Hi guys, my big 3-0 is coming up soon and I’m having a wee gathering in my house. Unfortunately I have to feed the hordes of freeloaders that will turn up (the first time in my life I hope nobody turns up at my party 
). I’d say there’ll be at least 20 people present, maybe 30. I’ll be laying on salad, breads, cheeses, lunch meats and all that jazz but trying to think of other handy hot and cold fare to serve them. Any suggestions?
I’ve made this for two halloween parties now, and it’s easy and very tasty - it’s called Poop Dip for halloween, but you can just call it cheese dip for a birthday party. The recipe is:
2 pounds ground beef (browned and drained)
2 pounds Velveeta cheese
1 litre salsa
Throw all the ingredients in a crockpot and heat up for a couple of hours so the cheese melts (the cheese melts better if cut into squares first). Serve with taco chips or melba toasts or something you can dip into the crockpot. This makes A LOT of hot dip - you could cut the recipe in half if you’ll have tons of other stuff.
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Hummus and some cut-up raw veggies (easy!)
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Potato and/or pasta salad (cheap!)
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Devilled eggs (usually cheap!)
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Make-your-own taco station: seasoned ground meat, beans, shredded lettuc, salsa, etc. Let people make their own damn food.
We call it queso down here. And you use Rotel tomatoes rather than salsa. And sausage instead of hamburger. And serve it with tortilla chips. My recipe is a bit more complicated, but that basic one there is just fine.
How cheap is cheap? I just made swedish meatballs for a party and got rave reviews. Two bags of 60 1" frozen meatballs and 5 cans of soup plus some sour cream and spices (it made a LOT - like a 5 qt crockpot full). Under $20 with tax. I’ll try to figure out the recipe if you want it.
A fave of ours is cream cheese dip. Basically you mix a softened block of cream cheese with some spices/herbs and serve with crackers. Neufchatel (or “light” cream cheese) is a little softer and easier to spread. We do a garlic/onion, a red pepper, a hot pepper, a fresh herb, etc. If any of those appeals, I can be more specific.
I made a side-dish not long ago that ended up being eaten as a dip with crackers, too. A tub of Greek yogurt, some chopped up veggies (green onion, zucchini, bell pepper, cucumber, etc.), and some herbs/spices. Very tasty and a little different from what we usually do.
A goodie to go with your lineup: slice up some onion and bell pepper. You want to end up with slices of similar size & shape for both. Cover with your favorite Italian dressing and marinade for a few hours. Yummy topping for sandwiches, just a little snazzier than usual.
ETA: that first paragraph is to Cat Whisperer. purplehorseshoe snuck in whilst I was typing.
Cheap isn’t the major issue really. I just don’t want to spend a small fortune on stuff though since I’ll also be supplying drinks too.
I tend to make large pots of chili, which is fairly cheap, or the ‘breakfast casserole’ type of thing that has sausage and eggs and cheese. Those will feed a whole lot of people for not very much.
I’m looking forward to when my daughter will be old enough to appreciate this. I’m sure it wouldn’t be that hard to make them into cheap cocktail treats, everythings better with BBQ sauce.
My favorite appetizer to make is caprese salad bites. I wrap a basil leaf around a small piece of fresh mozzarella, stab a big toothpick through it, and then add a grape tomato. About 15 minutes before serving I arrange them pretty on a platter and drizzle lightly with extra virgin olive oil. These are better when they are not straight out of the fridge anyway. Little cooler than room temp is probably best.
Fun flavors of popcorn also go over well on appetizer buffets.
What’s that thing with cocktail weenies, grape jelly, and ketchup/BBQ sauce? I’ve never made it, but I keep hearing people rave over it.
A jar of grape jelly, a bottle of chili sauce and either little meatballs or wieners, all heated up together and kept warm. Sounds appalling but tastes delicious.
It’s also really simple to sub stuff for - my friend’s mom used a jar of mustard instead of the chili sauce and it was still awesome. The grape jelly melds with the mustard to create a sweet, almost BBQ sauce. You’d never guess it was grape jelly and mustard.
Actually, it’s apricot jam and barbecue sauce for the mini-meatballs.
Velveeta and ro-tel alone will make a fine queso. I seem to remember the ratio being 2 cans ro-tel to one big block of Velveeta. Melt cheese, add drained ro-tel, keep warm in crock-pot. Serve with tortilla chips.
Also, for the healthy types, you could do crudites with ranch dip.
Chips and salsa and/or guacamole is relatively cheap as well, although guacamole has some prep time involved.
Oh- I’d always heard it was mustard & grape jelly on the little smokies- if so, it does taste remarkably like a sweet-style barbecue sauce.
Yup, that’s it. With no meat, the stuff will keep in the frig practically forever. But a lot of folks here want meat in it, hence the sausage. Hot breakfast sausage, crumbled, preferably.
However, I think the big problem, now that I’ve actually looked at who posted the thread, is that the OP may not have access to much of any of our suggestions, being not in the USA. :o
I make a caprese salad, but not in the winter. And I don’t bother with the individually wrapped stuff. Just chop up tomatoes, mozz cheese, and basil and mix it up with some olive oil and a little balsamic. It’s not hand-food, requiring a dish and utensil, but it’s hella easier and people love it.
I’d also second the idea of a one-pot dish. That’s what we’ve been doing for most of our parties lately. It’s hot and “real food”, but as part of a buffet, guests can eat whenever they want. Soup, beans, chili, that sort of thing. Stack some bowls and spoons nearby, have some appropriate bread or crackers handy.
Yeah I had to look up Ro-tel and Velveeta.
Another one that sounds kinda gross but is actually addictive, and uses the rest of the Velveeta you’ll be buying…
Crumble and cook some sausage (Italian or breakfast, I use mild but bet it would be really good with hot). Drain, melt the Velveeta into it. Spread on little King’s Hawaiin bread mini-buns…the sweetness of the bread is what really sets it off, imo. MmmmmMMMMM. I want some right now.
A favorite for us is tortilla wraps.
Spread a good amount of cream cheese on one side of a flour tortilla. Then lay out two or three pieces of pastrami, then some chopped black olives and chopped green chilies sprinkled on top.
Roll up like a burrito using some of the cream cheese as glue to hold it together. After it’s chilled, slice in to 1 or 2 inch slices. It makes a pretty roll and it’s very tasty.
I wondered if you’d have Velveeta over there (I don’t know what Ro-Tel is, either).
Oh, yeah, ham rolls. A co-worker makes those. I’ve tried, but they never come out right. Flour tortillas spread with cream cheese and green chiles, covered with a layer of ham, then rolled up and sliced. Yum. (You other guys probably don’t have tortillas or green chiles, either. How do y’all survive? :p)
Ro-Tel are canned, diced tomatoes with green chiles. They have different varieties (original, mild, hot, chunky, etc.). Salsa will do if you can’t find them.
If you want to give queso a try, I highly recommend melting in a block (8 oz) of cream cheese, adding some sake (or beer) at the end, and for og’s sake add some spices (garlic, oregano, white pepper, cayenne, mustard, whatever else strikes your fancy)! But most people don’t bother.
I don’t know anyone over your way that actually cooks, An Gadaí. My Brit friends didn’t really cook much before they moved here. So I don’t know what kind of stuff you have to work with.
I’m curious now…what did they eat?