How I Fed The Masses

We had probably close to 200 people attend my son's graduation party - and would you believe, I actually had food left over? I received many comments because there was plenty! I even went home with about 15 unopened 2-liters. So, how did I plan, and shop for food, for that many?

I have to give a lot of the credit to a site I found called Ellen's Kitchen. Here I found the amounts I needed for each item for my taco bar. Ellen's site was the only place I found on the net to help put together a meal for such a large crowd.

I started by writing down all the foods I wanted on the bar, taco meat, refried beans, tomatoes, olives, sour cream, lettuce, nacho cheese, drinks, cake, etc. Then I took the amount she gave for 100 and doubled it. There were a couple things not listed, such as the Mexican rice and sliced olives, but just about everything else was there. And, wouldn't you know, the items she didn't have amounts for were the ones I way over purchased for. (I still have two 55 ounce cans of sliced olives - if anyone is in need!)

The one item my hubby didn't agree with her on was drinks. He said on a hot summer day I would need many more 2-liters than she suggested. I guess we know, from the 15 I brought home, who was right on that one!

Another thing I did that helped immensely was to start a couple months in advance. Way back in March I found packages of 50 20-ounce sized cups for just $1.99 at a salvage store in our area. I also found Styrofoam trays that I thought would make a great plate. They were thick and study and large and only $3.00 for 150!

I also purchased drinks and ground beef anytime I found them on sale. I went ahead and cooked the ground beef and seasoned it and then froze it in large, gallon-sized freezer bags. So then all I had to do was thaw it out a couple days before the party and then the day of stick it in crockpots to heat.

Speaking of crockpots, I already had two, but I was able to find another at a yard sale for $3.00, and then I borrowed my mother-in-law's two and my neighbors two. I kept everything in them until a few minutes before we served. At serving time I had chaffing pans ready, fired them up, and dumped my crockpot items into them. This made it easy to have two lines, one on each side of the table.

I decorated the night before the party, even setting the tables and putting the drinks out. But in the end, there were two dear friends that I couldn't have done it without. One in particular got there early, and never stopped! She made the rice for me, (thanks to CVS for the easy packages you just add water to and bake.) made sure everything was refilled when it ran low, moved the empties out of the way, and basically ran herself silly for four or five hours.

In the end, everyone was well feed, DS got a ton of presents, and we all had a great time... until Sunday when I faced the mountain of dishes left in my kitchen sink!

I wish I had pictures to show you of the serving table, but I was too busy to think of taking them! My mom, thankfully, did grab my camera and at least get me some pictures of my son with his cake and opening his gifts and some of the guests... thank goodness for moms!

I had too many desserts too - can you tell?