Money Saving Monday Easter Dinner Portions

Via

I just love getting together with friends or family and having a big meal for all kinds of holidays. There is just something about good food and good company. This month, you want to focus on the fun aspects of entertaining, not the expenses tied to an Easter dinner. The best way to avoid overspending is to only buy exactly as much as you will need. Well, you're in luck! I've done some searching, and this is what I've found concerning portion sizes for planning your Easter Dinner.

Ham: You will most likely want somewhere between 4 and 8 ounces per portion, depending on how many other sides you will be offering for your meal. Since most hams are already cooked when you buy them, there will be very little shrinking when reheated.  This means you can get about 20 servings of 8 ounce meat from a 10 lb ham. That is way too big if you only have 5 people attending your dinner. Think about the guests you have invited and their typical appetite. Decide on the ounces you would like each member to have and if you would like any meat leftover. Then just do the math! 

LBS of Ham X 16 = ounces of Ham / 8 = # of people who can be served an 8 ounce cut of meat

(If you like to serve other meats for Easter Dinner, you may want to add a pound or two to adjust for possible shrinking after cooking.)

Potatoes: I have learned that the standard serving size for potatoes is 2/3 Cup per person. Obviously, potatoes come in all shapes and sizes, so a number of potatoes is hard to dictate. I have read that a pound of potatoes will yield about 2 Cups of mashed potatoes. Try to use this as your guideline when boiling those taters! 


Deviled Eggs: This largely depends on who your guests are. If you have children coming, you can bet a lot of them will love this fun finger food. If you have adults who don't like eggs or are allergic (like my husband!) you will not need to make as many. The general rule of thumb is two whole eggs per person (4 halves). For a party of 10 people you would want to make 20 eggs - 40 halves. 

Dinner Rolls: The general rule of thumb is at least one roll per person. But come on! We all know that bread lover (or you are that bread lover like ME!) who would not be satisfied with just one sad little roll. For those folks, I suggest you make three rolls per person. Unless you have an extremely large party and three rolls a person would be astronomical, you should be just fine. Can you really have too many rolls anyway? 


Don't forget, these are just guidelines  and suggestions. Everyone's preferences are different, and you can find about a million different answers on the internet. These are just the tips I chose to share with you! :)


When you head out to the grocery store in the coming weeks, keep these tips in mind. While it can be tempting to stock up on the largest ham and bake five bags of potatoes, you will most likely end up with a headache and a ton of food that you will get sick of or throw out. If you are worried about not having enough food, don't buy the 15 lb. ham instead of the 10lb. My suggestion would be to have many dishes to choose from. If you have a collection of vegetables, starches, breads, and desserts, you won't have to worry so much about the amount of meat. Everyone will want to sample the feast before them. 

Remember, whatever you are eating this Easter-- don't stress out, try something new, and enjoy the food and the company! 

- - Happy Savings! - -