Went to Costco to do some pricing. Would you please help me with amounts to purchase?
(I have listed the product and the size)

Ranch style beans, #10 cans
Pinto beans, didn't have them, but grocery store does carry a larger than regular size
Potato Salad, 5lb containers, but I am leaning towards making it myself. Would that be approx 40 lbs of red potatoes?
For veggie tray
Snap peas 2lb
Red peppers 6/bag
Carrots 5lb
Broccolli 3lb
Grape tomatoes 2lb
For fruit salad
Seedless watermelon
Raspberries 6-12oz containers
Grapes 4lbs
Pineapple 3lb
Stawberries, how many?

FOR THE BEEF IN THE ROASTER
Cooking a roast medium rare to medium is a safe bet for a large group of people, especially if reheating. The end pieces will be well done and the middle will be more rare which will give your guests a variety to choose from. That is an end temp of 130-135 degrees, and since the temp goes up AFTER it comes out of the oven, you should take it out around 125 degrees. As you remove from the oven, tent roast with aluminum foil; let stand 60 minutes. Temperature will continue to rise 5°F to 10°F to reach medium doneness.

Slice when cooler if storing for later. Using meat slicer, slice rested roasts thinly across the grain for optimum tenderness. If no slicer, you want a VERY SHARP knife.

Trim most fat from beef roasts; season. Place on rack. Do not cover; do not add liquid unless you do the gravy below. The thermometer needs to go in the middle of the piece in a nice thick muscle.

Rup in any spice or rub you want to use. If you are a garlic family, stab with a thin knife and slide in bits of garlic to taste.

For a slightly more potroasty effect, you seal it all up in a foil package with the tight multifolded closures that don't leak. If you do it this way and want saucy gravy, put a cup of dried onion flakes, about 6 cans of cream
of mushroom soup on top the roast before sealing.

For a more roast beef type texture, rub in your dry rub, paprika, etc and roast it on a rack in the bottom of the roaster.

Preheat roaster to 350. Put in the roaster at 1 hour at 350 degrees, then turn down to 200-225. For a single piece, allow a TOTAL of 10 to 12 minutes per pound, but use the meat thermometer- depending on the shape and thickness
of the roast it DOES vary. If dry/open roast, place the thermometer at the beginning. If it is in the foil packet, do not pierce the foil and put in the temp probe until the last hour.

Warning!!! The reason the chuck gets tender is the SLOW roast. Cook it fast and it will be done but not tender. If you are serving Sunday, you could even turn the temp to 200 and increase the cooking time, just "cook until done".

Your 26 pound roast is 260 to 320 minutes, about 5 1/2 hours roasting at 250. I would allow 7 total, to allow for extra roasting time and standing time before slicing.

If serving the same day, crockpots on low are an option. Seem to do better than returning to the roaster. But if you use the roaster, at least 180 but no more than 200 degrees.

I am throwing a 1st birthday party for my daughter at the end of the month. We are serving hot dogs and Hamburgers for the meat portion.. There are about 70 people coming. How much Hamburger meat would i need to buy?

Our FFA chapter is hosting an Orientation for 100ppl. We are having fajitas with rice. I looked in PotBar Section for amounts to purchase (getting from restaurant), but need a little more advice. Also, figuring on 150 cans of soda. Meeting is only about 1 hour.

Guacamole = ?
Shredded Ch = 3.2 lbs.
Grilled Onions = ?
Rice = 5 lbs.
Sour Cream = 3 lbs.

The appetizers are fine except the shrimp cocktail, people love shrimp, and you either want to get at least 1 pound for each 5 people (1 pound for each 4 is better), or skip it entirely and have a shrimp or crab dip, spread, or mold.

With this many entrees, it is very difficult to hit the right amounts. 6 feet of hero makes 20 entree servings. I would skip the chicken marsala, all the other entrees are bbq-sandwich level, and this is a different direction. For the brisket and pork, for each 1 person you plan to serve that entree, allow 5 ounces ready to eat beef (3 people per pound) PLUS 3 ounces ready to eat pork (5 people per pound). What I can't tell you is how many people to count for heros versus cooked BBQ- that depends on the weather and the ages of the crowd.

Some people wil take some eggplant as a side dish along with theoir meats, so allow 30 servings.

Cheese balls depends on whether there are other cheeses, you want about 20 pounds total all chhese offerings with 6-7 pounds crackers, for each 100 people.

