Wings!!
Raspberry Wings
1-1/2 c seedless raspberry jam
1/3 c balsamic vinegar
3 T soy sauce
1-1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1 pkg (5 lb) frozen chicken wings, thawed
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with aluminum foil. In a small saucepan, combine all the ingredients, except the wings, over medium heat, stirring until smooth. In a large bowl, toss
the wings with half of the jam mixture. Place on the baking sheets and
bake for 50 minutes. Turn the wings and brush with the remaining jam
mixture. Bake for 8 to 10 more minutes, or until no pink remains in the
chicken and the sauce glazes the wings. Serve immediately.
NOTE: If you substitute boneless, skinless chicken tenders for the wings, just reduce the baking time to about 15 minutes. And, for a change, you might even want to try this with apricot jam instead of raspberry.
Serves: 4 to 6

Wings, wings and more wings.

Set up a make your own taco area.

Sliders....I don't have the recipe but someone here does I'm sure. You buy those little square Pepperidge Farm dinner rolls, split and if I remember correctly, roll out seasoned ground beef on a cookie sheet with a rim, bake and cut into little squares to fit the rolls.

Nancy

Wow, I don't know, but you'd better make lots of it!

I agree that wings would be good, or pizza/stromboli/calzone kind of stuff, you could make it with different toppings/fillings and make everyone happy that way.

Have fun!

Annie

wow. l2c46, we are neighbors. Anyway, I have a 20 year old and her friends all scarf up the deluxe, not the regular, pre-cooked beef meatballs from GFS on Rand Rd, a tad north of Dundee. Maybe ten bucks for a 3or 4# bag. Warm them with the grape jelly+chili sauce recipe and they will be devoured. Have fun.

(sigh) I had a bunch of ideas down and it glitched when I posted it and was lost. Argh! Now to try to remember. My point was that 20 yo kids usually want more substance than dainty. Wings are a good appetizer, but if they're spending the night they want FOOD not a snack. Rather than wings, I'd go with chicken, turkey, ham or something. A giant sub feeds a lot and is popular. Chili, sloppy joes, pulled beef/pork or combo, taco bar, pizza, calzone, crudite platter, things like popcorn, rice cakes or other snacks. Hamburger hotdish or a baked ziti with some garlic bread, or skip the garlic if "closeness" counts! ;)

I would poll the kids and find out what they like and find out what they're bringing. Also find out if there's allergies or other food sensitivities. Seems to be popular these days. Rocco's Mama's Mozzarella Potato Wedges are filling and tasty. Work well hot or when they get cold. (decent quality) Hotdogs or sausages (brats, Italian, etc) and the cocktail meatballs or franks but slice up rope sausage, brats, smoked sausage, Kielbasa and put in BBQ sauce and it's popular too. Picnic fare? Potato salad, mac salad, coleslaw. Dang, I'm getting hungry!

Around here Sloppy Joes are a tradition I started when I first bought the house. I thought it was quick and easy and people dived into them! Talked about it for years and when I'd go someplace they asked me to make slops for the event. They're fun food.

Sounds like a good group. Hope they have a blast!

I think wings would be good, but then remember you need a place for them to toss all of those bones!

Linda, thanks for posting that reaspberry wing recipe. You just solved my dilemna of what to bring to the neighbor's for NYE!

A couple more ideas just in case:

Sloppy Joe Meatballs
Makes 21 servings
Prep: 35 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Ingredients

� 1 egg, beaten
� 1/4 cup fine dry bread crumbs
� 1 medium onion, finely chopped (1/2 cup)
� 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
� 1 pound lean ground beef
� 1/2 cup chopped green sweet pepper
� 1 tablespoon cooking oil
� 1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
� 2 tablespoons brown sugar
� 1 tablespoon prepared mustard
� 1 teaspoon chili powder
� 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
� 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
� Dash bottled hot pepper sauce (optional)

Directions
1. Heat oven to 350 degree F. Combine egg, bread crumbs, 1/4 cup of the onion, and the oregano in a large mixing bowl. Add the ground beef and mix well. Shape into 42 meatballs about 3/4-inch in diameter. Arrange in a single layer in a 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until no pink remains. Drain well.

2. Meanwhile, cook remaining 1/4 cup onion and the sweet pepper in hot oil in a large saucepan until vegetables are tender. Stir in tomato sauce, brown sugar, mustard, chili powder, black pepper, garlic salt, and if desired, hot pepper sauce. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Serve immediately. Makes 21 servings.

