Favorite side dish for potluck/gathering?

[6packofun]

Gah, I'm so sick of trying to come up with different--but not TOO different--side dishes for events.  This is for a Boy Scout thing.  Last time I brought a yummy baked mac n cheese and of the 2 other side dishes, one was also mac n cheese.  LOL

 

I'd prefer something warm/hot since it's winter, but hit me up with some of your tried and true favorites that slightly picky people might eat!  (But no known allergies/sensitivities.)  By slightly picky I mean no ethnic dishes that would be different from what "average folks" might eat, really spicy stuff, etc.  I'm just pretty sure we don't have adventurous eaters in the group, that's all I'm trying to say!  :P

[Ali in OR]

I bring something my kids would eat--and I have an extremely picky eater. One that was very popular (at church with an older crowd) was just Little Caesar's crazy sticks. Breadsticks. I had one bag for dd and about 4 more for everyone else. Fruit kabobs are popular too.

[matrips]

Sorry, nothing new here! I always bring Mac and cheese because that's what my kids love :). They can't have yellow cheese so mine is the only one they can eat usually.

[AnnE-girl]

Not a hot dish, but I tend to bring a salad or veggie tray. My kids will eat it, and it's something a little healthier. It's also pretty safe for anyone with gluten issues or parents who might be trying to cut carbs.

[Anne]

Beans- Baked, barbecued?

 

Salad - Coleslaw, potato, broccoli?

 

how about a tomato sauced pasta dish?

 

 

Anne

 

 

[marbel]

Mac and cheese is always popular.  At our church potlucks, there might be 3 of them, and they all get eaten.  It's familiar, so people don't have to worry about it being weird.  :-)

 

Sometimes I take cheese and crackers.  Kind of strange, I know, but picky kids will usually like that.  Or, just the crackers... 

 

potato or macaroni salad, or green salad?

 

 

[Carol in Cal.]

Pilaf, French style.

 

1 cup white rice

Half a stick of butter

1 medium white onion, chopped

2-3 cloves minced garlic

2 cups chicken broth (the cubes work, but I prefer the Better Than Bouillon)

1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese (optional) (the green can kind is fine for this recipe, honest)

 

Melt the butter in a heavy pot.  Saute the onion until translucent.  Add garlic and saute for 1 minute.  Add rice.  Saute, stirring constantly, until the rice changes from tranlucent to opaque white.  (This doesn't take very long.)  Pour in chicken broth, bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.  Add the parmasan if desired.

 

There is no gravy this is not good with.  It also is extremely good without gravy.  It is nutsy easy, and you can make multiple recipes, the most I have done at one time is 4X and it scaled perfectly.  

 

For a potluck, the trouble is, it looks like a big dish of plain white rice.  So inevitably no one takes much.  Then someone takes like one bite of it and falls in love, and tells everyone to get some, and it disappears immediately.  So it won't look popular at first, and then it suddenly goes, all at once.

[Ottakee]

Not really a side dish but Iake taco roll ups

 

 

1 can refried beans

1 package cream cheese

1 packet taco seasoning mix

Mix these together and spread on flour tortillas (warm in microwave 8 seconds each first) and then sprinkle with finely shredded cheese. Roll up and slide into pinwheels when chilled.

 

I never bring any home.

[purplejackmama]

I would bring a crock pot of chili. Yes not technically a side dish but yummy nonetheless!

[wintermom]

I've never experienced mac and cheese at a potluck. Here it's really popular to bring meatballs for a hot dish. 

[HeWillSoar]

I made this at Christmas and it was really good!  Hash Brown Casserole http://allrecipes.com/recipe/13755/restaurant-style-hashbrown-casserole/

[HollyDay]

I like to make a crockpot things in the winter.  Favorites include sloppy joes and "baked" potatoes.  Potatoes are really easy to do in a crockpot

[Carol in Cal.]

Every once in a while I bring peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. 

Of course, they are crustless.

Of course, some are cut in half diagonally and some are cut in half horizontally.

They are always both unexpected and wildly popular.  I should really do this more often.

[Calm37]

Cheesy potatoes. If you google that you will see a variety of recipes. The easiest involves using those frozen hash brown cubes. Anyway, people actually ASK me to bring this. 

[cjzimmer1]

Every once in a while I bring peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. 

Of course, they are crustless.

Of course, some are cut in half diagonally and some are cut in half horizontally.

They are always both unexpected and wildly popular.  I should really do this more often.

 

I would assume that is also white bread?

 

And of course the real argument, strawberry or grape jelly?

Edited January 13, 2017 by cjzimmer1

[umsami]

Have you heard of crack chicken?  You can make it in Instant Pot or crock pot.  Bring some King's Hawaiian Rolls to serve it on.  Easy peasy to make, too. :)  (It's chicken, cream cheese, Ranch seasoning, and crumbled bacon!)

