Help me figure out how much food

[fluffycookie]

We're going away next weekend with two other families.  I am cooking on Sunday night - mac and cheese, pulled BBQ chicken, coleslaw and cornbread.  There is a total of 6 adults and 6 kids (13-16 years old). Would you make two large pans of the mac and cheese?  I am also bringing deli meats for lunches - how much would you get?  I was going to get cheese, turkey and ham. Another family is bringing chicken salad so we will have that as an option as well.  We're up there Saturday and leaving on Tuesday afternoon to come home.

TIA!

[tacokick]

I would do two pans of macaroni and cheese. Better to have too much than too little! It’s a good meat free option too if anyone wants that at any point.

I always budget about 4 oz of deli meat and 2 oz cheese per person per sandwich if that helps. Especially if there are toppings and a lot of sides. 6 oz for bigger appetites or heartier sandwiches.

[bex1973]

2 pans for sure. Even if you have leftover it reheats easily!

[icedcoffee]

2 pans of mac & cheese because my kids would eat that for lunch instead of lunch meat. Bigger portion of pulled BBQ too as that will go. Go light on the coleslaw. 1 small bag is honestly plenty IMO.

Maybe 1 pound of each deli meat/cheese?

[mambo123]

You need lunch for two days? Three?

[cricketwife]

I just feel like with 6 teenagers you need double whatever you think you need.

eta-  is it four days of sandwiches for lunch? I am bias by the fact that I don’t like deli meat sandwiches (nor do my kids, probably by extension) but four days of ham/turkey for lunch sounds awful to me.  Could you do BLTs one day?  Even add avocado if you want. You could pre-cook the bacon (or even better, order of from Fresh Market if you have one local, they will cook it for you.) And/or do a large grain salad of some sort one day - or as a side so people could have that instead of deli meat if they want.  I get that making a grain salad is a lot more labor intensive than buying deli meat, but I’m just all about good food if I’m socializing.  And it’s a good make ahead option.  

[waverly]

Definitely 2 pans with 6 teenagers.

[mofongo]

Two pans. When we travel like this, we plan for dinners, but then we all bring out own lunch stuff, I can be picky about what kind of meat I will/won’t eat. I mean, we share if someone wants something, but I generally stick to what I brought. Same for chips/beach snacks.

[fluffycookie]

Jun 24, 2022 14:15:48 GMT -5 mambo123 said:

You need lunch for two days? Three?

1-2 days. I think one day we may do burgers and dogs.

The three boys have huge appetites and DS has already been talking up my Mac and cheese….lol. I am sure he will eat that instead of deli.

[mambo123]

Jun 24, 2022 15:46:49 GMT -5 fluffycookie said:

Jun 24, 2022 14:15:48 GMT -5 mambo123 said:

You need lunch for two days? Three?

1-2 days. I think one day we may do burgers and dogs.

The three boys have huge appetites and DS has already been talking up my Mac and cheese….lol. I am sure he will eat that instead of deli.

I LOVE sandwiches lol, so I would say two pounds of each type of meat. Less cheese, but maybe the kids will want grilled cheese? Lettuce, tomatoes, a nicer bread, onions, pickles, and two+ condiments.

[lilac05]

With that age of kids, I’d just consider it 12 adults (plus) when you’re figuring food.

2 pans of Mac & Cheese for sure.

I’m always astounded at how much food teens can pack away, especially when they’re together.

[ProfessorArtNerd]

Definitely count the teens as adults (see how much I made for dinner tonight in the Randoms, omg!). My SIL spent so much on her catered grad party for her son and still had to send out for 6 pizzas to be sure everyone ate 🤐

[Roc A Bee]

I would count this as 12 adults. At least two pans of Mac n cheese. And probably 2lbs of each meat and cheese.

[msmerymac]

2 pans of Mac and cheese, 2 pounds each of ham, turkey, and cheese. Maybe some salad fixings, or lettuce/tomato/onion for sandwiches that people could also use for salad. Pickles, mustard, mayo, a bottle of dressing, bread, done.

[fluffycookie]

Jun 24, 2022 18:30:10 GMT -5 lilac05 said:

With that age of kids, I’d just consider it 12 adults (plus) when you’re figuring food.

2 pans of Mac & Cheese for sure.

I’m always astounded at how much food teens can pack away, especially when they’re together.

Same!  We were with one of the families yesterday and the boys ate an astounding number of hotdogs....lol.

[fluffycookie]

Thanks everyone! I am going to do 2 pans of mac and cheese and 2 lbs each of the meat. I am also going to pick up some Italian/scali bread in addition to the rolls so we can do grilled cheeses if we want.

Everyone is excited about the trip and the weather looks great!

[sparkythelawyer]

With teens included I would assume everyone is an adult for food size purposes.