So Many Houseguests, So Many Tummies to Feed!
My sister and her kids are visiting from New York, which always prompts my youngest to stay at the house for maximum cousin fun. Of course seven people at the house requires forethought for hungry tummies.
Their first night was an unphotographed burrito/tostada buffet centered on home cooked rice and pinto beans, with an array of side options including grape tomatoes, romaine, salsas, avocado, sour cream, pepper jack and cilantro. This is always a hit as it works for everyone's food preferences.
Frugal, filling and yummy.
For breakfast we repeated the oatmeal buffet breakfast, but added shredded coconut. I cooked a huge pot of oatmeal on the stove and then transferred it to my 1990s-era slow cooker and set it to "keep warm."
Dinner last night was last minute takeout pizza, as we added my mother and step father to the mix. However I kept it as frugal as possible(ish) by using an ecoupon for a gluten-free Domino's pizza, and also ordered half & half single toppings on a pair of large pies from Original Dream pizza. That way there were four choices, (pepperoni, mushroom, artichoke hearts and herb chicken) which kept the cost under control(ish).
We also put together a big ol' green salad.
I assembled a frittata for today's brunch, which utilized the variety of random vegetables from the fridge and freezer. It included diced potatoes, a massive amount of spinach, red peppers, roasted green chilis, pepper jack and a nice sprinkle of steak seasoning, which has dried onion, garlic, salt and pepper. I also tucked in a few blobs of cream cheese for extra richness. I had cilantro, sour cream and avocado available for toppings. Nice and filling.
Again, a big hit and only frugal because eggs prices have come down.
Click HERE to read my "Hakuna Frittata" blog post from 2009!
Yesterday was the first Saturday of the month, so I popped into the Franz Bakery Outlet to grab $1 loaves of bread. I picked up two packages of brioche bread for possible French toast, as well as loaves of blueberry and cinnamon bread for afternoon tea time. The bag on the left is filled with long thin multi-grain bread, which inspired me to plan a "sandwich buffet" dinner. It's packaged for the restaurant trade and probably holds a eight or so loaves.
I have still gluten-free bread in the freezer from previous visits.
I spent five dollars.
I think tonight will be red curry sauce with tofu and mixed frozen veggies, served over rice or rice noodles. This is both vegetarian and gluten free, which will serve everybody's dietaries needs. Plus, you know . . . be delicious and frugal.
I also think I'll slip a "breakfast for dinner" into the mix, which'll probably include French toast, cornmeal pancakes and a yogurt parfait bar. Probably even hit a food cart pod at some point.
Lunches have been been "grab what you want" and will start to include leftovers. Plus the young adult cousins like to explore and eat on their own. My neighborhood is walking distance from a couple of different fun shopping districts with almost endless locally owned shops and cafes. The full Portland experience!
I enjoy the creative challenge of figuring out meals that check the boxes of delicious and frugal; and also serve each person's specific dietary needs.
Do you have go-to meals you serve when feeding large groups of people? Please share in the comments section below!
Katy Wolk-Stanley
"Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without."
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That bakery outlet is awesome.
1. I used my discounted Texas Roadhouse gift cards last night to buy dinner for me and my kids. I brought home leftovers which I ate for breakfast.
2. My youngest is visiting for the weekend (she's homesick). I spoiled her with some Boba tea and cans of cold brew lattes I bought at the discount grocery outlet. She's all about the beverages. Her apartment laundry facilities are shut down at the moment so doing laundry at mom's house works.
3. I made chicken enchiladas for dinner which used up a red pepper and a couple of sweet potatoes that have seen better days. I also used up some elderly tortillas and instapot beans from the freezer. I'm sending leftovers home with her so she has something easy for dinners after work. There's enough chicken leftover for another batch which I think I'll make and take to my mom's this week.
4. I've donated $50 for my daughter to take two feral cats to be spade. The vet charges $50 each. She has a feral mama cat who's had three litters in two years. Only two more of her litter need to be fixed and hopefully it helps with the feral cat population in her small town or at least in my daughters area. Less mouths to feed. She's adopted three and found homes for two kittens but there are five counting mama who are living outside her home.
5. I finished reading two library Kindle books. Women of a Promiscuous Nature by Donna Everhart which was chilling since it's based on real events. It was excellent. I also read Home Again by Kristin Hannah. I've just started The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins.
I'm shocked that a vet only charges $50 to spay a cat! How is that possible?