I am new to your site and really glad that I found it. I am adding to my favorites……Please help. I am hosting a benefit dinner on the 26th of Jan. I need to get the information by the 8th for the dinner. I am a good cook and have a family recipe that I am going to use but I am not sure of quantity. I did read through your lotsa pasta but if I am not mistaken they are already made sauces. I am planning on making my homemade pasta sauce for baked ziti. I am planning on 150 people. I am not sure if we are going to serve it or do a buffet style. If you could please help with the amount to buy or would need to use to make the sauce that would be totally awesome.

Tomato Sauce #10 can
Whole Tomatoes 28oz size can
Tomato Paste 6oz size can
I use more of the sauce than the tomatoes, most of the recipes that I have been reading on other sites call for more tomatoes than the sauce…..YIKES!

Also I am planning on serving salad with mixed greens.

Thanks so much in advance.

I allow 10-12 quarts (about 3 gallons) for each 50 to 60 people.

I would probably do 2 pans of butternut, 4 pans of regular (but keep one in the fridge until I see how it is going) and about 1 piece of chicken per person (30 pounds, approximately). If you think the butternut will be a big seller, you can do 3 of these and hold one back.

I would do the chicken in an electric raoster to leave the oven free for the lasagnas.

Jim, it depends on who you are feeding and how the ziti and meatballs are served. If it football players/ college students/ teens, the total wull be way more than a family church group, for example. If it is a mixed baked casserole type service, you will use less meatballs than if they are served separately, where some people will load up on the meatballs.

You want to start with about 55 pounds of raw boneless beef, that is two roasters full. You can do this in two roasters at one time, or you can prepare it all ahead in the roaster or oven, freeze in zipper baggies and thaw in refrigerator (allow 2 days), then reheat in the roasters.

The slow cooker on high is 290 degrees. You would get the same results in the covered roaster at 290-300 or in the oven in foil covered pans at the same temp. I would probably do it ahead all at once, a whole ovenful at 10 hours, first hour at 350, last 9 at 250; shred, freeze with some juice, and reheat in real beef broth the day of.

Appetizers: cheese and crackers, veggies and dip, chips and dip, green and black olives and pepperoni slices.

Main menu: Caesar salad, green beans, sausage & peppers, some kind of simple chicken dish(any ideas), and penne ala vodka(do you know a good recipe?) All will be made in full size chaffing trays.

Have I planned enough variety and should I plan for another veggie dish or are the green beans enough? Also, do I need a rice side?

All your appetizers are on the appetizer planning list. Ceasar salad is in the first section of the plan for 100 list.

I would make 40 people's worth of sausage, 40 people's worth of chicken and about 6 9x13 trays of pasta (2-3 chafers, depending on depth). I would suggest a baked chicken and rice dish- easier on the cook and takes care of the rice problem- or 3 batches of my orange dijon wedding chicken, which can be made ahead and frozen, with 3 pounds of dry rice, baked. I might go Alfreda instead of penne vodka for the additional veggies and colors.

Allow just 1/2 cup of fruit salad per actual person, 1 brownie per person, 1 of each type cookie per person; consider a 2 layer half-sheet cake ( half sheet is the size of 2 9x13 pans- with two layers, it is the equivalent of 4 round 2 layer cakes). Your desserts can all be made ahead and frozen.

Unless you are just dropping off the food, you need a second cook and at least 6 servers for this party, even if it is buffet.

When planning mixed beef and chicken entrees for a party meal, most caterers allow 5 ounces cooked beef PLUS 3 ounces cooked boneless chicken, which is 1 piece or 6 ounces, per each person. You need 2 pounds of raw top round to make 5 beef servings. You need about 60 pounds of chicken pieces, add a bit more if quarters, as they have more bone and skin.

See the baked mostaciolli and sausage recipe on the spaghetti/ lotsa pasta page. Without the sausage it makes full servings for 100 people. You can use this as a guide for quantities on your ziti.

Philadelphia cream cheese
eggs
sugar
vanilla
white chocolate
Oreo cookies
The crust will be made of oreo cookies

You have to refrigerate it, so that is part of the planning problem.

See the baking site at

baking 911.com

Collard greens
Potatoe salad
Spaghetti
Macaronni & Cheese
Corn bread

We pretty much have the meat covered!

When used for cornbread, 1 full pan cuts about 50 smallish pieces.