What is your favorite visually appealing dish to bring to a potluck?

Here is the greatest thing you can take for a potluck - seriously, people will treat you like you're a rock star after this, I do it so often that when I don't do it, people have actually gotten rude with me about it.

It's a little bit of prep work but trust me, it's worth it.

Get a bunch of small clear Solo cups (I guess they're about 4 oz?) and make individual layered salads. Starting at the bottom of the cup work your way up in this order:

Balsalmic vinaigrette

Small chopped tomatoes

Shredded carrots

Crumbled bacon

Crumbled blue cheese

Dried cranberries

Micro greens

Shredded beets

People take the cup and flip it over onto their plate and the dressing on the bottom of the cup is now at the top of the salad so it dresses all of the ingredients. It's really a lot of fun and this way you don't have to worry about your salad getting soggy.

Plus you can get the kids to help put them together!

I've included a link to a pic of what I'm talking about - you can put together pretty much any combination of salad ingredients, I just chose this one because it has a holiday look/feel to it.

i've been taking this cheesecake to my best friend's parent's thanksgiving dinner every year for 5+ years... there are never any leftovers =)

Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake

25 Ginger Snaps, finely crushed (about 1-1/2 cups)

1/2 cup finely chopped Pecans

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted

4 pkg. (8 oz. each) Cream Cheese, softened

1 cup sugar, divided

1 tsp. vanilla

4 eggs

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

Dash ground cloves

PREHEAT oven to 325°F if using a silver 9-inch springform pan (or to 300°F if using a dark nonstick 9-inch springform pan). Mix ginger snap crumbs, pecans and butter; press onto bottom and 1 inch up side of pan.

BEAT cream cheese, 3/4 cup of the sugar and the vanilla with electric mixer until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition just until blended. Remove 1-1/2 cups of the batter; place in small bowl. Stir remaining 1/4 cup sugar, the pumpkin and spices into remaining batter. Spoon half of the pumpkin batter into crust; top with spoonfuls of half of the reserved plain batter. Repeat layers. Cut through batters with knife several times for marble effect.

BAKE 55 min. to 1 hour 5 min. or until center is almost set. (Test doneness by gently shaking the pan. If the cheesecake is done, it will be set except for an approximately 2-1/2-inch area in the center that will be soft and jiggly.) Run knife or metal spatula around rim of pan to loosen cake; cool before removing rim. Refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving. Store leftovers in refrigerator.

I have a beautiful cake I do for fall. It's Halloween-oriented, but it has to do with a pumpkin - which can also be thanksgiving.

It's called the Great Pumpkin Cake, stolen from Martha Stewart a few years ago.

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/the-great-pump...

It's absolutely beautiful when you do it right, and it can be simplified.

- Instead of making the bundt cakes from scratch, just use box mixes. I'm a decent cook, but I'm terrible at baking from scratch.

- Put frosting between the two cakes to hold them together instead of the melted chocolate. Holds better and is less complicated.

- For the frosting, I have yet to come across "orange liquid-paste food coloring". I use orange colored frostings and liquid food coloring.

Use Kraft macaroni and cheese, 2 boxes, and load it with ham. Or put tuna, 2 cans, and green beans in it. No, need to drain the cans...can use them to heat up the dish without adding water. Easy, easy. Have a good day.

Broccoli Slaw

1 bag of broccoli slaw (16oz)

1/2 package of dried cranberries (craisins)

1/2 cup cashews

1/4 red onions chopped

Coleslaw dressing (I like Marzeti's)

Here's a picture (they chopped their broccoli)

http://tastespotting.com/detail/25863

One of our favorites is Taco Salad ( never bring home any when I take it to a potluck and often get requests to bring this dish )

For Halloween I put crushed corn chips on top to look like a pumpkin. For the holidays use peppers to make wreaths or holly design

1 head lettuce ....chopped

1 lb burger ( cooked w/ taco seasoning )

1 can chili beans ( pinto beans work )

1 cup grated cheese

1 small can black olives ( optional )

1 tomato ( chopped ( optional )

1 cup crushed Doritos ( any corn chip will work )

SAUCE

1 cup salsa ( medium )

1 Whisk mayo

1 cup milk

Whisk sauce and set a side........mix all other ingredients together in large bowl mix in sauce....chill & serve ( add crushed or grated to decorated top )

*** can add extra salsa and use hot instead of medium

Another favorite is spaghetti bake................( my teen boys & their friends often request this dish )

make spaghetti.....mix in sauce....layer 1/2 mixture in a 9 x 13 pan, add Italian grated cheese,mushrooms,black olives, pepperoni slices ( can add whatever you like ) add 2nd layer spaghetti. Add extra cheese on top & bake 350 oven for 30 min.

Seven Layer Salad always looks pretty. Recipe and photo-

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Seven-Layer-Salad/Det...

Spinach salad. It's easy to make and transport; it's healthy and I never mess it up. (And people seem to enjoy it).