Feeding a house full of young adults-UPDATE:SUCCESS

[teachermom2834]

Well it feels like alot of people but it’s really just 8 of us. 
 

My family isn’t able to get together much but I’m about to have 4-5 days of my kids home plus a couple girlfriends. So it will be dh and myself and my 14 yo dd (who are the usual occupants of my home) plus my 24, 22, 19 yo sons and 22 and 18 yo girlfriends. So it will be fun but kind of crazy with people all over and way more to feed than we are used to. I am trying to figure out what I want to do for meals and I go back and forth between wanting to do homemade feasts and wanting to not fuss over cooking and just buy food. (We probably are only looking at two or three actual full dinners at home because we’ll have other plans and be out and about doing stuff).

If you had to feed a hungry bunch of young adult kids what would you choose? Show your love with homemade meals (I am Italian by the way, lol) or bring in food? What would be your go to meals either way for feeding that number trying to balance pleasing the crowd with not making yourself crazy working so hard you can’t enjoy yourself? 
 

I haven’t had my kids all together since Christmas and even though the girlfriends have been in the picture for two and three years we haven’t ever all been together. So trying to make it fun and not fuss too much over food. But I do want good eats (the Italian in me 😊)

Edited August 1, 2022 by teachermom2834

[regentrude]

I would always cook, because the dining options in my town suck and the vegans in the bunch could not find anything to eat, and anything I can make at home is way tastier than what I can purchase.
When I have to feed a crowd (30-50), I grill brats and make a bunch of salads. For only 8, it would be super easy.
Other quick and easy choices for the summer:  I precook a bunch of different grains and legumes, prep veggies, hummus, and a peanut sauce, and we do grain bowls that everybody can assemble to taste. Pasta with fresh tomatoes and mozzarella. Baked gnocchi with veggies (can be made in large quantities with almost no prep time, if it isn't too hot to run the oven) 
 

Edited July 16, 2022 by regentrude

[Grace Hopper]

Assign out a couple of nights to them! My big kids love cooking together with their friends. 
 

 

[Amethyst]

I would make meals. Cheaper and healthier. And I would invite them to become involved with the cooking. Talk while picking basil and someone else grates the parmesan and someone else peels the garlic (can you tell I just made pesto?). Cooking together is a great bonding experience and it gives the people who aren’t your own something to do. So, invite them to join in the experience! Not a demand, but a fun activity to do together! 😊 

[HomeAgain]

Do a mix!  Cook some, but make some meals as easy as possible.

 

[Kassia]

We always do a taco bar when all the kids are home and they love that.  Usually some kind of pasta meal/casserole, sometimes a big pot of chili with cornbread and salad...I'll have to think about this.  We have all the kids and girlfriends for an extended period of time usually for the holidays.  It's wonderful having them all together and too expensive to eat out much.  When we do order in, we just have them order from a menu from a local place that has pizza, calzones, subs, burgers..  Oh, I'll make a turkey and a ham and they can have sandwiches or you can just bring in lunch meat if you want.  

Have fun and enjoy every minute!  It's such a special time. ❤️ 

[Bambam]

I'd do a taco bar one night. Easy - everyone can find something to eat regardless of their dietary restrictions. 

I'd probably do breakfast as supper one night. A bunch of scrambled eggs, breakfast casserole, biscuits, sausage, gravy, ? 

And I'd probably do a lasagna or pasta dish one night. Lots of garlic bread and a large bagged salad. This is harder if anyone is GF though. 

And I might bite the bullet and order pizzas one night. Just because it's fun and leftover make good breakfast food. 

If it weren't so hot, I'd do a soup night too. 

[HS Mom in NC]

My adult children and their spouses have dinner with us (me, husband, teen) for a total of 7 people every 7-10ish days, alternating between houses, so I do this all the time. Sometimes I cook and sometimes I purchase.

I'd  make and freeze big batches Italian meatballs and homemade marinara sauce (I do this regularly) and serve it with a huge green salad and crusty bread one night. (I only serve 1 carb, so either pasta or crusty bread, and I can buy very tasty crusty bread already made at my local grocery store.)

I'd take a break the next night and have precooked spiral ham, some sliced salami, varieties of crackers, varieties of cheeses, olives, and easy fruits like grapes and/or a pineapple (I have a corer/slicer) for charcuterie type foods I can just buy already prepared.

