<p>I have the distinct privilege of hosting Taco Night for our cross country team this weekend. Can anyone suggest how much meat to make for 70 kids? I estimate that each kid will eat 2-3 tacos (these are runners, not football players, 30 are girls, 40 boys).</p>
<p>I’m thinking of have a vegetarian option (refried beans?) also for about 10 of these kids.</p>
<p>Here’s my shopping list:</p>
<p>__ lbs lean ground beef (meat option 1)
__ lbs chicken breast (meat option 2)
__ cans re-fried beans (vegetarian protein option)
__ heads of chopped iceberg lettuce
__ lbs of shredded cheddar cheese
__ lbs of sour cream
__ cans of sliced black olives
__ chopped onions
__ guacamole (may be to by pre-made)
__ hard tacos
__ soft tacos / tortillas
__ hot sauce (rumor has it some of the boys will also bring their own)</p>
<p>Beverages: Milk, Water
Dessert: Costco cake, homemade cookies, brownies</p>
<p>I’m interested in advice on how to display the build-your-own-taco buffet for easy serving, as well as how to cook the chicken and re-fried beans. Also, should I also have black beans or other beans? </p>
<p>That’s a lot of kids. I would try to have them serving from both sides of an island or set up two separate “lines”. When you get down to the stragglers you can combine. I’d guess 1/3# of meat per person (fortunately these are easy to freeze as leftovers). Make sure the refried beans are actually vegetarian. (There is a really good recipe on Epicurious that uses canned black beans and could be made ahead, then warmed up.) If you are looking for a side dish I would cut up a couple of seedless watermelons.</p>
<p>An easy way to make chicken for chicken tacos is to use crockpots. Fill the crockpot with boneless chicken and salsa and put on low all day or until the chicken shreds easily. The chicken will shred easily right in the crockpot and it’s done. Serve right out of the crockpot. Sorry I don’t have measurements…I just eyeball the liquid vs. the chicken and use a chunky medium heat salsa. One container of salsa to a couple pounds of chicken maybe? I’ve made this for large group sports team eating. If you wanted to do beef instead of hamburger you could do something similar…use a chuck or English roast or whatever cheaper meat you can find. Cut it to fit into the crockpot. Just add enough liquid to be able to crockpot it to death and until it shreds…drain and add the salsa and/or taco seasoning.</p>
<p>which may help. Also, check out allrecipes dot com – check out some of their taco meat recipes…and then plug in number of servings and it will calculate how much of the ingredients you need…</p>
<p>It’s a big hit with kids! If you end up with leftovers, most can be enjoyed for a few days–or ask some kids back. Have fun!</p>
<p>I would just provide big bags of tortilla chips and the kids toss their ingredients on top.
No need for taco shells which break anyways.
Can kernel corn
Melty nacho cheese
Big flour tortillas so they can make giant burritos with the ingredients</p>
<p>We make tacos at home all the time and H, S, D and I never go through a pound of ground beef. I’d go with 1/4 lb of meat per person. Definitely chopped tomatoes and jars of salsa. Several companies sell packets of seasoning for taco meat (Ole, Chi-Chi’s, Ortega). The packets are good for 1 pound(ish) of meat each and have directions on the back.</p>
<p>I would go for 1/2 lb of meat ea considering they are athletes.
Boca Burger type veggie ground beef would be good for vegetarians &/or to stretch the ground beef.
We don’t use sour cream or olives in our tacos & if you have salsa I don’t think you need onions.
For guacamole I have heard if you leave the pit in, it doesn’t discolor which may help to make in advance.
We also use queso fresco instead of cheddar, but that may be more expensive.
You also could use frozen breaded fish fillets instead of chicken as an option
( costco may have premixed guacamole)</p>
<p>I would figure 1/3 pound beef for guys, 1/4 pound for girls. Pass on cilantro or put on the side (too many don’t like it in my experience).
The chips is a good alternative to hard shells, a lot of kids like to make a taco salad.
You don’t have salsa on your list (hot sauce isn’t the same).
Lemonade (or some other flavor Crystal lite) is an alternative beverage.</p>
<p>I thought about it & 1/3 lb of protein ( whether the veggie option or meat) should be enough- if the ground beef isn’t too fatty & you lose a lot in cooking.
Now I am hungry for tacos-</p>
<p>If you plan to buy packets of taco seasoning to flavor the ground beef, note that some of them (including Old El Paso) contain msg, which bothers some people. There are many easy recipes on the web for taco meat seasoning.</p>
<p>I also think taco shells can be worthless - they do break alot! </p>
<p>You might consider having soft tortillas (you can get them at Costco very inexpensive), nacho chips (again, Costco big bags) and lots of shredded lettuce. Then, the kids can decide between soft taco, nachos or taco salad. I just personally find the taco shells kind of wasteful and awkward to fill when you have a long line of people.</p>
<p>Also since you are shopping Costco, I buy the Mexican shredded cheese - more like a cojack with a little (very little) kick instead of the cheddar - the Mexican is also shredded more finely which I think works well. </p>
<p>What my school used to do when they had a taco bar is have the hard shelled tacos already filled with meat & cheese and then each person would get their own lettuce & condiments.
This also avoided the possibility of running out of meat & cheese when there were still taco shells left. ;)</p>
<p>Wow, thanks everyone! I’m updating my Costco list as I read all of your tips. I will ask my son if he approves the concept of chips instead of hard tacos. That will help with the logistics and the pre-heating of the hards shells. I personally love them, but they do break a lot. </p>
<p>I think I will cook the chicken in a crock pot tonight and I’ll cook the beef in a pan tonight, and both of them I’ll serve out of crock pots. Once I see how much 1/3 lb per person is I’ll know how many crock pots to borrow. The re-fried beans will also go in a crock pot after it’s cooked, and I’ll def. put the cilantro on the side. I will need salsa as well as hot sauce, and I’ll look for the taco cheeses at Costco.</p>
<p>Sounds like my number has gone down slightly … 60 instead of 70 so now it will be a breeze. :)</p>
<p>Lots of good advice here. Adding my 2 cents as a former HS concession stand operator. I know the COSTCO inventory by heart. :)</p>
<ul>
<li>IMPORTANT: Designate an adult to be the Food Police & have them supervise the taco bar so the first runners don’t take more than their share! I’ve watched this happen at the concession stand & countless sports banquets/dinners.</li>
<li>tortilla chips work better than hard tacos.</li>
<li>get flour tortillas for burritos.</li>
<li>COSTCO sells guacamole which is pretty good.</li>
<li>consider buying 1 large pkg of romaine lettuce at COSTCO, then use it for both salad & shredded taco topping. In my experience, the girls typically go for taco salad with tortilla chips.</li>
<li>an average of 1/3 lb per person should be sufficient, especially if you are offering beef, shredded chicken, and vegetarian options. Some will eat more, some will eat less, but 1/3 lb avg should be enough.</li>
<li>refried beans can be messy. In my experience, black beans are more popular among the kids. If you make a pot of white rice, you have a complete vegetarian option.</li>
</ul>
<p>Agreed skip refried beans, they tend to burn or coagulated to a gloppy mess.
Can pinto/black beans if prefer and can be served room temp.
Buy big dinner plates for the platter of chips and fixins, don’t get flimsy ones or food will be catapulting all over the place.
Use tongs to distribute the shredded meat, ground beef and cheese- spoons are too hard to maneuver while balancing a plate.
Put drinks in another place so they can sit the plate down then choose a beverage.
Hot rice in a rice cooker will warm the burritos.</p>