Everyday Systems

So some of you know from other posts that my husband and I just moved into our apartment. I would love to have a Saturday-night dinner with my family so they can see our apartment and just to hang out. However, I have 3 brothers, 2 sisters, plus 4 in-laws and 8, count 'em, EIGHT nieces and nephews, plus my mom, Justin, and I to feed. That is 12 adults and 8 children (ranging from 3-12). An army, practically. Justin talks about not having a housewarming at all b/c it'd be "too expensive." Does anyone have any ideas for an affordable dinner party? I don't really care if it's overprocessed or whatnot. I just need to feed all these people in an affordable way.. and I've never done this before, neither has my hubby. Any ideas?

P.S. I thought about having a pot-luck, but that doesn't feel right...

You could maybe try a mini-Thanksgiving. Whole turkeys aren't that expensive, and are not as intimidating to cook as they may seem. Stuffing is cheap too, and you have flexibility with whatever other vegetables you want to serve.

Another idea might be pasta - it is not that expensive either and is generally pretty easy to make. Some interesting homemade sauce can spice it up (figuratively speaking) nicely, too. Throw in some bread and veggies and you're all set.

I was going to suggest pasta too. You could prepare all but the pasta itself ahead of time. Eight adults isn't a huge number of people and eight little people won't eat much--but everyone loves spaghetti.

A jumbo bag o salad and add chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, maybe some mushrooms, green onions or whatever you like. . . you could even do it buffet/salad bar style so people could add whatever they wanted. Provide a couple of salad dressings or olive oil and vinegar.

Then grab a couple of kinds of bread from your favorite bakery and you're set.

And maybe an easy dessert to follow through on the do-it-yourself theme--have an ice cream/build your own sundae bar.

If you end up with lots of leftovers, all but the salad will freeze for a wonderful dinner later.

Thanks you two!

I think we might do Stouffer's lasagna, one veggie and one with meat (about $8 each), plus ceasar salad and bread. I know it's processed but it will be affordable We're gonna have chicken nuggets for any picky kids.

In line with the pasta-salad theme, this is my family's go-to recipe for for our larger gatherings. A big advantage is that it can be put together ahead so you don't have to fool with boiling spaghetti at the last minute. We've doubled and tripled the recipe depending on the crowd. If you make it in those aluminum casseroles from the supermarket, clean up is easy.

2 pkgs frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 lb ziti, cooked and drained
1 lb ricotta cheese
2 15 1/2 ounce jars marinara sauce (plus more to serve with)
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 cu freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cu chopped fresh parsley
2 t salt, 1/2 t pepper
mozzarella for top

Preheat oven to 350. Generously butter a 3 qt casserole. Combine all ingredients except mozzarella in a large mixing bowl and blend thoroughly. Turn into casserole, top with mozzarella, and bake about 30 minutes. Serve extra sauce with it. Allegedly serves 10-12, but more like 8 if people are really into it.

Have a fun party!

Winnie,

That sounds great-you should add it to our new "official recipes" thread so we'll all be able to find it!

Yum.

Just wanted to follow up... it's this saturday and somehow it's morphed into a bbq! lol.

Well, I have this coupons link from Kraft, so whatever treat you'll make just got delightfully affordable, cus I know Kraft offers great coupons for most of their products such as Cool Whip, Philadelphia cream cheese and more.. Just go their site at KraftFoods.com/SummerSavings

They're limited, so you'd better be hurry .. Good luck with the party!