Potluck Dinners

My daughter had to take something for a potluck lunch at school today. As I was helping her to prepare her dish, we discussed what other kids were bringing. She commented to me that a number of the kids didn't know what a potluck meal was. I dropped my spoon. How is that possible?

Potlucks are a great custom. I don't know if it's a regional thing or if it's a small-town thing. I just know that they've been a big part of my entire life. As a child, I recall potlucks at church after services, family potluck gatherings, club potluck gatherings, community potluck gatherings. And, as an adult, most of these continued and even included potluck meals at work.

At one place I worked we had a weekly mid-week potluck. Employees could either bring something or they could donate a $1 to our employee benevolence fund and just grab a plate. At another place we held a potluck once a month for fellowship. When I was a younger, single, working mom my co-workers and I decided to do potluck with a twist. We took turns cooking lunch and bringing it for everyone in the group. You only had to bring something one day a week and the rest of the week, enjoy everyone else's cooking. This helped all of our budgets.

In fact, potlucks are a great budget stretcher for families. I lived in a friendly neighborhood as a young mom and we often held neighborhood potlucks to stretch our budgets. It's a fantastic way to get to know your neighbors and create connections.

Today I sent Cranberry Meatballs for the school meal. The teens always love this and I think it's pretty good... and simple. As far as potluck dishes go, it's not too spendy. When I was at the store, I calculated that the cost was going to be about the same whether I bought the ground meat and made them myself or if I just bought them prepared. So, for time savings (also a part of being frugal) I opted for the prepared meatballs.

Cranberry Meatballs

1 can cranberry sauce
1 jar chili sauce
80 count bag of meatballs (2 1/2 pounds prepared, cooked meatballs)

Place cranberry sauce and chili sauce in sauce pan and heat until cranberry sauce has melted. Place meatballs in crockpot. Cover with sauce. Turn on high, stirring occasionally for 1 hour. Switch to low and cook for 2 - 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Serves up to 20.