It may be an “at cost” situation for feral animals to keep populations down. Our local shelter charges that for feral animals, HOWEVER, they must come in trapped and genuinely be feral, it takes several months to get an appointment and you must commit to keeping them caged during the healing. They only do it one day a week and the cat must arrive by 8am. They have donors and grants that defray the cost.
What Susan said. Vet has appointments on Saturday for feral. It's a volunteer organization.
The Let Them Theory was really good. I've already found it to be useful in dealing with one family member and one acquaintance. Worth the read.
I'm having some trouble getting into it. I wished it had been available when I was working and had more difficult people to deal with.... I'm such a hermit now. I'm going to finish it though.
Got “ Let Them” from the library, discovered this is the name for the way I’ve always lived! A particular feather in my cap is the comment from a grandchild “ You are very good at minding your own business “ . I regard their lives with interested curiosity, secure in the knowledge that a great number of the entertaining times in my life were due to poor choices.! My own experiences have been educational OR entertaining, rarely both! Since I’m very independent, no one else has paid for my choices.
It's been a while since I've fed large groups. In the past, I've relied on dinners featuring chili, lasagna casserole, taco bar, soup bar, rotisserie chicken with sides, mac and cheese and stir fry. I've had brunches featuring quiche, breakfast casserole, pineapple upside down cake, biscuits and sausage gravy, fruit pizza, and pig-in-blankets. But I rarely make big meals anymore. My family is scattered, and when we get together we usually pool for takeout, so the burden doesn't fall on any one person.
Today I went out to Uncle Julio's with my son's family. I got a combination platter and brought half of it home. We all admired the chocolate pinata but agreed it would be too much. I noticed that all the adults drank water and only my grandson opted for a fountain drink.
I hitched a ride with them, so no gas expenditure.
Someone here, or on Frugal Girl, suggested making muffins from cheap cake mix and a can of fruit. Today I mixed yellow cake mix with pineapple, and I have to say it was delicious! And so easy. I'm looking forward to trying other combinations.
I go to consult with the orthopedic surgeon tomorrow, but it's also my designated laundry day. So I have already sorted out the two loads I will do, and I'll carry them down to the basement on my way out. I'll start them on my way back in. I'm saving wear and tear on my hip, as I have 30 stairsteps to navigate with each trip.
I made a run to the bread outlet, too. I bought brioche hamburger buns, naked loaves for the freezer, outdoor rolls for French dips.
I make large meals (feed 20+) every Sunday. We also participate in community meals that coincide with volunteer emergency services meetings every Wednesday.
Bean and rice enchiladas with salsa, green salad, street corn is a great meal.
Chili bar with baked potatoes, grated cheese, onions, jalapenos.
Cabbage roll casserole. Easy
French dips using soup bones, always popular. Made in the crock pot.
Taco salad bar. Asian cabbage salad bar using rotisserie chicken. Texas sheet cake for dessert or pudding cakes are easy, delicious and penny pinching. I make many slab pies in 1/2 sheet pans. I put up apple pie filling and pie cherries.
I make gluten free shortbread crust for 9x13 pan pies.
For large groups I really like the “make your own bowl” meals - Mexican, Greek, Asian - it makes it so much easier to not have to worry about each person’s specific tastes and dietary restrictions. For really large groups I like to have 2-3 varieties of soup plus bread.
Me too. Burrito bowls are great for a crowd.
Katy, your meals sound so delicious.
It's not often that we feed a crew but two recent-ish gatherings come to mind. For a brunch, we served egg bake, top your own pancakes, and fresh fruit. My husband was happy to man the griddle while others ate. For a dinner, we served southwest bowls (dish up your own rice, sauteed peppers and onions, sauces, and round tortilla chips for scoops). Both of these vegetarian meals were a hit with our non-vegetarian family members.
That frittata looks delish!
My usual go-to when feeding a crowd is The Slow Roasted Italian's copycat Wendy's chili and Alex Guarnaschelli's skillet cornbread, but a few others I've done:
taco/nacho bar
baked potato bar
fajitas with rice and beans
pulled pork in the crockpot
Enjoy your family visit!
Wow, Katy, I want to come eat at your place! I think I gained 5 pounds just reading about all the meals you fixed! Lol.
It would be worth it.
DH's sister (83) moved to assisted living in July 2025. In 2023, her husband (90) started running around with another woman (younger than their 2 daughters). DSIL & BIL both have dementia (his is more advanced than hers.) So DS and BIL are separated after 62 years of marriage. Their oldest daughter recently moved to Georgia, and the other one lives locally. Both our niece and her GF had to work, so my DSIL celebrated Easter with us. I was going to make lasagna (my typical "go-to" meal for a group of any size); however, I found out she doesn't like cheese. Who eats lasagna without cheese?!
