Menu Planning for Son's Birthday

I did a taco bar for a party last year and it was a huge hit! We put the cooked beef in a crockpot and some nacho cheese in another crockpot. We set out meet, cheese, tomatoes, guacamole, tortilla, beans (in another crockpot) and salsa. It was a hit!!!!

How about Kabobs? My sister-in-law made some great kabobs with teriyaki sauce- chicken and beef with pineapple...it was quite a hit!

i personally love hummus, its great for dipping fresh vegetables and chips and bread ect, its vegan high in protien and as easy as got to the store and buy, open; salads fruits and finger foods and you won't have to worry about a thing; its Delicious and nutritious

Hi Jennifer H.,
I know you wrote that you were tired of burgers, sausages, & potato salad...have you ever tried pasta salad? I like doing the rotini noodles (swirls) with olives, celery, shredded carrots, a little mayo and caesar vinagrette, and parmesan cheese. Or, there's the hawaiian style chicken macaroni salad- that's salad macaroni, mayo, shredded chicken, drained crushed pineapple, shredded carrot, chopped celery, minced onion, and mayo. It's a real crowd pleaser. For kids' parties, I've taken frozen chicken legs and put them in a gallon size ziploc bag with teriyaki marinade, sriracha thai hot sauce, sesame seed oil and let marinade over night? throw them on the grill and kids love it. You can use that marinade on deveined, shelled shrimp and thread those on bamboo skewers. They don't take that long to cook on the grill, they smell wonderful, & kids love it. Fruit bowls are really good, and strawberry short cuts make life easy...just use food that won't wilt in the August heat. Kids also love nachos, you can set up a table with a walking layer dip? or a taco bar? I am sure that you will get a wealth of ideas here from the ladies. Cuz' MamaSource moms rock! If you need anymore, just write me. Take care!
J. A.

How about skewers? They take some prep, but they are quick cooking and you can make a great variety of meat and veggies and meat and fruit so kids and adults will like them. Inexpensive and in-season veggies like zucchini, mushrooms, onion and cherry tomatoes are perfect to skewer as well as chunks of pineapple and peaches. Then you don't really need a salad, but can have appetizers like spinach dip, a veggie tray, and a nice change is pineapple salsa poured over a block of softened cream cheese. Great with crackers or tortilla chips.

Ask your son what he wants?

We always ask our daughter what she wants for her birthday supper. This past year (she turned 6)she wanted to have a make your own pizza party so we bought premade crusts and all the toppings. It was a blast!

How about Kebabs? People of all ages love meat on a stick!

I'm no expert on the food. I ordered Mexican from a Mexican market for my son's 1st. It was reasonable and good. They gave us way too much. So I'd order it for less people next time.

My sis has done pool parties with root beer floats. it was a hit.
I made a carrot cake for my son's b-day and was disappointed it wasn't a hit with everybody. I love it! It's my favorite and my mom's delicious recipe but some people just don't. I'd have some chocolate on hand.

Hi there,
I just had my daughters 2nd bday party & we threw a toddler pool/sprinkler party. Because Im almost due with my 2nd baby 7-8-09, I wanted super simple.
I ordered 10 pizzas from Winco for $67
cake from Costco
for horderves: Chips & dips, cut up fruit, Watermelon, pineapple & strawberries.
ice chest: full of bottled water sodas & capri suns.
All very simple & easy, plus it didnt cost very much either. We also didnt have to worry about little ones being around the HOT BBQ.
Good luck, Have fun.
S.

How about build your own K-bobs (I know I spelled it wrong)? Have cut up veggies, some meat chunks (any works) and have your guests help to create the lunch.

Chicken salad:

One whole chicken- cut into breasts and whole legs- boil/steam in salted water
Hand shred chicken meat

Romaine Lettuce
Snap peas and pods
Yellow/ Red/ Orange pepper
Parsley

Chop up fresh greens and toss in chicken
Light Ranch dressing

Hi Jennifer

Well kids and adults alike tend to like a good pasta. I usually make homemade sauce and then a big vat of pasta, like say penne (because it's easier for the younger kids to handle) I also make a nice big fruit salad with seasonal fruits, perhaps add some french bread or garlic toast (if you prefer) in addition, I like to keep it even healthier and will make steamed (or grilled asparagus) or vegetable skewers of whatever is in season.

