I regularly make meals at church for after a funeral or before a meeting and can easily feed people for $1 each without dessert.
Some meals I have done are chicken pasta and vegetable casserole with a creamy cheese sauce, green salad and bread....or lasagna, green salad and garlic bread, or chicken salad, fruit and bread, ham sandwiches and chicken salad sandwiches with a veggie pasta salad....all including coffee and tea....
Things to remember....all from scratch. No bottled salad dressing no bags of greens and no canned soups are allowed.
For the chicken salad, I buy white meat chicken when it's on sale, poach it, bone it and then boil the skin and bones for broth.
I buy a whole farmland ( deli ham( and have it sliced. 5 pounds costs about $8 and will make 50 small sandwiches.
I buy head lettuce, wash chill and break up and add a bag of spinach, some shredded carrot and shredded red cabbage. I make a home made olive oil dressing and people love it!
I make a cheese sauce, cook pasta and add broccoli, red pepper, sauteed onions, celery and some cooked chicken, place in a casserole in the oven until hot and slightly browned, serve with bread and tossed salad. I will cook a whole bone in ham and serve it with a baked pineapple casserole and corn bread.
Soup and bread will easily feed a mob for very little....but all must be home made....
Linda C