Potluck Help: Please share your easy, fast ideas for "summer" potluck.

[philosophie_en_rose]

I volunteer with a group whose leaders have decided to punish everyone with a themed potluck. The theme is "summertime," which is interesting as summer is practically over. My department is supposed to bring a main dish. There will probably be about 40 people in the office.

I need your suggestions. As you might have sensed, potlucks are not my favorite events. The food generally sits out too long, but there is nothing to do but eat. I'd rather not spend a lot of time on it, I'd like to buy something that people will enjoy.

Do you have a suggestion for a tasty, relatively quick main dish that fits a "summertime" theme and that would stand about a half-hour drive to work?



Thanks!

[philosophie_en_rose]

1. Anyone? Anyone?

Bueller?


:kick:

[Nikia]

2. You all have to bring a main dish?

Especially during the summer?
I have brought chili before, but that is probably not best for the summer. Some of my coworkers have brought BBQ weiners or meatballs before.
One of the things that I like to bring is macroni salad:
Macaroni noodles
Carrots
Celery
Green Onions
Salt and Pepper
Mayonaise
Don't ask me for the amounts because I keep adding as I go. I have gotten good responses.
A couple of times I have been lazy (but not laziest by buying already prepared) and made Kraft pasta salad where you boil water and add the stuff in the box. I think that these mixes are alright but not as good as my macaroni salad.

[philosophie_en_rose]

6. Nine people in the department. Sixty in the office.

I assume about 30-40 will actually show up. No way for me to avoid it, at this point.

Maybe I'll just shake some cornflakes on some chicken and call it good. ;)

[datasuspect]

3. gazpacho?

fresh homemade salsa? guacamole?

[philosophie_en_rose]

8. What's in gazpacho?

Salsa and guacamole seem more like side dishes.

Thanks for the suggestions. :hi:

[datasuspect]

10. gazpacho is a cold vegetable soup

(pureed and strained vegetables) that often has tomato as the base.

served cold.

[philosophie_en_rose]

13. That might work.

I don't want to have heat anything in our tiny office microwave.

[datasuspect]

16. be careful,

depending on who you work with, they might not "get it."

here is a quick recipe for a greek salad that is a crowd pleaser:

1 bottle of greek dressing (feta/olive oil)

green peppers

red onions (slivered)

white onions (slivered)

balsamic vinegar (enough for sweetness and color)

GOOD dark olive oil

tomatoes (roma/chunks/fresh)

olives (green, black, kalamata)

feta cheese

chop everything up, throw it all in a bowl, and crumble in COPIOUS amounts of feta (plain kind, preferable from an ethnic store), mix with liquid ingredients to coat everything nicely and have some juice at the bottom of the bowl.

farfalle pasta is good to add to this, but not much.

[sbj405]

4. I made this for an event yesterday

http://www.recipezaar.com/42699

I threw in some peas and ginger juice as well.

[philosophie_en_rose]

9. That looks great!

I think I might try mirin, instead of olive oil.

Thanks!

[sbj405]

30. It was easy and good.

Though I'd cut back on the soy sauce. I found it a bit too salty.

[Deja Q]

5. Rotini pasta, right out of the box.

Crunchy AND tasty! :9

Better as an autumn dish, however...

[philosophie_en_rose]

11. Yum!

:)

Put some whiskey in it and dump it in a frilly bowl. Then, you'd be fit for Sandra Lee. :)

[radwriter0555]

7. Bowtie pasta, fresh tomatoes large diced; a couple handfulls of basil

and toss it with real parmesan cheese and a touch of olive oil.

It can stand for hours, served at room temp.

[philosophie_en_rose]

14. I'm going to make that for dinner. Yum!

It would be nice to have a meatless alternative.

I wonder if colored pasta (spinach, tomato, etc) would work. It would look extra summer-y.

[radwriter0555]

35. er no.. please don't use colored pastas.. it's not right.

Stick with the traditional tried and true.

I usually also dice up a handful of sun-dried tomatoes, let them sit in a few teaspoons of olive oil for a few moments and toss them in for some "wang".

[uppityperson]

12. mexi salad

can of corn
2 cans of beans (blackeye peas are great)
chopped: tomato, some color pepper, onion
bunch of chopped cilantro
salso
cumin
chop a few pickled or canned jalepeno peppers into tiny bits

Mix, eat

[philosophie_en_rose]

15. I like the colors.

But someone claims to be allergic to peppers. :eyes:

[uppityperson]

21. well that won't work since you need at least salsa which has peppers

chile, jalepeno, and sweet peppers. Too bad. Hope you have a good picnic/bbq

[trof]

17. Summertime? Did you say "Summertime"? FISH!

Summertime...an' the livin' is easy.
Fish are jumpin'...and the cotton is high.

Tuna Noodle Surprise!
What else?!


