Aloha Dreams
Fabulous Recipes, Cooking for a Crowd & Dream Home Design
Wild West Large Group Dinner or Lunch
I created this menu for a western-theme church Youth Conference dinner held at the Morrell Ranch in Gallatin Missouri. There were approximately 230 teens and leaders in attendance. This meal received rave reviews from the kids. The Pulled Pork, Mac and Cheese, and the Cowboy Corn salsa in particular were hits. This is a fantastic menu if you’re new to cooking for a crowd . It’s a very easy meal to prepare and serve. All recipes can be assigned out to volunteers to make in advance. (I always mark recipes which can be assigned out with an *, so all recipes below are marked with an *) Go for it!
Your Recipes
Click on each item below to link to the recipe and everything you need to turn out a fabulous meal. See below for your Game Plan – it will help you make sure everything goes smoothly.

Fruit Tray *

Kickin’ Cowboy Corn Dip with Fritos *

Mac and Cheese *

Peaches and Cream Bars

Root Beer
Root Beer Quantities to Purchase
- A 2 liter bottle of pop holds 67.6 fluid ounces.
- 8 (8 ounce) servings in a 2 liter bottle – This is the typical serving size
- On average if you’re feeding 100 people for 1 meal, serving 1 (8 ounce) beverage, you need 12 (2 liter) bottles of root beer
Ice Quantities to Purchase
- An 8 pound bag of ice holds 28 (4.5 ounce) servings – this is a typical serving size
- 18 ounce red cup 1/2 full of ice = 4.5 ounces of ice
- On average if you’re feeding 100 people for 3 meals (1 beverage per meal), you need about 29 pounds of ice

Your Game Plan
Simply assign a recipe or activity in each column to your volunteers and provide them a link to this page. I generally get 4-5 volunteers for each recipe and have each volunteer make 1 or 2 batches. Many hands make light work. You’ll notice there’s nothing planned for the last hour before serving except setting out the ice. There’s a reason for that. Always work in advance.
Pulled Pork Sandwiches | Mac and Cheese | Carrot Sticks with Ranch Dip | Kickin' Cowboy Corn Salsa & Fritos | Fruit Tray | Peaches & Cream Slab Pie | Root Beer | Serving Line | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Assigned to: | ||||||||
Up to 1 Month in Advance | Can be made up to 1 month in advance, wrapped well and frozen. | Can be made up to 1 month in advance, wrapped well and frozen | ||||||
Up to 1 Week in Advance | ||||||||
Up to 2 Days in Advance | If frozen, thaw in refrigerator. Or make up to 2 days before, cover tightly, and refrigerate. | If frozen, thaw in refrigerator. Or make up to 2 days before, cover tightly, and refrigerate. | Can be made up to 2 days in advance. Cover tightly, refrigerate. | Can be made up to 2 days in advance. Cover tightly, refrigerate. | ||||
Up to 1 Day Before | Make and refrigerate. | |||||||
4 - 6 Hours Before Serving | Toast buns. Put toasted buns back in package when cool to stay fresh. (The toasted buns really make this!) | Prep Fruit, plate, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. | Cut into rows of 4 x 6 for 24 servings and plate or keep on the baking sheet. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve. | |||||
2 Hours Before Servings | Reheat in roaster oven on low, stirring periodically and adding water to moisten. | Reheat in slow cooker on low, stirring periodically and adding a bit of milk to moisten if necessary. | Set out drinks at drink station. | Set up serving line with utensils for each side and BBQ sauce for pulled pork | ||||
1 Hour Before Serving | ||||||||
15 Minutes Before | Set out ice. | Set out food on serving line. |
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Welcome to Aloha Dreams!
I'm so glad you dropped by. I'm Betsy. Here you'll find my favorite fabulous, trusted recipes - everything from delicious, quick meals for your family to wonderful classics made easy.
I'm also here to help you with large group recipes from 20 to 200. So next opportunity you get to cook for a large group - Say 'Yes!' Then relax. I've got your back.
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