Make-Ahead Tip: Carefully place drained meatballs in sauce. Place in shallow freezer containers. Cool slightly. Cover and freeze up to 1 month. To serve, thaw meatball mixture in refrigerator overnight. Place in a large saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat until heated through (about 10 minutes), stirring occasionally. Serve in a fondue pot, large warmed ceramic bowl, or crockery cooker. Or, to reheat in a crockery cooker, heat thawed meatballs and sauce, covered, on high heat for 2 to 2-1/2 hours

These can be made ahead and served warm or cold. They're very good served with Ranch dressing and/or honey mustard for dipping!

Awesome Chicken Tenders
Posted by Steelmagnolia 7/10

Pour a quart of low-fat cultured buttermilk into a non-reactive container. Add an egg, stirring until yolk breaks and egg is incorporated. Sprinkle with garlic powder. (I don't measure -- just give the jar 4 or 5 good shakes.) Sprinkle mixture very generously with lemon-pepper seasoning. (Keep adding until the top is totally black.) Stir well.

Cut a package of boneless, skinless breasts into bite-sized 'fingers'. Add to buttermilk, stirring well to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. (Note: I don't know if this varies depending on location, but in our local stores, a package of breasts will weigh in the neighborhood of 1-1/2 lbs. I usually buy 3 packages of chicken, but there's enough marinade that I only double that part of the recipe instead of tripling it.)

To cook, add enough oil to pan to cover chicken about halfway. Heat to approximately 370 degrees. (This is where an electric skillet really comes in handy. Helps a lot to keep the temp steady while cooking multiple batches.) Dredge chicken pieces in a standard coating of flour, salt and pepper, going light on the salt. Cook until crisp and well-browned all over, turning once.

Drain on baking sheets lined with paper towels to absorb excess grease. While still very hot, sprinkle generously with seasoned salt. (We strongly prefer McCormick's Season-All, but Lawry's will work.)

These are great hot, warm, cold or at room temperature. Just be certain not to put them in a ziplock bag or other closed container until they've cooled completely or the coating will get soggy.

Linda

Lots of great ideas. Westsider, we ARE neighbours. Please share the recipe for the grape chili meatballs. I think I will throw those in the crockpot for another easy treat.

Dh vetoed the wings because of all the bones and we have a small dog he is worried about.

Cynic, from experience, polling any kids on what they'll be bringing never works. I know some of the girls will bring some great dishes but there will be TONS of salsa and chips, lots of store bought cookies and desserts. Come to think of it, the dip probably isn't necessary LOL

Linda, both those recipes look delicious. Saving the French dip sandwiches for another time. May make the meatballs for NYE.

loves2cook4six, we went to a xmas party this year and someone brought a tasty little snack that all the teens were going crazy over. I had to ask.

Bacon Roll Ups.

She cut the crusts off white bread, smeared cream cheese on the bread, cut bread in half, rolled it up and wrapped a half a piece of bacon around it.

Then she baked them til the bacon was crispy.

I tasted one....... Of course I love bacon, so I loved it!

Pretty easy and I'm telling you and teens all loved these things.

Oh she stuck toothpickes in each one to hold the bacon on and they used the picks to reach in a grab one.

So, is it safe to say that loves2cook4six is willing2cook4fifty?

Jim

Yes, at that age, substantial is more important than fancy. Wings are great, but you will probably end up with bones here and there, and besides, they've gotten to be rather expensive. Around here, you can buy bags of really inexpensive chicken leg quarters...much more meat per dollar. Cut 'em up, oven broil them and slather them with some kind of sauce or other...bbq, teriyaki.

Seems like being "vegetarian" is big with kids these days, there's usually at least one in every crowd. So, a big bowl of some kind of a hearty pasta salad (with cheese on the side for sprinkling, in case they're REALLY serious about it) will both help feed everyone and give them an option. Or, if you've chaffing dishes or some other way to keep something warm, a simple pasta with a chunky vegetable marinara type sauce would be great.

You can't go wrong either with a big old platter of cold cuts & cheese, or a crock pot of bbq pork (or both) served alongside a basket of rolls, appropriate condiments available so they can do the work themselves!

LOL Jim. Guess you're right.

Thanks for the other great ideas. We don't eat bacon so even though those sound delicious, can't do them.

BUT that did give me an idea: cream cheese rollups dipped in melted butter, sprinkled with cinnamon and baked. Although I don't have to do dessert, so maybe not.

