A friend of mine had heard we are having our family dinner for Thanksgiving at my house. She made the comment that she could never afford to feed so many people, although she has the space. I told her it was easy on the budget, if you plan ahead.
As soon as you decide to host an event, start putting your plan into action. If money is a real big issue, then instead of volunteering for a holiday where you are to provide a turkey or ham, (such as Thanksgiving or Christmas), pick something else, such as July 4 (hotdogs).
Buy a little each week. Pay attention to your store sales and coupons and work it to your advantage. For example, a month ago, our local grocery store had green beans on sale for 19 cents a can. I had some coupons and got a few for free. The limit was 6 cans per purchase. I usually make a green bean casserole, so I bought 6 cans, husband got 6, and each of the kids got 6. Total, 36 cans; more than enough for green bean casserole. I did the same thing a week later when they had frozen rolls on sale. I got 6 packages for the freezer. I bake our bread from scratch each week, so the week of the dinner, I will also make a few extra loaves.
My husband gets a free ham each year from work, and I have been saving up my reward points from the grocery store to purchase a turkey. Tea is inexpensive, so I also got a new box of tea, knowing I would probably be out by Thanksgiving. So, I already have the meat, drink, bread and two side dishes covered.
I am also providing the potatoes, so this week I picked up 2 large cans of yams (the huge gallon cans) that were on sale for $3.99 a can and a bag of marshmallows for the candied topping. The week of Thanksgiving I will pick up a bag of potatoes for mashed potatoes. I still had pie filling on hand in the pantry, so my pies are already made and in the freezer.
I asked each family attending to bring a covered side dish or a desert. Most of the women in our family have one dish they are "famous" for making, and they love to share. The day before, I will make up some tea and freeze it. That will be used in my drink cooler instead of ice cubes, so as it melts it won't water down everyones drink. I only offer tea and water, so that will cut down on expense.
I also stocked up, with coupons and sales, on TP and Kleenex. Always want to have plenty on hand when you have a crowd. After adding it up, my total will come out to under $75, to feed around 60 people. Not bad at all.
I am planning a wedding for my sister. I need to feed 100 people on a limited budget. I think we have at least 10 vegetarians. It doesn't need to be incredibly formal. I need at least one meal for meat eaters, a meal for vegetarians, a couple kinds of salad and some snacky food. The cake is taken care of. I want the food to be as tasty as possible but not too expensive. It can really add up fast when you are feeding this many people. For example, if I budget 10 dollars per person I am looking at 1000, which is too much.
Here is a lunch meal plan from "Big Wedding on a Small Budget" by Diane Warner.
Dolly Roll Sandwitches = .97 per guest (see recipe below)
The total comes to 5.13 per person or just over 500.00 for 100 people.
Dolly Roll Recipe
This recipe will server 100 people.
Ingredients:
1 twenty pound turkey
1 gallon jar of mayonnaise
5 pounds Chopped Celery
Salt and pepper to taste
Dolly Rolls (baseball sized rolls)
Directions:
Bake turkey unstuffed until done. Strip both light and dark meat off the bird and put it through a meat grinder. Mayo and celery can be added a day or two before the ceremony and stored in tight containers. You can serve these on the day of the wedding. Just cut rolls and use a small ice cream scoop to fill the little sandwitches. Its best to assemble to order and keep the turkey mix cold until they are ready to be eaten.
Notes: Most ingredients can be purchased in quantity at a warehouse store. Check your local baker for Dolly Rolls. They may be available at a warehouse store as well.
You can also find a breakfast and lunch plan in Diane's book.
If a hot meal is required, I'd do pasta-primavera with only vegies for those so inclined, and add chicken or turkey for the carnivores. A simple salad with prewashed, bagged mixed greens, and a few season vegies, rolls or bread. beverages, cake, whatelse is needed? Pre-dinner muchies could be nuts, wrapped candies-kisses strewn on tables are fun, pretzels, breadsticks and cheese chunks...
We did my daughters wedding of 250 people with the feature dish being chicken marsala. It is elegant, inexpensve, and surprisingly easy to prepare...it was a big hit! Other friends and church group members brought pre-planned pot dishes so there were plenty of veggies to go around.
I did my sons wedding for under $400.00 total food cost. (75 guests) I did two large turkeys sliced and plated, gravy, stuffing (baked seperately) cranberry compote, tossed green salad, cut veggies and dip, chips and salsa, green bean casserole, Sliced hero bread and cold cuts, crackers, sliced cheeses, pickles, olives, potato salad, cole slaw, punch, Sangria (with fruit slices) and a champaigne toast.
the only things that had to be served warm were the gravy and stuffing (Chaffing dishes)
my vegan guests had plenty to choose from. There are some wonderful sites that can help you with how much you need.
Your grocery deli counter can be very helpful. they will assist you in knowing how much total coldcuts and cheeses will be appropriate. Just tell them your buget, and your headcount. Best of luck.
If I can be of help, please Email: Doggypaddler@aol.com
I often use recipes from allrecipes.com. You can choose what types of food you want to cook with (chicken, veggie, ect) and this site allows you to scale the recipes to suit how many people you need to serve. This may be helpful if trying to cook for 100 or more!
Good Luck
I am on a mission here in Iraq. My job is to take care of service members in a very remote area. I can't give you my exact location, but what I am trying to do is bring this area into the 21st century and bring the Iraqi kitchen I deal with up to date on some basic American foods.
Every week we host about 20 people for a meal. I'm running out of wheat-free ideas. We have done baked potatoes, salad, beans, hot dogs, and burgers. I prepare the main dish and assign others to bring side dishes. Any really cheap ideas on what else to do? I'd like to not use the oven because it heats up the house and we are in the Houston area so it's still around 100 degrees pretty regularly here.
By Barbara L.
I'm having a large get together in a few months (and by large I mean it could be up to 200 or so people) and I need some help. I'm trying to save money by making the food myself and not hiring a cater. Any ideas? or would it be best if I just found a good cater?
By Katlin Y
Some recipes are easier to adapt tomcod for large groups than others. This is a page about easy food ideas for 70 people.
Preparing large quantities of food for a group event presents many challenges. The first is to know how much food to prepare, to avoid waste and hungry guests. This page asks about how much to buy when making chicken on a stick for a large crowd.
We have a special occasion, my husband is turning 65. Since I am now disabled and no one in the family has volunteered to help (but are coming) and everyone wants it to be a surprise, of course, what do I feed these family members and still make the birthday special on a low-cost budget?
My husband does not eat beans!I would go with 10 big bags of chips and dip stretched by adding extra sour cream or more diced tomatoes, bag of ice and homemade ice tea, coffee and bottled water... along with a very well decorated cake if you or others have time for anything more by all means tell them thank you :P
I'm cooking for my church's soup kitchen once a month and need a recipe for cheesy ham and potatoes for 60-70 people please. I don't want to have to convert a normal recipe that serves 4 people only.
Thanks.
I am having a wedding in the south for 100 people. I am on a budget and have no caterer. How do I feed 100 people for my wedding?
By Jessica T.
I am planning a graduation party for approx. 100 guests. What is the easiest and most inexpensive way to prepare the pulled chicken?
By Mindi
I have to feed a group of 15 for a weekend. Does anyone have any recipes for nutritious, inexpensive, easy to prepare meals?
By susan from WY
