I'm clueless???!!!?!
I'm clueless???!!!?
I have this potluck at two of my jobs, i have no clue what to bring, i want something simple and inexpensive. What should i take??
Answers:
If you can do a crock pot, little smokies in BBQ sauce is always good. Or sweet and sour meatballs in the crock.
Deviled eggs are always popular and one of the easiest things to make. After boiling, cooling and peeling the eggs, cut in half and mash the yolks (I use the food processor), to that add Mayo or Miracle Whip, a bit of prepared mustard, some garlic salt, stir and taste until it taste good to you. I put that mix in to a sandwich bag, snip off the end and pipe it into the half egg whites, sprinkle paprika on top. These are always the first thing to go when I bring them.
You can always do a brick of cream cheese with a can of bean less Hormel chili on top with some chips like Tostios Scoops, or put some cocktail sauce on it and a box of crackers on the side. A girl at my office brought in some green pepper jelly last week, put it on top of a brick of cream cheese with an assortment of crackers and it was really good!
If you are looking for sweet try allrecipes.com and search for the Scotcharoos recipe. They are terrific. It's corn syrup, sugar and peanut butter melted and mixed with rice krispies, with a mix of chocolate chips and butterscotch chips on top.
Potatoe salad
vegetable, fruit or cheese tray--some deli's have a mixture of all three. Not very expensive
Pie/cake
a six pack
I agree, Lil Smokies in BBQ sauce is great if you have a crockpot to serve it in. Another crockpot idea is queso - one block of Velveta with a can of RoTel.
If you're without a crockpot, you can always bring chips n dip, or make up a pot of spaghetti. If you mix it with the sauce ahead of time, the noodles won't stick together and then it can be microwaved. Also, you could get a tube of cookies and bake those off. Another great addition to a potluck is bringing a green salad - oftentimes, everyone brings sides & desserts, but no one really brings and fresh veggies so salad goes over well.
Usually in a potluck they tell you if you should bring a dessert, a soup or something else.
But, if they didn't tell you anything just take a dessert, something that everybody loves jello with cocktail fruit, easy and cheap.
You can easily buy corn chips and make a dip.
One jar of salsa
One can of refried beans ( heat to make spreading easier)
One can of sliced or chopped black olives
and One container of sour cream
Layer them in a low sided bowl which will show the layers then chill before serving.
I like to do the beans on the bottom, then the sour cream then the salsa and top with the olives.
This is under ten bucks and takes about 10 minutes.
The fancier version: Add cheese on top and heat before serving...LOL
French Pork Pies
INGREDIENTS
2 1/2 pounds lean ground pork
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 large onion, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 bay leaf
3 cups water
4 baking potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 (15 ounce) packages refrigerated pie crusts
DIRECTIONS
In a large saucepan, mix together the ground pork, cloves, cinnamon, onion, salt, celery, bay leaf and water. The water will help break up the raw pork. Simmer over medium-low heat for about 3 hours, or until the water has evaporated. Remove from the heat and discard the bay leaf.
Towards the end of the pork cooking time, place the potatoes into a separate saucepan and fill with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and mash potatoes. When the pork is done, stir the mashed potatoes into that pan until evenly blended.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line two 9 inch pie plates with bottom crusts. Spoon equal amounts of the pork filling into each crust. Cover with top crusts and flute the edges to seal.
I use premade roll out pie crust the your dairy aisle. Bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until crust is golden brown.
Easy, tasty, different and you can take one to the party and leave one for the family.
One of the things I often take for office parties are what my family has always made and calls Pinwheels. These are great for a party because they are finger foods and can easily be eaten just one or two at a time straight off the platter. (They always fly off the platter, anyway!)
1 pkg (about 10) tortillas
1 can chopped black olives
1 can chopped green chiles
1 8 oz pkg cream cheese
Set the cream cheese out for a while to soften (or soften slightly in the microwave on 50% power). Then mix it with the olives and chiles. Spread a spoonful of this mixture on one of the tortillas, then roll the tortilla and slice into "pinwheels". Repeat with each tortilla.
~Spinach dip served in a bread bowl with lots of bread, pita chips or crackers
~Cook two frozen lasagnas in the morning and wrap them in foil, then warm them in an oven at work. Or, call a local Italian restaurant and have two trays made and delivered and spring for a bag of rolls or garlic bread.
~Veggie or fruit platters
~Sandwich trays from a grocery store or sub shop.
Agreed.
bruschetta with crusty bread
BAKED BEANS ARE ALWAYS A HIT AT POT LUCK DINNERS. HERE'S A SIMPLE AND INEXPENSIVE WAY TO GO ABOUT MAKING THEM:
BAKED BEANS WITH BROWN SUGAR AND BACON
1 (14- to 15-oz) can crushed tomatoes in thick purée
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 (19-oz) cans small white beans, rinsed and drained (4 cups)
1 medium onion, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
6 bacon slices (1/4 lb)
Put oven rack in upper third of oven and preheat oven to 400°F.
Stir together tomatoes, brown sugar, mustard, and salt in a bowl. Gently stir in beans and transfer to a 2-quart shallow baking dish.
Arrange onion slices in 1 layer over beans, then cover onion with bacon.
Bake, uncovered, until bacon is browned and beans have absorbed most of liquid, about 1 1/4 hours.
Makes 6 side-dish servings. (CAN BE DOUBLED, TRIPLED, ETC. . .)
Buy a Vegetable party tray with dip ranch or hummus at a supermarket, it could be from $5 to $12, depending on servings
Don't cook unless you have already gotten the ingredients, or at least some of them, cooking is always more expensive if you have to buy the ingredients, unless you need them for future cooking
You may also want to check Boston Market for side dishes
Rice Krispies squares. Make basic squares or shape in balls or other amusing shape!
Always a success, inexpensive and so easy to make!!!
I use the microwave method as it is less messy and less risk of burning.
Decorate with chocolate chips, M&M or other candies!
Wal-mart meatballs in a crock pot. Actually a lot better than it sounds.
This is the best -
Get a bread bowl and carve it out. Keep the bread you carve out and break it into little pieces.
1 cup mayo
1block cream cheese
1 bag 5 cheese blend
Garlic powder/salt
Soften the cream cheese and mix together the cheese, mayo and cream cheese and add garlic salt to taste. (Be careful if you use garlic salt, it can get pretty salty)
Bake the cheese mixture in the bowl at about 350 for 20 minutes!
Talk about cheesy deliciousness! You can also toast the bread pieces you carved out in the oven and use them to dip in the cheese dip. Yum!
Spinach dip (Knorr soup recipe) and some Triscuits.
I would buy a jar of peach-mango salsa or raspberry salsa (sold in the same section as the other salsas) and a large block of cream cheese. Place the block of cream chese in the center of a plate and then pour the salsa over the top. Provide sturdy crackers and a knife or two for spreading. It is yummy and a bit unusual (sweet and hot and creamy). Please love it and it looks pretty!
Baked Ziti
Break and bake cookies. It's very simple and someone has to bring dessert.