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Potluck help


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Every Thursday night, I help with a class at my church. We are all asked to bring food to share. I can't figure out what to bring, so I need help with ideas and recipes. Here are my issues:

 

1. I leave the house at 4:30 and spend two hours at ballet with my DD and leave from there to go to church, so it can't be something that has to be refrigerated or that will not stand being jostled in the car. And I won't be able to reheat anything.

2. It has to be finger food friendly. We only get a 10 minute break to eat, so anything messy or complicated to eat is out.

3. I would love for a healthy option. I know I could make brownies or cookies, but I would love to find something healthier. I don't mind sweets occasionally if you have something really great that travels well, but if you have ideas that are not sweets, I need the inspiration there.

 

I am stumped. But I know some of you are pros at this. Can anyone help?

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How many people are you providing for?

 

I have a similar situation, and I'm able to bring a broader variety of foods using a $20 collapsible, insulated picnic basket from World Market//Cost Plus. Nothing that has to be served hot or cold, but a number of things can be warmish, coolish, or somewhere in between :) it all stays good for the 2-3 hours it spends in the car, and nobody has gotten sick from anything LOL. Knock on wood.

 

If you're doing 20 or fewer, following are a few specific ideas for 20 or fewer that could work with a picnic basket like mine. Roll-ups (tortillas, sliced meat, sliced cheese, lettuce/tomato), mini-quiches, warmed mixed nuts, chicken satay (skewers with dipping sauce on the side), fruit kabobs, meatballs (serve/eat with toothpicks), potato boats (if you bring a container of sour cream, nobody minds lukewarm potatoes LOL), pot stickers or shumai, mini eggrolls w/dipping sauce, tzatziki/yogurt with crunchy veggies (celery, carrot, bell peppers), hard-boiled eggs or deviled eggs ...

 

Other than that, I second the ideas above - chips and salsa, pitas and hummus, crackers and cheese (a small lunchbag would suffice), pretzels, muffins (veggie-based for healthier option?), mixed nuts w/ or w/o dried fruit, popcorn (different flavors, from salty to savory), cornbread, Pickles? I remember those being "big" in Texas LOL and one lady I knew would stick a popsicle stick through a coffee filter (to catch juice) then poke the pickle (to keep fingers clean). Weird, but effective - and wildly popular. Texans are some fascinating folks!

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To keep dishes warm you can wrap in towels or newspaper. Works very well.

 

Chicken nuggets or steak fries work for this we often take them to the zoo and eat them

later.

 

Cowboy candy comes to mind over cream cheese with crackers.

 

A salad of some sort in a cooler. Yes not finger food but quick.

 

Pick up a $5 pizza on the way there. Kinda pricey but it does work in a pinch.

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I don't have a specific number to feed. And it isn't dinner. We just set the food out and people kind of graze. :001_smile:

 

Thanks for all your suggestions! I am just paranoid about food spoiling. Now that it has finally cooled down here, I should be able to get by with a cooler.

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it might sound funny, but PBJ sandwiches cut into fourths was a huge hit at our last "grazing" potluck. Pinwheel sandwiches were popular too. I usually bring a bunch of grapes, crackers and cheese cubes and they are always all eaten. Another lady typically brings various breads sliced (whole wheat, banana, pumpkin, etc) and that is always a hit.

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