Help me decide what to make for church potluck on Sunday, pleeeeaaase!!!

[*anj*]

Okay, this should be a controversy-free thread! :cool:
We have a church potluck every first Sunday, and I am plumb out of ideas this month. I would like to make something that either features chicken (I have a whole one that I can cut up) or ground beef (because it is on sale this week.)

Any ideas? Crockpot recipes would be especially appreciated. Oh, and I don't mean to sound hoity toity, but I'd really prefer that they not contain any canned soup.

Thanks!

[MelissaM]

poppy seed chicken or enchiladas are usually a hit around here.

Greek salad, not so much. I took the whole thing home practically untouched. How embarrassing.

[*anj*]

poppy seed chicken or enchiladas are usually a hit around here.

Greek salad, not so much. I took the whole thing home practically untouched. How embarrassing.

What's poppy seed chicken?
Bummer about your Greek salad. I'd have eaten it. I love that! :)

[OnTheBrink]

No Cream of Cr*p soups? Boy, you make this hard! LOL

With ground beef, you can make chili or soups. I like pasta e fagioli ala the Olive Garden. You can find the copy-cat recipe online.

You could do meat balls, meat loaf, taco salad, sloppy joes with ground beef. With chicken, you could do something Asian, like sweet and sour, or chicken and mushrooms, chicken and green beans, curried chicken. You could do chicken and dumplings or chicken noodle soup.

[Kat in GA]

This is what I made for the first time for dinner last night - it was really good:

Greek Pasta and beef:

1 lb ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
1 garlic clove minced
1 can (8oz) tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp pepper
1 pound elbow macaroni, cooked and drained
1 egg lightly beaten
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Sauce:
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
3 cups milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

Cook beef onion and garlic...drain. Stir in tomato sauce, water and seasonings. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In a bowl combine macaroni, egg and parm cheese and set aside.

For the sauce, In a large sauce pan, melt butter and then stir in flour and cinnamon until smooth. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil over medium heat, cook and stir for 2 minutes or until slightly thickened. Remove from heat. Stir a small amount of the sauce into the eggs and then return all to the saucepan. Cook and stir for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add parm cheese.

In a greased 3 qt baking dish, spread half the macaroni mixture, top with beef mixture, and then the remaining macaroni mixture. Pour the sauce over the top.

Bake uncovered at 350 for 45-50 minutes.

12 servings - and if you are counting it's 7 points for WW (I used skim milk...and real butter)

[Alice]

It's called Sri Lankan curry (not sure how authentic it is) and it's delicious. It has a lot of ingredients as written but every time I've made it I've left out something, depending on what I have. It's always been good.

1 Tablespoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground fennel (I've never used)
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
4 teaspoons ground pepper
2 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 pounds chicken on the bone
3 cups chopped onion (I've used 1/2-1 large onion)
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 jalapeno peppers, minced
3 cups light coconut milk
2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 lemon rind strips

Spray crockpot with cooking spray. Combine all int crockpot and cook. I've done it 3-4 hours on high and 8 hours on low and it worked both ways.

[Karenciavo]

What about making a big pot of sauce and meatballs, I'm all about simplicity ;) Of course, I have a bread factory down here that sells rolls for 17¢

[WTMindy]

a home-made pizza or two. This is always a huge hit, especially with kids.

[*anj*]

Wow. You people are chock full of ideas. I have enough material here to last me for a few pot lucks!
Keep 'em coming, I'd love more.

And Kat: I just took out some ground beef because that Greek dish sounded so good I'm going to make it tonight!

Alice, that curry recipe looks delish too. We love Indian and Asian food, but since we've cut back on our spending we don't get to order it very often any more. I'm thrilled to start collecting recipes for curries that are just as tasty. If you haven't tried A.J.'s Tikka Masala, I highly recommend it!

[*anj*]

What about making a big pot of sauce and meatballs, I'm all about simplicity ;) Of course, I have a bread factory down here that sells rolls for 17¢

Karen, you sound like my husband! That is just his favorite thing in the world. A big pot of meatballs and sauce and freshly baked rolls. All that he ever wants for his birthday dinner is meatballs and sausage over fusilli. That is his standard, because it is his Food of Love. ;)

[PariSarah]

All that he ever wants for his birthday dinner is meatballs and sausage over fusilli. That is his standard, because it is his Food of Love. ;)

That's what ds always asks for when we go to my mom's--"Can we have Mimi's Spaghetti?" My spaghetti pales in comparison, of course, EVEN when I put meatballs and sausage in it, because Mimi doesn't ration the meatballs and sausage. :D

[Kat in GA]

And Kat: I just took out some ground beef because that Greek dish sounded so good I'm going to make it tonight!



It was really good! I think we all had leftovers for lunch today and it's all gone now. Leftovers never vacate my fridge that quickly!

[mysticamethyst]

I am a little late chiming in but I like shredded bbq chicken for potluck's. Quick, easy, and really cheap.

boil up whole chicken or chickens depending on how much you need; let it cool and take all meat off of chicken using for--the shredding
Add one bottle of your favorite bbq sauce for every chicken put in crock to keep warm only. I bring some kind of bun, usually what ever is on sale that day. There potluck complied with. I do throw add-ins here and there like sauteed mushrooms,onions and/or bacon. HTH

[*anj*]

This is what I made for the first time for dinner last night - it was really good:

Greek Pasta and beef:


Kat,
This was really good. Everyone loved it, and that's no small feat around here. This is going into my regular rotation. I've eaten this in restaurants, but I've never tried to make it before, so I was happy to see how easy it is.
Thanks a bunch!!! :D

[Kat in GA]

Kat,
This was really good. Everyone loved it, and that's no small feat around here. This is going into my regular rotation. I've eaten this in restaurants, but I've never tried to make it before, so I was happy to see how easy it is.
Thanks a bunch!!! :D

Ohhh...I am so glad that everyone loved it. I agree about how it seems impossible to please everyone - but that one surely did the trick...we have nothing left! I made it for the first time myself this week...and I agree...in the regular rotation!

[RebeccaC]

We have a potluck tomorrow too and this is what I am bringing a twist on shepherds pie.

2 Lbs ground beef
one package of mix frozen veggies at least 16 oz
one 26 oz can of spaghetti sauce
garlic to taste

Mix together well meat mixture should not be soupy.

Homemade mash potatoes my grandmothers recipe

5 lbs of russet potatoes
3 sticks of butter maybe four if you feel brave
1.5 cans of evaporate milk
Lawry's seasoned salt to taste and grandma said use no other ;)

Place meat mixture in bottom of large baking dish sprinkle well with Parmesan and Romano cheese then cover with mashed potatoes. Bake in oven for 40 minutes or so at 300.

[chickenpatty]

I'm bringing hot wings, green beans and a low carb orange cheesecake to our church potluck tomorrow.

[OnTheBrink]

Hotwings AND cheesecake?

Where is your church and what time is the potluck??:D

[kalanamak]

NT

[Whisperlily]

Crockpot BBQ chicken is easy and delicious.

Put chicken in the crockpot, (we use chicken breasts, but any boneless chicken, precooked, raw, or frozen will work) dump in enough of your favorite BBQ sauce to cover, turn on high until the chicken can be shredded with forks.

Serve with rolls or biscuits at a potluck. It can be sandwich-like, or just drizzled over the biscuit/roll and eaten with a fork.

(At home we use Chicken breasts or tenderloins and prefer to leave them whole and serve with rice and a veggie or salad.)