Then the last night I'd probably have grilled hot dogs or burgers.

[Jaybee]

When we are all together (more than your 8), we usually but not always have one meal out at a restaurant. For other meals, I try to have meals that don't require lots of extra sides to make them work. Chicken shawarma with salad/rice(maybe)/and naan. Spaghetti with meat sauce or lasagna, salad, and garlic bread. Chicken and dumplings with salad or raw veggies/dip. Lentil curry with rice and salad. Soup or chili with cornbread (or Fritos, cheese, and sour cream).

[Laurel-in-CA]

We do family dinner once a week with 7-8 people. Here are some ideas that work for us:

Chef's salad with garlic bread

Pizza kits with toppings - I can make from scratch but usually try to find a kit that doesn't have allergens

Nachos - top your own and microwave - does create a bit of a traffic jam, but you can also do on a cookie sheet in the oven, then top at the table

Spinach casserole with rice pilaf

Carnitas burritos (boneless pork ribs in the instantpot and shred)

Spaghetti, sauce with sliced sausages in it, salad on the side

And we usually have fruit for dessert

[teachermom2834]

Thanks for all the great ideas! It’s funny that this seems like alot because I did used to feed this many people regularly but now that it is just the three of us I really don’t cook full meals much and this just seems like so many people. The kids definitely are happy to pitch in and I don’t even need to worry that someone will go hungry because they probably would be happy enough to have an excuse to run out for late night 4th meal or milkshakes or whatever. I want to take care of them but it is nice that they are adults with their own cars and money as well! 
 

 

[Kassia]

34 minutes ago, teachermom2834 said:

Thanks for all the great ideas! It’s funny that this seems like alot because I did used to feed this many people regularly but now that it is just the three of us I really don’t cook full meals much and this just seems like so many people. 
 

 

I go through this too before my kids come home but I get really stressed about it.  I'm so used to just shopping/cooking for me and DH now or maybe dd when she's home from college.  My sons are big eaters and it just feels like so much food all the time.  Yet, I used to always shop/cook for them and it was just natural then.  

 

[teachermom2834]

1 minute ago, Kassia said:

I go through this too before my kids come home but I get really stressed about it.  I'm so used to just shopping/cooking for me and DH now or maybe dd when she's home from college.  My sons are big eaters and it just feels like so much food all the time.  Yet, I used to always shop/cook for them and it was just natural then.  

 

I’m trying not to get stressed because I know my kids don’t want that. They all came in for an afternoon to watch football last fall and didn’t tell me they were coming and took care of all the food themselves so that I didn’t worry about it. So I know they don’t want stressed mom. And I really want the girlfriends to be comfortable. They’ve both been in the picture a long time and I want them to be comfortable here - not stressed by they nutty future MIL! 
 

So this is me stressing about appearing all chill and not stressed 😂

[Jaybee]

An idea for the future, as everybody gets older and starts their families: Due to being quite scattered, it is hard for us to all get together. We recently booked a large vrbo in the mountains for several days. Then we signed up for meals, as well as brought food for snacks and lunches, which we all pitched together. So breakfasts and dinners were what we signed up for. We had planned to eat out the last night, but had too many leftovers, and just stayed in. It was great! We had a good variety (when people signed up, they put down what they were preparing), and others also helped when it was needed to help put the meal together. Then nobody was slaving in the kitchen the whole time or footing the bill for everybody else. It might be harder to make that happen if everybody stays at your home, but it was great in a neutral place. One family even signed up to pack lunches for everybody to take with them for their drives back home, which they did, and put in the fridge overnight. 

[HS Mom in NC]

56 minutes ago, Jaybee said:

An idea for the future, as everybody gets older and starts their families: Due to being quite scattered, it is hard for us to all get together. We recently booked a large vrbo in the mountains for several days. Then we signed up for meals, as well as brought food for snacks and lunches, which we all pitched together. So breakfasts and dinners were what we signed up for. We had planned to eat out the last night, but had too many leftovers, and just stayed in. It was great! We had a good variety (when people signed up, they put down what they were preparing), and others also helped when it was needed to help put the meal together. Then nobody was slaving in the kitchen the whole time or footing the bill for everybody else. It might be harder to make that happen if everybody stays at your home, but it was great in a neutral place. One family even signed up to pack lunches for everybody to take with them for their drives back home, which they did, and put in the fridge overnight. 