 

http://cookiesandcups.com/slow-cooker-crack-chicken/

 

 

I often bring a fruit salad and that is usually popular too with everybody.  

Edited January 13, 2017 by umsami

[6packofun]

Have you heard of crack chicken?  You can make it in Instant Pot or crock pot.  Bring some King's Hawaiian Rolls to serve it on.  Easy peasy to make, too. :)  (It's chicken, cream cheese, Ranch seasoning, and crumbled bacon!)

 

http://cookiesandcups.com/slow-cooker-crack-chicken/

 

 

I often bring a fruit salad and that is usually popular too with everybody.  

 

Wow, those sandwiches and fruit salad could be my meal every day for a week.  LOL  Thanks for the link even if I just use it for my family!

[umsami]

Ugh I totally missed the side dish thing.

 

So....go with fruit salad.  Even though it's not hot.

 

You can also do tortillas and Rotel/Velveeta. (One can of Rotel to one small block of Velveeta.  Nuke for two minutes, stir.  Nuke again for a minute or two.  Stir.  Until melted/well combined.  If you can't get Rotel where you live, you can use a jar of salsa, whatever flavor you like. I usually choose mild or medium so it's not too spicy (the cheese will cut some of the spice.)  Put it in a small crockpot if you want to be fancy and keep it warm.

 

I've also brought chips and sour cream dip to a Boy Scout event.  That was surprisingly popular and so easy. I bought the chip and dip last minute at a warehouse club because I didn't think we'd be home in time for the Boy Scout event (and was wrong).

Edited January 13, 2017 by umsami

[Storygirl]

The last two potlucks we went to, I took baked corn casserole. My computer is wonky, so I can't post a link, but it's the kind that uses a Jiffy corn muffin mix.

 

Very popular.

[purplejackmama]

I would assume that is also white bread?

 

And of course the real argument, strawberry or grape jelly?

Strawberry. ALWAYS.

[umsami]

You could make doctored up baked beans and serve them in a crock pot....or beanie-weenie (add in hot dogs).  

 

 

Pioneer Woman makes a yummy looking baked beans.  It has bacon, onion, bbq sauce, brown sugar, etc.  (I don't know if baked beans are a regional thing, but they were popular in the midwest where I grew up.)  

 

 

[Baseball mom]

Deviled eggs

[Carol in Cal.]

I would assume that is also white bread?

 

And of course the real argument, strawberry or grape jelly?

Actually, no, this is Silicon Valley; I can get away with whole wheat bread here.  AND!  The jelly doesn't seep through it as fast, which is appreciated by all.

 

And re. number two--strawberry jam, because that is what they sell at Costco and hence it is always present in my home in reasonable quantities AND because it doesn't seep through or out the sides of the bread pieces as much, which, again, is appreciated by all.  Even though everyone knows that grape jelly tastes much better.   :)

Edited January 13, 2017 by Carol in Cal.

[umsami]

Nutella and bananas make a mighty fine sandwich, if you go that route.  The banana makes one feel slightly less guilty of serving a chocolate sandwich.  Sliced strawberries work well, too!

 

My cousin makes these really good turkey pinwheels.  She uses a tortilla (obviously), cream cheese mixed with ranch dressing mix, banana peppers, turkey....and I want to say something green.  Cucumbers?  Lettuce?  Can't remember, but they're good and go quickly.   You can make them the night before, wrap tightly in saran wrap.... and then slice the next day.  

[KungFuPanda]

Cheesy potatoes. If you google that you will see a variety of recipes. The easiest involves using those frozen hash brown cubes. Anyway, people actually ASK me to bring this.

I agree with this. I often do the Cracker Barrel hash brown casserole and there's never any leftover. It's horrible for you. It has cheese and sour cream and cream of chicken soup. That's right, it's not even vegetarian. It's easy, popular, and can be done in the crockpot or oven. The hardest part is fitting up an onion. Heck, you could leave it out. I imagine you could add ham, but I haven't tried.

[slackermom]

I always bring along a fruit platter, and it is always a hit. Sometimes I bring other platters too, like cheeses, veggies, crackers, olives, etc. Rarely, I bring along a dish with either plain or fried rice.

 

My dd is a vegetarian, and dh has major food sensitivities, so that is what works for us.

[Guest]

I usually do a salad for a scout side as it will get eaten, but roasted root vegetables also go if you have the abiity to keep them warm.

[heartlikealion]

Simple and warm.

http://www.food.com/recipe/jiffy-corn-casserole-5-ingredients-easy-delicious-313521

[Rebel Yell]

I would assume that is also white bread?

 

And of course the real argument, strawberry or grape jelly?

For several years I brought PB&Js to potlucks, as long as there was no peanut-free rule.

