredded cheese.
*Carrot and Corriander Soup....literally...carrots, potatoes, onions, stock, and dried corriander....amazing blended soup!! (I don't have the exact quantities here, but can get them for you if you want)
*Macaroni Casserole: brown beef and toss in a can of Cream of Mushroom soup, prepare a box of Kraft Mac and Cheese as directed...toss in a pan together and serve OR layer in a casserole dish, top with cheese and place in oven.
*Crock Pot Pizza:
1-12 oz package of pasta
1.5 lbs of ground beef
1/4 C chopped onion
1- 28 oz jar of spaghetti sauce
1- 4.5 oz jar sliced mushrooms, drained
1.5 tsp Italian seasoning
1-3.5 oz package sliced pepperoni, halved
2 C shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook and drain noodles. Cook hamburger and onion and drain. Stir in sauce, mushrooms, seasoning and pepperoni. Add noodles and cheese. Place in greased crock pot. Cook on low until heated and cheese melted. (says can take 1 hr....mine NEVER did)


Not knowing the exact set up of what you do, I don't know if this would work...when the weather warms and you can grill outside maybe ask a couple of them to bring buns, chips, etc while you and Cubby provide and cook the meat...or even, we did the reverse of that in Australia once...we each brought our favourite meat and the hosts provided the grill to cook it on and all the sides, drinks, etc. I know you enjoy doing homecooked meals for them, but maybe some night have everyone chip in and order out...pizza or chinese. I have been on both ends of events like this...I never minded contributing...in fact, it made me feel better, as if I was finally able to give something back...and I have also been in the position of emptying the wallet trying to feed everyone.

Great Ideas! I hope you keep them coming.

Thanks!