Cooking large

[dortrust]

Help! Do any of you have frugal ideas to feed a large crowd?

Our family gathers every Sunday (and sometimes Saturday) in the summer mostly. We live on a lake and when it is hot where else would you want to be? I love having them but feeding them gets to be expensive. We usually grill but I am open to any suggestions.

Help!

[Moor]

first of all, they need to start bringing something with them.

tell them that you love having them, but need some help with the food. since they are family, they should understand.

then, look into buying meat in bulk. i don't know if you have a local butcher, but that would be the way to go. we get a half a cow and a half a pig each year. a lot of the time, we end up taking lots of the meat to family members when they have cookouts.

if not, then go to save a lot or aldi's and buy hamburger in the rolls. or get the bulk hotdogs.

if you don't want to serve that every weekend, then try doing a meatless cookout. (not really a cookout, but you get the idea)
just have finger foods. like chips, veggies/dip, deviled egggs, potatoe salad, macaroni salad, little smokies in sauce, things like that.

[leezza]

*Grill fresh vegi's, (in the midwest you should get lots of fresh produce).

*Make ahead pasta salad, (you can add all kinds of things, canned vegi's, fresh vegi's, meat, cheese).

*Hotdogs/hamburgers, (go to the thrift store for the buns and buy the meat on sale).

*Grilled pizza, (you could use the ready to use crust, grill it to warm and then add the toppings and cover to melt the cheese I think you could find a recipe at www.foodtv.com )

*Salad bar, (put together the salad fixins and let everyone help themselves).

****POT LUCK**** let your family/friends know that you need them to bring stuff when they come to enjoy your lake house.....

JMHO,
leezza

[suki]

POTLUCK

And, go with seasonal fruits and veggies.

All the above suggestions are great.

[chettasmom]

make a big pot of clam chowder! Have hot dogs..and ask that if people come to the lake to visit that they bring meat for their own families and a dish to pass..that's what we always did and there was more than enough food!.

[Kaos Kitty]

I agree with the other posters that asking for a little "potluck" help from the family can help cut down costs and become part of the tradition. I also have an inexpensive recipe for Jamacian chicken thighs!

They can be cooked on the grill, and they taste great hot or made ahead and served cold. (I actually like them best cold but both are yummy).

You can use boneless, skinless thighs for easy eating (I unroll each thigh to make it look bigger and add flavor when cooking -palm size). Or you can buy the thighs with the bone-in (they are a bit cheaper), and take off the skin (it's usually a single flap of fat, stick the ol' hand under and it tears off). I've tried this recipe with the skin on, but it doesn't seem to absorb the same flavor.

Served with other good things to eat, adults will probably have 3 boneless thighs or 2 with the bone in (they look bigger and take longer to eat).

Jamacian (inspired) BQ Chicken Thighs

Makes 12-16 thighs
It`s okay to double or triple the recipe.


Marinade:
1/3 cup finely minced green onion (including white parts) or all finely minced onion (any you've got)
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 Tablespoons liquid honey
1 Tablespoon grated ginger (I keep whole ginger in the freezer until I need it - it stays fresh for months. You can grate it frozen).
2 teaspoons grated garlic
2 jalapeno peppers seeded and finely minced (more if the adults like spicy, I often add a mix of several different types of hot peppers)
2 teaspoons ground allspice
1 teaspoon each, dried thyme, ground pepper and salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg and ground cinnamon

12- 16 chicken thighs. (2lb+ or 1 kg)

*Whisk all the ingredients together

* Place thighs in a large Ziploc bag and pour marinade over and seal

*Shake or rub through the bag to make sure each thigh is touched by marinade.

*Marinate in the fridge overnight, and turn bag a few times for even flavor distribution. The longer they marinate, the better they are!

* Preheat grill to medium. Discard the marinade. Make sure grill rack is oiled. Grill for about 15 minutes (boneless), longer for the bone-in until no longer pink, turning to prevent burning.

*Once almost cooked it is okay to allow the minced jalapenos and onion to char on the outside. This actually improves the flavor.

*Oven method: (boneless)cook the chicken for 10 minutes in 400 degree oven, then 5 minutes each side under the broiler until slightly blackened. For bone-in cook 20 minutes in the oven and 5 minutes each side under the broiler until no longer pink. (Adjust cooking times for your oven or BQ )

This is my favorite recipe. It goes well hot or cold with fruit salad, coconut rice, or potato salad. Hope you can get some thighs on sale and try it out!

[angelbumpkin]

I would ask for help. Everyone should contribute in some way. Whether it is food for the own family or at least a dish to share with everyone.

[hippytreehugger4ever]

BBQ pork or chicken sandwiches are cheap. So are deviled eggs, salad, and macaroni salad.

[DonnainME]

I agree, ask them to bring something. My Dh's family always has cook-outs. We all are supposed to bring things. If we (DH and I) don't have $ or Food Stamps, his parents usually bring something for us. We usually bring soda and chips. We can get a 2ltr soda for .77 at the local store (WM is 20 miles each way away) and usually Dorito's or Lay's for 2/$5.

[Ceashels]

I agree with the PotLuck theme. Everyone can bring a meat dish and a side dish, that way there are lots of things to sample and no one person gets stuck with the high cost dishes.

[shoiji]

Cold pasta salads with seasonal vegetables. Definately would have people bring things.

[frugalnana]

I was going to say each person brings a dish and if they want something cooked on the grill to bring it and you will cook it. I agree that would start getting exspensive.

[Quilting lady]

Oh my, I totally agree. Be honest, tell them to bring stuff. You should not foot the bill.
We have a lot of weekend gatherings at our place and it is 'potluck'. The fourth of July one is the only one we do entirely ourself, all others are definitley share, share, share.

[dortrust]

Thanks for the recipes. I get help to serve and clean up but it has been family tradition that Mom supplies the food. Recipes are great. Thank you to all

[Megareader]

Two words...Pot Luck.