Cater Your Own Wedding Easy Creamy Potatoes Recipe
Cater Your Own Wedding
Easy Creamy Potatoes Recipe
is a super-tasty accompaniment
to almost any entrée, and so easy to prep.
Our little Church family is looking forward to hosting a wedding.
The wedding is at the end of October, and we are all so excited.
Usually, it’s the families of the bridal couple who host the meals,
with the wedding meal falling totally on the bride’s side of the planning book.
In our story today, the couple has family, but they’ve both been on their own for awhile,
and most of the wedding planning will be on the two of them, with their family cheering from the sidelines.
So that means the Church family has a chance to step in and help and be part of the cheering section, too.
The committee in our Church who takes care of catering Church functions will be a big part of the support group.
We’ve been on that committee, and weddings are the highlight of that job.
Anyway, this wedding coming up in October reminded me of the times we’ve helped cater as part of the Church’s Food Committee.
And I wanted to share some “feeding a crowd” tips and share a recipe that serves 250 people. It’s one of our favorite potato dishes for a hot wedding meal. The meat dish is often brisket or baked ham, and a steamy hot potato dish goes wonderfully with that.
So if you’re in a position where you need to feed a crowd, whether to decide a menu for your own wedding, or to help prep the food for someone else, this post is for you.
Tips for Prepping Potatoes for 250 People
There’s a big difference between making a meal for your family and for a big crowd.
It’s good to have a few tips to make it easier when you’re the one planning.
Even if it’s merely to give the caterers instructions.
- Buy frozen shredded potatoes from a warehouse store like Costco. No one needs to peel, cook and shred that many potatoes.
- Buy all the ingredients you can in bulk, such as the shredded cheese and butter.
- Mix the recipes ahead if necessary, and freeze until the morning of the occasion.
- You can mix these recipes directly in the large foil pans* you’ll bake them in.
- Know your crowd. When we were on the committee for our Church, we discovered that our typical groups did not use as much food as public event caterers recommend. For example, the usual recommendation for a potato serving is 5 oz. However, our groups averaged 3 to 4 oz. servings.
- If the caterers plate the food, you will use more of some dishes than if the crowd serves themselves. Plating the food is the fastest way to serve a crowd, but not the most economical. One big difference will be the occasion. A funeral crowd eats more than a wedding crowd. It seems it would be the opposite, but there you are.
- You will have leftovers, so if you want to take that into consideration, choose a menu that tastes good left over.
- When you look at the amount of potatoes we suggest for 25 people, take into consideration that the cream and butter add to the bulk of the recipe, meaning you will get a 4 oz. serving from fewer potatoes than, say, mashed potatoes.
Creamy Potato Recipe for a Crowd
One of these recipes will serve 25 guests.
Creamy Cheesy Potato Casserole for a Crowd
Ingredients
- 6 lbs. shredded, frozen potatoes
- 3 lbs. shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 quart heavy cream
- 1 cup butter, melted
- 1/2 cup dried onion flakes
- 8 tbsp. seasoning salt
- 4 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Place the thawed potatoes, cheese and seasonings in a large (20" x 13") foil baking pan.
- Add the cream to the pan and stir.
- Melt the butter and stir into the rest of the ingredients.
- Cover with foil and bake, or chill until ready to bake.
- Bake covered for 1 and 1/2 hours at 325° or 1 hour at 325° in a oven.
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