Three Easy Holiday Pot-Luck Ideas

For many people the holidays mean parties at work, school, and friends houses in addition to the big event on the day of the holiday. These functions usually feature the term Pot-Luck in the menu. Tired of bringing salad and potato chips? Here are some great ideas to brighten any Pot-Luck gathering that won't cost a ton of time or money.

First tip, plan ahead, know how many functions there will be, how many people are attending, where the function will be, and what other people are likely to bring.

In the appetizer category dips are easy and versatile. Layer dips are usually crowd pleasers. For a no-fail layer dip, try a Mexican style. The layers can include any favorites such as seasoned beef, Spanish style rice, refried beans, guacamole, sour cream, salsa, cheese, and lettuce. Other nice additions include black beans, garbanzo beans, and jalapenos. To make a simple dip special customize the ingredients with simple changes: add a little lime juice to the sour cream, choose a smokey flavored salsa, spruce up the refried beans my mixing in some cumin or try serving the dish hot (excluding the sour cream, guacamole, and lettuce of course, add those after baking).

For a great side dish, vegetable casseroles are always the first to disappear! A great recipe for a mixed age crowd is a Cream Cheese Corn Bake. The Cream Cheese Corn Bake requires one regular size bag of baby yellow and white corn, one brick of cream cheese, one two cup package of shredded cheese (any flavor), one small onion chopped, one teaspoon minced garlic, and one stick of butter. Melt the butter in a deep sided frying pan; add the onion and garlic, brown until cooked through, melt in the cream cheese (will melt faster if cut into one inch chunks, also, at this point the mixture will look uneven and as if it will not mix properly, this is normal), finally add the frozen corn. Cook on stove top until corn is thawed and mixture looks well distributed, season with salt and pepper to taste. Place in a 9x13 inch baking dish and cover with cheese and one tablespoon of additional butter cut into small pieces. (The bits of butter help the cheese to brown and make the cheese on top easier to cut.) Bake at 350° until golden brown, about 30 minutes, can be served hot or at room temperature.

The same basic method can be used with broccoli, spinach, rice and a vegetable or just about any other vegetable combination. The dish can also be made zestier with the addition of red pepper flakes along with the salt and pepper, by adding cumin or another favorite spice, or by adding jalapeno to taste when frying the onions and garlic together.

For easy deserts a pudding pie can't miss. It can be made with any flavor, a multitude of ingredients, and can even be made healthier than most other deserts. The directions for making the pudding pie filling can be found on the side of the box of instant pudding. Using skim milk and sugar free or calorie free whipped topping make no difference to the texture of the pie. For the crust, premade crusts make can make this pie a 5 minute desert treat. For those who might like to make their own pie crust, it couldn't be easier. A food processor is helpful but not necessary. Simply combine 2 cups of graham cracker (or other cookie) crumbs with one stick of melted butter to form a crumble mixture. Press this crumble mixture into a pie pan, bake for ten to fifteen minutes to set, remove from oven and allow to cool. Fill with pie filling, top with candy, nuts or fruit; then finally top with the remaining whipped cream.

Next time a Pot-Luck luncheon or dinner pops up, you don't have to bring the same old bag of salad or two liter of soda. Try one a new appetizer, side dish, or desert this holiday season, and see if you aren't inspired to retire those old Pot-Luck stand-bys and create your own simple creations at every function you attend.