Quick, easy, no prep but decent food for 16 - ideas please!

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This week I'm going to an event. In a moment of madness I invited everyone to my house for dinner beforehand.

It's a Wednesday night, I'll arrive home about 5.15pm, everyone else (15 of them) will arrive between 5.30 and 6pm. We then need to leave at 7.30pm.

So no real time to prep, no real time before people arrive, not a lot of time overall and not really a good cook! So looking for your best ideas please. As I'm currently thinking lots of crisps and wine!!

Pizza, garlic bread, bags of salad, olives

Or, cheeses, bread, veg sticks, houmous olives, sliced meat and quiche warmed in the oven

Or, as above but buy some soup to heat up?

Can you make bolognese beforehand and heat it up on the evening with pasta and garlic bread?

Macaroni cheese garlic bread can do that the night before & just heat.
Or pizzas is a good idea

Chilli with rice, nachos and salad

Spaghetti bolognese with garlic bread and salad or other pasta bake type dish

Prep the night before and just heat up

Pesto pasta
Salad
Garlic bread

Whatever possessed you to do that?! You've had everything I would suggest posted already. Good luck!

Do you have a slow cooker? Put chicken curry/chili on before you go to work. Done when you get home.

Pasta or pizzas a faff for that many.

I'd make a vat of chilli the day before, then serve with tortilla chips, guacamole ole, salad, cheese, soured cream.

Or I'd cook three million sausages and serve with coleslaw, bread rolls. salad

Or I'd make a couple of curries the day before and serve with rice, bought chapatis and some minty yoghurt

Get each set of people to bring a specific dish with them and have a buffet - quiche, salads, fresh bread, crisps, sausage rolls etc.

Everyone walks in and plonks their stuff on the table and tucks straight in. You leave all the cutlery, plates etc out from before work. You've probably got time to stick some part cooked potato wedges in the oven to warm up before they arrive.

pasta bake
lasagne
pie
curry
all of which you can do the day before or on the day.
id say a big pasta bake or mac and cheese would be really good.with a big salad and garlic breads.

A big Italian style antipasti plate with ciabatta www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/duck-recipes/italian-style-antipasti-plate/

What possessed me? Exactly!! I'm sure it'll all work out.

Should also add there's 4 or 5 vegetarians too!

I was thinking just pizza, garlic bread, salad with maybe pitta, humous and veg sticks but worried that was maybe a bit rubbish. Could do a pasta dish to go with it. Maybe just basic pesto?

Lots of crisps, lots of wine and hope for the best?!

Everyone is coming straight from work so asking people to bring a dish isn't really practical, plus i feel now I have offered that would be rude!

It sounds a bit of a mash mash.

Honestly, I think a meat chilli/veggie chilli or a meat curry/veggie curry would be easier and nicer. You could always cheat and use jarred curry paste.

Curry and chilli taste better if made the day before but you are going to need loads of room in your fridge.

Serve with rice or you could do McCain microwave baked potatoes.

You're right, it is a bit mish mashy! I'll see if I can clear out most of the fridge before Tuesday and get a big batch of something made!