This post is absolutely useless without a recipe.

Somehow I don't think she has 7 tias and an abuelita to spend all night in the kitchen making them without any advance notice.

no ,but she could make tamale pie! you know the seasoned ground beef casserole w/ conrbread on top.

what is this word recipe?

I was making it up as I went along.. borrowing from a few different recipes that I'd read and working with what I had in the house.

Churros:

Go to Costco. Buy churros. Cut into smaller pieces

The chocolate sauce "recipe":

1 bag chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1 tsp ancho chile powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 Tbs sugar

Melt all ingredients together in a double boiler.

What I really did:

I only had a cup of cream, so I used milk for the other 1/2 cup
I couldnt find pure ancho powder, only the whole pods. So I cut one up and let it sit in the cream for about an hour.

Then I heated just the cream and chile pod in the double boiler to extract a little more flavor, before straining it.

Then I combined the strained cream with the chocolate chips, cinnamon, and sugar in the double boiler. I had chipotle chile powder in the house so I threw in a 1/2 tsp of that too.

For the layered enchiladas:

about a dozen corn tortillas sliced into 4 strips each
about 3 cups of enchilada sauce (i made my own using 2 cups veggie broth, a can of tomato sauce, and most of a pkg of powdered enchilada seasoning from the hispanic aisle)
large can of refried beans
a little oil
about 6 cups small-diced raw veggies (i used onion, red pepper, poblano
pepper, carrot, zucchini, mushroom, broccoli, kale, and corn)
powdered enchilada seasoning
about 4 cups of cheese (I mixed pepperjack and cheddar cuz it was in the house)

saute the veggies in a little oil... sprinkle some powdered enchilada seasoning over them.

put a 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 pan
add half the tortilla strips..spread evenly across the bottom of the pan
add half the beans
half the veggies
half the sauce
half the cheese

lather, rinse, repeat.

throw it in the oven at 350(F) for about an hour.

this post is absolutely useless without photos of the taco

And? (Someone better post how it was, and what others brought, too.)

Until this line, I was applauding.

Is that the layer where the bacon should be?

Just so long as it's flaccid

Well, she did say it was vegetarian. It could have been a layer of tofu . . .

Thanks for the recipes missydarlin! The chocolate sauce is especially wicked sounding, which is a good thing

TrojanHorse: Take a cold shower!

Eastbay1K, because you asked so nicely . . .

http://www.bbqaddicts.com/blog/recipes/bacon-explosion/

Enjoy!

Holidays bring Pot Luck lunches and dinners. Post some of your ideas for easy to fix, easy to serve (think about how you are going to keep it warm or cool while waiting for lunch at work) pot luck dishes.

I jump at the chance to bring dip. Get one of those round rye boules, slice off the top and scoop out the insides. Fill with your choice of dip (I usually end up with Knorr Spring Vegetable with half sour cream and half mayonnaise) and put it in. It does better for sitting an hour or so, but you can always keep the dip and a bowl and put it in when you get to the party. Instead of chips I usually get a bag or two of pre-cut celery and carrot sticks. Note that I am usually doing this the morning of the party because I forgot to make something the night before!

i'm making chile verde for the office holiday potluck next week.

Meatballs are always super easy... in gravy or bbq sauce

pulled pork

homemade mac and cheese

My brother always brings a hot crab and artichoke dip

I love my crockpot.

KFC bucket meal and Domino's/Pizza Hut.

Never fails.

I guess partly because I've never worked in an indoor office type of job, I've always equated potlucks with summertime outdoor bbq type of affairs rather than the holiday season. And I love em.