In The Kitchen: Go-To Potluck Recipe

Between having both sides of our family living close by and being Lutheran, we host and attend a lot of potlucks! 
I'd say for sure one a month, and through the summer even more.

Commonly on a potluck day I'm standing in the kitchen (an hour or two before it's time to leave), phone in hand, staring at this screen:

The "easy last minute recipes" always require way more time than I have to spare. 

Almost every single time, I end up settling on making one of two things: A veggie tray OR a meat, cheese and cracker tray.  Both always go over well and disappear quickly. 

No longer will I feel like I'm settling. Once I hit publish this will be an official recipe, and that's totally acceptable for a Lutheran potluck. ;)

This week for our Fat Tuesday celebration at church I took this big veggie tray & a small dip.
I used my mandolin slicer, a small cutting board and a knife.  Using a minimal amount of dishes/utensils makes clean up a snap! 
This one had:
Cucumbers
Sliced Carrots
Sweet Mini Peppers
Cherry Tomatoes
Celery
With the dip, it cost me just under $10. 

I also did a quick cheese and cracker tray that made it to the van before I could photograph it.