I Need Menu Ideas for a Weekend Trip with a Large Group (Approx. 18-20)

Have you heard about "chilaquiles"? It is a mexican plate made with tortillas and a green sauce. You just need to buy one of those tortilla chip bags and some cans or bottles of green salsa (there are different degrees of "spiciness" so you can buy whatever you need or simply buy some green tomatoes cans and drop them on a blender and freeze them, that way it won't be spici at all!). Then you just put a little oil and cook the sautee the sauce, drop the chips and put some "fresco" cheese crumbles and voila! You can serve it with black or pinto beans and/or scrambled eggs.

Can you plug in a crockpot there? You can make a big batch of barbecued beef or pork in the crockpot or fajitas (do the meat and peppers in the crockpot), chili, soups, pot roast or chicken and dumplings. If you don't want to use a slowcooker you could do homemade pizzas, tamale pie, quesadillas, etc. Or you could do breakfast/brunch and have muffins, fruit, a breakfast casserole type thing (my daughter bday party is this coming Sunday and that's what I'm doing). I think you can google most of these meals, if you need specific recipes, let me know and I can get them for you.

I see you're in Pueblo - I'm not far away in Salida!

Hope this helps!

I love this menu- fast, easy, tastes wonderful, and it's inexpensive... picky eaters can just brush the parts they don't like to the side.
I usually cook this in a crockpot on high for about 3.5 hours, but you can also bake it at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or until cooked through... depends on the thickness of the chicken.

Southwest Chicken:
(recipe feeds 5, so you'll want to make more)

Ingredients-
5 pieces of boneless skinless chicken breast (you really could use the thighs or any other parts, also),
salt
pepper
garlic powder
1 tablespoon chilli powder
1 large can diced tomatoes (do no drain)
1 can beans drained (black, pinto or kidney)
1 can corn, drained

-season chicken with salt, pepper, and powdered garlic and lay in crockpot or baking pan

-in separate bowl, mix diced tomatoes, beans, corn, and cilli powder

-pour mixture over chicken, cook, and serve over white rice

Some other ideas... Hotdogs are great for large groups, and Enchiladas- cheese, chicken or beef- are fast and easy with a little help and feed a ton... simple recipies are online or you can email me and I'll give you one I like.

I have found out that pizza, big bags of popcorn including cheese popcorn, pretzels, etc... (which you can get at the dollar stores). also, if you can bring a grill or there is one there, buy hotdogs, brats and hamburger patties. you can buy cereal, eggs, pancake mix, bread for breakfast. I am not sure if know how to make sloppy joes but that seems to fill up people and just have chips on the side. All of these items are reasonable and that is what i do for parties and when i go camping. oh, dont forget the marshmellows for the campfire kids love that and chocolate to make smores.
Have fun!
L. M. mother of 4

I like easy Mexican food. You can make tacos, tostadas, burritos and cheese crisp easily.

Cook the hamburger and or chicken a day or so before you go and freeze it in a ziploc bag.
Buy cheese that is already grated.
You can also shred lettuce and cut up onion ahead of time
Tortillas work for soft tacos, burritos and cheese crisp.
Salsa makes a taco sauce substiute.
Take along tomatos, sourcream and chips and you are set.
We do this when we go camping. It works great. And the frozen meat helps keep the cooler cold.
Costco has a great Mexican Cheese and large packages of tortillas.

I have some ideas for your trip next month.

Meatball Subs (kid friendly)
Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Cheese, Broccoli and Bacon
Dijon Pork (not spicy)
Steak or Chicken Fajitas
Barbeque Chicken with onions and Monterey Jack Cheese

My husband has a business called Dinner is Done. If you wanted to take some of the work out of your weekend trip, you could order a package of meals from him. Each meal feeds 6 adults and you can get 8 meals for $165. With a package of 8 dishes, you would have 64 meals, so that would probably take care of all your food for 3 days. Everything is delivered to you in foil pans with foil lids to make cooking and clean up easy. If you are interested, his phone number is ###-###-####.

Good luck! K. Gagnon

We casually entertain a fair amount so here are some suggestions:
Chili
Stew
Mexican lasagna (use torillas instead of pasta)
Meatball sandwiches (with or without the pasta)
Chicken/turkey pot pies (make large ones or make in a 9x13 and just top the filling with biscuits. You could roast a turkey ahead of time and use it for sandwichs, soup and potpies)
Buy/make pizza crusts and let everyone pick their own toppings
Taco bar
Quiches
French toast bake (prepare ingredients the night before in a 9x13 and just bake it in the morning)

I hope some of these suggestions are useful. If you want more details on any of my ideas, just email me at ____@____.com

What about tortilla roll ups? There are lots of recipes online for these, but you could put about anything you want in there. It spreads thing and goes a long ways and you slice them up. Let me know if you need more info. These are a big hit with kids and adults alike! You could even do a few different kinds. Even peanut butter and jelly in some for the kids if you want!
C.

ps-I also just thought of a big pot of stir-fried rice. that would go a long ways and most kids just love it!

Check this out!!!

http://www.dreamdinners.com/main.php?static=index

I don't know if they have these where you are, but I have heard they are opening this type of thing all over the place, you go in, assemble meals in an assembly line setup, then take them home & freeze them. By all accounts I have heard, this works out to be cheaper than buying groceries!!

Good luck!

PS - My dad lives in Broomfield, CO, we are going to try to get one more visit in there this year before the NASTY snow hits!!

What about beans and rice for supper, hot dogs, pizza, or beans and weenies, spaghetti is always good but give DH a sandwich. Good luck!

My husband always makes jambalaya for potlucks & parties (including our kids bday parties) we have. If interested in the recipe send me a msg & I'll send it your way. It's easy and makes a TON! Also, we like any type of stew, brisket, whole chicken (like rotisiree), & pork ribs (good finger food at least for our kids AND the adults). Have fun!