a big mixed green salad is always good.. I love arugula with FRESH chilled mango slices in it......
by August, watermelon will be in TRUE season... you could buy a big one, juice it (if you have a juicer) and serve FRESH CHILLED watermelon juice, it's so refreshing on a hot day..........
if you have people who MUST have meat. we've also done make you own deli sandwiches.. buy diff types of rolls/bread, condiments, a nice deli selection of meats/cheese and have a spread on a table.. include the fruit salad and or mixed greens.. and you've got a nice easy meal... if lunch is too simple, then make the dessert the main attraction...
best of luck

Crock pot meals are always easy. The betty crocker cookbook has a recipe for sweet and sour meatballs that are to die for. They are always a hit, even with kids. (We have them for 40 people every christmas!) Make steamed rice to go with them and a salad. This recipie can be made ahead the day before and store it in ziploc bags. make sure you cook the meatballs in the oven sparingly, just until barely done, so they don't overcook when you reheat them. when done put the sauce in one ziploc bag and the meatballs(along with thier fat so they don't get dry) in another. To reheat put them into a big pot together. then transfer to a warm crock pot . (keep crock pot on low or it will continue to cook meatballs and eventually after 2 or 3 hours of cooking on high,make them grainy.

this recipie can work well for hawaiian theme. For the steamed rice,you can make coconut rice by subsituting canned rice milk for the water in the recipie. I dice and blance carrots and add them to my fluffed rice.alternating shrimp and green onion is cute on metal skewers.brush both sides with soy sauce/butter mix, then sprinke both sides with cajun seasoning mix, and bake or broil in oven. These would be pretty presented over the top of a rice bed. Cucumber salad (like rumaki) is refreshing for a hot day, also lime sherbet. You can make a recipe of cashew chicken to eat with the rice for the non beef eaters (see recipe at bottom).

mayo based Macaroni salads are yummy with the meatballs, so is garlic bread.

Another thing you can do with a crock pot is pulled pork.
I do a similar recipie as pulled pork but i use a tri tip roast and a bit of Yoshidas sweet and sour sauce to make pulled teriaki tri tip sandwiches. Big hoagie rolls and plenty of grilled pinneaple ,lettuce and tomato for toppings and some extra yoshidas on the side in a pourable bottle. make your lettuce extra crisp and refreshing by washing it in cold water and crisping it in the freezer for a minute before serving.

Stir fry Cashew chicken at the table
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3 whole chicken breasts,boned, sliced into sml piece, or thigh meat equivalent.(I prefer thigh meat)
Arrange on tray. trim and remove strings and ends from 1/2 lb of chinese pea pods (or use 2 pk frozen (thawed pods).
Slice 1/2 lb mushrooms. Cut 4 green onions into one inch pices and slash both ends and fan them out. Drain a 15 oz can of bamboo shoots and slice. Arreange all these vegetables on a tray in individual piles.
Put 1 TBS chicken stock and 1 C water into a small pitcher. Mix together 1/4 c soy, 2 TBS cornstarch, and 1/2 tea sugar and salt...pour into the small pitcher. Place 4 TBs peanut oil in a container and 4 oz cashews in a dish. Arrange all of the above on an outside table, with an electric frying pan. To cook: heat 1 Tbs oil over mod heat (350) add nuts, and cook 1 minute shaking pan until toasted. Remove from pan and set aside. Add remaining oil to pan, add chicken and cook quickly turning until it turns opaque. add the peas/mushrooms,pour in stock, cover, simmer 2 min.Add bamboo shoots, stir in soy mix, cook till thickened stirring constantly, then simmer one min uncovered. mix in green onoin, sprinkle w/nuts. 4 servings

I just wanted to chime in with my vote for kababs or a taco/nacho bar. Kababs are great made with practically anything. Meat, veggie chunks, even fruit and marshmallows for dessert. Great theme!

The taco bar is my girl's favorite. Everthing can be prepared ahead of time and stored in the fridge until time to eat. Just reheat the meat and beans in the microwave just before serving. Taco meat, beans, cheese, tomato, onion, avocado, red bell peppers, sour cream, salsa. My kids like to make super nachos on Lime Tostitos. (we have this for dinner once a week in summer!) I usually chips, taco shells and small sized soft flour and/or corn tortillas available for backyard parties. Follow this with an ice cream sundae bar and you'll be a hero for weeks!

What about a taco bar? Cook up taco meat in advance, have shredded cheese, sour cream, salsa, cilantro, shredded lettuce, tomatoes & people can assemble their own. Have a side of a big pot of refried beans & some fruit.

Hi Jennifer,

We, too, used to do barbeques for all the kids parties. However, we noticed that my husband did not participate and enjoy the parties. So, we started doing pizza. Someone else cooks, we have extra snacks, we order enough for leftovers so that after the party we can relax.

