To ask what you feed the hoards of visiting teenagers when your DC are older?

[AjasLipstick]

DD1 is now 14 and over the past year she's gathered a lovely gang of mates around herself. Many live locally to us and some in neighbouring towns.

Our house is quite ramshackle and we're chilled in general. As a result of our scruffy relaxed house, I think they all feel comfy here and so it's becoming common to find up to 6 enormous teens in my house at weekends plus DD ...all playing guitars and eating all the bread.

I don't mind that at all but sometimes think what I could get in the cupboards to always have something in the house that they can eat quickly.

I don't buy biscuits and stuff like that...well, rarely. So they seem to survive on endless toast and tea when here.

Is there something else I could get in that's cheap and cheerful but not too crappy?

Last night I planned to not bother making dinner...I thought we'd have cheese toasties. Then I came home at about 4 to discover DD and two friends here, planning to spend the night. I had to make a vegetarian curry then and bloody flat breads as I'd not been shopping and had to fill them up!

I’ve been getting the woolies odd bunch avocados (only $8 for 6or 8) recently and make guacamole with kidney beans, red onion, lemon and tomato. I serve it on baked sweet potato. It’s pretty quick and would be a good teen making dinner meal.

I'm in Australia too and I don't cook them anything! It's all there but they can do it themselves; I never cook on Fridays and Saturdays anyway. Oven chips, toasties, takeaway. Put your feet up, OP. They'll be fine!!

Anyway, doesn’t she ask your permission before inviting her friends?
Not at my house. Or maybe just before they walk in the door. Doesn't worry me. I understand these things can be impromptu.

They seem to eat a lot of breakfast cereal here (at any time of day). And bread and Nutella because they are French.

Also those gnocchis in a packet that you can just heat up in a frying pan with a bit of butter.

I don't buy biscuits/cakes/yoghurts/desserts because they disappear in 30 seconds flat.

Dominos $5 value pizzas! We regularly end up with loads of teenage boys at our place and a few of these fill them up.

DS and his friends cook too, they'll make pasta and pancakes and even bake cakes.

I have a bread machine and make my own pizza dough. And they all know it, and come for a pizza night.
I have a freezer drawer just for ‘we’re sleeping here tonight, is that ok?’: nuggets, chips, sausages, I also bulk buy peanut butter. Bread is cheap and we have a corner shop if the worse comes to worse.

I love seeing them all gathered around my table. I have an open door policy, I don’t mind.

Butterfly not really no...they hang around the local cafe and sports hall for the day and then gravitate here in the afternoon. It's her home...and at 14 I think they should have some freedom in terms of their mates.

I do think that she should take more of a role in feeding them though if they're here for hours. She'll go for hours on an apple and my worry is that her friends won't ask because they're too polite and I don't like the thought of them feeling hungry!

Dc1 and her friends cook together, but I suspect her younger siblings and their friends will be less likely to do that automatically - Dc1 and one friend have cooked together at both our house and hers since they were 7 or 8, and sadly dc2 and 3 only cook with me, and I have to initiate it.

Dc1 mainly makes wraps with all sorts depending what's in, or homemade pizzas, or pancakes, or Kaiserschmarrn which is a sort of think multi person pancake with raisins and cinnamon eaten with apple sauce. They also bake fairly often and come home from each others houses with the remains of a cake.

This is lovely, but has the potential to cost you an absolute fortune.

Shockers well yes...that's why I asked for cheap and cheerful ideas.

I know that when they go to one of the boy's homes, they will usually have pies and things from the freezer but our freezer's tiny! I'm thinking of just getting a load of those cheapo plainish pizzas in ours. Plus super noodle style things and freezing extra bread.

I'm looking up kaiserschmarnn recipes now Blueskies ! Sounds delicious

I’m Australian but live in London and I’m a long way from being a teenager but I always remember home brand ice lollies aka icy poles when I was a teenager at other people’s houses. My mil lives in rural Victoria and feeds lots of hungry farm workers. She brought an instapot while visiting us in London and makes yoghurt and tinned fruit as she said the cost of providing yoghurt was enormous. I think she had done Demi-god status for having an insteapot before they were commercially available in Australia!

