HELP! I need creative recipes for 2 potluck picnics next week.

[mom2boys]

We have two picnics on Saturday. I want to take a dish to each. The first is some very nice people fomr our boys' baseball team last year. Our kids will be going to school & playing sports together for the next 10 years or so. They are going to the expense of having hard shell crabs, so I want to take something special. We will probalby only stay for an hour before moving on to my brother's.
My borhter's picnic an unofficial family reunion. Some people will travel 2-3 hours for this. Many will be my father's cousins. (My dad died 20 years ago.) Sadly, we usually only see these people at weddings & funerals. So again I would like something special.

What do you like to take to such events?

 

[mom2grace]

What type of food? Hot or cold, appetizer, side dish, dessert?!

 

[buckeye]

I often notice that whenever someone brings a nice green salad, it gets eaten up quickly. This is a recipe for a green salad with strawberries that is very tasty.

GREENS: 1 bunch spinach
1 head red leaf lettuce
1 head green leaf lettuce
1 pint strawberries, halved

DRESSING: 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
1 1/2 tsp. minced onion
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 tsp. paprika
2 Tbsp. sesame seeds
1/4 tsp. Worstershire sauce
1 Tbsp. poppy seeds

Put in a jar and shake dressing until blended.

 

[mom2boys]

mom2grace - any of those categories would be fine. I am really hoping for something tasty yet not the "same old, same old".

Buckeye, that salad sounds tasty. I think I'll try it out on the family tonight.

 

[sharbear]

I brought this bean recipe to a potluck last weekend and it was a big hit. It's very easy to make, that's a bonus.

1/2 pound bacon fried and crumbled
1/2 pound hamburger fried
28 oz. can pork and beans
15 oz. can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
15 oz. can butter beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tbl. vinegar
1 tsp. dry mustard

Mix together and bake at 350 for 1 hour.

You can use any kind of beans you want, change the meat (my SIL puts ham instead of bacon), mix it and store it until you want to cook it. I hear that it will also freeze but I haven't tried that.