So we have a potluck coming up at work. I need something to cook and we are IT so most of the team is Midwestern or Indian, so I want to bring something different.
I love southwestern type food and cook a lot of it, but I can’t figure out something that works for a pot-luck at work. The whole unable to to serve right out of the oven or off the grill throws me off. Bowls of chilli or 7 layer dip seems boring and cliche , and empanadas or tamales rewarmed suck.
Any ideas?
Just a general suggestion - some kind of tacos. You can work on the meat at home, then heat it up in the microwave at work, so for each taco only the bit of meat is microwaved and the tortilla and other garnishments can be relatively fresh.
Missed the edit window - make that garnishes (and you can be pretty creative there).
nm
I usually take a crock pot full of taco soup to our potlucks and it is always very popular. Here is the recipe I use, but there are many variations:
1 lb. ground beef, browned and drained
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 15 oz. can black beans
1 15 oz. can whole kernel corn, undrained
8 oz. tomato juice
1/4 cup chopped onions
1 4 oz. can green chiles
1 package taco seasoning
I live near Albuquerque so New Mexico green chiles are readily available, and I use one roasted diced green chile, but a can of Hatch green chiles will do if it’s all you can get. Or you can use Rotel diced tomatoes with green chiles.
New Mexican-style green chile stew is what I’d make. Here’s a reasonable recipe. If you can’t find Hatch chiles (sometimes, you’ll find them roasted and frozen at places similar to Whole Foods), just roast your own Anaheims, which are similar chiles. You can also substitute poblanos for a very different (although still quite good) flavor.
If you have a slow cooker, google up a slow cooker chicken enchilada casserole recipe. Easy, delicious, always a big hit.
Chicken Tortilla Soup (You can buy bagged tortilla strips.)
A good side dish might be cornbread salad. I found a recipe on allrecipes.com but you could make it more tex-mex style with different ingredients. I love love LOVE this stuff.
I once brought a very tasty, slightly spicy beef stew to a potluck and demurred mysteriously when asked what it was. After everyone had had some, I “admitted” it was camel stew.
32 snow-white faces, excepting only the IT guy who said, “Is there any more?”
(Point: it’s all in the presentation. Take something similarly “unusual” - maybe it’s from Honduras.)
SantaFe chicken egg rolls. Mmmmmm.