Mine are on the cusp of teenage hood and I’ve started offering yogurt, granola, toast.

Can you make your own ice lollies with cordial? (So nice to use Australian terms!).

I don't think lollies would fill them up. They're here for a good part of a day sometimes. In the summer it will be different but it's not that hot yet.

Also...tiny freezer. We really need to get a chest freezer soon!

oh yesbulk packs of two minute noodles. Chuck in some frozen peas to make it nutritiousthe chicken ones are actually 100% vegetarian. I loved 2 noodles (as we called them) as a teen!

Don't let these kids take the piss out of you.

I found out much later that some of my teenage friends used to call to see me just to see what they could get to eat. Some of them were gannets. One of them told me all this years later. I'm not friends with any of them anymore.

YYY to that, Miggeldy.

I am at the trouble and expense many here seem to be going to.

I think your guests are taking the piss and you are all being taken for a ride.

I had an open door when mine were teens but they bought their own food if they were hungry. They could make ramen noodles or pancakes for themselves, or go out for a slice of pizza which they bought themselves or buy ingredients to make some other dish. They still came in droves.

I love lots of teenagers in the house, but I have a number of my own anyway normally! The only downside is the huge amount of massive shoes in our tiny hallway :)

We aren't Australian, but I learnt the term "jaffles" from Masterchef Australia and am delighted to ask if I can use it here 😃

For us, we don't have much spare money so I have to be careful, but tend to have lots of

Bread for toast
Flour to make pancakes/fairy cakes (they tend do these themselves)
Huge blocks of cheddar
More bread
Coco pops and Rice Krispies (I buy cheap brands and decant into Kellogg's boxes 😂)
Ketchup
More bread
Eggs
Pasta (they like with grated cheese)
Garlic bread
Pizza bases they top themselves
More bread
Nutella/peanut butter
Apples/bananas

We also have a toastie (jaffle!) machine and make toast under the grill as you can do more at a time.

If I'm providing proper meals for more "official" visits, I tend to do macaroni cheese, a big pasta bake/lasagna or curry with rice.

Jelly and angel delight go down surprisingly well!

Awww! DS is just 12 and while we’ve always had an open door policy and we’ve often got someone round for an impromptu visit/sleepover I think once they’re in their teens they’ll be around for longer.
DD is only a couple of years behind, too! Could get crowded.

Popcorn. The popcorn machine has been one of my best boot sale finds, although they are pretty cheep anyway. Sometimes they'll add a bit of melted butter, or syrup but a lot of the time they keep it plain.

Had this with my daughter and her friends, and she was vegetarian.

I was always stocked up with pasta, frozen pizza etc. I just used to buy a margarita and then put different toppings on. Homemade wedges were a staple, both ordinary and sweet potato. Lentil bolognese used to go down well, and much nicer than it sounds. I batch cooked veggie chilli and ususally had some of that in the freezer. This is a favourite www.jamiesministryoffood.com.au/recipes/vegetarian-chilli

Also tortillas and wraps made with quorn, veggie curry and so on.

My daughter hasn't lived with us for quite a few years, and this is making me feel a bit nostalgic!

Fajitas, burritos and chilli all go down well with the teens we have popping round. Pizza used to - but they have all gone a bit health conscious.

Pasta is a good one, especially macaroni cheese.

Another one who is happy to feed them, all lovely young people who are a pleasure to have around.

Always happy to have Dd's friends round.
DD and friends have always gone to the shop and chipped in to buy what they want between them, then come back, make it and clear up themselves or got a takeaway if they were/are feeling flush.
Glad they did we wouldn't fancy all the extra shopping/cooking when they're all quite capable to organise it themselves.

"I think your guests are taking the piss and you are all being taken for a ride."

Crikey. Nice way of looking at 15 yr olds. .
We enjoy hosting them, and in almost all instances, the hospitality is reciprocated.