How to Cater on a Budget

Buffet style

If you have an event coming up and you are going to need food served, don't panic! Remain calm, you can do this on a budget while still maintaining your composure and putting out a fantastic spread. Go traditional and definitely buffet style. Alter this amount depending on how many you need to feed. This is to feed about 40.

Things You'll Need

• 5 lbs. hamburger
• 10 lbs mostacolli
• 20 lbs. spaghetti sauce
• 60 pieces of chicken from local deli (precooked)
• 5 lb can green beans
• 1 bag slivered almonds
• 10 lb can whole small potatoes
• 10 lbs bagged salad
• 3 ranch dressing
• 3 italian dressing
• 4 dozen dinner rolls
• Butter
• 50 Dinner sized paper plates
• 50 napkins

Instructions

How to Cater on a Budget

1. 

   Order the chicken and the rolls in advance so that is out of the way. Ordering the fried chicken is a lot easier and only costs a bit more.

2. 

   Prepare you spaghetti sauce the day before, use the hamburger and make the sauce as you normally would. Boil the mostacolli noodles and once they cool place them in zipper bags. Don't mix the two yet.

3. 

   Use disposable tins to serve in except for the mostacolli because when you pull it out of the oven the pan will collapse. The night before your event, place the green beans in the tins, season and sprinkle the slivered almonds over them, cover and refrigerate.

4. 

   Dump the bags of salad into one or more tins and cover. The morning of the event, mix the pasta with the sauce but reserve some sauce back because pasta loves to soak up sauce. Right before serving you will add the remaining sauce.

5. 

   Drain the whole small potatoes and dump them into the tins. Melt a stick or two of butter and pour over the potatoes. Sprinkle parsley, garlic, salt and pepper. Cover and wait until serving time.

6. Set up your table in a buffet style with plates, silverware wrapped in the napkins next to plates. Set out butter, salad dressings, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Everything can stay warm in the oven until serving time where it can go directly on the serving table in the tins. Add serving spoons. You now have a wonderful spread of chicken, mostacolli, salad, green beans, whole baby potatoes and dinner rolls.

Tips & Warnings

• Buy all of your products at the bulk food warehouses where they also sell to businesses.

• Pick up the chicken at the last minute.

• Don't dress the salad.

• Mini butter-slabs work best for the rolls.