Feeding a Crowd

Last night, just like every Monday night, I had twenty people over to our house for dinner.

Does that sound intimidating?  Yeah, it really can be.  You should see Steve and I as we face the day preparing for the crowd.  Generally one of us (that'd be me) kind of breaks down at one point in time, and Steve has to talk me off the ledge.

Case in point: Last night I had everything timed perfectly.  I was very proud of myself because I was going to have four pans of chicken, two pans of cheesy potatoes, and a fruit salad all ready perfectly in time for our first arrivals.  But I suddenly realized that I had turned off the oven accidentally and the food wasn't cooking!  And you know how it goes from there.  Next I pulled out the aluminum foil and the whole roll fell out of the box and unrolled across my kitchen floor.  And then I went out to the refrigerator in the garage (yay - new fridge!) and discovered that I couldn't quite open the door because someone (ahem) had pulled the car in too far.  I had a slight mental breakdown.  Steve was very kind and told me (ordered me, commanded me) to sit down and chill.  So I plopped on the couch, faced the fan directly at me, and spaced out for a few minutes.  That helped.

So my point is that I feed crowds.  It's not always easy, I admit, but it's totally worth it for the ministry and community that happens during those meals.

I do, though, have some tips for feeding large crowds to help make it slightly less stressful.

The Top Seven Tips for Feeding a Crowd:
1.  Feed College Students.
They are hungry; they are impressed with everything you make; and they don't notice the dirty corners of the house.

2.  Clean in Advance.
My best system is to pick up stuff around the house the day before and then do a little bit of deep cleaning the morning of the day I expect the guests.  I get the kids helping, too.  Basically, it's best not to try to do all the cleaning and cooking on that one day.  Talk about overwhelming!

3.  Simplify.
Put time and effort into one part of the meal, and then simplify the rest.  For example, if you make homemade lasagna, pair it with packaged salad and frozen garlic bread.  Or make a great pulled pork for sandwiches, but then serve it with chips and watermelon.

4.  The Rule of 1.5.
To figure out how much food to make, take the number of people you expect, plus a few to be safe, multiply that number by 1.5, and make that many servings of your dishes.  Oh, and feel free to use the number of servings listed on packaged items to help you figure out how much to buy.

So, when I make lasagna, I know that I will cut each pan into 12 pieces.  I expected 20-ish people.  I added a few to be safe (24).  I multiplied 24 by 1.5, which equals 36.  So I needed 36 servings of lasagna...3 pans.

Did I just lose you?  Sorry.

5.  The Buffet Principle.
You should know that people eat significantly less when the food is served buffet-style.  If the food is in front of them, they help themselves to seconds, thirds.  But if they have to get up to get more, they procrastinate, try to finish a conversation first, or just plain feel lazy, and then usually change their minds and don't bother.

My Rule of 1.5 applies to meals served buffet-style.  If you are serving a tabled meal to 20 year-old guys, you should probably multiply by 2 instead.  I'm just sayin'.

6.  Make A Complete Grocery List.
I'm going to get very specific here, because that's how I am.  On the top right side of a piece of paper, write down your menu.  That's something like: lasagna, salad, garlic bread, angel food cake w/ fruit and cool whip, soda.  Then, working your way through that list, write down every ingredient needed for each element of the meal.  Don't write "salad."  Write "lettuce, red pepper, carrots, 2 dressings, croutons."  Make sure you remember condiments.  And make sure you remember serving necessities, like "dinner plates, forks (enough for dessert, too), knives, napkins, cups, dessert plates."  And don't make the mistake I make every week:  Remember the ice!

7.  Aluminum Rocks
Use aluminum pans for easy clean-up.  Enough said.


So there you have it: my top seven tips for feeding a large crowd.  Now you can do it like a pro!


Oh, and here's the meal you should feed them:  (This is what I made our guests last night)

Salsa Chicken:  Frozen chicken tenderloins (not thawed), sprinkled on both sides with taco seasoning, topped with salsa. Baked 35 minutes at 375; top with cheddar cheese and bake until melted.

Cheesy Potatoes: (This is your more complicated dish.  Serves 12-16).  Saute one onion in butter until softened.  In a large bowl, stir together 2 lbs. frozen hash brown potatoes, onion with butter, one can condensed cream of chicken soup, one cup sour cream, and 2 cups cheddar cheese.  Pour into a large, shallow baking dish, bake at 375 for 1-1 1/2 hours.

Fruit Salad: Apples, grapes, etc., all chopped up and mixed with cool whip.  My trick: I stir in a couple chopped up Snickers for good measure.  We make a party game out of it.  (Who can guess the secret ingredient?)

Sodas: One 2-liter for every six people, plus water.

Angel Food Cake with Chocolate Mousse and Toffee Bits:  Storebought angel food cake.  "Super-cheat chocolate mousse" which is Hershey's syrup stirred into cool whip, and toffee bits (from the chocolate chip aisle) on top.