Zeraph

Potlucks we call them. When everyone brings something to eat or drink. I'm going to one tonight but can never decide on something good to bring. Price is a concern, so nothing too expensive. The normal advice I've been given is bring what you'd want to eat/drink. Well I pretty much only drink water. I don't like chips much, nor candy much and I can't cook anything serious. So hmmm...

What have you had success with? Especially looking for non standard ideas than just bring another bag of chips or bottle of wine.

saltfish

From personal experience; Stay away from tortilla chips, pasta salad and cheap wine, everyone brings them!

Be creative...

English chocolates, pita chips with hummus, a fresh baked baguette with blue cheese, vine ripened tomoatoes that were grown in the neighborhood.

Toaster126

Apple pie. Every normal person loves apple pie.

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Elphaba

A Deli Tray from a larger grocery store is my staple for the pot luck party. Like you, I can't cook worth beans and rarely have the time to try. Seasonal fruit trays are also welcome and not too pricy. If there is a hostess to this party, you will win major cool points by bringing a few flowers for her table. Those are pretty inexpensive at the grocery, too.

That said, you have been invited and it's your company that is wanted, rather than what you can bring. Just do what you can that is a reasonable expense for you.

maleficent

crock pot beans are super easy - super inexpensive and super tasty.

Big fruit salad - hollow out a watermelon and the watermelon becomes the bowl add other fruit to it and voila.

Breakfast for the host the next day... a basket of bagels/cream cheese, etc is always a nice gift.

a few bags of frozen shrimp, steamed over garlic and chilled.. served with cocktail sauce.

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Meditrina

Most of the parties I go to are family parties, with alot of kids around. I like to bring either dirt cake or chocolate chip pie. I can dig out the recipes if you'd like.

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Brewmaniac

Here's a good inexpensive, crock pot idea, fill crock with meatballs dump in a can of cream of celery soup(no water)
mix it all around if isn't enough liquid add can of cream of mushroom soup. Use small pretzel sticks instead of tooth picks, so you can eat the handle too! Yum...

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passthru

I like the hummus idea, it's not all that common and most people like it. It's a bit expensive, but if you have a blender it's pretty easy to make. Just use google or something and you'll find many options.

Zeraph

Thanks for all the ideas. I ended up with a fruit platter.