We do that group camping.  Each unit provides one meal for everyone, usually dinner, but sometimes there are enough units to cover lunches too.  That helps everyone cut down on meal planning, prepping, and cooking.

[TheReader]

Oh, I know this! LOL - we feed a gang of kids every other week for D&D. So, our usual is to do things in the crock pot, thus easy, homemade, feeds a crowd, etc. (we have a larger than normal one; we have a 6 Qt one, but also a bigger one). 

Things we do in there that are hits:
---BBQ chicken (toss in whatever cut of chicken, boneless, and bbq sauce, and let it go; serve as sandwiches on whichever bun you prefer, add coleslaw, pickles, cheese, etc. on the side if you want); fruit/chips as side dishes as well
---chicken & dumplings - we have a recipe that uses cream of mushroom, cream of celery, and can biscuits for the dumplings; we actually found a recipe for homemade cream of celery/cream of mushroom and we just dump all those ingredients in with the ingredients for the chx/dumplings, let it go, and it's delicious
---pulled pork in the crockpot - a pork butt/pork shoulder/whatever fits, rub w/brown sugar, salt, and whichever spices, let it cook, serve as sandwiches, or over mashed potatoes, or w/baked potatoes on the side and whatever salad/coleslaw
---mock Zuppa Tuscana -- you can do it stovetop or in the crockpot; cook the sausage first if you crockpot it, serve with crusty yummy bread
---chicken tacos -- crockpot regular chicken, black beans, corn, cilantro, lime, spices, shred the chicken up, serve on soft tortillas, top w/whichever cheese everyone prefers, YUM
---gnocchi w/assorted veggies - I have a recipe for sheet pan gnocchi where you roast it and the veggies all together, 2 pans of that would work, if cooking in your oven isn't too hot where you live
---if you are Italian, then whatever yummy pasta, etc., is your go-to stuff that's also not too labor intensive (fresh fruit, yummy storebought bread, salads, etc. are good sides to fill out a meal w/o being any kind of labor intensive anything, and then you just make whatever yummy dinner you normally make)
 

Hope that helps some! 

[saraha]

We just had a houseful of teens last night while we and the parents went out.   The kids made their own dinners as there are several different food needs. I set out tortillas, refried beans, canned chicken, canned black beans, taco seasoning and sauce, shredded cheese, cream cheese, lettuce, tomato and sour cream, pico de gallo and tortilla chips.

Three kids made chicken burritos with the chicken, seasoning and cream cheese. The lactose intolerant kid made a bean and pico de gallo burrito, the vegetarian made quesadillas and the one who couldn’t eat tortillas and another kid made nachos. They said it worked out really well and they had fun all working in the kitchen together. They requested we do it again next time.

Edited July 17, 2022 by saraha

[freesia]

15 hours ago, teachermom2834 said:

I’m trying not to get stressed because I know my kids don’t want that. They all came in for an afternoon to watch football last fall and didn’t tell me they were coming and took care of all the food themselves so that I didn’t worry about it. So I know they don’t want stressed mom. And I really want the girlfriends to be comfortable. They’ve both been in the picture a long time and I want them to be comfortable here - not stressed by they nutty future MIL! 
 

So this is me stressing about appearing all chill and not stressed 😂

This is so relatable 😂. It will be me in 5 years. It will be fine ( tell me that in 5 years!)

[Scarlett]

When I have company I usually plan to cook about half the time and know we will eat out some ( well, take out since Covid). I also buy a myriad of breakfast foods……stuff to cook breakfast like bacon, sausage, eggs, stuff for gravy etc. But I also make sure we have bagels, cream cheese, yogurt, fruit, granola….just in case we have a day where we want to just grab and eat.  
I also  are sure I have chip and dip, and lunch meat and cheese and bread and such.

Almost always we end up with a bunch of leftover food.

[ScoutTN]

Mexican
Italian/pasta
Spiral sliced ham 
Pulled pork/chx BBQ (at home or takeout)
Fried chx (takeout)

Have fun with your big kids and their gfs! 
 

