For dinner, what goes well with baked potatoes w/ toppings?

I'm pretty much a vegetarian, and can attest that produce is not cheap any longer! Salad for 50 would not be a inexpensive route to go, not to mention dressings.

I'd go with a baked potato bar, which is a compete meal and should fit your budget (have done this, with great results):

Toppings: Chili (use canned or homemade which can be totally bean based, but cheap cuts of beef or hamburger can be added), topped with cheese and onions if desired; broccoli in a cheese sauce (some use canned cheese soup); chicken soup (it is common in my neck of the woods, but I leave out the noddles ~ starch/starch thing); taco seasoned ground beef with all the toppings; sour cream and chive (purchased chives are not cheap); etc. Also cuts budget wise with needing extra plates, bowls, and utelsils as the food is a one dish meal.

Hope this helps, and if like the idea and want recipes or even more ideas, please ask. Made here for fundraisers, hoards of teen boys that frequent here, and neighborhood parties during football season.

Well another cool way to top potatoes would be so versatile. Other gourmet ways would be maybe some pesto and some blue cheese, or some roasted veggies would make it go far with some parmesan sprinked on top or even carmelized onion. I like wasabi macnut potatoes.

A cheap salad would be maybe some iceberg cut into small wedges and tomatoes wedge because they would eat and take less, maybe add some cucumbers or even red onion for the color cut thin. The cheapest thing would be to do a protein and salad. Maybe some chicken baked with butter, salt, pepper and a simple herb. The soup is a good idea but without a protein it would not be so filling. What about a stew? You can get a cheap cut of meat, add some veggies and you got yourself a good meal, maybe a macaroni salad? And pork is always affordable, like pork roast and you can always stretch it with gravy. If you buy pork butt it is cheap.

Here are some recipe ideas-

PORK ROAST-

cut pork butt into wedges, and place in a pan with water half way up, add lots of salt and spice for flavor, cover and cook for 2-4 hours. After the first 2 hours, strip down the pork with a fork and put back in oven. When down remove the drippings. Now saute 1 part butter to 1 part flour and cook for 1 minute, then add the drippings and some water and season with salt and pepper.

SOUP

Bacon and corn chowder-

Saute onions, bacon, garlic, cubed potatoes

now add make rouge like above rouge

add cream or half and half (if you add cream you have to cut it with water) and add some chicken bouillons

corn

salt and pepper

water if needed, maybe some cayenne

WHAT ABOUT PORK AND BEANS WITH HOT DOGS

HOT DOGS

BEANS (CANNED)

BBQ SAUCE

ONIONS

TOUCH OF BACON

DO A SOUP ! SOUP WOULD BE GOOD

This wouldn't go WITH baked potatoes but would be a cheaper alternative and goes great with sanwiches or hearty enough to stand on it's own.

I have 5 boys and this is by far their favorite of the cheap meals I make.

Potato Soup

Peel slice potatoes and onions, & pepper to taste, then cook in just enough chicken broth to cover. (salt depends on how salty your chicken broth is). I also add dried chives to give it a little color.

When potatoes are tender slightly mash (we like it chunky), mix in sour cream and milk and heat till hot.

I don't have exact measurements. I have to make a large pot as it is something that everyone in my house eats and it's better the second day. I would say about 5 lbs of potatoes, 1-2 onions (we like a lot), 16 oz sour cream & just enough milk to the consistency you want.

Be careful not to boil too hard after you add the milk & sour cream or it will curdle. It will still taste ok but doesn't look very good.

You could serve it in paper cups.

For a school fund raiser, I made 30 lbs of potatoes, 5 lbs of onions and used 2/3 of the big (5 lbs I think) sour cream containers from sams club and I think a gallon of milk.

One last hint, cheaper than chicken broth: buy a jar of chicken base (I get it from sams club) and mix it with the water. The jar is less than $5 and it will make more than what you need. MAKE SURE the chicken base has "chicken meat" listed first on the ingredients list NOT salt. If salt is first, it is the main ingredient and your soup will be too salty. I also buy my chives from sams, they are cheapest there.

30$? thats harsh for 50 kids, id suggest making soup, maybe beef and veggie soup, reall easy, will prob. fit into ur budget really well, and theirs protien for ur starch.

tomato soup, try some beef broth (or boil a ham hock, alot of flavor), tomato paste, canned crushed tomatoes(purre' these, but leave some lumpy tomatoes), garlic, rosemary, tyme, and oregano, kinda italiany but its ok.

Tomato soup is probably the easiest :)

i'd go with the salad, potatoes and salad can use the same toppings. just about, i don't know about the sour cream.

What about a grilled chicken salad? Just use lettuce, a few other ingredients and a small amount of chicken. It wouldn't be too expensive.

You could make hamburgers, everyone likes them, and they are hardly any less healthful than sour cream and bacon bits!

Grilled chicken or sausage that you can cut up and top the tomatoes with it.

greek salad