Need ideas please - 18 hungry teenagers and it's my turn to bring the food

[Mind_your_head]

It's tennis tourney time at the high school. All of us parents take a turn bringing food for one of the tournaments that start right after school and can last for 3-4++ hours. The girls are ravenous after school and really chow down. Last year it ran me about $100 to supply the food.

I'm on a pretty tight budget right now and am looking for suggestions on what to supply without it breaking my wallet. I will mention that most of the girls are REALLY healthy eaters. About 25% of them are vegetarians.

I was planning on baking 4 loaves of zucchini bread, 2 loaves of banana bread (I've got LOTS of zucchini from my garden and enough over-ripe bananas in my frezzer to do the breads). Beyond that I'm not sure what else to bring that's 'good' and won't cost me an arm & a leg. I've got Sunday and 1/2 of Monday to do this. The tourney is on Monday afternoon.

Thanks in advance for any good ideas! :hi:

[eridani]

1. Lasagna is always good for potlucks, IMO n/t

Add a nice big salad. Both will go great with the bread.

[elleng]

2. The breads, and sliced/cut up fruit and veges should do it,

and any dips that you could think of.

Have fun!

[Tangerine LaBamba]

3. For 18 hungry teenage girls?

You're kidding, right? After a tennis tournament?

You've forgotten how those jocks can eat, my friend. They put it away like boys, bless them all.

Eighteen for a hundred bucks?

Start with black beans and rice, with vegetable garnishes. Filling and cheap.

Baked chicken, legs and thighs are cheap enough, and girls who aren't vegetarian will chow down on them, marinated and baked and served at room temperature.

Those breads are nothing but dessert, but maybe a big bowl of egg salad might make them handy for sandwiches.

Fruit could be expensive, and with the threat of swine flu among school-age kids, dips aren't really a good idea. They always double-dip, without thinking, because they're all ten feet tall and bulletproof at that age.

Me, I'd order as many pizzas as possible, supply the soft drinks, and make sure the delivery guy was on call in case we ran out.

Or a supersized sub, a six-footer, and salads for the vegetarians.

Aren't you glad we don't have to do this stuff any more, kiddo?

[elleng]

5. Sure am!

I provided 'platters' from SubWay for dress-rehearsal at daughter Julie's school, but suggested fruit and veges here due to possibility of controlling costs. (Cut-up oranges go a long way, and we used them frequently after soccer games.)

[Tangerine LaBamba]

8. That's more like it!

Cut-up oranges are nice for hydration between soccer games, but as far as feeding hungry girls after a tennis tournament, I don't think they're nearly enough.

Those Subway platters are the thing. I used to get the six-foot subs from whatever deli was closest to wherever the event was taking place - we lived in different cities as the kids were growing up - and there was never a crumb left.

I've often thought about having one delivered here, and just nibbling on it for a few weeks, when cooking or ordering in don't appeal to me. I haven't given up on the idea........................... :evilgrin:

[elleng]

10. There was a great old Jewish deli near our house in DC,

and on weekends they made SUPER-BAGELs, especially for brunches. They'd put whatever we wanted ON them, like lox, whitefish salad, etc etc., and we really enjoyed them. Closed years ago, tho.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

12. Ah, that sounds so wonderful!

There were so many fine delis in NW years ago. All gone now. Did you see that article in yesterday's Post about the way upper Connecticut Avenue is being deserted by businesses?

Yenching Palace was such a trip. We'd go there for dinner, then to a movie at - was it the Avalon?

All gone now.

Have you ever gone out to Pikesville? That place has the most amazing collection of delis and really good Jewish fare. We used to route ourselves through Pikesville on our way back to VA from PA.

Whitefish salad. I could just weep. Damn you, kiddo!

[elleng]

13. Kiddo, the Avalon is NOT GONE!

My fave Chevy Chase, DC, neighborhood SAVED IT!

And yes, BELOW ChCh has lost some; yenching gone some time ago. Didn't see article; will look for it.

Haven't been to Pikesville; MAY try it! Yea, whitefish salad a real favorite of mine!

[Tangerine LaBamba]

15. I knew the Avalon is still there,

but who goes to movies anymore? It's too much trouble, too expensive, and you can't go back to hear that one line you missed.................