Edited July 17, 2022 by ScoutTN

[ScoutTN]

Costco or Sam’s for snacky things in bigger sizes.

[lmrich]

I like to freeze stuff ahead of time  or prepare it and leave it in the fridge so I am not in kitchen cooking or cleaning. 

Big hits -

Baked Ziti, salad, garlic bread

Sheet pan fajitas - sliced chicken breast, sliced peppers, onions - coat with fajita seasoning and some oil and roast (I prep all the slicing ahead of time) serve with toritillas, salsa, beans, and rice

Sausage and roasted vegetable - so simple - zucchini, squash, mushrooms, onions... whatever other veggie you like  - chopped in bigger chunks, slice the sausage in  pretty big chunks, too, season all with whatever you like - Italian is my go to.. roast and enjoy 

Breakfast sandwiches (these freeze well) - scrambled/fried egg, Canadian bacon, slice of cheese on an English muffin. I wrap them in foil and put them on warm in my crockpot so folks can grab them when they get up. I do this with sausage and egg biscuits too. Serve with fresh fruit 

BBQ, baked potatoes, fried apples, green beans, salad 

make your own pizza 

 

 

[teachermom2834]

UPDATE: we survived and I would call it a success! 
 

I got a thank you text from a girlfriend last night. She said she had a blast and I was a fantastic host and she didn’t know how I could be so relaxed with so many people in my house because she would be freaking out. Lol. So mission accomplished on that. 
 

What I ended up doing for the two main meals we had everyone here was a taco bar and a pasta dish. For the taco bar I had two meats, every conceivable topping, rice and beans, multiple shell varieties and chips. For the pasta dinner I had just the one pasta dish I was pretty sure everyone liked and was easy along with bread and a big antipasto. My thinking with both the excessive options on the taco bar and antipasto was that anyone could find a good variety of anything they liked and leave aside anything they didn’t, and it was all easy to assemble and could be saved easily and pulled out for leftovers. 
 

I definitely know I am always going to overdo it because I have serious anxiety I will run out of food or not have something for everyone amd I like to put out a really nice spread. But I fret about waste and expense too. So these meals were planned carefully so that the extras would be easily used as leftovers.  Some went in the freezer for us to use at a later time and some was pulled out for lunches and late night snacks and one girlfriend liked taco leftovers for breakfasts. 
 

For lunches I had ordered a couple trays from Publix- a cold cut tray and a chicken tender tray- and some bread and rolls. These were easy to pull out self serve and people could help themselves and all the fixings and condiments we had on hand worked well for people to make their own Pub subs or salads. While it would be cheaper to order it all separately something about having it all out arranged on a tray makes it more welcoming for guests to pull out and pick at themselves. I find the prepared trays from Publix can fill a middle ground between the expense of ordering/going out to eat and doing it all from scratch and the convenience is worth it. 
 

It was a great time. They kept me up way too late playing silly games but I’m not going to lie- I’m totally fine to have my quiet house back today. They all seem ready to plan the next one and the one ds who we thought was single informed us that he is no longer unattached and there will be one more next time. But I definitely had enough food for another 😊

Thanks for all the support! 

[alisoncooks]

Aw, that’s a great update! It’s wonderful that everyone had such a great time. I’d probably have to sleep a week after all that bustle and business, though!

[Kassia]

Wow, you did a fantastic job!  I'm so glad it went well!  That sounds exhausting but well worth it.  

 

[Catwoman]

Yay! I’m so glad everything went so well!!!

[Kassia]

I'm thinking @teachermom2834should start a business party planning/hosting young adult gatherings.  I could certainly use her!  🙂 

[teachermom2834]

1 hour ago, Kassia said:

I'm thinking @teachermom2834should start a business party planning/hosting young adult gatherings.  I could certainly use her!  🙂 

It’s funny but I know you understand. They are our own kids who lived in our homes and we actually did feed and house them for many years as a matter of course. Then all of a sudden they leave for a couple years and come home (granted with a couple extras) and it is all “how the heck can I manage these people for four days???” LOL. 
 

 

[Kassia]

15 minutes ago, teachermom2834 said:

It’s funny but I know you understand. They are our own kids who lived in our homes and we actually did feed and house them for many years as a matter of course. Then all of a sudden they leave for a couple years and come home (granted with a couple extras) and it is all “how the heck can I manage these people for four days???” LOL. 
 

