FloridaLisa Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 Once a semester, a friend and I cook for two scholarship houses that our kids are in at the university. It's an hour and 1/2 drive, so we usually cook most of it at home and transfer in coolers. We like to make something homemade that they don't usually get. It's a co-op scholarship house where the boys rotate cooking for each other. We like it to be nice but not to break the bank. In the past we've done: *Mexican buffet with crock-pot pork tortillas, toppings, salad, chips, salsa, desserts, iced teas. *Chicken tetrazzini, sides, garlic bread, desserts, tea. *Chicken and broccoli casserole, sides, garlic bread, dessserts, tea. They will often do a ham and frozen lasagna so we haven't done that. Have any great suggestions? For main dishes and desserts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitestavern Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 Trays of sausage, peppers, and onions (I cut the sausages in half) and rolls if they want to make sandwiches. We did this for a family reunion (there was a lot of other food too) but the sausage and peppers were wiped out first. I did a tray of spicy and a tray of regular. Easy peasy too since you just toss with some oil and seasonings and throw in the oven. You could also add potatoes if you didn't want to deal with rolls. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmasc Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 I'd do a large batch of spaghetti and meatballs. I make my meatballs in the crock pot (with the sauce) and it makes a huge batch. I'm sure doubling it would be easy and feed many hungry boys! Make as many boxes of spaghetti as you need. Serve with garlic bread and salad or steamed broccoli. I use the Ragu recipe titled 'Mama's Best Ever Spaghetti and Meatballs'. I make my meatballs smaller than the recipe calls for, and I use a giant Ragu sauce (not the little jar). I put it in the crock and let it simmer all day. Yum! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artichoke Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 Is it too hot for chili? We'll do a meat chili and a vegetarian chili with cornbread and sometimes rice. We'll have a toppings bar on the side. Dessert is often sliced apples with caramel sauce. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 First of all, how nice of you! I bet they love those meals. My neighbor is a caterer and she makes baked chicken (she does thighs and legs) and Puerto Rican black beans and yellow rice as her most inexpensive meal for larger events. On the side she has chips and homemade salsa but storebought would be ok as well. She cooks in her house, not an industrial kitchen, so it is manageable to do in a home. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyofsixreboot Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 Look up Amish Haystack dinner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in NH Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 baked potatoes with chili and toppings 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 I second spaghetti, but I'm way too lazy to make that many meatballs - the ground beef and/or pork sausage gets pre cooked and tossed in. Chicken and sausage jambalaya is another great crowd pleaser, and goes with almost anything. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 Sloppy joes are always a hit when we cook for the Ronald McDonald house. Breakfast and a baked potato bar seem popular too. Since you cook regularly for these boys, maybe survey and find out what their favorite home cooked meals are and see if you could adapt them for the group. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnTheBrink Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 Meatball subs. Get large bags of Italian meat balls at Sam's or Costco and cook in a crock pot with spaghetti sauce. Serve sub sandwich rolls, shredded mozzarella cheese for a topping. Have chips, dip, baby carrots and celery. Texas sheet cake or cookies and ice cream for dessert. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lara in Colo Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 bbq pork sandwiches and chips? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junie Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 Another vote for spaghetti and meatballs. I was actually just thinking about (maybe) doing something like this with some college students that I know. Maybe. My idea is a pasta bar with several kinds of sauces -- marinara, meat, alfredo 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in NH Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 I know when I was a poor college student I made myself a lot of pasta because it was cheap, easy, and quick. If someone else was kind enough to bring me prepared food I wouldn't complain if it was pasta, but I wouldn't rejoice either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debbi in Texas Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 Sausage Jambayla ground beef smoked sausage rice green peppers green onions beef broth cayenne pepper 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaLisa Posted September 12, 2015 Author Share Posted September 12, 2015 Well, we started school and life picked up speed so I'm just now getting back to this thread. Thank you for all the great suggestions! Keep em coming if you have a favorite low-cost crowd meal. Is it too hot for chili?We'll do a meat chili and a vegetarian chili with cornbread and sometimes rice. We'll have a toppings bar on the side. Dessert is often sliced apples with caramel sauce. It is for fall semester, but chili and baked potatoes might work great for next semester. I'll tuck that idea away. Look up Amish Haystack dinner. I will . . . thanks! Sloppy joes are always a hit when we cook for the Ronald McDonald house. Breakfast and a baked potato bar seem popular too.Since you cook regularly for these boys, maybe survey and find out what their favorite home cooked meals are and see if you could adapt them for the group. Love sloppy joes. I need to find out if they make these for dinner but this is a great meal, especially with comfort food sides. I second spaghetti, but I'm way too lazy to make that many meatballs - the ground beef and/or pork sausage gets pre cooked and tossed in. Chicken and sausage jambalaya is another great crowd pleaser, and goes with almost anything. Sausage Jambayla ground beef smoked sausage rice green peppers green onions beef broth cayenne pepper I really like the idea of jambalaya. I always think of it as expensive, but that's only when seafood is added. Plus, every time I've made it, it makes a ton. Yes, yes, this might work really well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted September 12, 2015 Share Posted September 12, 2015 Meatballs are great, and if you bake them instead of sauteeing them they are also very easy. I'd be inclined to make a meatball dish that could be served over rice--maybe Swedish or porcupine meatballs. I imagine that they eat spaghetti a lot already. Yakitori is easy if you buy boneless, skinless chicken meat, and it's really good and quite unusual. I don't know what kind of sausages you have available, but once I cooked a German dinner for 40 that was super easy. It was Pinkelwurst (which we had to order. You could use Bockwurst or Bratwurst instead.), steamed whole little red potatoes, and this half-cooked chredded cabbage dish with pickling spices that was wrapped in foil and baked in the oven--not to the point of being limp like most cooked cabbage, but sort of the consistency of stir fry. We bought big bottles of brown German mustard to serve with the wurst and the potatoes. The deal was you had to post the menu in advance, and this all sounded horrible to people, so only about 25 showed up, but they were pleasantly surprised at how good this was, and it was also quite easy and not very expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuNaturel Posted September 12, 2015 Share Posted September 12, 2015 Slavic food like potatoe perogies, sausage, and cabbage rolls served with fresh bread would feed and stuff a crowd for little money. Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audrey Posted September 12, 2015 Share Posted September 12, 2015 Pulled pork sandwiches (use inexpensive shoulder and do it in the crockpot) One or two of: potato salad, coleslaw, macaroni salad, layered salad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocassie Posted September 12, 2015 Share Posted September 12, 2015 Pulled pork, baked potato bar, salad bar, sloppy joes, chili, chicken pot pies, shepherd's pie, fried chicken (or oven baked fried chicken), stew, taco bar, fajitas, and meatballs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nevergiveup Posted September 12, 2015 Share Posted September 12, 2015 Ham & navy bean soup. Cornbread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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