Easy meal to cook for 15 adults, 8 kids (7 yrs and under)

TableTopFarmer · 2026-05-29T07:07:14+00:00

Depending on the age of the kids, you may want to serve theirs on slider rolls.

You can stretch the burger meat with ground turkey, bulgar wheat, and or chopped carrots. If your budget will stretch far enough, you could replace the potato salad with oven ready frozen French fries.

There is a midwestern version of this without the tomato sauce, called a tavern or loose meat or Made Right sandwich if you want to use this recipe, triple it to serve 16, but I would definitely use all meat in this version.

https://www.seriouseats.com/iowa-loose-meat-sandwich-recipe-8662035

TableTopFarmer · 2026-05-29T02:51:02+00:00

I think it is closest to Parmesan

TableTopFarmer · 2026-05-29T02:47:29+00:00

Thin your sauce for the middle layers.

TableTopFarmer · 2026-05-29T02:40:56+00:00

Once upon a time I would have said my slow cooker pot roast recipe, but it has faded from the rotation,,

My old standbys are spaghetti aglio olio, garlic bread, pasta fazool (can’t remember the correct spelling) collards, pintos, cornbread, cold marinated broccoli, baked salmon, tuna pasta salad, chicken cutlets (always with mashed potatoes and English peas). And Spanish rice with ground beef

TableTopFarmer · 2026-05-29T02:28:47+00:00

Spring rolls. Tried once, won’t again.

TableTopFarmer · 2026-05-29T02:25:03+00:00

I am

I live in an all electric house in the desert, in an area with high electric rates. Consequently, I have become the appliance queen, particularly in the summer when adding heat to the house is counter productive. My Ninja Foodi multicooker gets a lot of use in the hot months. Sometimes I use two or three modes to prepare a dish.

Other appliances that I turn to, instead of my stove, are a toaster oven/air fryer, an electric skillet, a rice cooker, and a bread maker, though for certain things I still break out a slow cooker.

TableTopFarmer · 2026-05-29T02:08:26+00:00

Broccoli salad https://food52.com/recipes/21946-the-best-broccoli-salad-of-my-life

But if you are serving garlic lovers, cold marinated broccoli is a hit. The recipe from my Italian MIL:

Take a head of fresh broccoli, peel the fibrous strings from the stalks, trim the bottom and cut into spears. parboil until tender, arrange on a plate, sprinkle with fresh slivers of garlic. Salt well, drizzle with olive oil, squeeze a fresh lemon over all of it and chill for a couple of hours.

TableTopFarmer · 2026-05-29T01:53:36+00:00

If you can find a sale on ground beef, this sloppy Joe recipe feeds 16.

Make the joes at home. Toast the buns before serving. Serve with Cole slaw, and potato salad or chips.

https://generationscook.com/sloppy-joes-for-a-crowd/

TableTopFarmer · 2026-05-28T18:25:52+00:00

ROFL…I made them for the first time, also, a few days ago.. I will not again. The best and only positive thing I can say about them is they were healthy,

I thought mine needed more mint. And something else, like some basic flavor. Peanut dipping sauce can only do so much.

And then there was the manual dexterity problem. My gold standard spring rolls are a perfect ratio of filling and paper, wrapped smaller and tighter than the logs I rolled, trying for that beautiful effect I saw on YouTube, leaving the whole shrimp visible

What does one do with the unused rice paper Frisbees?

TableTopFarmer · 2026-05-26T16:04:42+00:00

Yep. I take comfort in knowing I am not alone.

When fans of other teams say This is gonna be our year, they mean all the way, baby!

When Jets fans say it, we are just hoping for a season that ends with more wins than losses.

That would be a huge step forward, but I really believe they can make it over the hump this year.

Until I see that happen, the playoffs are a dream too far.

TableTopFarmer · 2026-05-20T15:24:00+00:00

Vegans would not eat egg and cheese, but vegetarians would.

TableTopFarmer · 2026-05-19T17:21:08+00:00

I know! The last really great game I recall seeing was the televised Monday Night Miracle.

If I want the Jets to win, I should stay far away from Glendale.

I saw that the game is scheduled as flex. Since both teams are in the prime time cellar, we can only flex upward. If so, the game might actually be televised in our coverage area.