 

Yes, that's exactly it!  My kids and their SOs come home for an extended period of time during the holiday season and figuring out meals and shopping gets me so stressed.  I'm good for a short visit (they were just home for three days) but the long visits really get to me and I wish I were more relaxed about it.  

[teachermom2834]

18 minutes ago, Kassia said:

Yes, that's exactly it!  My kids and their SOs come home for an extended period of time during the holiday season and figuring out meals and shopping gets me so stressed.  I'm good for a short visit (they were just home for three days) but the long visits really get to me and I wish I were more relaxed about it.  

I don’t know that I could keep up the relaxed thing for an extended visit. Maybe because they do just take care of themselves and don’t rely on me for everything. One day we had an extended family event during the day that included a late lunch. I didn’t have anything planned for dinner and they just said “hey we are ordering pizza, what do you guys want?”. Dh, dd, and I had to go to an event out of town yesterday which is when everyone was packing up and leaving. They were fine getting themselves off and I came home to a pretty clean house. So maybe I will be more relaxed next time? 
 

I’m not sure. Girlfriend of second ds invited all of us to join her family for Thanksgiving out of state (including all of us staying in her sister’s house. Lol) So I have to think about that. It was really nice of her and her family to invite us all but I surely will get my own Air BnB. But she can house all the young adults if she wants! 

[Jaybee]

I love having everybody together! However, I make sure I take lots of little breaks in my bedroom, whether at home or at a vrbo. I need those to help me cope. It's been a long time since I had that much noise and activity around me all the time; maybe never, because back then I didn't have the spouses and grandkids. So I take breaks as needed to read, check on the forum, or nap. And as the family grows--well, that's why we instigated the sign-up list for meals. A few years ago, I made most of the meals while a couple of them were provided by some of the kids. This year, everybody (adults) participated to some extent in the meal provision, and made it much more manageable. I mean, I don't insist on the matriarchal role involving being meal manager, for sure! I was also thankful that the meal tasks sort of morphed naturally, without me having to complain or refuse to cook, lol.

[Jaybee]

Speaking of meals, I'm trying this tonight: https://www.oldelpaso.com/recipes/easy-oven-baked-spicy-chicken-tacos I'm doing it the easy way with mixes tonight, but it would be easy to adapt to homemade sauce mix, beef instead of chicken, vegetarian, etc. I've seen it with regular shells. Not sure how it would be if you can't get shells easily (overseas). Anyway, I think it might be a good thing to try next time we have a big group together--just make 2-3 pans. 

[teachermom2834]

1 minute ago, Jaybee said:

I love having everybody together! However, I make sure I take lots of little breaks in my bedroom, whether at home or at a vrbo. I need those to help me cope. It's been a long time since I had that much noise and activity around me all the time; maybe never, because back then I didn't have the spouses and grandkids. So I take breaks as needed to read, check on the forum, or nap. And as the family grows--well, that's why we instigated the sign-up list for meals. A few years ago, I made most of the meals while a couple of them were provided by some of the kids. This year, everybody (adults) participated to some extent in the meal provision, and made it much more manageable. I mean, I don't insist on the matriarchal role involving being meal manager, for sure! I was also thankful that the meal tasks sort of morphed naturally, without me having to complain or refuse to cook, lol.

This was our first time for this kind of gathering and it was really nice to see that they did help a lot without being asked. My oldest isn’t interested in cooking or comfortable with the preparations much but he was quick to jump up and do the bulk of clean up while I sat and visited. The girlfriends are very outgoing and quick to just jump in and speak up if they need something so that takes the pressure off me feeling like I need to anticipate every need. They’ll just ask. Which is awesome (of course we all know that adults should do this but not everyone will- I’m glad these girls made themselves at home. So much easier for me). I also didn’t hesitate to say when I was getting tired and wanted to sit out a game or go to bed or whatever. So I think a good precedent was set all around. So that is good. And like you said, it came about naturally, which is nice.

I do like providing some home cooked meals for the crew. That’s part of what I like to do as the mom. But I don’t need to do it at every meal. And I don’t need to do it without help 🙂