 

I usually was using up whatever I already had, so half a loaf of white, half whole wheat, some strawberry, some grape. I brought them both because my kids would eat them, and it kept OPK (other people's kids) from only eating the cookies and desserts and then running around the event like a bunch of sugared up maniacs LOL!!!

 

Plus it was so cute once... a really sweet elderly couple asked if those were PB&Js... said they hadn't eaten one since their own kids were little. Dear man probably ate about four and said they needed to have those more often. :wub:

Edited January 13, 2017 by Rebel Yell

[mlktwins]

Drunkin Sausage -- LOL.  My picky eater won't eat it, but everyone else (including his twin) loves it.  Basically kielbasa in a ketchup kind of thing in the crock pot.  I can add recipe if interested.  Someone brought it to a work pot luck one time and everyone begged for the recipe. 

 

[Carol in Cal.]

Sometimes if I have reasonable quantities of 3-4 different cheeses in the house, I use a big round platter to serve heaps of cheese cubes.  Sharp cheddar, smoked or regular gouda, and monterey jack are the faves.  Swiss cheese also works.  Blue is iffy--IME many are deeply suspicious of it, but some scarf it right up.  One advantage of serving it this way is that it can be eaten 'pure'--no crackers or anything extra is necessary.  If I want it to be fancy, I add grapes, or sweet 100 cherry tomatoes, or dried fruit heaps.  And a couple of kinds of mustard in a little dipping tray is a nice look.  But really, for kids--heaps of cheese cubes is a great choice, and vegetarians or picky eaters love having this available.

 

ETA: With toothpicks, of course, which double as swords for great jousts later on.  Score!

Edited January 13, 2017 by Carol in Cal.

[gstharr]

Here is a chicken dish that I've been playing around with recently.  We like Buffalo chicken wings, but rarely ever buy wings because around here  raw wings are $2.99/lb, and other parts are .99ct/lb. Sometimes as low as .39ct per lb, in 5-10 lb packages.  Just can't justify the cost for what used to be give-away.  Anyway, here is the technique :  take a drumstick.  Cut off the knob on the bottom.  Now go up a couple of inches to where the meat forms  the ball.  Cut around the base of the ball through the tendons. now strip the skin from the bone portion.  Frenching the leg.  Visualize fancy lamb chops, or a tootsie pop.  takes only seconds per leg to prep.  Now, use your favorite recipe.   They come out looking like wings on steroids.  Same shape, flavor and texture as a wing drum, but at a fraction of the cost.  Have served these too many wing lovers who all wanted to know where to buy the giant wings.  After 3 or 4 mock wings, remind  yourself that you are eating a whole chicken leg. wings are now a staple for us. 

[Vida Winter]

I usually make a big Greek pasta salad with lots of fresh basil and artichoke hearts. There are many recipes on line. The trick is to use white balsamic vinegar -- it doesn't turn the salad brown.

[ktgrok]

Corn Pie

 

It's so good it's gone viral in my circles. 

 

2 graham cracker pie crusts (store bought is totally fine)

1 can corn (drained)

1 can creamed corn

1 box Jiffy corn muffin/bread mix

1 8 oz container of sour cream

1 stick of butter, softened

 

Mix everything but the pie crusts up. Pour into the pie crusts. Bake at 350 for about an hour. Good hot or at room temp. 

[marbel]

Corn Pie

 

It's so good it's gone viral in my circles. 

 

2 graham cracker pie crusts (store bought is totally fine)

1 can corn (drained)

1 can creamed corn

1 box Jiffy corn muffin/bread mix

1 8 oz container of sour cream

1 stick of butter, softened

 

Mix everything but the pie crusts up. Pour into the pie crusts. Bake at 350 for about an hour. Good hot or at room temp. 

 

This is almost  the recipe I use for 3-corn casserole.  Mine has no crust, and adds an egg.  Oh, the recipe calls for a cup of shredded cheese stirred in after 45 minutes baking; I don't always do that.

 

I'm having a hard time imagining it with a sweet crust.  

[Vida Winter]

Simple and warm.

http://www.food.com/recipe/jiffy-corn-casserole-5-ingredients-easy-delicious-313521

 

Made this last night -- a big hit, thanks!

[Forget-Me-Not]

Have you heard of crack chicken? You can make it in Instant Pot or crock pot. Bring some King's Hawaiian Rolls to serve it on. Easy peasy to make, too. :) (It's chicken, cream cheese, Ranch seasoning, and crumbled bacon!)

 

http://cookiesandcups.com/slow-cooker-crack-chicken/

 

 

I often bring a fruit salad and that is usually popular too with everybody.

I'm going to make that for a week night meal. The cream cheese doesn't get weird after that long in the crock? IME, dairy doesn't slow cook well for more than 2-3 hrs.