Potluck

Cocktail meatballs. Both recipes below are easy and delicious.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Buffet-Meatballs/Detail.aspx

or

http://www.oceanspray.com/recipes/Ultimate_Party_Meatball...

Go to foodnetwork.com and search corn casserole. It is Paula Dean's recipe. There are only a few ingredients (corn, cream corn, butter, sour cream, and jiffy corn muffin mix). You literally mix them all together and bake. It is really easy and good and tastes gourmet.

Mix salsa and cream cheese together (can be as chunky or as smooth as you like - we like ours chunky) and serve with a bag of chips. It is always a huge hit at any party.

This is a very easy recipe Low Fat Penne Pasta

It is great to take as a potluck.

1 1/2 lb. of lean ground beef
1/2 chopped onion
1/2 green pepper - if you have one
chopped garlic to taste (optional)
2 tsp. of Italian seasoning or seasoning of your choice (optional)
2 jars prepared spaghetti sauce (I like Classico Traditional Sweet Basil)
1 tbsp. of sugar or 2 pkg. of Splenda
1 small package of penne pasta
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 cup fresh Parmesan cheese (low fat)(optional)

Saute the onion, bell pepper and garlic in a little olive oil. Add ground beef and brown. Add seasonings and spaghetti sauce. Add sweetener and mix together. Continue cooking until mixture is hot. While preparing meat mixture, cook the penne pasta according to directions. Drain pasta and add to meat mixture and continue cooking until hot. Place mixture in a greased 9x12 casserole dish. Top with parmesan cheese. Heat in 375 degree oven until cheese melts. This is a great recipe to take to a reunion, potluck, church supper, or to a sick friend. It freezes well. Just add a tossed salad and bread sticks when taking it to a sick friend. Serves 6

If you just want to take an appetizer, get an 8 oz. block of cream cheese and spread some raspberry chipotle sauce or jalapeno jelly on top and serve with crackers.

The Paula Deen Corn Casserole dish is so easy and so good.

1 can (15 1/4oz.) of whle kernel corn, drained
1 can (14 3/4) of cream style corn
1 box (8 oz.) of Jiffy cornbread mix
1 stick of melted butter
1 cup of sour cream (low fat)
1 cup of shredded cheese

Mix together in a large bowl. Pour into a greased 9X13 inch casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and top with cheese. Return to oven 5 to 10 minutes or until cheese is melted. (Keep watching so it doesn't burn.) Let stand for at least 5 minutes. Cut into squares. I make this at every holiday and people always ask for the recipe.

I'm not sure of what you have on hand at the house and with being sick today I'm sure you don't want to hit the store tonight. You could always swing by the store in the morning to pick up a fruit or veggie tray on the way to work. :-)

Watergate salad
1 package of pistaccio pudding
1 tub cool whip
1 can crushed pinnapple w/ the juice
1 bag mini marshmellows

stir and enjoy

Take Texas Caviar and a big bag of crisp tortilla chips:

Texas Caviar: This is a flexible recipe, a type, a "bean salsa". Nothing sacred about it, and there are many variations.
Some like it with fr. tomatos, some with chunks of avocado, some using 8 oz. of Italian dressing, some with Good Seasons marinade. Some with more, or less, blackeyed peas and/or black beans, or some with corn (cut from the cob) in place of some of the beans or peas.
This is a great way to serve Black Eyed Peas (for good luck all year) on New Year's Day, and this is always a crowd pleaser, so it's great for holidays or other gatherings.
You can rev up the heat with more peppers, or seed and de-rib the peppers if you have more sqeamish folk to serve.
It's all fresh , except for the canned beans/peas/corn, and of course, you could be a purist, and cook all those from scratch as well. But 'canned' works very well, with a much shorter prep time!

The one I'm giving you is kind of 'from scratch':
Texas Caviar

2 (15.8 oz.) cans black-eyed peas, drained (or one can BE peas, one of black beans)
1 (14.5 oz) can petite diced tomatos, drained (or a box of fr. cherry tomatos, quartered)
2 fresh medium jalapenos, stemmed, seeded and minced (or more for more heat)
1 small fresh onion, diced (red, or yellow, as the preference may be)
1/2 yellow bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, diced (or green, or red peppers)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
6 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
6 T. olive oil (not extra virgin) but other recipes call for extra virgin... ??? whatever !
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 t. ground black pepper
1/2 t. garlic powder
1 t. dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
Bag of tortilla chips.

Directions: mix all ingredients in medium bowl, cover and refrigerate 2 hours (or up to 2 days.) Before serving, adjust seasonings to taste, adding extra vinegar, salt, and pepper.
Transfer to serving bowl, and serve with crisp tortilla chips, the scooping kind. Enjoy!

Once you've made it once or twice, you'll begin to know what you really like and want to emphasize more, and which things to diminish. It's a great recipe, very flexible! High in fiber, B vitamins from the beans/peas, and all those fresh veggies (full of fiber and Vit. C, plus the phytonutrients and antioxidants!)

I just took baked beans in my crockpot to my Christmas potluck. I cut up a little bacon and nuked it in the microwave for 2 min then added very little onion and nuked for another 2 min. I then poured this in the crockpot, added some pork and bean. Then I put ketchup, a dab of mustard and some brown sugar. I like mine kinda sweet so I usually add a little extra brown sugar. Cook on high in crock pot for an hour and you have baked beans. When I take them for the churck potluck, they are always gone. Hope this helps. It's so easy to do.

do you have a mini crockpot? Buffalo Chicken dip is easy if you pick a recipe that uses canned chicken.

Be the one to bring breakfast! ha Our potlucks here at work are always at lunch and everyone is always looking for the breakfast items because they are hungry first thing! Stop by and get some koloches or donuts...you'll be the favorite person of the day! :)

Don't know what you have at the house. The pinwheels where you put cream cheese on flour tortillas and top with ham and then slice are easy and a hit usually. Little smokie sausages in a crock pot with bbq sauce over them works well too. I did a dip last year that people loved. It's like the cheese queso dip except you substitute 2 packages of cream cheese instead. It's 2 pkg cream cheese, one can of rotel (I use mild) and then a pound of sausage cooked, drained and crumbled. You could always go by the grocery store tonight or in the a.m. and pick up some veggies and a container of hummus. Oh, I just thought of another. I cut french bread length wise, then mix up garlic and butter, spread over the bread and top with mozerella cheese and bake. It's yummy and there's never any left.

Good luck and don't make it hard on yourself. People will understand, especially with a sick child.

Merry Christmas!
L.