This is my shameless lasagna. My kids inhale it, DH and I tolerate it, LOL.

2 jars seasoned tomato sauce of your choice - I use marinara
1 box lasagna noodles, doesn't matter if its no-boil or not
2 15oz containers of ricotta
3 eggs
8 oz of shredded mozzarella (pre-shredded, sorry LindaC)
1.5 cups grated parmesan or 1 cup green cylinder?
If you are adventurous, toss in a log of herbed goat cheese

Mix the eggs and cheeses in a mixer

In a 9x13 pan, spread a little of the tomato sauce
Layer the uncooked noodles, cheese, sauce
add about 1/2 - to 1 cup of water around the four corners

Cover with Reynolds non-stick aluminum foil

Bake 350 for about 45 minutes, remove foil and give it another 15 minutes

Allow to sit for about 15 minutes outside the oven. Done!

Since I know you love to bake, I saw this and thought of your post. Bet you can fill the sandwich ring with beef, turkey or chicken too. Or vegatarian with seasoned tomato sauce, cheezes and veggies.

Here is a link that might be useful: Party sandwich ring

My go to party favorite is roll-ups. They can be inexpensive, go together quickly and can be made the night before.

Some of the fillings I've made:

Reuben (corned beef, sauerkraut or cole slaw, swiss cheese and TI dressing)
Buffalo chicken (rotisserie chix, shredded and mixed with hot sauce, shredded carrots, lettuce and BC dressing)
Bar-be-que chicken (rot. chix mixed with bar-be-que sauce and cole slaw)
Italian (your choice of mortedella, hot ham, genoa salami, capicola, provolone, lettuce and chopped oil packed sun dried tomatos)
Roast Beef (am. cheese, mayo, lettuce and tomatos)
Cream chesse and chopped olives (use green and black)
Hoummus (with shredded veggies and feta cheese)
Egg and/or tuna salad (with shredded veggies)

I slice each tortilla roll-up into fifths and secure with a toothpick.

I thought that a Paella would be really festive and feed lots of people. I've only made this recipe once but it was very good and not labor intensive at all. I added chorizos with the bacon, but to make it a little more traditional next time, I will use the medium grain rice (Goya) or arborio. You would do well with a huge salad and maybe one more side or appetizer (Spanish meatballs in sauce maybe?).

It's just another idea for you but hope this helps. My boys loved this. I'm just guessing at 3 to 4 times the amounts (not the shellfish though, you could probably do very well even with less, but if you want even more you can add scallops to the recipe as well.)

Seafood Paella
Bon Appetit : February 2000
Tio Pepe, Baltimore, MD

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
5 bacon slices, chopped

1 (3 1/2-pound) whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces
2 cups chopped onions (about 2 medium)
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups long-grain white rice
1 (7-ounce) jar roasted sliced pimientos with juice
1/2 teaspoon crushed saffron threads
2 cups bottled clam juice
1 1/2 cups chicken stock or canned low-salt chicken broth

1 pound large uncooked shrimp, peeled, deveined
1 pound cleaned squid, bodies cut into 1/2-inch rings
1 dozen clams, scrubbed
1 dozen mussels, scrubbed, debearded
1 cup frozen green peas, thawed

Lemon wedges

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Heat olive oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add chopped bacon and cook until fat is rendered, about 6 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels and drain. Set aside.

2. Sprinkle chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Add chicken to bacon drippings in pot and cook over medium heat until brown, about 7 minutes per side. Using tongs, remove chicken from pot.

3. Add chopped onions and garlic to pot and saute until beginning to brown, scraping up any browned bits, about 10 minutes. Stir in rice, roasted pimientos with juices and saffron. Add clam juice and chicken stock to pot and bring mixture to simmer. Remove from heat.

4. Pour rice mixture into 15x10x2-inch glass baking dish. Arrange chicken, shrimp, squid, clams and mussels in rice mixture. Sprinkle with chopped bacon and peas. Cover with foil.

5. Bake paella until chicken is cooked through, clams and mussels open and rice is tender, about 45 minutes (discard any clams and mussels that do not open). Remove foil from baking dish. Let paella stand 10 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges.

