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Our church is having an international potluck meal. They ask everyone to bring a food item or dessert.
Besides German chocolate cake, or Italian green beans or Italian spaghetti, what simple and inexpensive ideas do you have? There is always more food than everyone can eat so taking something is not required, but we'd like to.
We have to go way back to the 1700's for our ancestors to be from England.
So, our ethnic background is not very international.
Maybe Asian fortune cookies to give to each person.
That should not cost much and maybe a local Asian restaurant has them.
revised: A local restaurant will sell us a bag of 25 fortune cookies for $3.00.
Sold...!
Last edited by howard555; 10-22-2013 at 05:30 PM..
Sounds like your problem is solved, but here are some ideas (kind of outside the box) should anyone else be interested:
One of my favorite things, and something that would be cheap to make is Sambharo -- it's kind of an Indian cabbage slaw.
A simple curry, like Aloo Mutter or Aloo Gobi is inexpensive. I love any kind of Dal (lentil) curry, as well.
There are many rice-based dishes that are inexpensive:
A fried rice, something like Nasi Goreng (Indonesian) or the plain old Chinese variety.
A middle eastern dish like Mujaddara Red Beans & Rice
Tabbouleh would be not as cheap (fresh veggies can cost a bit more), but is good, too.
Hummus with some flatbread, as an appetizer.
An English desert like a Fool, Eton Mess, or even a Trifle would be fairly quick, easy and inexpensive. Or an Australian/New Zealand Pavlova. Depending on the fruit ... which can increase costs.
Well, I am dieting again to lose the final X lbs. I'm going to brag! I lost so much weight, my underwear fell off. I had to buy new panties. Maybe this just illustrates how overweight I was.
Anyway, now I am obsessed with my favorite foods because I can't really eat them.
How about Filipino fruit salad? I LOVE this stuff. It tastes awesome.
My Recipe
1. Cans of fruit cocktail. Not the sugar free stuff. You can also add any canned fruit you like. Don't try to be "healthy" and use fresh fruit. It is not the same.
2. Asian coco jels. These are canned or jarred coconut "jello" cubes. It is not gelatin, though. These are great, and make the salad taste really exotic. You can usually find these at any Asian grocery.
3. Cream Cheese - two or three packets of cream cheese thawed to room temperature.
4. Condensed milk - to taste.
I normally don't measure the ingredients. Just mix the cream cheese with condensed milk until it is smooth. You should taste the mixture. It should not be too sweet, since you are using sweetened fruit.
Then add in cans of fruit salad and coco jelly. Mix as you add. The "dressing" should get more liquid. Then taste it. The sweet fruit and creamy cheesy sauce are SOOO good. Try not to eat it all. A filipina lady taught me to make this a long time ago, but I make the recipe to my taste. I like peaches and don't use a lot of condensed milk.
I love bringing foods from my background. That said Filipino food is always a big hit at potlucks. A crock pot of East Indian or Jamaican curry and rice would go over well, too.
A crock pot of a shredded cheap pork roast and some salsa, cilantro, lime, diced onion, and corn tortillas would be nice for a taco bar.
char sui (Chinese BBQ roast pork). Ridiculously easy to make and addictive. If you don't have the local resources to get the maltose, just change it to honey, but use a little less.
Pierogies. Easy, everyone likes them, and picky westerners will still eat it.
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