need help: Mother's Day menu for 50 people - LONG POST

[Deleted User]

alright ladies, I need some help.  I am hosting a light Mother's Day meal this Saturday for our Spanish-speaking group that my H helps pastor.  so far, only my mom is helping with the cooking so I have to keep it fast, easy, and light.  also, I can't access the church kitchen or room to set up until after 4 PM because the school is having finals and I can't interrupt.  so everything will have to be done in my kitchen at home and taken to the church at 4 pm.

I'm also cooking Mother's Day lunch for Sunday (7 people) at my house...  I'm going to pre-make enchiladas, latin rice, salad, and buy some puerco beans from a lady in our Spanish-speaking group.  and a pudding cake.  so I have to give myself time over the weekend to prepare all of that, plus prepare the meal for 50, and clean/decorate the room in ~2 hours.

I plan to make as much as I can Friday night/Saturday and then just cart it all to the church and finish up there.  but, the menu is really lacking.  I'd love a fresh take and maybe some suggestions...  I just need fast, easy, tasty. 

Little sandwiches (mini hoagies/sandwich rolls with turkey or ham, cheese, lettuce, choice of mayo or mustard)
Fruit plate (orange slices, watermelon, strawberries, grapes)
Queso dip, salsa, chips
I need another side... maybe a pasta salad or normal salad, or something more substantial?

Desserty things:
Lemon cake (a girlfriend of mine is going to bring this)
Cookies or cupcakes (another friend is going to bring these)
Cream cheese with raspberry preserves and crackers
Probably something else

like I said, it's for approx. 50 people.  maybe more, maybe less.  we never know.  I also know it's not a heavy meal, but since it's just me and my mom prepping and cooking and access to the kitchen only 2 hours before it starts, I know there's no way I could provide a hot meal for 50 people, plus decorate and make sure the room has been vacuumed, tables and chairs are set up, etc... plus prep for my own Mother's Day meal, grocery shop for everything and clean our house.  I'm getting a little (okay, a LOT) stressed out about this...  especially since I can't finalize the menu, so I can't finish up my grocery list and get going on that.

TIA for your input!

CASK85

I have some salad ideas for you from my pinterest. They are all fairly substantial . . . and you could obviously scale them up to feed more people. All are clicky. 

Summer Lentil Salad

Spring Couscous Salad

Bulgur and Chickpea Salad with Cumin-Lime Vinaigrette 

You can do it, dear! 

[Deleted User]

oh, they look sooo good! 

I really should have included it in my original post, but everything has to be pretty plain-Jane-vanilla.  we have people from all over Central and South America, and they tend to be a little picky about eating stuff like that.  they stick with what they know, KWIM?  we have a few that would definitely try it, but for the most part I don't think it would go over well with this particular group.  I'm going to file them away for my OWN purposes, though.    I appreciate the links.  I've been looking for a lime-vinaigrette!

ravenray

I have an amazing chocolate chip cookie recipe that is easy to make if you would like it. 

For appitizers I found these:

http://www.tablespoon.com/recipes/cheese-crescent-triangles-recipe/1/ (These look amazing!)

Or this one:
http://www.tablespoon.com/recipes/slow-cooker-cranberry-barbecue-meatballs-recipe/2/

[Deleted User]

oh, yum.  the meatballs could definitely work if I found a few more crockpots to work with.  they are pretty no-fuss...  just dump everything in there and turn on the crockpot.  thanks ray! 

ravenray

No problem   Glad I could help.

lovelyheather

Here are a couple of pasta salads.

Pasta Salad w/ tomatoes, zucchini, and feta

Spicy Pasta Salad w/ gouda, tomatoes, and basil

Stina51286

You can make cheesey potatos in a crock pot too. Thats always a hit.

CASK85

For my family back home I usually go with "Italian pasta salad". . . which IMO is pretty plain jane. You'll have to be the judge though.  I usually use a "package" of each ingredient for a big family dinner (so, a pound of pasta, a pint of tomatoes, 8oz brick of cheese, etc) so you'd probably have to at least double it for 50 people. Add/remove ingredients if you want. 

Spiral tri color pasta

Cherry/Grape Tomatoes, halved

Pepperoni slices, halved

Pepperjack (or really whatever cheese) cubes

Black olives, halved (you could probably omit these)

Bottled Italian Dressing

Cook the pasta, rinse, coat with some dressing, cool. Add in all the other ingredients, mix, add dressing to taste. Usually end up adding more dressing right before serving because the pasta absorbs some. Serve cold or at room temp. 

jorja86

Could you get some cocktail shrimp and cocktail sauce?

Here are couple side ideas (they should be clicky):

Basil Chicken Pasta Salad

Cucumber Salad with Balsamic Dressing

Broccoli Salad

Loaded Baked Potato Salad

Good luck! That's a brave undertaking, but I'm sure you're up to the challenge!

peekaboo2011

Instead of a crockpot for meatballs, could you do them in a ginormous stock pot?  It should keep them warm, and you can keep them on pretty low heat I would think.

[Deleted User]

peek - that might work.  we have some catering tubs (what are they really called?) at church as well.  I do have a large stockpot but I'd have to think about the logistics for it all.  I imagine if they just simmer for a couple hours, it would have a similar effect?

I wanted to serve the people (like, we would wait on them...  bring their plates to the table) or serve them buffet style, but so far it's just me and H that will be there working, and there's no way we can serve that many people.  so it's looking more like a typical buffet, which isn't really all that great.  the kids will make a mess of everything.    so, I don't know right now.  I guess a large stock pot or catering tub would be best for that scenario.  thanks!

lovelyheather

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_need-help-mothers-day-menu-for-50-people-long-post?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:136Discussion:7d78490e-194f-4e5d-bfd2-0819ae4c1e72Post:2c4c1f07-9c7a-4873-8df6-01f4c425be93">Re: need help: Mother's Day menu for 50 people - LONG POST</a>:
[QUOTE]peek - that might work.  we have some <strong>catering tubs (what are they really called?</strong>) at church as well.  I do have a large stockpot but I'd have to think about the logistics for it all.  I imagine if they just simmer for a couple hours, it would have a similar effect? I wanted to serve the people (like, we would wait on them...  bring their plates to the table) or serve them buffet style, but so far it's just me and H that will be there working, and there's no way we can serve that many people.  so it's looking more like a typical buffet, which isn't really all that great.  the kids will make a mess of everything.  :(  so, I don't know right now.  I guess a large stock pot or catering tub would be best for that scenario.  thanks!
Posted by CocoBellaF[/QUOTE]

Do you mean a chafing dish?

[Deleted User]

yes.  I'm ashamed.  I should know that.  thanks for reminding me.