4Real Forums: ideas for 40-60 hungry teens

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Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
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Topic: ideas for 40-60 hungry teens

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KackyK
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Posted: Nov 11 2009 at 9:33pm \| IP Logged

A friend of mine and I are the volunteers this weekend to provide the food for the weekly youth group meeting. There are anywhere from between 40-60 (big span!) of teenagers who attend. The request is actually for a close to full meal as the kids come to youth group after attending the 5:30pm Mass.

So far our girls have told us they've done the cold cut sandwich thing, the meatball/chili thing, and so on. But we can of course duplicate anyways.

I'm trying to think of something that won't break either of our banks or require hours of preparation. We also have to bring drinks and dessert too!

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JennyM
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Posted: Nov 11 2009 at 9:42pm \| IP Logged

My first thought was spaghetti, but since they've already had meatballs what about tacos? The amount of ground beef would probably be near the same as you'd need for meatballs, and you could just add simple taco seasoning packets and serve it alongside taco shells or tortillas. Then, you could go as simple or elaborate as you want with toppings- a bowl of cheese, tomatoes or lettuce, or a few big bags of chips and some salsa on the side. Simple preparation!

I remember a group of parents that cooked for our retreats in high school and they always prepared tacos for the Saturday dinner... it was always a hit!

Good luck, sounds like fun!

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MaryM
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Posted: Nov 11 2009 at 9:52pm \| IP Logged

Taco bar can be done affordably and is pretty easy to prep for - I've done it for that size teen group on retreat. So I second that option.

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Theresa H
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Posted: Nov 11 2009 at 10:17pm \| IP Logged

Last week we served our Youth (about 30) Frito Chili Pie. It seemed to go over fairly well. The kids brought grapes, raw veggies, and desserts. At other times we've served sloppy joes and homemade pizzas.

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guitarnan
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Posted: Nov 12 2009 at 6:56am \| IP Logged

If you have enough crockpots, you could do a soup and bread bar.

I like the taco idea very much.

Desserts - brownies and/or Rice Krispie treats. Everyone loves them and they take 5 minutes to prepare per pan.

For drinks I would make pitchers of lemonade (from powdered mix) and offer that and water.

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crusermom
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Posted: Nov 12 2009 at 8:07am \| IP Logged

I like the taco bar idea. The teens can make it any way they want. You could probably do hotdogs with different toppings too.

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marihalojen
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Posted: Nov 12 2009 at 8:35am \| IP Logged

Slightly different take on the taco idea that I'd never seen before is the "Walking Taco". Individual bags of Fritos slit open and chili or taco meat spooned in, top with cheese and stick a spoon in it.

Strange what you see at high school football games!

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Bridget
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Posted: Nov 12 2009 at 9:09am \| IP Logged

I like the taco bar idea too. Our youth group has had tacos a lot recently so I am doing Italian meatball subs in a few weeks.

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KackyK
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Posted: Nov 12 2009 at 3:01pm \| IP Logged

Thanks ladies! I think we are leaning to sloppy joes this time around. I keep picturing the shredded cheese and lettuce droppings!

We'll do joes, chips, fruit?, sodas and I like the rice krispie treat idea! Or I might go even more simpler and just buy those big boxes of big cookies at Costco ;-)

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KackyK

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CrunchyMom
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Posted: Nov 12 2009 at 3:20pm \| IP Logged

For next time, if you like tacos, my mother often fixed this for large gatherings. The yellow rice added makes it pretty and tasty but also spreads the ground beef a bit further than regular taco meat. It is more like taco salad which makes it a smidge easier to assemble at a buffet than a regular taco. (Don't ask me what El Gando is--I have no idea where the name came from, and I don't think it means anything).:

El Gando

2lb. ground beef

1qt tomatoes, diced (I use canned diced, drained)

2 pkg Taco mix

1/2 tsp salt

2 small packages yellow rice

2 cups or more crushed fritos

8 ozs or more grated cheese

1/2 cup or more chopped olives

2 cups shredded lettuce

1/2 cup chopped onions

1 or more fresh tomatoes

Cook beef, add salt, taco mix, and quart of tomatoes. Simmer until almost dry. Cook rice according to directions. Put 1/3 of meat mixture aside. Add rice to meat mixture and stir well then pour into large serving dish. Pour remining meat mixture to cover. Sprinkle with grated cheese and decorate with tomato wedges. [this is for pretty serving, I just mix all the rice and meat mixture up at once and served diced tomatoes and cheese as topping options].This is a complete meal which can be prepared in about 30 minutes. You serve it up like taco salad with all the topping options. Serves 6-8 adults.

I use the taco recipe from the Cook's Illustrated instead of packet seasoning. I also usually make brown rice and add some tumeric and cumin instead of a yellow rice mix.

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