How about a cold buffet? A baked ham can be set on the table for people to carve pieces off as they want them, along with rolls & condiments in case they would like to make a sandwich. A couple of salads, maybe pasta, potato or 3 bean and a green (with dressing on the side so it won't wilt). If you can get decent corn on the cob, you can cut them in half and buy a pack of cheap bamboo chopsticks to insert in the halves as a handle (soak them first)...these can be done under the broiler or on a grill, and if you rub lemon or lime wedges on the corn, you can sprinkle a mix of cayenne & salt or salt & sugar on them...this gives the corn a nice flavor that doesn't require them to be served hot enough to melt butter. In fact, they're quite tasty room temp. A tray of fresh fruit. Bowls of olives, gherkins, radish flowers, spiced or candied nuts.

If you're concerned that there might be those who either don't like ham or don't eat pork, you could cut chicken breasts into roll-appropriate sizes, marinate them in your favorite marinade to grill/broil.

Simple foods, easy to prepare and serve, but with the whole ham, nice serving platters & bowls it can look "elegant" enough for Mother's Day. If you're short chairs to sit on at the new site, you might draft a couple of family members to bring folding chairs, resin patio chairs etc., or if anyone attends a church, most churches will let their parishioners borrow a few.

Congrats on almost completing the ordeal of building a house! :D

Hi cork2win - hope you stick around when your place is completed!

No refrigerator though other than a kegerator.

nice to know that you've got your priorities...:-)

What about mexican? I made these for my son's b'day party recently and they were gobbled up - simply wonderful. It was a crazy day and everyone just ate when they were ready.

Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Tacos -opkikid

1 1/2 pounds boneless beef chuck, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
3/4 cup bottled chunky medium-hot salsa
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
1 tablespoon (packed) dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice (optional)
Combine the salsa, brown sugar and soy sauce and pour over the meat in the slow cooker insert. Cover and cook for 8 hours on LOW or 5 to 6 hours on HIGH, or until the meat is fork-tender. Shred the meat with two forks and stir in cilantro and lime juice if using.
Set out taco shells (I like small soft corn tortillas) and all the fixings.

You could run an ext cord outside for the crockpot. I made a taco soup, some queso dip, some salsa, homemade pita crisps and tortilla chips (well, kind of homemade - I bought tortillas and baked em - lol), all the fixins for the soft tacos and you could have margaritas and put some dos equis or corona in that kegerator!!!

What time's dinner?

Oh and the meat cooks down, you'll probably want to more than double the recipe...

Thank you both, those are both great ideas! I was hung up on making something that I could use my fancy new appliances for, but you helped me see that for now, I should probably go simple and wait until the house is done for my "first supper". My family loves sandwiches and things, but the crockpot idea sounds really great too, and DH just loves Mexican. But, since this day is all about Mom I guess I should focus more on what she likes. :)

I'm still interested in any great ideas anyone may have, but thank you both for helping steer me in the right direction.

Not sure where you live but a soup party may work if the weather is not too hot.

Make three or four different soups, use dollar store mugs for serving. Put out several interesting toppings, croûtons, dried veggies chips, goldfish, shredded cheese, chopped green onions etc. Serve with a nice selection of rolls and call it done!

People love sampling the different soups and can help themselves as they wish. It's fun and different.

Several of us on the forum have done this and it's always a hit. We can provide you with lots of great recipes.

Soups I've served:

New England Clam chowder (lori)
Manhattan Clan Chowder (Marilyn)
Mexican Corn and Chicken Chowder (Woodie)
Stilton and Leek (mine)
Roasted Garlic Soup ( David)
Roasted Red Pepper Soup ( mine)
Sausage Tortellini Soup (Woodie)

Does mom like pasta? This is my favorite pasta "casserole" type of dish - from sol - here on the forum. It's wonderful - the pesto adds a great dimension to this.

Baked Pasta with Sausage and Tomato Pesto (Sol)

1 pound hot italian sausage, casings removed
1 onion, finely chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup dry red wine
26 ounces of your favorite marinara sauce
6 Tablespoons of Pesto
Salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
          Â
1 pound penne or rotini pasta, cooked al dente
1 pound mozzarella, shredded
1 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
6 oz. bag baby spinach leaves
Cook the sausage until no longer pink. Add the chopped onion and sauté about 5 minutes, or until translucent. Add the garlic, marinara sauce and wine. Simmer for 10 minutes or until sauce thickens. Stir in the pesto, salt and pepper.
Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9"x13" dish. Spread a thin layer of the sauce over the bottom of the pan.
In a large bowl, combine the pasta, mozzarella and 1/3 cup of the Pecorino cheese. Add the spinach leaves, mixing to combine. Mix in the rest of sauce. Spoon mixture in prepared baking dish and sprinkle with the remaining pecorino cheese on top.
Bake about 30 minutes, or until cheese is lightly golden.
This recipe makes 6-8 servings. Enjoy it.

Another idea would be a table full of "finger food" and appetizers. Spears of asparagus, spread with cream cheese and rolled up in turkey breast, hummus and homemade crackers or cheese straws, meatballs or chicken wings, maybe even some type of skewers or kabobs on the grill. Instead of sandwiches you could make a cream puff type dough and fill it with chicken salad or seafood salad. Dessert could be skewers of fresh fruit. Have a fondue pot with chocolate if you want to dip, and maybe some of that cold fruit dip as a second option.

You could avoid having to seat people by making dinner something they can carry around and munch on.....