Entertaining a Large Crowd
Adding my latest shopping figures to my budget, I was pleased to see that I had accomplished my goal. $50.00 to feed a gathering of 40 people had worked well. Although the meal was not the focus for the get-together, I wanted my guests gathering to work on a project to be well fed.
Knowing that my friends would be at an event the evening before and that I too would be gone the previous day from early morning until late at night, I needed to think carefully of what to serve. The tradition was for all to share in bringing some food, but not wanting my guests to spend much kitchen time before arriving at my house, I requested food that could be easily purchased or prepared.
Remembering that one family was not eating grains or pasta due to some health issues, a taco salad seemed to be a good choice for the entree. Guests were asked to bring some lettuce and shredded cheese in an amount that would feed their family. This left me with purchasing the rest of the items needed to make our taco salad interesting. I found chicken thighs on a great sale, so this became the meat for our salad. Knowing however, that some of my guests were not poultry fans, I also offered ground meat as a choice and prepared it ahead by cooking in my crockpot.
A super big bag of tortilla chips to be crushed in the salad or eaten as a side and several packages of tortillas added substance to our meal. Tomatoes, green onions, carrots, cucumbers, olives, and sour cream rounded out the menu. Oh, and of course I served salsa! Some chose to make their salad on top of a tortilla, others used the fixings to make soft tacos as a complement to their salad.
This turned out to be the perfect meal for a hot day! With temperatures of 102 degrees and a large group inside, I knew my air-conditioning would benefit from not having the oven on. I used my roaster to cook the 20 lbs. of chicken and my crockpot kept the spiced ground meat warm. By asking others to provide some of the lettuce, I didn't have to find room in my refrigerator for the extra greens.
Six gallons of lemonade (I used a mix but added some fresh lemons), 3 gallons of homemade ice tea, and about 5 gallons of water served in paper cups, kept us hydrated on this very hot day. Ice cream sandwiches became the dessert of choice and although they added a bit to the costs, they made an excellent end to our hot weather meal.
Although I did purchase paper cups and paper napkins, I saved some money by using plastic picnic plates purchased some time ago that are easily washed and re-used. I made sure over time to add to my collection and have saved a nice sum by not having to buy paper plates when I serve large crowds.
Taking into consideration the weather and my desire to add as little heat to the house as possible, the dietary restrictions that first brought this salad to mind, and the number of people being served, I was pleased with the amount spent to feed my dear friends.
How do you entertain a crowd?
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7 Responses to “Entertaining a Large Crowd”
August 25th, 2011 at 5:52 am
Your taco salad is a great idea. I love taco salads.
When we feed a lot of people, I almost always serve BBQ and beans. My husband will cook the meat on the pit outside. I cook beans in the crock pot. I also have potato salad, devil eggs, and slaw. I will serve banana pudding or home made ice cream for desert.
August 25th, 2011 at 8:04 am
A crowd for my family is usually 20 people, we did this several times this summer and went with subsandwiches, using long french rolls and slicing them.
I do serve up to 50 at church in the summer on Wed night and we do also do sandwiches, I managed salad, specialty breads, variety of deli cheese, variety of meat, and fresh fruit either cantaloupe or watermelon, chips, sandwich lettuce, onions, tomatoes, and cucumbers plus cookies for desert spending about $55. Between not being married to brands, and using coupons, and saving left overs than can be saved from one week to the next.
August 25th, 2011 at 5:26 pm
Now I really like things Frugal but I do not agree with you on this one. If these were real friends and you could not afford to feed them well, then you should not have invited them. Nothing worst that being invited and have the Cheap Skate Host put out skimpy or cheap quality food. If you put out good food, then they owe ya and you should score 50 invites for good food, Cheap Skate loses in this case. Then again maybe all your friends are cheapskates too??
August 25th, 2011 at 6:31 pm
frugaljoe:
You made me chuckle! I take no offense to being called a cheapskate, but must vouch for the honor of my friends. Some are quite frugal, but none are cheap.
Perhaps the word “entertain” was not the best choice. I could have been more accurate and said I was providing hospitality. This was not a celebration but families getting together to prepare for an event that would be forthcoming. The meal was a courtesy and not the real purpose of our getting together.
I do not agree however, that if one does not have adequate resources to provide a high cost meal, not to invite guests over. My memories of sweet fellowship are the same whether I was served baked potatoes or steak.
I also do not think of our family as cheap. We host large gatherings rather frequently and have even eaten a bit creatively ourselves during the week to be able to do so. We do that joyously and are grateful for the many people, frugal and otherwise,we call friends.
Our friends seemed totally satisfied with their visit and I have no doubt will come back to see us no matter what we are serving!
August 26th, 2011 at 9:47 am
Well I am glad to see I am in good company. If you chance to peek at my blog frugallivingjoe.com you will notice I consider the titles Cheapskate, Skinflint and Tightwad to be some of the highest honors bestowed upon a Frugal Person. Keep up the good work.
August 27th, 2011 at 12:18 pm
Frugaljoe,
Cheap or skimpy food? I *live* on taco salad in the summer! DL, you can invite our family over any time you’re serving it!
August 27th, 2011 at 5:49 pm
Likewise- taco salad is just about my favorite maindish salad. Nothing skimpy about it. Mmmmm.
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