[elleng]

16. I've been there a number of times! Old fashioned me!

'Cause it was in my neighborhood, and my only social life was at nearby Starbucks!

[Tangerine LaBamba]

17. That's where you lived?

That's a lovely neighborhood. The Avalon's a gorgeous theater, the old-fashioned kind, really nice.

I loved Yenching Palace, though - we had some wonderful times there. It closed long ago, though.

I just couldn't believe all that empty space on upper Connecticut Avenue, though. That, in years past, was unthinkable. Oh, kiddo, how things have changed! And not for the better...................................

[elleng]

18. I lived a few minutes away,

on the OTHER side of Rock Creek Park. I do love ChCh, DC.

Yenching closed in '07, according to WaPo. Sounds like many of the empty spaces are due to unforeseen consequences of some zoning rules. Enforcer may be trying to address such now.

[elleng]

19. Julie and Julia is there now!

and I'm in Silver Spring with friend's elderly tenant for a few days! MAYBE I'll get to see the movie in next days!

[elleng]

20. May get to Avalon!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=236&topic_id=68792&mesg_id=68812

[elleng]

14. Got it; Cleveland Park.

Interesting issues mentioned; sounds like its reparable.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/09/AR2009090902566.html

[grasswire]

4. hmmmm...

...I love a challenge like this.

I'm assuming that you are talking about food to be eaten out of hand, after school but before the tournament or during? High carbs, no forks?

What about some homemade caramel corn with peanuts and raisins in it? I have a recipe for caramel corn that is really easy -- it's baked in the oven. The corn, nuts and raisins are healthful. And the caramel is brown sugar based. You could shape it into balls, and it sounds really fall-ish. I'll be happy to copy it here.

How about hard-boiled eggs? Too smelly? You could make a *special* salt the girls could use to sprinkle on them. Like a dilly salt with some onion powder and lemon zest. Can't ask for a better protein jolt.

Or what about a whole tub of blanched and marinated sliced carrots? Some vinegar, some dill and a bit of salt and sugar would make them zippy and good.

How about some "sandwiches" made of zucchini rounds stuffed thinly with cream cheese and salsa for seasoning with a little kick to it? A sprig of cilantro could go inside each one.

Or you could go for PBJ kicked up a notch. Whole grain bread, peanut butter, banana slices, a few M&Ms tucked inside. Cut them in half, stack in a tupperware.

Pretzels are always cheap at the store, especially the house brands.

Do you have to do beverages, too?

[grasswire]

6. well, there's another idea

Wraps with an inexpensive filler, or small burritos that have something inside that tastes good at room temp. Flour tortillas are cheap and filling.

[elleng]

7. Refried beans.

But I think we're getting too fancy here!

Whatever it is, include cut up watermelon!

[grasswire]

9. yeah

I also was thinking of those Zatarain's boxed mixes for dirty rice, black beans and rice, etc. Two boxes of that stuff and a couple of cans of black beans drained would fill several dozen flour tortillas nicely. And it tastes good. The whole shebang wouldn't be much more than ten bucks, and very filling.

[elleng]

11. Good one!

Would have to provide plates and forks, because the innards would NOT stay in the tortillas, guaranteed.

[Warpy]

21. I'm guessing this will be between 7 and 8 PM

and will have to be a late supper for the kids.

My own guess would be hot dogs (both tofu for the veg heads and beef for the non veg heads), a pot of vegetarian baked beans, all the condiments, and your wonderful breads. You can get fancy and also bring coleslaw and potato salad, but the kids will be happy without them.

I just heard that inward groan at tofu hot dogs. Relax, they perfected those 20 years ago and they're quite good.

Teenagers don't have the most refined palates in the world and I'd keep it simple and go for quantity.

[grasswire]

22. I don't know about the timing.

She said the kids are ravenous after school. So I'm thinking it's an after-school snack that sustains them through the tourney. That's what we had to provide for our cross country team. The runners liked to have bagels and fruit, but that's not inexpensive.

You're right about simple and plenty.

[Mind_your_head]

23. That's it exactly. It's right after school before the tourney starts

it sustains them through the match, then they go home and have dinner afterwards.

