Meal Ideas

Hi,

I`ve found pasta dishes to be the most inexpensive and quickest to make.

You could check out Pasta.Allrecipes.com. You can look up recipes by pasta shape, sauce, etc. YOu can even customize the recipe for the servings you need!

I hope this is helpful!

All Best,
Cat

Thank you cat, going to look right now. :)

Melissa

Melissa-
Where are you from? $1500 for catering for 175 people does not seem like a lot to me considering catering is $45 a person! Just wondering..............

Im from upstate new york. Well no i guess its not a lot but when you are on a budget it is.
I just want some good cheap meal ideas.
Thanks
Melissa

After attending many weddings, seems most of the food goes uneaten. AND you can`t take it out of the place of your reception.. .. Try to keep it simple and have easy food to eat. My friends like the "finger food," i.e.,shrimp, (pealed) chicken wings, sausage balls, cheese and crackers, fresh veggies with dip,
M & M`s :-), Then the salads like potato, mac, for instance. Rolls of course. Whatever you do, it will be good I`m sure! The people are there for you! Have fun and God Bless

Thank you for responding. I just don`t know what to do. I know i can come up with something more for our budget but then we will have to have someone for clean up. Plus i don`t want people to think it`s corney or stupid. Where we are having the reception, we don`t have to have them cater, but we can`t bring in a professional caterer. And we aren`t allowed to use the kitchen. But if making stuff ourselves will save $1000 dollars i think i should try and do it. I just wanna come up with a menu that everyone will enjoy.
Melissa

Melissa
If you can contact a school or church, maybe they can let you borrow some of the big coolers. Also, microwaves can move well! Again remember your guests are there to see you marry and love you! You can find fancy plastic plates, cups, etc at Sam`s or Big Lots. I wish I could help! I make a great homemade pound cake! Made one for my son`s wedding (groom`s cake) and it went first!
Deli dishes are so good and most everyone likes the food!
Or you can call in Pizza`s!
Have fun!
Maggie

I don`t know if this is an option for you or not, but I think were going to have a bbq and salads, rolls, things like that.
Also $1500 for 175 people is a lot cheaper then what prices are here in Halifax, NS. I was researching it and its between $40-$65 a plate. So were going to do it on our own, just need to find a place that allows it.

Good luck.

1500.00 is CHEAP!!!

I understand your on a budget. It is costing us 30.00 a plate for 82 people thats 2460.00 and thats in Ohio

Here is an idea--do you like bbg wings???

Do you have a BW-3 near you? or a wing place?
You can get large amounts of wings for really cheap.
With all the side dishes. Check into local resturants and see what they charge for a meal. Its always cheaper and the food is homemade but you don`t have to do it.

Hi, I too am having a wedding soon, at the end of March, 2004, and am going to have to have the food made myself instead of catering.
I don`t agree with the wings idea. Just went to a wedding where they had veggie platters, cold cuts, dip, and rolls that you could put mayo, mustard, cheese and meat on (LOVED THAT!) and they also had wings there.....NO ONE touched the wings!!!!! They were all dressed up and didn`t want to get their fingers or their dresses, shirts and least of all their kids clothes messed up with the sauces.
I personally have been to a wedding that cost about $30+ a plate and the food wasn`t as easy or as good as the veggies. I liked the veggies and cold cut roll sands soo much better. I am going to do that for my wedding. Costco or Safeway will prepare them for you and the food really goes a long way. Another thought, have you wedding right after breakfast, lunch or dinner and everyone will welcome the snacks.
Good luck!

I am also from Upstate NY. Whereabouts are you from?

Kelley i am from Utica New York.

Thank you to everyone who has given me these wonderful ideas. Has helped me decide what i may do. THanks a bunch.

Melissa

Hi Melissa,

I`m from Utica too!! If you want to save the hassle of cooking the food yourself, I`ve used Mazzaferro`s in Rome and their food is great. They`re not a `true` caterer, so they won`t come in and set everything up for you (which it seems your reception site won`t allow anyway.) But their prices are very reasonable and the food won`t require heating up etc. They don`t charge `per person` but by the tray (full or half).

For about $250 we fed almost 100 people the following:
Fried Chicken
Baked Ziti
Sausage and Peppers
Garlic Potatoes
Meatballs in Sauce
(Something else I can`t remember)

The only things we did ourselves were to buy rolls and make a salad. Their number is in the book.

If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me!
Pgirl315@aol.com

WOW kelley small world huh. Lol. Where abouts in utica?
Thank you for the info, very much appreciated.
Thats a great deal for all of that. :)

If you have any other tips for me please email me
Melissajoe17@yahoo.com and i will do the same if i have any questions.

Thanks again
Melissa

Cold cuts? wings? bbq? potato salad? pizza? Are you guys having picnics or wedding receptions? I was looking into doing my own food too, but I can`t find any suggestions anywhere for ideas of something other than what seems like superbowl party munchies or casual dinners. Does anyone have any ideas on how to cater your own reception with food that is more suited to the most special day in my life?

Hello, My fiance and I are also on a tight budget. We are having a Pig Roast. Which, that alone should only cost about 400 for the pig and the spit for cooking. I guess if it is a formal reception that woudn`t work, but it a decent idea for a tight budget. Congrats and Good Luck =)

You guys can get a good recipe/idea from TLC`s show "for better or for worse" I checked out their site and they prepared a reception for 200 guests and the recipe is on there.

Hope this helps.