If you have ever experienced teens at home, you know that they can multiply spontaneously, and usually right about supper time. The still-in-development social-planning abilities (or lack thereof) mean frequent last-minute additional table settings. Then, about two hours after dinner, the mid-evening kitchen raid begins. And the morning after sleepovers, the bottomless-pit appetites of growing teen boys result in mixing-bowl-size portions of cereal and four-egg omelets along with 20-ounce glasses of milk.
Luckily, having grown up in a big family, I love to cook for a crowd. And these enthusiastic diners rarely complain when one of my recipe-testing experiments goes slightly awry. However, the unpredictable numbers and schedules can challenge even the most experienced home chef.
With three teens, two adults and an opportunist Golden Retriever in our home at a minimum, I typically plan for about eight to 10 servings, never knowing if the fare will be consumed on the spot or be stashed for leftovers. Recipes that lend themselves well to refrigerator or freezer storage work well when I'm not certain about numbers of diners. Doubling a recipe and freezing half also helps ensure we have a stash of home fixings so we don't have to rely as much on packaged convenience frozen foods. What's frequently on the winter menu when crowds of teens are roving in our home?
- Home-made soups and breads: split pea soup with whole wheat bread; chili and corn bread; navy bean and ham soup and peasant rye bread; chili verde with tortillas.
- One-dish meals: arroz con pollo; red beans with sausage and brown rice; beef stroganoff; pasta salad; shrimp linguine; .
- Traditional crowd-pleasing entrees: barbequed chicken; mac and cheese; rosemary-garlic rubbed pork roast; brats; spaghetti and sausage with marinara sauce.
- Easy side-dishes: grilled Mediterranean vegetables; roasted red potatoes; tossed salad; cream cheese mashed potatoes.