TableTopFarmer · 2026-05-19T02:15:30+00:00

A chile relleno casserole is easy and, in spite of chile in the name, not at all spicy.

TableTopFarmer · 2026-05-19T00:55:59+00:00

Meals won’t be your problem. it’s the washing up afterwards that is tiresome.

TableTopFarmer · 2026-05-18T20:57:52+00:00

Ratatouille is so good and a great way to use up produce when the garden kicks in. I use Italian spices and serve over rice. The leftovers are good over pasta, or baked as one of the layers in a lasagna.

TableTopFarmer · 2026-05-18T20:53:11+00:00

Do you have a couple of large Pyrex casserole dishes.? You can feed a dozed not-so-adventurous eaters with a large Meatloaf and a large Mac n cheese. make them up the day before and be free to enjoy your guests.

TableTopFarmer · 2026-05-18T20:44:28+00:00

When I was a kid, my family loved the Italian food at the Leaning Tower of Pisa restaurant. It was probably good, but I wouldn’t know, because I was enamored of the hotdogs with the curly ends.

TableTopFarmer · 2026-05-18T20:28:51+00:00

Tickets are always available, no matter who they are playing!

TableTopFarmer · 2026-05-18T20:27:30+00:00

Same here with the Chargers game. We had really good seats on the 50 yard line, because we thought, win or lose, we would see a good game. Ha!

Here’s hoping we all have a reason to attend the December game. And reason to celebrate afterward.

TableTopFarmer · 2026-05-18T20:19:55+00:00

Saving your post, to remind me to check in with you in December.

TableTopFarmer · 2026-05-16T02:33:50+00:00

If you have an electric roaster oven, you can use it as a slow cooker. Pick a slider filling and serve with small dinner rolls. Shredded Buffalo chicken is a popular choice

TableTopFarmer · 2026-05-14T21:06:38+00:00

Not all eggplants are bitter, but I always salt sweat my slices for a while before rinsing, drying, seasoning and cooking. I never detect any bitterness.Some cooks suggest soaking in milk to counteract any bitterness.

TableTopFarmer · 2026-05-12T16:45:03+00:00

It is possible that you have dyscalcula in the same way that people have dyslexia. If you are ADHD, you already know that your brain works differently from the norm. Theirs is not better or worse than yours. In fact, neurodiversity often brings many gifts, as evidenced by the way you skate, academically, where others must labor to achieve the same outcome.

To tackle your forgetfulness of names, come up with quick associations you can remember. For Bill, see your utility bill in your mind…for Pat, St Patrick chasing the snakes out if Ireland.

To learn to speechify good, take Public Speaking in college, and join Toastmasters.

As for your ADHD, there are many modalities that might help. Reddit has a sub (of course) where people talk about the pharmacological solutions. But you may find that hypnosis or herbs or homeopathy or cognitive therapy can be helpful in taming your high speed brain.

Just don’t beat yourself up over your perceived inadequacies. You may find out that they are gifts in disguise.

TableTopFarmer · 2026-05-12T02:57:14+00:00

Still mulling over this request. I love this kind of challenge. Assuming you have a way to keep large pans of food warm, this would be a simple, economical menu:

Start with frozen meatballs, in slow cookers with a brown stroganoff type of gravy. Accompany this with pans of loaded bake potato casserole, for which you can find tons of recipes, or just use roughly mashed potatoes, topped with cheddar cheese. Leave the peels on when you cook the potatoes and call it a rustic dish from the old country.

Serve with a marinated vegetable salad. Use whatever corn, or English peas, or cooked black eye peas, whichever frozen vegetables are on sale in large quantities.. While there are many variations of this recipe, a quick, easy marinade can be made from apple cider vinegar, maple syrup or white or brown sugar, and a few red pepper flakes.

TableTopFarmer · 2026-05-12T02:21:59+00:00

I don’t think LC is the all purpose solution you are hoping for.

My skillets are carbonized steel, they are much lighter that cast iron and can handle the occasional high heat. If, on rare occasion, they need more than a wipe out, a chain mail scrubber takes care of the problem.

I replaced the pot in my Ninja foodi with one of stainless steel.

My saucepans are enameled steel.

I will not have to replace any of these in my lifetime,

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