apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

i used to cook big meals at my co-op house, and one popular one was lentil loaf. i think i got the recipe online at vegetarian times. it's perfect for making ahead, because the ingredients actually gel more if left in the fridge overnight. anyway, all you'll have to do at dinner is bake and slice and serve with sides. it's also delicious with a little plain yogurt or chutney on top.

here's the recipe. it's actually vegan. if your sisters eat eggs, i would recommend adding a beaten egg or two. it will really help with binding the loaf, much more than the ground flaxseeds.

http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/7685

If the dinner isn't too fancy, how about vegetarian chili? It can be made in advance in slow cookers, served buffet style with bowls of sour cream, cheese, diced tomatos, tortilla chips, etc. for toppings. Big pans of cornbread could also be made in advance, and all of this is pretty economical, too.

Black bean chili, make it vegan, then serve a large array of toppings and mix-in's alongside for vegetarians & carnivores: cubed turkey breast (smoked or roasted), cotijo cheese or goat cheese (crumbled), pepper jack cheese or cheddar cheese (shredded), at least one red salsa & one tomatillo salsa, caramelized or oven roast onions, scallions, chopped bell peppers (red, yellow, orange are easier to digest than green), sour cream, hot hot hot sauce. Serve with chips, cornbread mini-muffins, salad, a dark Mexican beer like Negra Modelo and margaritas.

You could doctor up the lasagna for something different- a couple years ago in a food production and management class we had to cater an event in the department as one of our projects. The main dish we served was butternut squash and hazelnut lasagna. We assembled pans of it the day before and just baked it on the day. Then we did a bunch of sides and smaller dishes that could also be made ahead like rice balls, biscuits which got made into sandwiches, etc. We also did a vegetable frittata which was baked in loaf pans and cut into squares.
Good luck!

individual veggie pot pies in muffin tins (buy pre-made pastry dough to save a step)

tortilla soup with veggie tacos/enchiladas

vegetable gratin

grown up baked mac n cheese with roast vegetables

stuffed tomatoes with a side pasta salad

you want as much make-ahead as possible, while keeping your kitchen's capacity in mind- how much oven space, burner/stove space, which pots and pans are available, etc.

also, how many helpers will you have? I would ask for as many as can comfortably fit in the kitchen; and if it's for 70 people, perhaps rotating shifts.

(I've cooked for 25 people at a time with 2-3 helpers, myself)

also- what tools do you have? hopefully a food processor- that will *really* help.

cassoulet- bean stew that is cooked in the oven- could work.

I also second the butternut squash lasagne. it's so yummy.

other thoughts: make an indian feast: with chickpea tomato curry (chana masala), spinach mushroom curry, rice, salad with raita, and carrot halwa for dessert. yum.

the chickpea curry can be made ahead of time, rice is simple and can be made without much fuss, the spinach mushroom curry: the spinach can be wilted ahead of time; and everything else can be made ahead of time.

good luck!

Also, a carnita or taco bar where you could have a couple of meats that were made in the slow cooker (no hands-on prep!) and black bean filling for the vegetarians. Lots of cheese, sour cream, vegetables... You could provide crispy shells or fresh soft tortillas.

I've made a great leek-and-potato gratin from the...um...martha stewart website. really filling!

Go with some southwest flavor- make a few pans of stacked enchiladas. They are very easy and don't take too long. You can prepare them in stages and even have them fully prepared the day before, just bake them the day of! You make them in a similar way to lasagna (using a corn tortilla (quickly fried so it doesn't get soggy in the mix) as a lasagna noodle. Pick up a few rotisserie chickens at the market and shredd or chop them. A few bags of shredded cheese, onions, olives, sauce, and the meat go on each layer. Do about 3 layers. Top with sauce and cheese. Very easy. Serve with some sour cream, beans, guac, and margaritas of course. For dessert, why not do some dulce de leche milk shakes.
Another easy idea would be to get some premade tostada shells and do tostadas. So easy to prepare as well.

Some of these sound really good, but very expensive! Avocados/guac for 70 would be quite expensive, for example. Also, avoiding too much high end dairy (really nice cheese, heavy cream) will really keep your budget a lot lower. I also agree that instead of worrying too much about meat, just go sans meat to make everyone happy.

I like the idea of a theme:
American = @designerny mac and cheese (some with a nice smoked ham mixed in, some not), grilled corn on the cob, roasted veggies, salad (if you even need it), mix of bundt cakes (always cheap to make) and/or pies

Indian (great idea @jillrenee from boston) lots of rice as filler and a great chickpea curry, a nice cucumber and onion salad, and some kind of raita or chutney, and honey sesame candy sprinkled over ice cream sounds particularly great and economical--easy to make ahead.

Moroccan = lots of hummus from scratch (so cheap and filling--mix in some cilantro, curry powder, etc. for a nice change from the usual), huge veggie tagine with some apricots mixed in for sweetness, couscous, big grated carrot salad with cumin dressing, yogurt mousse with rosewater mixed in (great recipe here: http://bit.ly/1ccAsM--just use orange zest/juice and rosewater instead of lemon). To do that many desserts in cups/bowls, maybe you could spoon the mousse into souffle cups as they've been suggesting lately on the kitchn!

Middle Eastern/Greek = white bean dip with lemon and rosemary/thyme (blend large cans of drained white beans with lots of lemon zest/juice, herbs, olive oil, salt, pepper and fresh herbs) with crackers or pita (whatever is cheaper) to dip, vegetarian moussaka, salad (romaine, scallions, dill, radish,
lemon vinaigrette), and blender chocolate/coffee mousse scooped into small souffle cups once set or a lot of lemon cakes (with syrup or glaze--icing is expensive to make and time consuming!)

Good luck and tell us what your menu ends up being!

polenta! polenta is awesome but unsung, and you can bake a huge sheet of it so cheaply. served with a great vegetable stew and a big salad and some bread, you can feed the masses

Bit pot of black beans over rice.

http://whitneyinchicago.wordpress.com/2008/11/02/blackbeans/

Leave out the ham hock to make it veg. Or make two pots, 1 without.

My classmates (about 24 of us) take turns bringing dinner to our night classes. When it's my turn, I often bring an easy pasta salad, with red pepper, artichokes, olives, broccoli, and a bit of feta mixed in (but there are all kinds of combinations of course). It's really really fast, can be made ahead, and makes a large amount of food without costing much.

Also, this is kind of a "duh", but try going to a wholesale-type store (such as Costco or Cash & Carry... or whatever such stores are in your area), where you can get huge containers of things. It will save a lot of money in comparison to regular grocery stores.