Seeking Ideas for Food for Birthday Party

How about a taco bar?? Its easy, doesn't heat the kitchen up, you can prep everything the day before and heat it all up in slow cookers/crockpots! Very easy and fun.

Although kind of messy, I have the BEST recipe for Sloppy Joes that I have ever tasted. I got this from a lady whos the M. of one of my friends. Every time she would have parties when we were kids we would gobble these up. She still gets requests from family to make these at all her gatherings. These are made from scratch and go a looooong way :) Last time I made these everyone was impressed. I even made enough to freeze and we take some out for quick meals. But I also think that Italian beef sandwhiches and fruit kebobs sound great. My sis-in-law buys great frozen Italian beef in a tub at Costco. Please reply back and I'll send you the recipe for the Sloppy Joes if you are interested.
Have a great time!
NJ

Here's a great idea for the cake anyway- my pastors wife taught me how to make this and we have not had a traditional cake since!!!!! MY BOYS (I have 3 ages 3, 8 and 12) ask for this EVERY birthday!!!

ICE CREAM CAKE
1 gallon of your favorite ice cream (we love cookies and cream flavor)
1 container hot fudge
1 package of your favorite cookies (we love oreos)
1 container 8 oz cool whip
Tube of frosting to decorate.

Crumble cookies on the bottom of a 9x13 pan- reserving a few to sprinkle on top. Heat up hot fudge as directed and pour over cookies. Cover cookies/hot fudge with ice cream. Cover ice cream with cool whip. Sprinkle leftover cookies on top. Let freeze for at least an hour or two. Decorate as desired.

This cake is SOOOOO good and we have used mint chocolate chip ice cream/thin mints, chocolate chip cookies with chocolate chip ice cream, the combinations are endless and the cake is delicious and much cheaper than buying one from say Dairy Queen! Enjoy!!!!!

We just hosted the 4th and I did Italian Chicken. Much like the beef you use frozen chix breasts. However many you can fit in a crock pot. You can usually buy the Tyson chicken in a 3lb bag. Add a can of Chicken broth and 1 dry pack of Good Seasons Italian seasoning. This cooks on low for 6-8 hours and is wonderful. I put out shredded mozz cheese and french bread. It was a hit and it heats up great for left overs.

Hi D., I too have had parties at my house except my family is kind of large. I have done two things in the past that worked out great. 1 is that I made sloppy joes and kept them in a crock pot to keep them warm, had chips and a salad for a side. The nest thing I did was had a taco bar, again the meat was in a crock pot to stay warm, then just cut up the sides and kept in bowls and the flour shells I heated up in the microwave and kept warm in a flat warmer. Hope it helps, it kept the house not heated up and easy clean up. Good luck.L.

You can do beef sandwiches. I usually get frozen beef in juice or italian beef from our meat store, cut up an onion and green peppper, put in your crock pot in the morning and just wait. WE have also boughten a roast and done the same thing and then the beef pulls apart if you like that kind of sandwich. Serve vegies and salads chips and dip.

Have you considered having a Taco Bar? It's fairly easy and most everyone can find something they like that way.

you could use your crock pot and make pulled pork bbq or Italian Beef. It beats trying to cook burgers etc while everyone is standing there. or you could cook a turkey on the grill. the turkey cooked outside is a nice surprise in the summer or a ham on the grill!

You know it's funny that you should ask this question. We're having a food day here at work and a couple people put money in and went to Dominick's and had these huge party sub sandwiches made. Would you beleive there only $7.99 a piece??!?!?!?!? They look and taste amazing also!

Taco buffet with many different fixings. You can even make a batch of steak or chick fajita filling on the grill. Have a dish of cheese, lettuce, tomatoes/chopped and maybe serve with spanish rice and beans. Serve with nacho chips or maybe some cinnamon twists or we make what is called fruit nachos. (cinnamon /sugar triangles dipped in blueberries or any fruit/mixed with vanilla yo'plait yogurt. Also, frozen s'mores are great! Easy recipe and you can make them the night before. Message me if you want the recipe. Have fun!

We've done deli trays with assorted rolls and cold salads,chips, etc.
Everyone can assemble their own sandwiches, it is a perfect
meal for a hot day, and you can enjoy the company rather
than worrying about cooking or grilling.
Costco has really tasty roll up sandwiches, already preassembled. I served these at a shower once and they were
a big hit.
I was also at a summer party where they served sub sandwiches,
a similar idea.
Good luck...enjoy the party!

Fruit kebabs are fun.
Cold cut tray w/ small size buns/rolls to make "mini" sandwiches.

You could do a "Make your own sandwich and salad bar" having a whole bunch of options out and everyone chooses their own variety! A fun and healthy way!

