feed 30 people good for not much $. What would you cook?

I sometimes get tasked with cooking for a meeting of about 30 people. I usually do spaghetti or chicken and pastry. I hate to keep doing the same thing, but my quantity recipies are very limited. Does anyone have any fantastic things to cook for a large group? I have a big gas grill at my disposal (pig cooker) and a single stove with 4 burners. Oh, and 2 crock pots. Please give any advice you can. Thanks in advance for the help.

I don't have any recipes for that many people, but just an idea....

You might should go to places such as hospitals, hotels that have restaurants in them, just places you can think of that have to cook for large amounts of people. See if you can't talk to the head chef... They might just be willing to help you out and offer you some good ideas. Or at the very least they might know of a good place to look for ideas.

potatoes are cheap and you could make a lot of different things with them....

Have a good supply of some type of dinner bun, and big pots of chili and/or stew.

A big pan of homemade mac and cheese, and buns, and salads.

You could also cook in the crock pots, some type of lean pork or beef, or whatever is shreddable, in a sauce and shred it with 2 forks when fully cooked, to serve up in buns, with some different salads. One good pulled meat sauce I like is: one regular can of root beer to 1 about 2 cups barbeque sauce. Another sauce that works is canned tomato soup, mix in some brown sugar and small amount vinegar (to taste). It makes a good sort of sweet and sour.

30 people is a lot of mouths to feed. Hard to make that inexpensive.

reply to post by snowspirit

I don't mean to be super cheap like less than 10 dollars, we usually spend around 100 bucks for this meal. I like the pulled pork sandwiches. We charge 6 bucks for the meal and use the profit to keep up the building. So I like to make sure people get their money's worth. Thanks for the feedback so far.

I have a great inexpensive recipe, and if everyone bought one thing with them, can actually feed 30 more, or everyone can have leftovers.

The 2 main ingredients is eggs, and potatoes. Its called a frittata. I have made these for large groups and have put anything and everything you can think of in them, and believe me you probably wont go for seconds as its very filling also.

Here's what you will need.
Potatoes
Eggs
Olive Oil
AND... whatever you like or have, whether its leftovers, meat, pasta, veggies, I mean anything.

Since its a large crowd, you can make 3 or more smaller ones with different ingredients.

Im going to give you the smaller version, and then you can make it any way you want.

Thinly slice potatoes, and lay them out to look like a sheet of paper, slightly over lapping the other in a lightly greased pan.

Beat eggs, and add anything that you have, you can make one just veggies, just meats, just cheese, or have people bring what they like and you can add that.

Mix eggs and whatever of the above, and pour over the potatoes, put in the oven, it will enlarge due to the eggs, when you put a knife through it, it should come out clean.

You can then flip it upside down and slice and serve.

I also make this for brunch and add eggs, ham, sausage, peppers, mushrooms, and cheese. When fully cooked, I add before removing, biscuits, until golden brown on top, flip, everything in one pan. slice and serve.

I hope this was helpful

Peace, NRE.

In my experience people are pleased after that sort of thing when they get at least one thing that's better then they usually eat. Like go to a local bakery and get some really good fresh bread to go along with whatever you decide. I don't know where you're at but, if you can get your hands on some good pierogi's -they rock. It's a chore but you could get some beer and a few helpers and roll your own too. That can be pretty rewarding in itself.

30 people means a few things to me:

Meal #1 = Chili and salad.

Meal #2 = Lasagna and salad.

Meal #3 = Tacos and beans

Meal #4 = Meatloaf, potatoes and green vegetable.

Meal #5 = Fried rice and chicken thighs.

a beg stew is the way to go just get abig pot

and get a mix of root veg eg potatoes / carrots /onions / leaks /turnip celery ect

get a cheap cut of beef / casarole pork lamb or chicken

ad some herbs a couple tinns of tomatoes some stock cubes or liquid

slow cook for 2-3 hours

season and enjoy

cheese enchiladas man! with some spanish rice! or is it mexican idk@!

How about make it a little easier on yourself and do a buffet?

Obviously, you wouldn't want to do it all the time as it would get a little repetitive but it would definately be something that could be knocked together for 30 people and it would also be relatively cheap.

You know, things like; chicken legs, bread sticks & dips, big bowls of mixed salad, cheese/pineapple sticks, quiche, a selection of sandwiches i.e. chicken, cucumber, beef & mustard, large bowls of mixed crisps, mini sauasage rolls, carrot/celery sticks, pies etc

I love a good buffet and I'm pretty sure most people do aswell, it's easier enough to contruct and advantageous in the sense that you won't run the risk of making a dish people won't like, there's something at a buffet for everyone.

