s/o Dinner Ideas

shellmh

We're having about 16 people for dinner in a couple weeks for DH's birthday. I feel like I always make the same two things every time we have people for dinner (and it's always the same 16 people): lasagna or ham.

I need new ideas, but nothing too crazy. What do you make for party dinners??

SusieBW

It's fall now, you could do a turkey dinner.  Yummmmmmm.

Italian is always easy for a big crowd - lasagna or stuffed shells are nice and easy. 

What about seafood and/or chicken kebabs on the grill?  You can just throw all of the meat and veg on sticks and throw it all on the grill - easy peasy.  With a garden salad.

Are you doing a sit down dinner, or more grazing?  You could do a couple of crock pots with sausage and peppers, meatballs, a soup, etc.

AshleyT121

Roast chicken - you can play around with sides, and cooking a whole chicken is a great way to feed a big group. There are so many options and it's delicious. Plus... you can make stock for homemade soup after. Yum!

Shepherdjel

Pork tenderloin! Aaron does a nice mustard rub. You would prob need a couple for 16 people but BJ's sells them in 2 packs for a decent price.

sfgiantsjo

If it's casual, I love doing shredded pork sandwiches in the crock pot. Super simple, but tasty. 

Enchiladas? (Make my green chicken ones!) Mexican Lasagna?

shellmh

It's a casual sit down dinner. Just our parents, aunts and uncles, siblings and their SOs.

Interesting that you mentioned pork tenderloin. DH just bought a huge one yesterday! Hmm

AshleyT121

sfgiantsjo said:

If it's casual, I love doing shredded pork sandwiches in the crock pot. Super simple, but tasty. 

Enchiladas? (Make my green chicken ones!) Mexican Lasagna?

If it's casual, you could do a Mexican theme. Its super easy to saute veg and meat and then let people go to town making their own burritos/tacos/fajitas.

SusieBW

AshleyT121 said:

sfgiantsjo said:

If it's casual, I love doing shredded pork sandwiches in the crock pot. Super simple, but tasty. 

Enchiladas? (Make my green chicken ones!) Mexican Lasagna?

If it's casual, you could do a Mexican theme. Its super easy to saute veg and meat and then let people go to town making their own burritos/tacos/fajitas.

I love this idea!  It wouldn't fly in my family because they all hate Mexican food, but I think next time we're having a bunch of friends over, this is what I'm going to do.

booneybear

Lasagna is always a great option for a large crowd.  There are so many varieties to choose from. And it seems to be something that everyone will eat.  

shellmh

I like the idea of Mexican! I'll ask DH and see what he thinks (it is his birthday after all!).

Chinese food is one of his favorite foods. I wonder if I could do something similar where I make a bunch of different Chinese dishes. Or does that sound like too much work??

packfan20

Chili or BBQ pork sandwiches are my go-to when I need a lot of food.

RevJen

I have a bunch of Chinese type recipes on my pinterest, most of which use the crockpot. Do you follow me on pinterest?

krispy83

I tend to do Mexican (enchiladas, rice, beans, chips, guacamole and salsa is my go-to menu) or we bbq when we have a crowd over.  If I'm doing enchiladas, I can prep them earlier in the day and then just pop them in the oven, rather than having to spend the entire evening in the kitchen.

BBQ pork or chicken (in the crock pot.. super easy) are also crowd pleasers.

lab7979

I usually do some kind of shredded meat sandwich (beef, pork or chicken), soup, cincinnati style chili with hot dogs and spaghetti or just grill hot dogs, hamburgers and chicken breasts.  I usually make a lot of appetizers so I don't have to make as much for dinner.

quiltedinky

For large meals I've done a turkey dinner. (That's my company's idea of a "bonus".) I did mashed potatoes, veggies, rolls, cranberry sauce and gravy. I think I put someone else in charge of dessert. Party of 10.

Another time for a birthday dinner that had two guests under the age of 6, the adults had salad and shrimp scampi. I saved out some of the spaghetti and made a jar of marinara for the kids. There were 10 adults.

If someone offers to make something I totally take them up on it. My brother's MIL makes a good green salad, I think my parent's brought the cake and my household took care of the shrimp and pasta. I had to borrow an extra large cast iron pan from my brother to supplement my large pan to make the shrimp.