I like the idea of the refried beans. I was thinking along those lines myself - homemade hummus (with store bought pita) - maybe pita pockets (hummus, lettuce, feta, and ???) OR refried beans served somehow.

I was also thinking maybe some cubes of cheese ($4.00/lb. could cube it myself) and then maybe like a bowl of apples. The loaves of bread already mentioned above, of course.

Oh, I already have paper plates & plastic utensils if I need that. I do have to bring beverages, but I'm only gonna bring a case of water. Gaterade is too expensive, imho, and lots of the moms only bring water.

Thanks for all of your thoughts....gotta run now. Will check back later this afternoon.

[japple]

27. What about peanut butter & honey spread and cream cheese

spreads to go with your loaves of bread. That and some fruit and water ought to give them enough energy for the game. Or will they be looking for more of a meal?

[Duer 157099]

24. Are you near a Costco?

They have platters of snacks; the one I'm thinking of is the turkey wraps, that'd be perfect for the non-vegs.

[Mind_your_head]

25. I'm near a costco, but I'm not a member unfortunately

Thanks for the idea though

[supernova]

26. A big bowl of pasta salad

bowties with peas, celery, maybe a little crumbled feta and dressed w/ olive oil and vinegar. Something like that could sit out and not suffer.

[elleng]

28. PLEASE TELL US HOW IT WENT, Mind_!!!

:hi:

[Mind_your_head]

29. It went great - thanks for asking

and thank you ALL for the wonderful suggestions. The girls all REALLY liked it - several of them told me so and thanked me directly. One girl said, "this is the best tourney treat spread that we've had yet" (she probably says that at every tourney - smart girl ;-)). One girl asked me if I could give the zucchini bread recipe to her mom (her mom wasn't there today).

It ended up costing me about $45.00 in total (remember I did have some things, but most of it I had to buy).

Here's what I ended up providing:

Zucchini Bread (my daughter told me not to make the banana bread, but I think now I should have - they ate ALL the zucchini bread)
Veggie Platter (carrots, celery, green pepper, cherry tomatoes) with Ranch dip dressing-Carrots were totally gone. 3/4 gone the rest.
Hummus & Pita bread (pita totally gone, hummus almost gone)
3 lbs. of cheese, cubed (cheddar, muenster, and colby/jack) - most of it gone
Basket of apples & seedless grapes - 5 apples left and most of the grapes were gone
Water

Our team did great. Every one of our girls won their matches and we had some very very good competition again today!

--------------

Grasswire, I would LOVE to have your recipe for homemade caramel corn that you mention above. If you would be kind enough to post it, I would love to give it a try! Also, thank you for your suggestions about the Zatarains, black bean burritos and the zucchini, salsa, cream cheese 'sandwiches'. Those are wonderful suggestions that I will use sometime soon (lots of other school/kid functions that will be upcoming that I will have to provide the eats for).

Oh, also while I was at the store...they just HAPPENED to have peanuts on sale. So I bought 2 10-ounce bags of peanuts (I've gotta try making homemade peanut butter now). This was discussed in Stinky's thread here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=236x68820#68885
Might be a "silly" thing to try, but it doesn't take too long to do apparently, and well, I'm a 'curious cook' (curious kook?) sometimes! lol

Again, thank you ALL for your great input. :hi:

[grasswire]

30. It appears this recipe is quite common!

It's all over the internet, I found.

BAKED CARAMEL CORN

1 c. butter (2 sticks)
2 c. firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 c. corn syrup
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
6 qt. popped corn

Melt butter. Stir in brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Bring to boil, stirring constantly. Boil with stirring 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in soda and vanilla. Gradually pour over popped corn, mixing well. Turn into 2 large greased baking pans. Bake at 250 degrees for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Remove from oven. Cool completely. Break apart and store in tightly covered container. Makes about 5 quarts caramel corn.

I've made it. Teens like it. Nuts and raisins make it more nourishing.

[Mind_your_head]

31. Thank you kindly

Doesn't matter that it's all over the internet....good things/ideas travel fast/far & wide. I never thought of making homemade caramel corn before, even though I love it. I'm looking foward to giving it a try. Thanks for the idea & the recipe.

[elleng]

32. Glad to hear it went so well, Mind___!

Its great when the young'uns enjoy and appreciate our efforts, eh? AND eat well at the same time!