Meal Planning Help!
For Jim’s graduation (end of the month), my in-laws, my SIL, my dad & possibly my step-mom will all be here. I think we’ve decided to do shish kabobs for dinner that day (I can prep it ahead of time & it’ll be quick, in case the day is long). I’ll do beef & chicken plus some veggies. But I’m not sure what I want to do as a side. I’ll probably do some kind of bread but I’d also like something else. Any ideas?? And anyone want to share their favorite veggies for grilling? If it matters, for dessert I’ll be doing either an ice cream sundae bar (homemade ice cream!) or an ice cream cake (probably cookies & cream w/chocolate cake). Jim hasn’t decided which he wants yet.
And any ideas on how much (poundage-wise) I should plan for each adult? Or anyplace I can look?
The night before I think we’re going to do a hamburger bar. I need ideas for what to include. Keep in mind that the family isn’t exactly adventerous. My meal plan includes: lettuce, tomatoes, grilled Vidalia onions, raw red onions, thick-cut smoked bacon plus ketchup, mayo, mustard & A-1. Any other ideas?
Hey lady. My go-to vegetable for all family gatherings is roasted carrots… They require an hour, but it’s almost all hands-off time. For 4 people, I pour a couple tbsp of olive oil, in a roasting pan and pour in a 1lb bag of baby carrots. I add 6+ cloves of garlic, kosher salt and fresh ground pepper and toss it around in the oil. Then it goes in a 450 oven for an hour. I usually stir once at about the 30 minute mark. They’re best when the edges of the carrots and the garlic start to turn nice and black. Yum! If you get adventuresome, you can add other root vegetables to the carrots (shallots, potatoes, etc…) My mouth is watering just thinking about it!
In my world (which I admit is a weird blend of Chinese family cooking and white girl with limited skills…), kabobs come with rice. Especially because the Chinese people have this great electric rice cooker–does all the work and keeps it hot for hours if necessary. It’s more of a pain on the stove.
Also, I’d go with Greek salad-ishness. It’s easy (cucumbers, green peppers, & tomato and some store bought dressing–weirdly, italian works). And everything is in big enough chunks that if you hate tomato you can pick it out.
Oh, and the last time I held this knowledge in my head, the FDA recommends 4 oz servings of meat. (We had a federal program at the church to encourage healthy eating among African Americans). I’d assume more…maybe 1/4 to 1/2 lb of meat a person, because it’s always easier to deal with leftovers than running out of food.
Good luck!
We just had shish-kabobs with a cauliflower and potato dish. I chopped up a head of cauliflower and put it in the baking dish. I diced up 2 potatoes (already boiled) and put them over the top. Then I added a tablespoon of butter and a splash of milk and a dash of flour over the top. I covered it in shredded cheese and then threw it in the oven at 350 for about 20 minutes.