You don't need to go out and buy special ingredients, to make something to bring to a potluck

Using what you have on hand can save you a bundle. When I'm invited to a potluck, and I want to bring something special, taking a survey of what's in my pantry, fridge and freezer can yield some wonderful treasures to add to a dish or two.

As so many of us on these blogs are, I happen to be good with bread-baking. So that is my first thought when invited to a potluck. Homemade bread is devoured at these sort of events. I will also offer to bring a dessert. Dessert is a very flexible category. It can be anything from a simple plate of cookies or pan of brownies, to a cake, pie or cobbler. Most potlucks seem to feature home-style cooking, so what may seem like an ordinary dessert, like a cobbler or crisp, becomes a star when you add one or two extras to the recipe.

To the potluck we went on New Year's Day, I brought a golden loaf of homemade rosemary French bread, 2 crusty whole wheat baguettes and a dessert. Believe me, the bread was a hit. People who normally eat shop-bought bread think that homemade bread is out of this world. There were just 3 small slices of the baguettes left (the rosemary bread was gone halfway through the afternoon) at the end of the night. The only addition to make my homemade bread "special', was 2 tablespoons of minced, fresh rosemary from the fridge. I took great care in the baking of the loaves, so that they would be both beautiful and delicious.

For dessert, I took a quick survey of my discerning staff (my two teen daughters). In our conference room (the family room), we "brainstormed" and made pie charts, bar charts, line charts, graphs, etc., and postulated theories as to the demographics of the intended gathering, and came up with this:

I needed to check the kitchen for ingredients, then work from there.

I still had some apples from last fall's harvest, some pecans from an earlier purchase, lots of sugar, flour, butter and spices. But no eggs. So, whatever it would be, it had to be egg-less. That's when I searched online for desserts, listing my key ingredients, apples, spices and pecans. I came up with a recipe for a pecan-apple crumble. It was fabulous. It had a crispy and nutty topping, with soft and spicy apples beneath. I used whole allspice and ground the berries myself, for the freshest spicy flavor ever. My hostess had some vanilla ice cream to go with it. And once again, this was a hit. The men loved it, the women loved it, and my kids devoured the extra little bit that I had made for us.

There was no need to run out and buy special ingredients for the items I brought to the potluck. I used just what I had in my kitchen. And I didn't need to follow any complicated recipes. I stuck with what I know and do best.


For you, appetizers might be your thing. Or maybe it's a salad that you make that's enjoyed by all. Whatever your specialty, use what you have on hand and stick to what you do well. You may have had it so many times that you're growing weary of it. But to others, it's new and delicious -- the hit of the party. There really is no need to pop out to the store for special ingredients. You likely have all that you need at home, to make your signature dish for the next potluck you attend.

A dozen things I did today to save money

In the comments the other day, Belinda from the Frugal Workshop mentioned that there are numerous small ways to save money, but only a few major ways. How true is this. I commented back that I think I must do a dozen small things a day, that save us money.

Well, later in the day, I got to thinking, "do I really do a dozen things per day to save us some money, or was I exaggerating?"

So, I wandered around the house to see what I could find, and took photos, as a reminder for this post. And yes, I did a dozen things, and then some. Here are the first 12 things that I thought of.

1) I made granola for the next morning's breakfast (we'll be out of bread by the end of dinner)

2) I made ham stock from the ham bone, and froze 6 pints

3) with the ham stock, I made split pea soup from scratch, a double recipe for lots of leftovers

4) I made croutons with the end of the French bread, 

to top the soup

5) I served crabapple sauce, made with crabapples from our tree, to go with dinner. It was too tart the last time I served it, so this time I rescued it with a mixture of cornstarch, sugar and additional water. It was not just passable, but delicious.

6) I washed 2 loads of laundry on cold/cold setting

7) I hung those 2 loads of wash to dry, on racks in the kitchen and family room

8) I washed baggies

9) I stayed home all day, keeping the car in the garage, and saving gas

10) I set up autopay for another account, saving postage each month

11) I made another batch of citrus and spice cleaning fluid. I now have 2 quarts stored in the laundry closet.

12) and I reconciled December's budget,

and set up January's budget.

I think we all do many, many small things each day, which wind up saving us money. The next time you feel down about your frugal efforts, see if you can't make a list of everything you've done lately. You might be surprised at just how hard you work at economizing.

The year is off to a great start, don't you think?!