End of the year ffoooddd? well I'm in charge of?

Question

getting the teachers lunch since it is the end of the year, what can I make that is affordable, good,easy and delicious??

BTW I have to make it not bought? that's even more money, and not pizza..we have that every tues.and thurs..teachers are getting tired of it.

Please help..

Answer 1

Well, start by buying at least three of those huge foil broiling pans.  I made a huge salad (for my daughter's 16th party) with ONE PLASTIC TUB of Salad from No Frills or Sobeys...you know those $4.99 mixed tubs...it's enough to feed an ARMY trust me.  Make your own oil/wine vinegar/garlic/seasonings dressing in a jar and pour when ready to serve (strain the garlic however!)

I also made a batch of chicken parmeggiana and another of pasta.

The chicken breast I bought (for $20/Costco!) filleted it and pounded it thin and it too made enough to feed an army.  Dip in egg, flour, egg again and then breadcrumbs and fry.  It's done in two minutes, just brown one side and flip for one/two minutes on the other, place on paper towels to strain.

You could serve them like that (just heat before serving) or top with fresh tomato sauce (I mix parmesan cheese, chopped garlic and oregano and a dash of olive oil with the sauce in a large plate and just spoon on the meat)  Top with mozzarella and heat just before serving.  Make the meat in advance put the sauce in a jar, mozzarella in a ziplock bag and make it at the school, takes 15 minutes to heat just till cheese bubbles.

Make a cold pasta salad or hot.  If you serve the chicken with no sauce (just fried) just serve at room temp and serve with a cold pasta salad.

You can make the whole thing for under $30 really and you can make it all in advance with minimal prep time before serving depending which way you go.

Make your own garlic bread by buying some of those .99 cent vienna sticks, slice 3/4 of the way through drizzle with melted garlic butter, wrap in foil and heat before serving.

They will think they died and went to heaven.

I also bought those ready made cake things and strawberries (they were on sale Costco again $3.99 has them now) and served them with whipped cream and sliced them with a pizza slicer.  You could make tarts too with the shells, they aren't very expensive and just fill them at the school with the same.  Add sugar to the strawberries, keep sliced in a ziplock bag too.  Easy as pie.

You know the caterers wanted a SMALL FORTUNE ($15/person) for a similar type meal...they price by the person and serve pretty well the same thing above!!  You're doing this for a FRACTION and I mean fraction.  All this would cost under $50.

I have a lot of experience cooking meals for around 50 people or so....used to do it all the time at work to raise money for charity.

Spaghetti and meatballs was the ticket those days, and I got everything donated for free by local organizations too.  No easy feat either.

Answer 2

Need more information to help. How many, how much you have to spend!  If you can afford to make Lasagna. A lot of people like that. It isn't really expensive to make. If you have some help making it then i don't think it would be much work! If there is a main dish and  the lasagna can be the main dish. If your only bringing a side dish. Them Macaroni and cheese (not the box) or Potato salad  might be a choice. If there is still some time before the lunch find out what others are bringing. So you don't spend a lot on lasagna or a big dish when you don't have to! Potato salad or other salads are really very inexpensive and salads goes well with a lot of foods. Good Luck!