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how about a baked ziti? you dont have to use meat and its very hearty and satisfying, a pot of red beans and rice would do well to I would think. whatever you decide, good luck and have fun.

How about an inexpensive casserole? Paula Deen has a great chicken and rice one at www.pauladeen.com

I second the Baked Ziti idea...you can make that for a large crowd really cheaply...

I got to say this is the theme this year mostly everyplace. I don't know of any companies going out for a party. Baked Ziti is always a good thing.
Garlic bread also a good thing. Stuffed cabbage is always good with mashed potatoes, meatballs in sauce with rolls, baked mac and cheese.
Back when I worked we used to take up a collection and get a Honeybaked Ham and everyone would bring the sides.
I did teriyaki chicken one year. I got chicken parts for 59 cents a pound. Was very affordable.

Oh, and talk someone else on a budget into bring corn muffins, they go great together.

Scalloped potatoes with small chunks of ham in them would be relatively inexpensive.

1. There's also pierogi casserole. There are tons of recipes out there, all pretty much the same. Here's a link to give you an idea.

http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,178,145167-239195,00.html

Pierogi don't usually have meat, but if you wanted to crumble up some cooked bacon and sprinkle it in between the layers, that sounds good to me.

2. This sounds like it's going to be a really heavy carb party. Would you consider a hearty minestrone soup? Big, chunky vegetables, maybe little pinched-off pieces of sauteed hot Italian sausage (1 to1-1/2 pounds would be plenty for a huge vat of soup), orzo or other small pasta.

@jerzee, where I live, a tee shirt without writing on it is considered "dressed up," so it'll probably be jeans and a sweater for this event.

What's going to be really interesting is that this is the first time I will be meeting a lot of his co-workers who have been sharing in the cookies and goodies that I've been sending to his office. It's going to be a casino night. If people aren't slipping me extra gambling tokens, I may have to cut back on the snacks!

:-)

The company I used to work for, before we moved, used to spend a quarter-mil on the company party for our branch alone. Can we say "profitable"? I wonder what they're doing these days.

Big honkin' bag of chicken wings. Celery. Ranch and/or blue cheese sauce.

Or, I'll second the soup (can I second the soup if I already seconded the mac n cheese?). Only problem with soup is that you need to make sure there's something to serve it in. Coffee cups work, but they might not think to have them, and might just have plates.

But a huge pot of veggie soup would be nice, and if there are vegetarians, they might appreciate having something to ead besides salad. If you're sure there are no vegetarians, you could add shredded chicken or beef to it pretty cheap. Or even meatballs.

@renee, it was an industrial catalog company. The running joke was that the only thing we made was the catalog, and we gave that away for free. I worked at the corp. office, which was also the main distribution warehouse. There were three or four other warehouses in different areas of the country.

My husband still talks about those Christmas parties. Grand Ballroom plus all the adjacent hallways of a hotel, something like 500 guests (employees and spouses), maybe 600, I forget now, but it was huge -- a stringed orchestra before and during dinner, live entertainment after dinner (Comedian, magician, etc. One year it was Billy Crystal, which was probably the best I recall.) followed by a live band for dancing. When the band was on break, there was a DJ, and the DJ continued after the band closed up for the night. All drinks were top shelf, and the meal was amazing, including a custom-made chocolate sculpture for dessert. One year it was a piano, another year it was a white chocolate snowman filled with chocolate mousse. Usually with the company logo somewhere on the chocolate.

There were interesting centerpieces on each table, and one lucky person at each table got to take the centerpiece home.

There were massive ice sculptures, fake snow on the carpets, and a professional photographer on duty for "couples" photos (free, of course).

A huge raffle was part of the party, and prizes were things like TVs, DVD players; not cheap stuff. The company funded everything -- it was strictly against policy to take anything from vendors. The big raffle prize was roundtrip airfare for 2 anywhere in the US.

There was also a block of rooms available for guests who couldn't drive home. I don't know if the company just reserved them, or if they paid for them as well. It was probably in their best interest to just quietly pay for them, though.

My husband heard the quarter-mil number when he was in the bathroom and overheard one of the big shots tell someone else that's what he was writing the check for that year. It seems insane, and it may have been a little bit of an exaggeration, but they had the money to spend since they had no debt nd made a lot of profit.

@db - My husband's company went the same route as yours...everything over the top and then some. We go on trips every other year to places like Grand Caymens, Napa Valley, The Greenbriar, Bermuda, you get my drift. Our party was held at Carnegie Music Hall in Pittsburgh. Every year I would go out and buy a new gown. Many of us stayed at the local primo hotel. This year, even though the company is doing very well financially, they have recognized that this party costs US money too - some of whom can't afford the formal wear, baby sitters, etc. but feel forced into it. Instead, they're doing an informal tailgate party in January in an airplane hanger in the afternoon. The employees are vested in a profit sharing plan, so they are in tune with reducing extraordinary expenses. I will miss the hoopla, but I think the company is being fiscally responsible. I bet we have even more fun with this more laid-back format.

@sixsonnets - A tray of lasagna would be inexpensive if you choose the right cheeses and make your own sauce. If you could hook-up with another entree provider, maybe he/she could do meatballs or hot sausage?