Host a Super Bowl party for 12 for $20
Last week I challenged myself to come up with a Super Bowl party menu for 12 people that would cost $20 or less (not counting alcohol). I wanted a menu that I could serve to my friends, and one that didn’t take my whole Sunday to prepare.
And … I did it! My sister says I cheated because I already had basic staples on hand—vanilla, cocoa, sugar etc.—for the brownie frosting. She is correct that if I had to buy these ingredients, I would have gone over my $20 goal; however, I counted just the amount I used of each ingredient.
Here’s the quick, fun and EASY menu I settled on: popcorn with toppings, chili and crackers, carrot and celery sticks, and brownies w/frosting
Popcorn with toppings
Make popcorn the ‘old-fashioned’ way! One 32-ounce bag of popcorn will make about 6 gallons of popped corn. When popping corn, use a 1 to 4 ratio of oil to popcorn in a large heavy pan with a lid and a handle. Examples of 1 to 4 ratios are 2 tablespoons of cooking oil for 8 tablespoons or 1/2 cup popcorn, 1.3 tablespoons oil to 1/3 cup popcorn.
To find out how much popcorn your pan holds, pour dry popcorn into the pan to make a single layer of popcorn, then pour the popcorn back into a measuring cup.
Chili
| 1 1/2 pounds ground beef | 2 (16-ounce) cans chili beans, drained |
| 3 stalks celery, diced | 1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, drained |
| 2 large onions, diced | 1 tablespoon ground cumin, optional |
| 2 cloves garlic, minced | 2 tablespoons chili powder |
| 1 (29-ounce) can tomato sauce | 1 dash Worcestershire sauce |
| 1 (28-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes | Salt and pepper to taste |
| 1 1/2 cups water |
Brown ground beef, celery, onions and garlic together. Rinse and put in crock pot with rest of ingredients. Cook on low 8 hours. Stir occasionally.
Carrot and celery sticks
- 2 pounds whole carrots
- 1 bunch celery
Clean. Cut into strips.
Brownies
Yum! Prepare brownies according to package directions, and frost with this quick chocolate frosting recipe:
- 1/4 cup margarine
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Melt margarine over a low heat. Gradually beat in cocoa, sugar, milk and vanilla, mix well. Spread on brownies.
There it is … how to throw a party for 12 people for $20! Check out my full Super Bowl party menu, recipes, and costs. Tell us how you would change the menu for your party, or share your ideas for entertaining on a budget.
I like your menu. You can reduce your cost a little more by using a bag of 15 bean soup mix (beans only) instead of multiple cans of beans.
What a great idea and menu. I struggle with liking to entertain but then it always ends up costing a fortune. I’ve never tried popcorn on the stove but I may give it a shot. Thanks for the tips.
I would skip the celery and crackers and frosting just to have enough money for chips and salsa. Buy the Hot salsa and it will go a long way and I like to crumble the chips in my chili instead of crackers anyway.
Great low cost menu ideas. I never do understand why people serve things like shrimp cocktail at parties, when there are so many other options that are tastier and much lower cost!
I don’t have a recipe, but last time I had a house warming party, I made little sandwiches with some rolls that I got at Costco- instead of filling them with pricey ingredients, I made a giant frittata (kind of like a baked/broiled omelet- my Cuban husband calls it a torta) with eggs, a bit of milk, a little cheese and lots of veggies (I don’t remember which ones- just sautee up anything that’s colorful and on sale!) I sliced the rolls in half, toasted them, and cut the frittata into small squares to used that as the sandwich filling. When they were cut and arranged on a platter, they looked fancy and tasted great. There were filling, tasty and the best part– cheap! It did take a little time, but it was worth it, as I didn’t need to serve much else!
How about just chips and dip? I eat that to any great events on tv;superbowl,Olympics,Indycar you name it. I guess thats just me..
What a great idea!! I love to much on celery sticks: another great topping is cream cheese and green olives. Mix a small can of drained chopped olives with a package of cream cheese. Top celery sticks. Enjoy!!