TheAttachedMama Posted February 1, 2019 Share Posted February 1, 2019 Hi Everyone, Our children are getting baptized on Sunday, and we have invited our family over for lunch to help us celebrate. I am thinking of doing a taco bar because I figure that will be a low-stress way to feed everyone lunch. Of course, it is always busy and stressful getting our family ready and out the door for church on Sunday, so I am trying to prep as much as I can on Saturday. We will probably leave for church at 9 AM and walk back in our home around noon. Our family will be following us in the door, so there won't be a lot of prep time. We will have 28 people over (13 of those people will be teens/kids). Today I am getting my shopping list and "game plan" together....and I could use your wisdom and advice to pull this off. :) :) So if you have a few minutes to spare this morning, help a mama out, please! :) The menu will be: 6lbs of ground beef 3.5lb pork butt that I will make into carnitas using my instapot Charro beans Cilatro Lime Rice 50 hard tacos 25 soft tacos Taco Toppings: Shredded iceberg lettuce Cilantro Diced white onion Diced tomatoes Diced jalapeños Lime wedges LOTs of Mexican Blend Shredded Cheese Queso Fresco Appetizers for people to snack on while they wait Chips Pioneer Woman Restaurant Salsa Chipotle Copycat Verde Salsa Corn Salsa Guac (Going to take a shortcut and use Wholly Guacamole) Deserts: I am going to make a double batch of rice crispy treats just because my kids requested that. Questions:Will 6lbs of Ground Beef be enough? We actually have a whole grass-fed cow sitting in our deep freezer, so we are in no shortage of good ground beef. (I only have a small pork butt that I estimate is 3.5 to 4lbs…so that is limited.) Re-heating: Meat--My game plan will be to cook the ground beef and carnitas on Saturday. If I put the cooked ground beef in my crock pot on Sunday morning, do you think it will have enough time to reheat? Will it get dried out? Any advice on temperature and what time I should start the crockpot? (I have two 7qt Hamilton Beach Slow cookers to work with and 1 8qt Instant Pot.) With the carnita meat, I *could* also reheat it in a crock pot, or I could spread it on a baking sheet and broil it so it gets those little crispy bits on it. Which would be better do you think? How would you reheat the beans and rice? Microwave? All of the salsas and toppings will be pre-prepped on Saturday and in serving bowls with saran wrap over the top. So I will just have to pull them out. Also, how many bags of tortilla chips would you buy if you were me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bootsie Posted February 1, 2019 Share Posted February 1, 2019 When you say 13 will be teen/kids, I think how much food you need really depends on that group. An athletic 18-year old male is likely to eat much more than a 4-year old; and I have had kids that are going through a growth spurt each a large amount one day and not so much the next. I would probably make more ground meat in that I am always panicked I will run out of food when I have company; taco meat freezes well, so I always make a lot extra of something that freezes well. I would put the taco meat in the crock pot Sunday morning, on "high" when I first got up to help bring the refrigerator chill of of it. Then, I would turn it down to "low" before leaving for church. How do you make your taco meat? I if you use tomatoes or anything to make a wetter taco meat, it shouldn't dry out in the crock pot. I would microwave the rice to reheat, while I warmed the beans on the stove. I would probably do more taco shells/tortillas than you have listed. They are inexpensive and will keep if they aren't used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted February 1, 2019 Share Posted February 1, 2019 2 minutes ago, Bootsie said: When you say 13 will be teen/kids, I think how much food you need really depends on that group. An athletic 18-year old male is likely to eat much more than a 4-year old; and I have had kids that are going through a growth spurt each a large amount one day and not so much the next. I would probably make more ground meat in that I am always panicked I will run out of food when I have company; taco meat freezes well, so I always make a lot extra of something that freezes well. I would put the taco meat in the crock pot Sunday morning, on "high" when I first got up to help bring the refrigerator chill of of it. Then, I would turn it down to "low" before leaving for church. How do you make your taco meat? I if you use tomatoes or anything to make a wetter taco meat, it shouldn't dry out in the crock pot. I would microwave the rice to reheat, while I warmed the beans on the stove. I would probably do more taco shells/tortillas than you have listed. They are inexpensive and will keep if they aren't used. Pretty much exactly what I had started to write! More shells and tortillas for sure. My son starts with 4...... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAttachedMama Posted February 1, 2019 Author Share Posted February 1, 2019 Great advice everyone! How many hard & soft shells would you get for 28 people? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted February 1, 2019 Share Posted February 1, 2019 5 minutes ago, TheAttachedMama said: How many hard & soft shells would you get for 28 people? By "hard shells," you mean those crispy, shaped things like you get at Taco Bell? and "soft" is flour tortillas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted February 1, 2019 Share Posted February 1, 2019 First I think your numbers for the initial set up are about right in terms of shells and tortillas. That is what I would set out in my initial set up. I wouldn’t want to have a lot of open taco shells left over because we really only use them for tacos. I think I would buy closer to 100 assuming your family likes tacos with taco shells and would be happy to eat this meal several times. Mine would! My kids didn’t put much in the shells when they were younger but liked the shells a whole lot. My 18yo DS still stuffs as many shells as he can...starts with 