We had somewhat of a "deconstructed" chicken cordon bleu (I omitted the cheese from hers), baked sweet potatoes, homemade bread, broccoli salad, cinnamon pink applesauce, coconut cake, and ice cream. Mist of the ingredients I already had, so I didn't have to buy much. Looked elegant, tasted elegant, cost next to nothing. And, I made enough that DH and I have leftovers for the week. Sent DSIL back to the home with some broccoli salad, applesauce, 2 pieces of cake, and 2 homemade peanut butter eggs that have rice krispies in them. While she says the food at the home is good, today she said she was "eating like royalty." We had a very enjoyable visit.
A side dish that I often served is one that is super simple. That is just coleslaw mixed with crushed pineapple, mayo, sugar app Pl je ccm.
Katy: you are so creative with food! When my kids were growing up, I used to have to feed three boys and a girl, and the boys would always bring a couple of friends over. I was not creative. It was hot dogs, chips, and ice cream, spaghetti with ground beef in it, salad, and garlic bread I made by putting olive oil on sandwich bread with garlic powder and toasting in oven. Hamburgers, turkey, cornbread dressing, lots of mashed potatoes and gravy with rolls, pea salad, green beans, apple pie, cakes, chicken and rice, or ham and rice with cheese casseroles, pork chops with rice and soy sauce, etc. My meals were heavy on the carbs and meat. I shudder to think of the cost of feeding a bunch of carnivores these days!!! Major props to all who can feed crowds healthy!! I was a 1990’s cook still cooking like the 1970’s! ! I am zero help… lol.
Another approach to feeding a group--not so much when there are many out-of-town visitors (as in Katy's case) as when everyone lives locally and can contribute a dish--is the potluck. CF and her husband hosted one of these yesterday for Easter lunch. They made moussaka (the theme was Greek); one guest brought hummus, mini pitas, and chips; I brought marinated green beans; another guest made a Greek salad; and two other guests brought desserts. All very good and very enjoyable.
I do a themed potluck once a year at my house. This year was an Italian theme. So much delicious food and desserts showed up along with their creators! Also, plenty of bottles of wine came through the door. Friends from the bookstore I hang out at, some neighbors and a handful of other friends made up the party. Such a fun group!
The pink Fiesta plate on the pink tablecloth stopped my in my tracks. LOVE IT! Enjoy your family time.
We typically do a buffet style option of one of the following:
-Ground beef tacos, with all of the fixings
-Chicken fajitas (and, we often combine in the same week with a taco bar, so we can repurpose the fixings - pico, sour cream, salsa, tortilla chips, cilantrol, etc)
-Chicken shawarma - with pita, tzatziki, feta, tomatoes, red onions, mini cucumbers
-Last time my parents visited, I made a "High Protein Chicken Tzatziki Bowl Recipe" form the food network that was delicious, and everyone customized that as well
My goodness to for large groups is a crockpot of turkey chili. The recipe calls for hamburg but with the price of beef...
The other is lasagna with Italian sausage cut into medallions instead of hamburg or meatballs. The sausage keeps the price down.
Sounds like your guests are being well fed. Enjoy the visit!
"...go to...". Sigh.
Most of both our families have died out, so there's been no Easter gathering for some years. Yesterday for the immediate family I made a favorite: pancake supper with bacon, scrambled eggs and fruit on the side. It's fairly fast to make and everyone enjoys it.
Ruby, I can relate to your "Most of both our families have died out...," since that's certainly true of DH and his side. My parents are long gone; my three siblings are still living, but in CA, FL, and AZ, and we stay in touch but are not close. So I have become an itinerant guest on holidays, and I try to make it worth my hosts' while by bringing potluck dishes and being generally entertaining.
1. Opted to eat leftovers instead of ordering pizza friday night since we were eating out the next night.
2. Drove to meet some family halfway between us for Easter and had a great day. My mom picked up the bill, which was very generous of her.
3. The salad I ordered for lunch was MASSIVE and served as dinner as well.
4. We are on the road again soon so eating out of the pantry/freezer this week.
5. Brought coffee and snacks to work and avoided the siren song of the cafes between the train and my office.
An egg bake is always a good eat!
My go to meal is similar to the first meal you mentioned, when feeding a crowd I like to do burrito bowls. It varies what we put on it, but people can build their own bowl and having rice as the base is frugal and filling.
Do you have a cornmeal pancake recipe?