Tuna Noodle Casserole
From: Campbell's Kitchen
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Serves: 4


Ingredients:

1 can (10 3/4 oz.) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup OR 98% Fat Free Cream of Mushroom Soup
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp. chopped pimiento (optional)
1 cup frozen peas
2 cans (about 6 oz. each) tuna, drained and flaked
2 cups hot cooked medium egg noodles
2 tbsp. dry bread crumbs
1 tbsp. butter OR margarine

Directions:

MIX soup, milk, pimiento, peas, tuna and noodles in 1 1/2-qt. casserole. Bake at 400°F. for 20 min. or until hot. Stir.

MIX bread crumbs with butter and sprinkle on top. Bake 5 min.

TIP: This recipe is also great using Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Celery or 98% Fat Free Cream of Celery Soup.
http://www.campbellkitchen.com/recipedetail.aspx?recipeSource=search&recipeID=24254&page=0&index=0&SearchText=tuna&LastIndex=false
;-)

[philosophie_en_rose]

18. Not sure about dairy and fish in the sun.

I think we're having it outside on a patio.

[trof]

20. Just kidding.

I'm in a lyrical mood tonight.
:-)

[YellowRubberDuckie]

19. Go to KFC and get a few buckets of chicken.

Call it good.
Duckie

[JVS]

22. Chili

[hippywife]

23. This is a pasta dish that's served cold

but works well as a main course with some nice bread.

1 pound of thin spaghetti
1 large carton of cherry tomatoes
1 pkg. finely shredded cheddar or colby cheese
1 bunch green onions
1 can small or medium black olives
olive oil
Lawry's Season Salt
Mayo (not Miracle Whip)

Boil spaghetti till al dente and pour into collander. Rinse well with cold water to stop the cooking process and cool the pasta. Drain well. Put into a large sealable container and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with season salt. Toss well and refrigerate over night.

The next day, rinse and drain well. Chop the cherry tomatoes into quarters, dice the green onions, and slice the olives. Toss together with the cheese, mayo, and a little salt.

Enjoy!

[querelle]

24. Querelle Salad

Here Goes.........

2 avacoadoes cut into bite size pieces
2 tomatoes cut into bite size pieces
1 half cucumber (prerferably seedless) cut into bite size pieces.

Combine all ingredients with the following vinaigrette:

2 tbsp olive oil
2 crushed cloves of garlic
Juice of one half of a FRESH lemon juice.(don't use that Realemon shit!)
Salt to taste. Herbs of your choice.

DIVINE!!!!!!!!!

Q

[astonamous]

25. Jell-O...

Well, what did you expect from someone in Utah?!

Trudy
www.pryorsplanet.com

[xmas74]

26. Just make a big spinach leaf salad

and add some cold, cooked boneless, skinless chicken breast on top. Cold boiled shrimp is also nice.

I add any number of things to mine. Sometimes hardboiled eggs, sweet onion slices, olives, some like crumbled bacon (but I don't-don't like pork), cherry tomatoes, sometimes a mix of sunflower seeds and dried cranberries (crunchy, chewy, salty, sweet and sour all at once. Banana peppers can make it pretty, as can pineapple, strawberries or even mandarin oranges. If I go meatless I'll add crumbled bleu or feta cheese instead. (Or sometimes not. I tend to add whatever's in the house at the time to the salad.)

For dressing I prefer a light fruity vinagrette.

[thefool_wa]

27. Chicken and Saffron Rice

What you need:

1 Can cream of chicken soup
1lb of seasoned, cooked cubes of chicken
1 package of Mahatma yellow rice (or other packaged saffron rice)


Follow the instructions on the rice, add the chicken and cream of chicken soup (plus milk to thin it out if you like) and cook for 15-20 minutes. Shake on some paprika or chili powder and go.

My wife makes this all the time and it is AWESOME!!!!

[philosophie_en_rose]

28. would that work in a rice cooker?

I have a bad record with rice on the stovetop.

[thefool_wa]

29. yes, but

You would have to season the rice yourself then cook it on the stovetop once you add the soup and chicken. I don't see any reason you couldn't do it that way but, obviously, don't add the soup & chicken to the cooker.

The pre-packaged stuff comes in small sizes so it would take 3 or 4 packages to make sufficient rice in a cooker (I think, we use the stovetop). If so you would obviously need to scale up the other ingredients as well (1:1:1).

The packaged stuff is really easy. Put a couple cups of water, butter and the rice in a saucepan, cover, cook for 20 minutes - Voila!

[Broken_Hero]

31. rotissere chicken

4 bucks, at most stores...:) Thats what I usually bring...:hi:

[philosophie_en_rose]

32. If I cut it up and pour a glaze on it -- it might even look homemade.

Hmmm...

[Broken_Hero]

33. thats the ticket

i usually brush pieces of pineapple with bbq sauce on it....:) Thats my trick...:)

[NMDemDist2]

34. if you ask over in Cooking and Baking you'll get a lot of ideas I bet

and how about "Pigs in a Blanket"??

they hold well and with some gourmet mustard make a nice potluck dish

Buy a bag of "Lil Smokies" sausages and a couple cans of Crescent Rolls

unroll the crescents and cut them in half diagonally, wrap around a Lil Smokie and bake as directed


easy peasy and if you want em hot, nuke em at the office for 15-20 seconds in batches of 6-8

it's always been a hit