I am one of four parents in charge of feeding our church's youth group this coming Sunday. I need to comfortably feed about 40 or more teenagers and advisors. Last year when it was my turn we did a taco bar, but they just did that last week. Any ideas for what to feed a large group of hungry teens?? Pizza is done often so I would like to do something different. Someone at church suggested Sloppy Joe's. That would be fine I guess (however my daughter is a vegetarian so I would have to provide something different for her, not a big deal just a thought) So, I am looking for ideas. They have a kitchen that we are welcome to use. Help me :-)

By Cat on Wednesday, September 17, 2008 - 08:03 am:

Sloppy Joes are easy because you can just throw it all in a crock pot. Chili is easy that way, too. A couple big lasagnas would feed a big crowd, but they tend to be kind of expensive. If you could get a few crock pots together you could do a soup and salad bar. Good luck. I don't envy you. Forty teenagers sounds kind of overwhelming to me.

By Pandamamaoo4 on Wednesday, September 17, 2008 - 08:56 am:

How about spaghetti and garlic bread.

By Tklinreston on Wednesday, September 17, 2008 - 10:37 am:

I agree spaghetti, garlic bread and maybe a salad would be great. You can make two kids sauces.. one with meat and one w/o. You could also cooked noodles and a different type of pasta for some variety. Nearly everyone loves it and it's easy to prepare. Good luck!

By Tsa on Wednesday, September 17, 2008 - 12:43 pm:

Hot Turkey sandwiches go over really well around here. And you can make them ahead of time. Serve with a pasta salad for your DD and chips, fruit and your done.

Baked ziti one with meat one without would be good too.

good luck

By Annie2 on Wednesday, September 17, 2008 - 01:20 pm:

I was thinking ziti, too. Much easier to serve then spaghetti. I wouldn't even do a meat sauce. No one will care if they don't have meat in their sauce for an event like this, especially the kids.
Garlic bread and salad are a plus, too.

Theresa, hot turkey sandwiches... Are they open-faced with gravy?

By Breann on Wednesday, September 17, 2008 - 02:49 pm:

When hosting birthday parties and such, we usually serve either navajo taco's or taco soup.

Taco Soup

1 pound ground beef
1 onion (optional)
2 cans stewed tomatoes (I cut these into smaller pieces)
1 can corn (drained)
1 can pinto beans (drained)
1 packet taco seasoning mix
bag of white tortilla chips
sour cream

Brown ground beef and chopped onion together. Add stewed tomatoes with juice, corn, pinto beans and taco seasoning mix. Simmer for 10 minutes.
We serve this by putting the mixture into individual bowls and using the tortilla chips as the "spoon". Sort of like a chips and dip (scoop) method.




Navajo Taco's

Rhodes frozen roll dough (we usually use the texas size rolls)
Oil for frying
Cans of Nalley Chili (could do some with meat and some without)
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Olives
Cheese
Sour Cream
Ranch Dressing
Etc. Etc.

Defrost rolls. Stretch out into a flat piece and put in heated oil. Fry on both sides. You can use a big pan for this and fry lots of them at the same time.
Top with Chili, and then add whatever other toppings you would like.
We usually do quite a bit of lettuce because we like to make a giant salad on top of the chili.

By Reds9298 on Wednesday, September 17, 2008 - 10:18 pm:

Ditto Cat!

By My2girlygirls on Friday, September 19, 2008 - 06:23 am:

Thank you so much ladies! We have decided to do the spaghetti, salad and garlic bread. I appreciate you taking the time to give me your opinions! Breann, I think I'm trying your soup recipe this weekend. Sounds delicious.

By Breann on Friday, September 19, 2008 - 12:54 pm:

Just an FYI, we've found that we like it best if we use "mexican style" stewed tomatoes, and I cut them up into chunks before adding. Makes for easier scooping.

By My2girlygirls on Sunday, September 21, 2008 - 07:41 pm:

Thanks ladies! We successfully served all of the kids and everyone raved about the meal. We ended up with just the right amount of food, not much left over at all. Everyone got their bellies full!! Thanks for the advice. Now I only have to do it one more time this year. I think we are going to do the same meal since we know all of the portions and everything. I'm pooped though, so it's off to bed I go soon.

By Pandamamaoo4 on Monday, September 22, 2008 - 09:01 am:

Glad to hear that it went well. Spaghetti is always a guick meal in our house.Everyone will eat it too!!

By Annie2 on Monday, September 22, 2008 - 11:53 am:

Glad the dinner went well. Great job

By Imamommyx4 on Monday, September 22, 2008 - 08:59 pm:

Breann--I made the taco soup for supper tonight. There was only enough left for dh to have for his lunch tomorrow. Good to the last drop! Yummmm!

By Tunnia on Thursday, October 2, 2008 - 08:53 am:

Just thought I'd share that we tried the Taco Soup last night. It was really good and so quick and easy. I will certainly make it again! Dh took leftovers for lunch today and ds asked if he could take his lunch to school rather than eating in the cafeteria so he could have leftovers too. This is really great because leftovers aren't usually something my family wants to eat. I made a couple of changes to suit our tastes. I used one can of diced tomatoes and one can of Rotels in place of the two cans of stewed tomatoes, and added one can of water. Thanks for sharing the recipe Breann!