Just an idea.

D.

Kabobs are fun. You can have your son help you skewer meat, veggies, and some fruit ones too. We always make them when we're camping-but it would be a fun activity for a backyard BBQ and party activity too. Enjoy

The kebab idea sounds great!! I saw some geared toward kids last week (hot dog chunks, cherry tomatoes) --- make some for kids and some for adults and everyone will be happy. I'm going to use the suggestion for dessert kebabs for my next BBQ.

We love bbq-ing chicken and corn on the cob

Skewers with a meat and a veggie, as well as a fruit make for fun finger food for kids and adults

Check out Bobby Flay's section og Feednetwork.com for lots of other bbq ideas

Kibabs! Fun healthy and all different kinds.

Tritip is great to bbq. Baked sweet potatoes.

Try to stay away from a lot of bone in chicken though.

I have done aram sandwiches for some family get togethers which have gone over well. Turkey/ ham and cheese with vegies and herb cream cheese. Also works well when you are hosing vegetarian friends, just hold out the meat. Kids can help build the sandwiches, they are easy to make ahead and using colorful vegies (red, yellow, green peppers, pepper pickles, olives, thin sliced tomatoes) lay a pretty table. Instead of grilling meat, grill sliced peaches, pineapples and vegetable kabobs. Delicious, healthy, decorative, easy to make, easy to clean. I marinate my grilling vegetables in a light italian seasoning and olive oil before grilling. Some fresh melon, berries, kiwis and you are good to go.

I have also done a baked potato/salad bar buffets since alot of the sides are interchangeable. Again, some chopping and dicing ahead of time, but quick and easy.

how about shish kabobs?? Hawaii theme?

There was a great idea in Sunset we got in the mail a week or two ago... grilled teryaki chicken pieces, served in a Hawaiin roll with a side of grilled pineapple! Even my kids thought it looked awesome! Might take a little prep, but I think that would be a hit! :)

What about Shish Kabob and Fruit Kabobos. You then could make some rice or even do a Hawaiian theme. We alway make a variety of kabobs with chicken, steak and shrimp. If you decide on a Hawaiin theme party you can google it and get tons of ideas for food.

Hi there,
Something that we have done for our sons parties is order the croissant sandwich trays from Costco. They are mini sandwiches (most people eat 2). One tray serves many people, they are very reasonably priced, and super yummy. Or you could make your own sandwich trays.....but why bother if someone else can do it for you at a great price. On the side, maybe just serve a fruit salad and macaroni or potato salad. Good luck!

Hello Jennifer,
My daughter is turning 2 on Monday so I'll tell you what we are doing and did for her 1 year birthday (which was a pool party). My husband bbqs about 4-5 tri tips and then slices them. We leave out sandwich rolls, cheese, mayo, BBQ sauce and then salads, chips, etc. Everyone makes their own sandwiches out of the tri tip. No one seems to mind no lettuce, tomatoes, etc and it's really low fuss. Last year we had the party at my grandparents house, since they have a pool and this year we are doing it at my parents house. My husband cooks the tri tip as our daughter naps and then arrives at the party with the birthday girl and the tri tip, it's perfect!
Best of luck and enjoy the party

I read below and loved the Kabob idea although I do know that 6 year olds looove plain hot dogs-smile!! You could do plain hot dogs and those chicken wingettes (you can get a huge bag from Costco in the frozen section) those are small and easy to cook. Also fun would be Corn on the cob and you put light margarine and the powdered spice parmesian herb seasoning and the kids love it. You could also do a big fruit salad.
Have fun!!!!

Finger sandwiches cut out in fun shapes by cookie cutters are nice for parties

You could try kabobs. Set it up so people can make their own so they like what it on it. For kids parties I've seen people use hot dogs, pineapple, etc.

How about some baked beans. I start from scratch with a pound of northern beans... cook them until tender. Mix together a small bottle of catsup, a chopped onion, a couple tablespoons of mustard and a box of brown sugar. Then add the beans and put in a 9x13 pan. One of those aluminum pans work great too... then there is no cleanup. Put strips of bacon on top and cook in a 200-250 degree oven. I put them in at night before going to bed and maybe get up once or twice to check on them. When the bacon strips are cooked, the beans are done. Occasionally, I will put more bacon strips on them (removing the others) and let it bake longer. You can put them back in the oven to reheat say about an hour or so before you want to serve them at a low temp... 250 or so. Mom's recipe and to die for.