I have a potluck coming up, I have to bring something, and I’m really just not in the mood for coming up with an idea.
What do you bring to potlucks? What do you hope other people bring?
I’ve found that chili in a crock pot works well. Note, it does not need to be made in the crock pot, rather the crock pot keeps it at the best eating temperature. Meatballs in a crock pot are also good.
Pot roast over noodles or rice is great. But I always make Jambalaya.
- Stupid easy and people love it-
bag o’frozen meatballs
bottle o’barbque sauce
some water to thin it out and have enough volume
simmer in crock pot on low overnight or during the day
Serve with toothpicks or on rolls.
People love this- especially teenage boys. 
- More complex but my favorite- Mango black bean salad
running from memory here-
2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1-2 ripe mangos, diced
half purple onion, diced
1-2 ripe avocado, chunked
cilantro, chopped
1-2 plum tomatos, chopped
juice of 1-2 limes
drizzle of olive oil
salt, pepper
Mix all ingrediants gently to avoid mushing and let sit for an hour or so.
Serve as a sald or with chips. Yummy.
I make Natchitoches meat pies if I have time. Otherwise, I usually make some sort of dessert and/or homemade bread and honey butter. I’m generally happy to see a roast or chili at a potluck, but I don’t make them myself very often. I find it’s generally best to bring something that is either inherently divided into individual portions, or that can be served up individually quickly and neatly. (Meat pies, individual tarts rather than a whole pie, that sort of thing.)
We also tend to break up the potato chips and mix with melted butter to insure maximum unhealthyness. The sky is the limit with tinkering on this one too, you can throw damned near anything in there. Not exactly news, but this is one of my favorites.
It is not an Official Potluck unless someone brings broccoli cassarole. I never eat it, ever, except at potlucks, where I scoop up an embarrassingly large portion. Le yum.
Here’s something I started doing when my kids were small: I’d make some sort of “main” potluck dish, and then bring along some rice, with grated cheese sprinkled on top. My children loved it, and there were always other kids there who stuck up their noses at the goopy cassaroles and other exotic fair (like bbq meatballs 
), and the rice was always scrafed right up.
But I’m, you know, a mom, and we do this type of thing.
I frequently bring my Texas Caviar, which can be eaten with tortilla chips or rolled into a soft taco or burrito shell. Always a hit. I’ll share the recipe if anyone wants it (or you can search SD; I’ve shared it before).
I often take a veggie pizza or a fruit pizza.
Veggie pizza recipe ( of sorts)
take can of crescent rolls, spread flat in pan. Bake for 7 minutes at 350 or so. Cover with one package cream cheese, one package Good Seasons italian herb salad dressing mix, and a half cup of mayonnaise well mixed.
Cover with chopped fresh veggies of your choice, preferably in a variety of colors–red, yellow and green peppers, radishes, shredded carrots, broccoli, grape tomatoes, etc.
Fruit pizza
Make sugar cookie crust, bake. Spread with cream cheese with a little sugar in it. Top with favorite fresh sliced fruits. And a little glaze–orange juice, with sugar and cornstarch? to thicken.
Both are always crowd pleasers.
And make me happy as well, because I like them, but as a single person, don’t need (wonn’t eat) a whole panful.
Texas Caviar
1 (15 oz) can blackeye peas, rinsed and drained
1 can black beans, well rinsed and drained
1 (15-1/2 oz) can white hominy, drained
2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
4 green onions, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced (I use at least 4)
1 medium-size onion, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 (8-oz) jar hot picante sauce (I use salsa)
2 tablespoons lime juice (optional)
Combine first 9 ingredients, and, if desired, lime juice.
Cover and chill at least 2 hours. Serve with tortilla chips, or wrap in flour tortillas.
Yield: 4 cups.
Note: Don’t leave out the lime juice.
Works good with Li’l Smokies, vienna sausages, or hotdogs cut to bite-size lengths, too.
My new favorite potluck food is a 7-layer Mexican dip served with Frito’s Scoops. Yum!
I’m not much of a cook, but I do make a few things. One of which is my mother’s macaroni casserole:
macaroni
tuna
minced onion
peas
garlic salt
mayo
a little bit of miracle whip
I was at party years ago where someone brought meatballs. In addition to the barbecue sauce, she also added grape jelly. Before trying them, my first reaction was ::barfy smiley::, but the grape jelly added a touch of sweetness to counteract the spice of the barbecue sauce.
I have yet to try it, but I’m having a party in May, so I might break out the crockpot for this and not tell anyone there’s grape jelly in it until after they’ve tried it.
If I’m asked to bring something sweet, I’ll usually make a pan of my patented chewy mocha brownies.
If I’m asked to bring something not sweet, I tend to go with a simple potato salad (with oil & vinegar dressing to avoid issues with spoilage, or sometimes with a yogurt-based dressing) if I’m tight on time, or with my famous thai turkey meatballs in sweet chili sauce if I can spare an hour to make something more impressive.
I make very similar potatoes, even for faculty breakfasts, and they get demolished every time. You can use cheese soup instead of cream of mushroom for even cheesier spuds. Don’t forget lots of fresh ground black pepper and you can add pre-cooked sausage at the end for a real artery clogger.
Oh, I didn’t even notice the cream of mushroom, we use cream of chicken, but that cheese soup idea has merit. I also like to use O’Brien hasbrowns (with the onions and peppers) and we sometimes use whatever sour cream based dips that might be hanging around too.
Hashbrown casserole
dozen eggs, bag of hashbrowns, cream of mushroom, green peppers & onions chopped, salt & pepper, & lots of cheese mixed in. bake 350 degrees F for an hour, sprinkle more shredded cheese on top & let it melt.
I usually make the night before then cook the next day.
7-layer mex dip and chips, because I have the perfect tupperware container for it and it’s easy and pretty cheap.
Fruit trays with dip, always a hit in the summer. We have a lot of spring/summer birthdays in the family and I can easily tint the dip to be the birthday child’s favorite color. The Best Fruit Dip is simply 8 oz cream cheese mixed with 1 small jar of marshmallow creme and a plop of vanilla, although I always double the recipe to two bricks and a large jar since people react to it like it’s chocolate-coated crack.
Work potlucks usually mean something hot in a slow-cooker, since my mostly male coworkers won’t bother messing with making and bringing stuff like that in. I do a rockin baked beans in a crock pot that simmers all morning before lunch and smells up the area in a most divine manner.
Swedish or sweet-n-sour meatballs in a crockpot, cheesy potatoes and chili are also in rotation.
For cold sides, I like ramen slaw, broccoli slaw with ramen noodles crunched up in it, almonds and sunflower seeds and a oil and vinegar dressing. I don’t have to worry about refrigeration and it’s a lot less labor intensive than mac or potato salads.
I love when other people bring those huge shrimp cocktail rings!
I usually do my special Devilled Eggs, stuffed with baby shrimp and horseradish. If not that, then some variation on baked beans, usually a nuclear option featuring a pound of bacon and copious jalapenos.
Bacon-wrapped Water Chestnuts - I know it sounds weird but people tend to like the texture better than with scallops. Roast them for a while in some garlic sauce and everyone goes nuts for them. They have to be cooked until the sauce gets really thick.
Deviled eggs (aka huevos del Diablo) are a little bit of work but always get a lot of praise. An easy item that gets the same result is Rice Krispy treats.
I always make deviled eggs (nothing scary or strong in them, but I do have a secret ingredient) and I never have leftovers.
And the classic meatball sauce ( from the Betty Crocker cookbook) is a bottle of chili sauce and grape jelly