Hi, I was going to say fruit Kebobs, too...what about regular kebabs, also...Prepare all ahead of time and then just grill... The kids may even eat their veggies if they can pull them off the stick.For those who do not like veggies or meat-cheese cubes, or other prefered items perhaps. I am just thinking of ideas. Have never tried them myself for a party but many like their chicken over the other meats and then have a big platter of veggies and dip. You may want to try putting your hidden valley ranch into plain yogurt. Add enough to taste preference then it is more calcium and protein.That is how I have made my dips recently. I really like it. It is not like the real thing,but I can justify serving it as part of a meal and it is healthy for you. btw...it tastes great on bake potatoes too...key is you have to add enough to your taste preference. All the others seem very easy...the kebabs may be more work than you want, and may be a lot more costly. But if you are looking for something completely different, there you go:D

Because it is suppose to be hot, how about veggie pizza.

http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1650,145168-250193,00.html

Or take a water melon, hollow it out and fill it with different fruits. (watermelon, other melons, grapes, etc.)

Strawberries dipped in Chocolate. Both kids and adults love that and strawberries are in season.

maybe jell-o squares or real hand squeezed lemonade with lemonade ice cubes.

Hope this helps.

What about Jimmy Johns? They have party platters.

Hi -
We had my daughter's 2nd Birthday Party last year at the end of September and I was the same way - no extra heat in the house!!
We did kid food for everyone - the un-crustable pbj sandwiches and corn dogs. We also did rice crispie treats and spiral bites too. Sam's Club has these great spiral bites (turkey, ham) that you just let sit out and thaw - they are fabulous! Chips and dip and puppy chow would be fun too. For drinks I did sprite mixed with cherry limeade and froze marachino cherries into the ice cubes and put it all in a punch bowl. It was yummy!

I hope you have a great celebration!
H. Ball

D.:

You might consider a taco bar. Then you could use the Mexican theme for the party.

You might also make sloppy joes in your crock pot. Then you could have a cowboy theme.

C.

We did a small family gathering for my 2 yr old's birthday as well, and I was also worried about the menu. My husband suggested italian beef in the crockpot, and it was a huge hit! No heat from the oven, easy to prepare, and smells delish! : )

Hi. What about beef sandwiches. Beef in slow cooker. You can make a salad and be done. So much easier than making a couple different things.

For my daughter's last party I did a buffet with multiple crock pots - one of taco meat, one with chili and one with hot dogs. I also did a roasting pan filled with potatoes I had baked on the grill earlier. Then I did all the toppings, including lettuce, doritos, sour cream, tomatoes, cheese, etc. People had the option of making tacos, walking tacos, taco salad, hot dogs, chili dogs, topped potatoes. Most of the toppings for all these overlap anyway, so it sounds like alot, but it wasn't. Everyone got to eat something they liked and I had almost everything ready before the party. Our parties also tend to run really long and people often eat more than once, so this gave them options for something different.

Catered chicken and pizza are also big hits around here. All you need to do is add a salad.

How about italian beef sandwiches??!! You can get a big thing of papa murphy's (I think that is the brand) at Costco. Depending on how many people you could get one or two of them and put them in a crock pot and serve with hoagies and sweet peppers. I also agree with the bbq idea of another mom......my husband runs a local chain here in the area and I know you can go in buy bulk pulled pork for sandwiches or ribs and other things. HAVE FUN!! Good Luck!

how about a build your own taco bar?? tacos are a good hit with kids and easy to fix as well. or a sandwich/sub building bar. Kids would have fun doing that themselves and that's almost easier than tacos. Kids especially the ages of yours LOVE to do...help or whatever.Maybe even kool aid burst or capri sun drinks for the kids.good luck!!!

What about something like a taco bar, salad bar (with cooked chicken, etc)or cold sandwich bar or sloppy joes in the crock pot? You could make everything ahead of time.

HTH
S.

We just had my twin's 4th birthday party. We had 44 people. We served brats and meatball subs. The meatballs were so easy. I used frozen meatballs and sauce from a jar. Heated them up and left them in a crock pot. Served them on Hoagie buns. We put out mozzarella cheese to top them. I really enjoyed them.

In the past, we have done sub sandwiches from Jimmy Johns with some salads and that worked out great. What's nice is that they deliver. My mom and I just made the salads. Another idea is to make walking tacos. At first everyone looked at them like I was crazy, but when they ate them, they loved them. But I did serve them along with hot dogs. All I did to make the walking tacos was: Using several pounds of ground beef, made taco meat. Then I put the meat in a slow cooker. I went to sams club and bought a case of frito's. I chopped up tomatos, onions, lettuce, black olives and put them in serving bowls. Then I put shredded cheese and sour cream and salsa in serving bowls. Everyone could put in what they wanted. And they weren't so bad as far as a mess goes!
I hope this helps!!

fruit kebobs, easy to eat, great for all ages and healthy! Just pick a few fruits, cut them up and put them on a stick...kids can even help put them on the sticks. I cut the fruit the day before and left them all separte then day of I put them on sticks and trays and put them in a cooler with ice to keep them fresh because I didn't have room in my fridge with all the other stuff. They were a hit and all were eaten so no left overs!!

For my son's graduation party, we went to a local BBQ place. I bought 5 pounds of their BBQ and put it in my crockpot to heat. Bought some buns, chips, etc and no worries! It was great. Everyone loved it and I didn't have to spend hours in the kitchen or worry that it might rain when we wanted to grill.

Italian Beef sandwiches. You can get the italian beef from costco or sams. I priced out Costco, it is 5lbs for $10. You heat it in a slow cooker. Easy and good.
D.,