To all my wonderful capable cookers here, I need help!

[cybilx10]

As some of you know I am hosting a 50th b-day party for my father. I will have approx. 50-75 people in my home to celebrate. I also cannot cook and get soo flustered at trying to make something and it not coming out like the picture, so I am asking for your help. Im almost at the point I would send the money for you all to buy it and make it and just send it to me.

But to the point, I need easy recipes that a variety of people would like. Something that doesnt need to stay in the fridge but on ice or can be heated by the sternos.

I need everything from side dishes to desserts to appetizers.

[isis]

Well, my sister just had her wedding reception last weekend (they eloped, so it was a little something after b/c its her 2nd time) Anyway...this is what we did -

Fruit & Cheese tray - Strawberries, pineapple, cantaloupe balls with a fruit dip alternating swiss and cheddar between the fruit. Basket of crackers off to the side.
For the Fruit dip, I make the night before. Its just 1 jar of marshmallow creme with 1 block of cream cheese and 1/2 c powdered sugar and a dash or two of vanilla extract. Or you can buy a premade dip. Marzettis is really good!

Veggie tray - little grape tomatoes, cucumbers, celery & carrot sticks with ranch dip in a hollowed bell pepper.

Spinich & Artichoke dip w/tortillas

Finger sandwiches (my sister ordered), stuffed mushrooms & chicken drumettes (my mom ordered from the grocery store)

Lil smokies in crockpot (1 jar of bbq sauce mixed with 1 jar of grape jelly)

Mini meatballs in red gravy (my mom bought premade meatballs and made her own sauce. but you can always use your fav jarred sauce)

We also had shrimp fettuccine & crab/corn bisque that someone on his moms' side of the family made. Lots of restaurants offer catering, so if you don't want to cook a pasta dish, you could always order something.

We didn't do dessert other than the wedding cake, but when we have family get togethers, my mom buys Cream Puffs from Sams.

[SariniLynn]

As far as desserts, about the easiest thing you can do is a cookie cake.

1) Go get a bag of Nestle semi-sweet morsels and follow the recipe on the back. And by "follow the recipe", I mean this:

A) Put all ingredients except for chocolate chips (and nuts, if you like those) into a large mixing bowl. Mix well.

B) Add chocolate chips and mix again, just until they are evenly distributed.

C) Taste liberally.

2) Dump the dough into a pan - you can use a casserole dish, or shallow cookie pans, or whatever you have. Smoosh the dough around until it's more or less flat, and fills out all the corners.

3) Stick it in the oven (recipe temp is.. what, 350 degrees?) for about 20 minutes. Continue cooking in 5-minute increments until the top looks like the desired level of brown. (more brown = more crunchy, but it's pretty hard to actually burn them unedibly in pan form!)

4) Decorate:

A) Grab some baking chocolate chunks, drop a few of them in a ziploc sandwich baggie, and microwave until melted.

B) Snip off one corner of the baggie, and drizzle chocolate in broad stripes across entire cookie cake.

C) Repeat with white chocolate chunks (as desired), making stripes in the opposite direction.

D) Sprinkle with baby M&Ms or equivalent, for color.

It's easy to do, hard to screw up, and tastes amazing. If you like soft and squishy cookies, consider adding an extra tablespoon or two of butter - delicious!

---

Or if you have more money than time/energy, Sam's Club tends to have excellent desserts.

[cybilx10]

Thanks ladies. I think I am gonna try some of these ideas. And Sams club is my favorite. We are getting alot from there so I will pick up some extras just in case.

[cookin4less]

Ditto on all that Isis said...plus you can always do Chips with Salsa, guacamole, and Velveeta/Rotel Cheese Dip. And you can use brown gravy on the meatballs too if you want.

Relish tray-pickles, olives, peppers, okra, asparagus, etc.

cheeseballs and crackers

In this heat a couple of salads would be good too....light and cool!

Deserts: I agree on the creme puffs...they're good!

Dump-it Cake
1-2 cans pie filling...any flavor...I usually use two cans b/c I like alot of fruit in it.
1 can crushed pineapple
1 box yellow cake mix
1/2-1c chopped pecans or walnuts
and you can add coconut if you want
1 stick butter, melted

Dump it all in a 9x13 pan in the order listed and drizzle the butter over the top. Bake in 350 degree oven for 50-60 minutes until top is golden brown. Tip: when you put the nuts and coconut on the top of the dry cake mix if you take a fork and lightly "stir" them in to the cake mix just a little it will keep them from burning...it just needs a light coat of the mixture over them doesn't have to be perfect.

Lemon Pie
2 Extra Serving size Graham cracker crust
1 can Sweetened condensed milk
1 6oz(I use 12 oz) container frozen lemonade concentrate
1 16oz tub Coolwhip

Mix milk and lemonade together, fold in cool whip. Put in pie shell refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Or you can freeze them and serve them frozen if you want...they don't freeze real hard and they are good that way too.

And you can do different flavors of concentrate and you could also add some lemon zest to this if you want to. Or you can use the chocolate pie shells too...yummy.

Banana Pudding

Fruit salad- I have a recipe for a frozen fruit salad if you want it. It's easy to do and you serve it slushy...jlmk if you want it.

[cookin4less]

I also have a Apple Snicker Salad recipe that is really easy and sooo good.

[cybilx10]

OOOOH Can I get the snickers recipe??? Someone I know makes it and it is yummy but she is out of town for the next few weeks. Any others I will gladly take!!

[3timesoccermom]

You could also do Italian - it's pretty easy and not that expensive. Spaghetti and meatalls, lasagna (you can get the big pans at Sam's for $10-$11) if you don't want to make it. Garlic bread is very easy to make - you can get big loaves of bread for .99 and fix them up with butter, garlic, parmesan cheese and some parsley, then a huge salad and a dessert you're covered.

If you are truly not comfortable in the kitchen simple is best.

I like to buy the spring mix greens at Sam's then add some iceberg - no nutritional value but a nice crunch - tomatoes, black olives, cucumbers and whatever other veggies you like.

Also, we used to do a fundraiser with the pans of lasagna and for dessert we bought the peach cobblers from Sam's.

[cybilx10]

I am making lasagna. That is one of the few things I am good at making. LOL Sams has these huge things of bread so I can make toast out of that and Im gonna look for that salad, that sounds yummy.

[434Teresa]

If you really are a bad cook you could hire some to bring the stuff in for you... we have a big star aka food gaint they have really cheap and good chicken and all the stuff to go with it..I dotn think it cost that much to have them to fix all that up and bring it to your home for the factory I worked for was always doing that for party's and such and for more people than you need it for..