Covered Dish Potluck Ideas and Discussion (tuna, cake recipe, cake, crock pot)

[stone-ground]

I'm laughing because of the irony with your nic, because when I get lazy, I pick up sushi. It's so easy.

[sushi66]

Thanks for all the suggestions! And those wrapped dill pickles sound really interesting!

I did a total turnarond from my original plan of the dip in the sourdough bowl - I brought brownies with a cream cheese topping. Everyone raved about them and they were all gobbled up. Yay! It worked out well because the dip would have made too much for the number of people there.

[NicoleJ]

help! I have to take a main dish to feed about 50 people to my daughter's cast party on Saturday. TONS of children, so it has to be child friendly. I was thinking chicken wings or spaghetti with bolognese sauce The Pioneer Woman Cooks - Ree Drummond (could keep it warm in a crockpot and it's CHEAP enough to make a lot).

Any other ideas? I really don't want to spend more than $20-25.

[findinghope]

rice goes a long way...you can add a protein of some kind to it and some veggies, maybe a sort of stir-fry, but with everything chopped a bit smaller.

[laorbust61]

Originally Posted by NicoleJ

help! I have to take a main dish to feed about 50 people to my daughter's cast party on Saturday. TONS of children, so it has to be child friendly. I was thinking chicken wings or spaghetti with bolognese sauce The Pioneer Woman Cooks - Ree Drummond (could keep it warm in a crockpot and it's CHEAP enough to make a lot).

Any other ideas? I really don't want to spend more than $20-25.

Cheeseburger Pizza you make at home
Mexican Lasagna
Chili and Toppings Bar (since you have a crockpot)
Pups In Blankets
Seven Layer Nachos
Macaroni and Cheese with Hot Dog Slices
Sloppy Joes
(make the meat filling on the stove, serve it from
the crockpot)

[Capt. Cave Man]

How old are the kids?

Would be hard to beat homemade mac & cheese. Check out alton brown good eats.

[nan5623]

party potatoes can't be beat. EZ to make. I agree with Capt. Cave Man on the mac-n-cheese.

[JustJulia]

This sesame pasta salad is really good. You can serve it hot or cold--I would make it early in the day or the day before and serve it cold.

Sesame Pasta Chicken Salad - All Recipes

If you multiply the recipe by 3, you'll have plenty. Remember that with party food, especially if there are other things to eat, people never eat as much as at a sit-down dinner. Kids will probably be talking and horsing around instead of eating, anyway, so don't make 50 servings!

Assuming you have vegetable oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar, white sugar, black pepper, and ground ginger at home, your grocery list would be:

1 jar sesame seeds - $3
3 boxes/bags dried pasta - $4
Sesame oil - $3
3-lb bag frozen chicken - $8
Bunch green onions - $2
Bunch cilantro - $1

About $20. If you spend a couple dollars more, you can get two rotisserie chickens from the deli counter at the grocery store and shred the meat. That'll save you having to thaw and grill or broil the chicken, and you'll have some meat leftover. You can make a soup or some enchiladas.

Note: As many of the reviews state, cut the oil down from 1/2 cup to 1/4 cup for each batch. That's what I do, and it's plenty of dressing. If you use the full amount in the recipe, many reviewers say it's way too oily.

[SXMGirl]

Mini hot roast beef sandwiches from the crockpot. I get Italian roast beef from the deli and put it in the crock pot with a mix of beef broth and gravy. Where I live, you can usually get the gravy from the deli and it is better than canned. Serve on mini rolls like slider rolls. Adults can add horseradish. Another is sloppy joes made in the crockpot. I agree about mac and cheese. Kids love that.

[akorosdc]

Hot roast beef or meatball sandwiches (this is just what I remember from every big party growing up). Sloppy joes is another good choice, or some sort of pasta like baked ziti, mac n cheese, or your bolognese idea.

I was also a very picky eater growing up, but liked all of these options. I wouldn't have eaten pasta salad or seven layer nachos (now I would, but not then). Just one thing to think about, no need to kill yourself if you've got picky eaters who just want spagetti.