I have to cook for the office christmas party...but I can't cook!?

Question

My department at work is having a Christmas Potluck luncheon. I can't cook! What kind of dish can I make that would be pleasing to a variety of people (mostly a group of older white guys)?

Answer 1

Your help is as near as the local delicatessen or cafeteria.

Here are some simple ones:
Cocktail franks in BBQ sauce with toothpicks or a spoon (crock pot)
Prefab meatballs in Ragu spaghetti sauce (crock pot again)
Egg rolls with sweet/sour sauce and hot mustard on a plate
Blackeyed peas with bacon, garlic and medium salsa (crock pot)

Think FROZEN CANNED items more like appetizers than a casserole or entree. Since it's lunch, they WILL eat another meal on the same day. You're not doing it for a grade.

Answer 2

A great side dish to take to a potluck is cheesy corn casserole. Boil 3/4 cup of elbow noodles until they're about half to 3/4 of the way done. Stir that together with 8 oz of velveeta cheese (cubed) 2 cans (drained) of whole kernel corn and 2 cans of creamed corn. Dump the mixture into a casserole and bake at 350 for about a half an hour until the top starts to brown up.

Answer 3

The easiest way to cook if you can't cook is to use a slow cooker. Betty Crocker has a great slow cooker recipe book with tons of really easy recipes in it...you basically just throw a bunch of stuff in the slow cooker and turn it on...no experience required!

Gumbo Recipe for slow cooker:

2-3 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into 1 inch cubes
1 tablespoon of thyme...dried and chopped
5 cups water
3 tablespoons chicken bullion granules
2 pounds of cooked keilbasa ( or cooked andoulli) most keilbasa you get at the supermarket is already cooked
1 (14oz) can stewed tomatos
1 med white onion choppped
2 carrots diced
2 celery stalks chopped

Throw it all in the slow cooker stir it and set it on low for 7 hours...you can add unfrozen sliced okra the last 20 minutes but you don't have to...serve it with rice or just mix cooked rice right in at the end of the cooking time....it's really easy to make and it's really good...I get requests all the time for it! And people will think you worked REALLY hard!

Answer 4

Here's a few ideas:



Hashbrown Casserole (Serves 5 or 6)
1 (24 ounce) bag frozen hash browns (shredded, NOT cubed!)
2 cups sour cream
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup chopped onions
2 (10 3/4 ounce) condensed cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups corn flakes



1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large microwave-safe bowl, microwave frozen hash browns for 4 minutes on high.
3. Stir sour cream, butter, onion,soup, and cheese into potatoes.
4. Spread mixture evenly into a greased 9X13 inch pan.
5. Sprinkle corn flakes over top.
6. Bake, uncovered, for 45-50 minutes or until bubbly around edges.

(Make sure you don't immedeatly cover it, or else the steam will make the corn flakes soggy.)

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This site has a ton of potluck recipes: http://www.ocmacros.com/Recipes/2004_recipes.htm

Answer 5

Here's a really fun & easy appetizer you can make. No cooking required. It's one of my favorite. Take an 8 oz. block of cream cheese and cut it into two triangles. Put the triangles together so they look like a christmas tree and pour jalepeno jelly or a pesto sauce on top and stick a pretzel rod in the bottom for the trunk of the tree. Then serve with crackers or a baguette of bread.

Answer 6

California Dip
Ingredients
1 8 ounce container of sour cream
1 package onion soup mix
Instructions
Stir together: chill

Cheese Balls
Ingredients
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
12 - 16 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 (1 ounce) package ranch dressing mix
chopped pecans
4 pecan halves
Instructions
Mix together cream cheese, grated cheddar, and dressing mix. Form into one large ball or two smaller balls. Roll in chopped pecans to cover. Decorate the top with pecan halves. Refrigerate at least a couple of hours or overnight before serving.

Answer 7

par boil some pork neck bones (about 5 min), throw them in the crock pot (large) with some jars of spaghetti sauce and cook on low about 9-10 hours. Really good and easy.Adjust portions of neck bones with how much sauce per person(.Sauce should say on can) Figure out how many bones Before serving remove smaller bones( Or all if you prefer but they are great to nibble on )and serve over pasta. Serve with garlic bread or regular bread on the side

Answer 8

How about chili? It's very easy and can be delivered in one dish.. easy to eat too. You can find a recipe on the internet.
If that's too much of an undertaking for someone who doesn't cook then how about this:

Salad (lettuce) with candied walnuts, dried cranberries, cucumbers, blue cheese and a bottled balsamic vinaigrette.
OR
Pasta salad (rotini) with olives, roasted peppers, scallions, celery, broccoli (if u like it) and pepperoni or lunch meats of your choice tossed in olive oil and a touch of red wine vinegar.

Answer 9

creamy pea salad. no cooking involved!! here is my recipe:
1 pound frozen peas, thawed.
1 small sweet onion, chopped
1/2 cup mayo (light mayo or fat free may be used, just not as tastey)
*6 hard boiled eggs, chopped
one tablespoon bacon bits, optional

mix all ingredients in a large bowl.. something that can both serve and store. salt and pepper to taste. chill overnight. enjoy!!

*for perfect hard boiled eggs, start in cold water. just enough to cover the eggs. bring to a hard boil and remove from heat. cover and let sit for 18 minutes. set pan in the sink, running cold water in it for at least 30 minutes. crack, peel, and chop the eggs. they are then ready for the salad.
(i know... i said no cooking... but this is all the cooking there is!! promise!!)

Answer 10

Go and get a box of velveeta and follow the recipe on the box. It is a favorite and you can spice it up with a little crushed red pepper if you are daring. There may be more than one recipe, but they all will contain everyones favorite food cheese