I have to jump in here again....50 is a LOT of not far from teen aged boys...the amount of bacon rollups they will want it enormous....and while they sound yummy, the thoughts of making 200 of those things makes me gasp!! I have 6 grandsons between 15 and 24...plus a son and son in law....and the amount of little smokies they ate Christmas day, in addition to meatballs, cheese, chili dip etc etc etc...is mind boggling.
To feed 50 kids, and mostly boy kids at that you need something that you can cook up lots of with a fair amount of ease. Lasagna or a pasta casserole, ro youw ant something more "finger food" like huge sub sandwiches. Get loaves of french bread, tear out some of the inside and fill with sliced ham, salami, roast beef, sliced turkey etc cheese, onions, lettuce tomatoes....sprinkle with olive oil and some oregano and slice and serve.
You can also make vegetarian subs with sliced cheese hard boiled egg and veggies olive oil etc. Five sandwiches like that and your snack worries are pretty well over.
Add chips and dip and desserts, drinks....and it's a good time.
I tell ya! make it easy not fussy!
Linda C

The nice thing about a taco bar or sloppy joes or pulled pork or shredded beef or whatever is that there is some breadstuff to go with the meat so it stretches farther. Also easier to keep warm than sliders. When I used to feed college students, I will echo that they want SUBSTANCE. Seems like the guys are in their last throes of a growth spurt and the gals are not yet to the point where they have to watch their weight like a hawk. I always had luck with make your own whatevers--burgers, tacos, baked potatoes, roll ups, sandwiches, ice cream sundaes, etc. They like pasta too. Forget finger foods, they just are not into that. I can't tell you the amount of fancy appetizers I've thrown out from college dos. They do pretty well with a cut up veggie and dip platter though, and any leftovers from that can be recycled into stir fry or vegetable soup later. Pizza is always good, lol!!

Please promise you'll report back after the party, loves2cook4FIFTY! You get gold stars -- what a great group of young men!

Cathy in SWPA

I'm sure your DS appreciates your efforts and you will be his hero. I know there's a lot on the line here for him with his friends and for you with your DS.

Sounds like a good group of kids.

Here is my offering - its good and feeds a crowd.

NEW MEXICAN CHILE DIP
from the kitchen of Jim Myers
Makes about 3 quarts

2-3 pounds ground beef
2 pounds Velveeta cheese cubed
2 large onions, chopped
1 - 28 ounce ounce can crushed tomatoes
4 cloves garlic chopped
2 - 4 ounce cans chopped green chiles
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin

Brown ground beef with the onions and drain. Add remaining ingredients and simmer 20-30 minutes. Transfer to crock pot to keep warm. Use large corn chips for dippers.

Hey neighbor-, I was running around all day and doing my new hobby-baking bread-what a trip!

The meatball sauce which everyone loves may just be too difficult for your cooking level. Try it anyway. Buy a jar of Chili sauce, Heinz/Bennett's type, dump it in with oh maybe a # of grape jelly, mush it around, toss in the meatballs and coat with sauce.

If you google "chili sauce"+"grape jelly" 56 gazillion hits will show. Verify on cooks.com, epicurious is too fancy
I've used generic jelly and when I run out of chili sauce, I've used ketchup, with a dash of this and that. The meatballs are seasoned already, so it really is a good taste guarantee. Little forks or GFS has a 100 pk of fancy lucite looking picks, bigger, nicer than tooth or ruffled picks for $3.

You asked for super easy. Another thing I found that these guys/girls like which we don't do in our family. They love pasta salad. So boil pasta, shells, whatever, and add what's good and easy-toss with a bottled dressing. Oh, I remember that I added cheese crumbles from Kraft. nice

The pasta salad and meatballs were big hits at daughter's. graduation party. We had picked up some Sunset catering stuff, but they loved, loved this. Sounds like fun. My kids/friends dont drink either. So nice. So far, Keep us posted. thnks

I've used the chili+grape jelly for lil Smokeys also. So easy but soo good.

Westsider40 - my dad's wife has made those meatballs with ketchup and 7-Up.....

Salad idea: simple chicken-less Chinese. Iceberg lettuce, chow mein noodles, green onions, slivered almonds on the side, bottled dressing. Maybe some canned mandarin oranges.

Even pigs-in-a-blanket may be too much work! LOL! If I were doing them for this group, I'd make "franks" in a blanket - use hot dogs and crescent roll dough or better yet, have an outdoor fire pit and let them roast their own hot dogs, have buns, mustard, ketchup, relish, onions ready.

I agree about the pasta salad - use Italian dressing instead of mayo, add some fresh chopped vegetables, beans, pieces of cut pepperoni, and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese to make it easy for you, tasty for them.

