Need Help Finding a Main or Side Dish That Feeds About 12 People.

Hi mommy-

For me...in this heat...if I have to cook and 'bring' a dish for a crowd...I do pulled pork in crock pot (and 'de fat' it) BBQ sauce on the side...with a big batch of home made cole slaw...and some crusty rolls.

It is a crowd pleaser, and even the vegetarians can have some slaw!

Hope that helps!

best Luck!
michele/cat

I like pasta salad in the summer, or fruit salad. The fruit salad is obvious - pick what's on sale (that won't get brown after being cut) cut it in bite size pieces and you're done.

I like tri-colored pastas for pasta salad. Cook the pasta, rince it in cold water. Add cut up raw broccoli, cherry tomatos (cut in half), black olives, some parmesan cheese (the shredded kind, not the powdered Kraft stuff)

What are the 'no-no's?

You can never go wrong with Mac and cheese...
http://www.food.com/recipe/yummiest-ever-baked-mac-and-ch...

I like Jenna suggestion, Mac and cheese and a spiral ham. It can be served hot or cold, with a crispy salad and fruit salad.

definitely a pasta dish. I like to make a quick lasagna. I don't use the huge long noodles, but I use regular wavy noodles like no yolks (the biggest ones you can find. Then I cook the noodles and layer them in a large 9x12 pan. Layer them with ricotta cheese, italian sausage (optional) parmesan cheese mozarella cheese, meat sauce, Just keep layering till the pan is full, then bake. Easy and it goes a long way.

There are hundreds of things...
pasta - baked ziti, lasagna, mac & cheese, tuna mac salad
fruit - since some people don't like certain types rather than making a fruit salad, just make a large platter
baked beans
coleslaw
potato salad
taco dip with chips
baked chicken legs or thighs
baked ham
cold cut platter with rolls
garden salad
your favorite crock pot dish

Lasagne would be my first choice.
But you could roast chicken breast and thighs. Cover them with olive oil, salt, garlic, oregano and rosemary. Add chopped onions, carrots and potatoes. Cover and bake on 350 for about 30 minutes.

I love this recipe for Salsa Chicken http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=6..., you could easily double or triple the recipe and just serve it over rice. Easy and delicious!

Some easy dishes would be lasagna, enchiladas, a hearty soup/stew (chili, baked potato soup) anything that can be made in a crockpot

You don't tell us what kind of venue...but what's wrong with a deli meat and cheese platter and rolls? Cole slaw, pasta salad, or fruit salad on the side?

Can't go wrong with grilled hot dogs or brats. A crock of taco meat is easy. Just provide tortillias or corn shells and fixings.

I like this baked ziti for a crowd. It has become my "go to" dish when we have new company coming over. Everyone who comes over seems to love it and it's a relatively cheap meal. I serve it with a Caesar salad and some bread. I think this recipe probably feeds more than 8, but not quite 12. If you double it, you will have more than enough. I'd buy one of those large disposable roasting pans to bake it in. You can make it ahead of time, I usually put it together the day before and heat it at meal time. I do not add the onions. I have found when feeding kids or picky eaters, the onions seem to be the one thing they don't want in it.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/baked-ziti-iii/detail.aspx?e...

Let me know how any of these sound and if you like the sound of it, I'll post the recipe.

Dirty Ranch Mashed Potatoes
Orzo and Rice Pilaf With Spinach
Lemon Broccoli Rice
Saffron Rice
Macaroni and Cheese using Land O' Lakes American
Scalloped Potatoes
Eggplant Casserole or Stove Top Eggplant Casserole cheater recipe
Bacon Wrapped Asparagus Bundles

Or, you know, if there's something you want to know how to make toss out some ideas and I probably have a recipe that's tried and true and the level of skill is easy to moderate.

I'm not sure if there's any such thing as a food that "everyone" likes!
Your best bet is to stick with the basics: potato or pasta salad, raviolis/tortellinis, a rice/vege dish, a simple casserole, things like that.
You could also try things that are traditionally served as appetizers, like brushetta or meatballs with bbq sauce.

This feeds 10-12 and goes with everything. Everyone RAVES about it:

Cracker Barrel's Hashbrowns Casserole

Ingredients
2 lbs frozen hash browns
1/2 cup margarine or 1/2 cup butter, melted
1 (10 1/4 ounce) cans cream of chicken soup
1 pint sour cream
1/2 cup onions, peeled and chopped
2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F and spray an 11 x 14 baking dish with cooking spray.
Mix the above ingredients together, place in prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes or until brown on top.