We host a monthly game night with another family. They bring deserts/snacks and we provide dinner. I am out of ideas. Total 8 people, 4 are teenagers. Would love to hear some easy dinners that you think would be work. It's not a sit down meal type thing. It's a casual thing. Usually serve, gumbo, hamburgers, tacos etc. but was looking for new ideas. I appreciate your help!!
Prime rib with potatoes and veggies
Tenderloin roast with potatoes and veggies
Tonight I made baby stuffed artichokes which were great.
Anti pasta platter with cheeses, meats, grilled veggies
2 things come to mind.
Pulled pork sandwiches. Put a huge pork roast in the crock pot (I used boston butt) and pour a bottle of root beer over it. Nothing else. Cook it for 10 hours on low. Take it out, shred it, and put it back in the crock pot, but don't use all the juice that's still left, only just enough to make it juicy. Then pour on a bunch of your favorite BBQ sauce and warm for 45 mins more. Serve on buns
Chicken tacos. Put in 6 big chicken breasts in crock pot. Season on all sides heavily with taco seasoning. Try to use low sodium. Then sprinkle with garlic and cumin. Put a can of Mexican tomatoes on top of chicken, and a couple cans of green chilis. Cook on low for about 4-5 hours. Shred with forks and mix up. Serve on soft tortillas. It's not really spicy either, all our kids love and ask for it frequently.
Baked potato bar
finger foods (chicken wings, bagel bite pizzas, mini quiches, etc)
Pulled chicken or pork
Sloppy Joe's
Italian beef
Mosticcoli
Subs
Crock pot:
Brown 2 lbs of beef round stew meat cut into 1 inch cubes and browned in hot oil on stovetop; drain and set aside
On bottom of big crock pot--Toss in whole potatoes and lg carrot pcs, parsley, bay leaf, cilantro , salt and pepper.
Put meat atop of veggies
Mix together: 1/2 carton of organic chix broth w/ an organic cream of mushroom soup--about 20 oz.
Cover and cook on high for 7 - 8 hrs. Then... Optional: I pour a bag of frozen organic peas in and mix well.
Serve w/ bread and butter or hot rolls
I cook this the day before I serve it...It takes better the 2nd day. I do not cut the veggies small because they will turn to mush after 7 hrs. You can always cut the potatoes in half just before u serve it. The meal is in one dish !
Casserole
Chicken pot pie (make 2 big ones)
Crockpot of chicken, corn, salsa, black beans (serve w/corn chips & sour
cream)
Taco Salad
Pick up Rotisserie chickens (guests can bring potato salad, green salad &
biscuits)
Shepherds pie
Bbq chicken drumsticks
Tortilla Casserole (you take a round glass pie pan, layer flour tortilla
topped with cooked ground beef seasoned w/taco seasoning, cheese,
onions then bake for 20 mins. Top w/sour cream, diced tomatoes,
chopped olives, chopped red onions.
Grilled steak tacos (use thin breakfast steaks, serve w/green salsa &
Spanish rice)
Pizza buffet (you make 5 diff homemade pizzas. Bbq chicken/red onion,
veggie, pepperoni, combo etc.
Steaks (cheap small ones), big bowl of mashed potatoes, corn on the
cobb and salad
I used to take a very cheap beef roast (I could get a 7 bone roast fairly cheaply many years ago) and cook it overnight in the crock pot..... the next day, I would pull all the meat off the bones, shredding it a bit.... I put it in a small "crock-ette" crockpot and poured half a bottle of barbecue sauce and some water/beef broth to thin it.... (you could just use the same crock pot you used to cook the beef in...)
Easy barbecued beef! I used to take that to pot luck dinners, and it always disappeared very quickly!
I agree with the idea of something that can be customized to fit everyone's tastes and diet. We've done grilled cheese stations with plates of different breads and cheeses, plus little bowls of things to add (sliced ham & turkey, bacon, sliced tomatoes, tuna salad, pickled jalopenos, avocado). Station a crockpot of tomato soup nearby.
We get together with 4-6 families twice a month alternating host homes and some of our favorite and easy meals have been:
Shredded Pork or chicken, used as sandwiches or tacos
Chicken in crockpot over rice
Pepper steak, Swiss steak in crockpot
Swedish meatballs
Spaghetti, taco, salad or potato bars
Ham or pork roast
Chili
Sub sandwiches
Chicken tenders with dipping sauces, nacho bar (chips, cheese, chili, jalapeños, olives, tomatoes, sour cream, quac, etc), baked potato bar (potatoes, chili, broc, cheese, sour cream, bacon, etc), hot dog bar (hot dog, chili, sauerkraut, bacon, etc), lasagna, any casserole, etc.
Chili
Nachos
Pot roast in a crock pot
hot dogs
Creole Macaroni casserole (real easy look online)
Spaghetti
Chicken wings/drumsticks
Meat loaf