I'd skip the wings and order some subs, then slice them up when ready to serve. Woodie's Chile Dip looks really good and quick to put together.

Oh, and don't put out everything at once or it will be all gone at once!

Teresa

I would serve a easy dinner to fill them up....many loaves of italian bread meatballs(at least 100-125) and speghetti with a huge salad......then I serve later in the evening a mixed bag of appetizers...theyll be full from the starch! This main can be done in advance including the pasta!

Shaun...I make a similar bacon roll up only I use deli american cheese...SO GOOD!!

My son has LOTS of teens over most weekends and my go to dish is similar to Woodies...we just call it taco meat and its 3 lbs ground meat (I often use ground chicken or turkey whatever looks good that day) Browned up in a large dutch oven. I take a little help and use 2 pouches of low sodium taco seasoning, 2 cans rotel tomatoes and a small brick of velveeta cut into cubes and finally 2 cans of drained black beans. Its super easy and can be made ahead and set in a crock pot.
I get tortilla chips lots of them and on the side I chop some jalapenos, green onions, tomatoes, sour cream...its a huge portion that can feed many big boys.
Here in Nj pork loin is amazingly cheap....like $1.49 lb so how about making pulled pork?? Its another thing that can be made ahead of time and re-heated. Make sides like baked beans and cole slaw.
For dessert I would go with a simple sheet cake or brownies.

Have fun and do post pics!!

Cheers!
Susie

Susie, thanks for that idea; sounds great too.

Great ideas everyone. I'm definitely doing the meatballs in the crock pot. DS desperately wants the pigs in the blanket thing so last night we did a dry run and made Spinach cheese rollups in crescent roll dough. He did it all himself and his friends inhaled them so he is on piggie duty for Friday LOL.

A pasta salad w/ Italian dressing may also be in the works and possibly some do-it-yourself subs. I wish I had two crock pots, then I'd do a taco bar. I think I'll see if I can find one on freecycle or borrow from a friend.

50 kids... I'd do a sub sandwich and some pans of baked mostacolli on the side (one with meat, one without).

For our big halloween party we usually have 50 to 80 people. I usually make a crockpot of meatballs (amongst other things), but make a Swedish meatball type sauce for it.
Just yesterday a friend contacted me for the recipe for the sauce for a party he's having this evening.

Bob's "Swedish" Meatball sauce

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter
4 medium onions chopped fine with food processor
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup medium dry madiera
3 cups strong beef stock
2 cups half-and-half
1 Tbsp Worchestershire sauce

Melt butter in large pan over medium low heat, add onions and cook and stir for 15-20 minutes until onoins are nearly caramelized.
Add flour and stir until the flour is absorbed into the butter, and cook for another minute or two.
Next stir in the Madiera, then the beef stock, and heat to a simmer for a few minutes to thicken the sauce.
Next use a stick blender to puree the sauce smooth, and add the half-and-half and Worchestershire sauce.
Pour over heated meatballs in crockpot on low.

Bless you. I've been there and done that! Have fun!

Wings, veggie tray, bread, butter, meatballs, nuts, crackers, cheese, salami and juice! Whew!

I always cooked breakfast after a homecoming/prom kinda thing.

Yeah, River....me too.....
But usually for maybe 20.
50 is a lot of teen aged boys!!!!!
Hell it's a lot of adults....but twice as many 20 year olds!
They're like locusts!! LOL! I am just recovering from Christmas with the 6 big boy kids!
3 walked in the door and a gallon of chocolate milk was gone in a blink! 2 pounds of cheddar in a flash...8 oz of Blue cheese in a blink, 2 pounds of corn chips and a dip which I never saw, in an instant. And then there were meals!
Have lots of food!!

Loves, it all sounds delish. Have fun.

Thanks again for all the ideas. Here's the follow up.

Everyone brought something. There was so much food that even 50 kids couldn't eat it all. We have unopened pies from the grocery, bags of cookies, chips, tons of stuff left over.

I made the grape jelly meatballs. I made about 150 meatballs and about 50-60 were left. I also made spinach cheese croissants and those all went but I only made 24. There were about 1/4 of the veggies from the costco veggie tray left.

I do not think the party will be remembered for the food that was eaten but rather for how much was left over LOL.

Maybe next year, I'll just provide the house :)

OMG glad it was a success....sounds like you can throw another party with the leftovers!

I agree, take the meatballs and the veggies and make a big pot of soup, then have another party!

And make more croissants, LOL.

I'm glad it went well, Happy New Year!

Annie