I've just come to the realisation that my house is going to be FULL of guests (even campers in the back yard!!) from next Saturday for almost two weeks!!! And not just the same ones.... a nice varied selection, which is lovely, but now I'm beginning to panic! I guess it's our own fault for living right next to a lake where people like to holiday (I love a house full really)!

I know there will be BBQ's aplenty, and after reading a mention of pre-preparing things like marinades I'm wondering what other Foodies do to save time and hassle when feeding the hungry masses?

I'm stocking the freezer full of BBQ meat and cupboards full of rice and pasta for salads (and wishing I had planted my potatoes and tomatoes just that little bit earlier!!). Anyone have any bright ideas?

Thanks

Hayley

Look for easy things that you can shanghai people into helping with (:

....go to the pub for dinner every night (o;

Hayley, its the same at our beach house but any idea of exotic food goes out the door, it is the weather and the company that are important. I have a boring nightly meal- salad and bread with BBQ steak or sausages or lamb or chicken. Vary the meat nightly. Eg. night 1- salad, bread, sausages and lamb, night 2 salad, bread, sausages and steak. Have sausages every night as they are cheap and children like them. Roster others to make the salad ( these take time, not yours as you are provided the venue). You be the conductor of the orchestra- make the others do the work including males and children.
I cut up the meat into pieces before I freeze it so it goes further and slice up chicken breasts into strips. Then all you have to do in the morning is get the meat out of the freezer and tell individuals what their job is for that day- sounds really bossy but its your holiday too.

Good advice Stephanie! I am just going to stock up that freezer and let the BBQ's go mad! And I think it can be up to the men folk to brave the supermarket for fresh lettuces!

Hayley,
if you are having a houseful ask the adults to do the cooking and to supply some of the food.
We used to spend a lot of christmas's at my uncle and aunts' farm and there was anything from 20 to 40 there at one time. there was a fair division of labour among the guests and my aunt did no cooking or anything to do with the house and the uncle just supervised the cowshed but didn't do any of the hard work (plenty of adults)
My aunt used to say these were te best holidays as she got to sleep in her own bed, as they weren't to far from, the beach we could all pile into the truck and cars and make a day of it. families always bought food to share. I remember my parents ringing my aunt to find out what was needed and we always took extra veges etc and often and extra person in our car
Christmas time is a time for sharing in more ways than one.
Meals were sat in shifts. No BBQ's in those days..
Kay D