If you really wanted you could make all the food yourself but that would be pretty time consuming, I'm sure I could organise a buffet over here for 30 people with £50 to spend buying it all premade from the super market.

Hope that helps.

Edit to add:

Just thought, the food I've outlined is usually found at a British buffet, not sure if your buffets are different in the states but adjust as appropriate

This will give you a good idea of how much food is required to make Chili for
100 people. just cut in 1/3 and you'll be golden. Chili is such a regional 'thing' feel free to adjust it to your own taste,
adding green peppers, pinches of red pepper flakes and other little secrets you
might have to create a wonderful Chili and have them begging for your recipe!
---
COWBOY CHILI


15 lbs. hamburger
3 c. chopped onion
1 1/2 gal. tomato puree (or paste)
1/2 c. chili powder
1/4 c. salt
3 gal. pinto or red beans
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. paprika
2 qts. water
Cook beef; drain. Add onion. Cook until done, but not brown. Add tomato paste, water, chili powder and salt. Add beans and simmer. Add paprika.
---
CAMP COOK'S CHILI

12 lbs. ground beef
5 1/2 oz. chili powder
3 tbsp. cumin
1 (#10) can ketchup
1 lb. onions, minced
1 tbsp. black pepper
2 (#10) cans tomato juice
4 to 5 (#10) cans beans or chili beans
--
Brown ground beef in large kettle; add onions. Cook until tender. Stir in remaining ingredients. Heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, to blend flavors and bring to a serving temperature. This large amount will take most of the day to cook. I use an electric roaster. We have used this recipe annually for years...

If you want something more of a formal sit down thing try this classic
Swedish Meatballs for a Crowd


30 lbs. hamburger
15 eggs
5 qt. warm milk
5 qt. dry breadcrumbs
1 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. allspice
1/2 c. salt
1/3 c. onion
2 tbsp. pepper
1/2 c. nutmeg

Mix all ingredients well. Use scoop #16 and brown on large 18 x 26 inch trays.
Lift into deeper pans and cover with very brown gravy.
Cover and bake 1 hour at 300 degrees. Serves 150 (2 each).


Gravy:
3 1/2 gal. broth or water
1/2 c. beef base
1 c. brown sauce
3/4 c. salt
2 tbsp. pepper
Thicken with Roux made from butter/flour.

At the last minute add sour-cream to the gravy stir out all the lumps then serve over flat noddles or biscuits...

please look here for a ton of ideas. Just hit the link at the bottom for free samples...www.abovetopsecret.com...

thanks to all who have contributed. I went ahead and made spaghetti this time. I was in my comfort zone. But I would love to venture out of the boring land of two options. I will definitely try some of that chili.

This is for a lodge function where the people eating pay $6.00 to eat. The whole idea is to make money and feed everyone enough so they feel good. The tricky part is you never know exactly how many will show up to eat. So I try to base everything on 20-25 people.

What would you serve with chili to complete the meal? (I know just chili is enough for me, but there are some picky ones in the bunch)

Originally posted by network dude



What would you serve with chili to complete the meal? (I know just chili is enough for me, but there are some picky ones in the bunch)

To go with i might do something simple like black eyed peas and corn bread, but remember fry up some hotdogs and folks can make, or not, all the chili dogs they want!

Chicken and yellow rice is one of our favorites for a lot of people. Rarely find anyone who doesn't like it.

reply to post by network dude


I would cook chili and frybread. Then, I would open the windows a crack for some much needed ventilation for what would surely follow.

Try chicken souvlaki- it's easy. Just soak your chicken pieces (boneless, cubed) in olive oil, lemon juice, a lot of fresh garlic and oregano. Make it more interesting by serving it kebab style. Serve it with rice or you can marinate some potatoes in the same marinade- it's verrrrry tastey.

Try to use a better olive oil though. The taste difference is worth it. You can use the canned whole potatoes too- just marinate them for a a couple hours; but I don't know if those are more or less expensive than just buying a bag or two of potatoes.

What would you serve with chili to complete the meal? (I know just chili is enough for me, but there are some picky ones in the bunch)

Hot dogs, absolutely, with all the fixin's...

Fries (and some cheese available, for chili cheese fries)

Nachos

Tacos