Family reunions and covered-dish dinners require enough food to feed a crowd. The problem becomes how to feed a crowd on a budget while still preparing food everyone will enjoy. The tips might make that task much easier to accomplish.
Determine how much money you have budgeted for the event and stick to that amount. Plan to spend about $5.00 per person and multiply that number by how many you expect. If there are going to be 25 or more people, that could get rather expensive—$125. Most people wouldn’t be able to afford that for a meal.
If you’ll be doing most of the cooking, plan a menu. Preparing a menu will help you purchase items at the lowest amount possible and ensure you have everything you need. Having a planned menu also enables you to take advantage of sale prices on certain items to use or preserve ahead of time, which can reduce the overall cost of food.
Rather than having one family responsible for all of the food, it would be helpful to have each family prepare one or two dishes. Someone may want to keep a list to ensure there is a good variety of food. Having everyone chip in also means no one family must bear the brunt of the cost.
This will also ensure that Auntie—we all have one—can rest assured that no one else will make her famous macaroni and cheese, which she makes each year.
Whenever possible, use store-brand items rather than name-brand foods. Store brands are often considerably less than the better-known brands. In most cases, the people at your event won’t recognize the difference.
Choose a meal that is inexpensive. For instance, spaghetti is one meal that won’t break the family budget. Two and ½ pounds of noodles will cost approximately $3.00; tomato sauce will be about $4.00; garlic bread may be around $4.00, and meat will probably run about $7.00. Considering the total price – less than $20.00 – you could feasibly provide an entrée for 25 people.
Casseroles are also good for feeding a crowd. You can whip up a large (pan of lasagna for about $40.00, and it can feed up to 30 people. Serve a simple salad and another vegetable side dish to round out the meal.
These ideas might be helpful when you have to feed a crowd on a budget. You may be able to come up with other ideas by talking with others who will attend your event, but these can get your thoughts started. Remember to stick to your budget and ask others to provide some of the food so you don’t have to pay for everything all by yourself.
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