Church Potluck Day — Four Recipes, (Almost) Zero Leftovers

Church potluck day is one of my favorite days. Full stop.

There is something about bringing food you made with your own hands to share with the people you love that just fills my cup all the way up. Today I brought four dishes to our potluck with the members of the Forest Hills Church of Christ — Poppy Seed Chicken, Cucumber Tomato Salad, Simple Lasagna, and my infamous Fudgy Pie. I did not come home with much. I’m calling that a win.

I have been cooking for crowds my whole life — big family dinners, feeding the kids and their friends, meals for people going through hard times — but there is something especially wonderful about a church potluck. Everyone brings their best. Everyone shares. And somehow the food always tastes better when it’s eaten together around a long table with people you love.

Today I brought four recipes that I would consider some of my very best. These are the dishes people ask me to bring. These are the ones that get scraped to the bottom of the pan. These are my people-pleasers, my crowd favorites, my “please bring that again” recipes.

First up — Poppy Seed Chicken. This casserole is one of those recipes that sounds simple and then absolutely floors people when they taste it. Creamy, savory, with that buttery cracker topping — it is comfort food at its finest and it travels beautifully to a potluck.

Next — Cucumber Tomato Salad. Fresh, light, and the perfect contrast to all the heavier dishes on the table. This one disappears fast because it is bright and crisp and honestly just really good. Plus it is incredibly easy to make.

Then — Simple Lasagna. The easiest, cheesiest crowd-pleaser I know how to make. I have been making this lasagna for years and it never fails. People always go back for seconds, and the pan always comes home empty.

And finally — the star of the show — Fudgy Pie. My infamous, ugly-on-the-outside, absolutely-incredible-on-the-inside chocolate pie. Two of my kids would tell you it is the best dessert they have ever eaten. Today the potluck crowd agreed. I brought one pie. I came home with nothing.

We are part of the Forest Hills Church of Christ family here in Tampa, and getting together around a table with our church community is one of the greatest joys of our week. Faith, family, food — that is what this whole thing is about. From my table to yours.

Church Potluck Day — About Stephanie’s Food Section

Stephanie’s Food section is where all things food related live — beyond the recipes! This is where you’ll find special dinners and food experiences worth sharing, grocery tips and shopping advice for feeding a crowd on a budget, product demonstrations and kitchen tool recommendations, and anything else that happens in and around Stephanie’s kitchen that doesn’t fit neatly into a recipe card. If it’s food related and Stephanie has something to say about it — and she usually does — you’ll find it here.