4 and finishes all taco meal left overs in any extra shells. I would suspect that 13 kids might use several each but could be wrong, you just never know. I would add the shells to the buffet as the kids go through them because they do not store well after opening. How large are your tortillas? I would buy a couple of large packs of smaller ones ( I think they are about 6 inches across) for extras. I use them as bases for lunch pizzas quite often and they also work as hot dog type buns. Other words easy to use up if you have leftovers tortillas for things beyond Mexican food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted February 1, 2019 Share Posted February 1, 2019 Another possible option: Heat the rice and beans in the crock pots, and meat in the microwave. I think the beans, at least, might do better with 3 hours of heating than the meat would (I'd be worried about it drying out). Can you make the rice in the instapot right then and there if all the ingredients are prepped? Not sure how long it takes, but if it's less than 15 minutes, I'd do it fresh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted February 1, 2019 Share Posted February 1, 2019 I would get more soft flour tortillas (they last forever and freeze ok!) and I would up the ground beef by a couple of pounds. The ground beef will also freeze well if you have too much. Also, either crema mexicana or sour cream as a topping for the tacos. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
school17777 Posted February 1, 2019 Share Posted February 1, 2019 (edited) I think you need more ground beef. I would double it and you can freeze the leftovers. Edited February 2, 2019 by school17777 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bootsie Posted February 1, 2019 Share Posted February 1, 2019 Tortillas can vary greatly in size. I would get smaller ones for this. I would have at least 4 shells/tortillas on hand for each person, probably more because they are inexpensive (at least where I live). I would get a large number of small, soft corn tortillas; those have seemed to become more popular as a healthier option than fried corn or soft flour tortillas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pippen Posted February 2, 2019 Share Posted February 2, 2019 I think if you add extra liquid to the taco meat you'll be fine. I also would start it on high in the morning while I was there, then turn it to low while I was gone. Do you have a neighbor or friend who could pop in and check on the meat for you? Give it a stir and adjust temps if needed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoundAbout Posted February 2, 2019 Share Posted February 2, 2019 I would have a bit more meat and definitely more taco shells and tortillas - I've seen tween kids blow through 6-8 shells each at taco parties I've hosted. A lot depends on the crowd. When my husband was an active duty infantry Marine I would plan to triple the amount for a normal party, but my 70 year-old mother-in-law always has way too much food leftover when she hosts a party with her elderly friends. Since rice and beans are cheap I always make sure I have a ton of that on hand to fill people up. I never want anyone to leave hungry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted February 2, 2019 Share Posted February 2, 2019 Congrats on the baptisms! Yay! IMO, I'd skip the pork and maybe add more beef an d/or beans. My theory is that most people who eat pork will also eat beef. But other people wouldn't eat either one, so just simplify to begin with. This makes sense in my head LOL but I am not sure I'm being clear. From a food calculator: https://calculate-this.com/taco-bar-party-calculator This calculator uses the following information to determine how much is needed: Although the standard is 3 tacos per person, folks tend to be a bit generous when filling their own tacos so caterers calculate 2 tacos per person for taco bars. One pound (16 ounces) of 80/20 raw ground beef, pan browned and drained, will equal 12 ounces of cooked ground beef. The average serving of protein per guest is 4 ounces. The "conservative" amount of ground beef in a typical taco is 2.5 ounces, but because of the other taco fillings we estimate 2 ounces of beef for the average taco. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WendyLady Posted February 2, 2019 Share Posted February 2, 2019 What a fun menu!! I'd go with what you have for taco shells and add in a couple bags of tortilla chips - I prefer making Nachos to eating a taco. I'd add more ground beef - I think you will be fine with the crockpot - it shouldn't dry out. Add sour cream. Cut in some fresh avocado to your premade guac. You have lots of great toppings, so this is just extra, but we love the tomatillo dressing from Cafe Rio - it would go great with your cilantro lime rice and shredded pork. Yum! I need a taco! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsRobinson Posted February 2, 2019 Share Posted February 2, 2019 23 minutes ago, WendyLady said: You have lots of great toppings, so this is just extra, but we love the tomatillo dressing from Cafe Rio - it would go great with your cilantro lime rice and shredded pork. Yum! I need a taco! I could just drink that tomatillo dressing!!!!! So so so good!!! ... Okay... changing my dinner menu for this week! 😂 Op, I'd probably do more ground beef (should be fine in the crock pot), get as many varieties of tortilla chips as you can (white corn, yellow corn, blue corn, scoops) and definitely sour cream. Daisy makes a squeeze bottle which is so nice for taco bars. Much less gross than the flecks of shredded cheese in the sour cream tub! 😬 I'd also reheat the rice in the microwave, but beans tend to explode in the microwave so I'd do that on the stove. I'd plan on 4 tacos per person. But my extended family are big eaters and I'm paranoid about people leaving hungry. I'd probably also make a tres leches cake for the adults for the same "big eaters" reason. Have fun with your kids and family! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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