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There’s nothing quite like a classic church potluck—comforting casseroles, retro salads, crispy fried favorites, and recipes made to feed a crowd. In this video, Nicole shares five vintage church potluck recipes that still deserve a spot on the table today. From sweet-and-savory cocktail meatballs to creamy funeral potatoes and crunchy triple-dipped fried chicken, these old-school favorites are easy, nostalgic, and guaranteed to disappear fast.
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00:00There's nothing like an old church potluck
00:01where the food was plentiful,
00:03it was simple yet comforting and absolutely made with love.
00:06Here are five vintage recipes that are still worth making
00:10and that you should bring to your next potluck.
00:12I guarantee they'll be the first to go.
00:14There's nothing more vintage than the appetizer
00:16I'm starting with, the old grape jelly meatballs.
00:18I mean, things were weird back then,
00:21but it made for delicious food.
00:23This is one of those meals where it's like,
00:24you don't have to know what's in it,
00:25just eat it, you'll love it.
00:26I mean, we pulled out this beauty right here,
00:30the Rolls Royce of crock pots.
00:33While you totally can, and I think people probably way back
00:36did make their own meatballs, we're going convenience
00:39because it is a potluck after all.
00:41I'm just gonna dump frozen meatballs.
00:43I like to get the small like cocktail sized ones.
00:45Doesn't get much easier than this.
00:47We're just going in with the whole jar of grape jelly.
00:50Grape is what's classic here.
00:51There are a lot of recipes that also use
00:54cranberry sauce and chili sauce.
00:56It's got to be like this tomato based,
00:57like ketchup based kind of chili sauce.
00:59Whoever thought to do this must have known
01:01something we didn't know.
01:02I think we've tried to get too, too creative sometimes.
01:06If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
01:09I'm gonna add just a little bit of water to rinse this out.
01:11And shake, pour, and let it go.
01:14Everything is cooked, obviously,
01:15you just want everything to be super hot, heated through,
01:18so you can get this going and start cooking everything else.
01:20Hope your frilly toothpicks are ready,
01:22cause the meatballs are.
01:23Mm-hmm.
01:25Saucy.
01:25I mean, you saw what I did,
01:27which was literally nothing but dump it in the crock pot,
01:30and it just made the most delicious saucy meatball.
01:35Haven't had this in years.
01:41Mostly sweet with a hint of savory.
01:43I mean, these are crowd pleasers.
01:45You will be coming home with an empty crock pot.
01:47When I polled the audience to ask what is the most vintage
01:50church potluck recipe out there,
01:53hands down number one answer, funeral potatoes.
01:56You have seen me make this before with shredded potatoes.
02:00I think it is more vintage to use the little square ones,
02:03so that's what we're doing.
02:04I don't think they had shredded hash brown potatoes back then,
02:08and they probably cut their own,
02:09but ain't nobody got time for that.
02:12Lots of versions of this.
02:14It always usually has the same ingredients,
02:16just in different measurements.
02:18It's indulgent.
02:19It is comforting,
02:20and it's one of my favorite casseroles of all time.
02:23Cream of chicken, sour cream, and then some chopped onion.
02:27My potatoes are kind of like partially thawed.
02:29Just kind of put them in the fridge overnight.
02:31You gotta have lots of butter.
02:32First, I'm gonna season with some salt and pepper.
02:34Some of the vintage recipes,
02:35these I feel like need like a tad bit of updating,
02:38but this one does not.
02:41In with melted butter.
02:42I'm gonna save some melted butter for the topping,
02:44and just to keep things healthy.
02:48Lots of cheese.
02:49Whether you went to a church potluck way back when,
02:52or today, I guarantee this dish is there.
02:55And if it's not, you need to bring it back.
02:57So what I'm saying is,
02:58you don't have to wait on somebody to die
03:00to make these funeral potatoes.
03:02Whenever I have a little leftover
03:03that doesn't fit in the casserole dish,
03:05I make like single serving ones and put them in the freezer.
03:08My future self thanks me.
03:10Okay, and then the topping, it has to have a topping.
03:12You can do potato chips.
03:14You could do Ritz crackers.
03:15We're doing cornflakes, crushed up into some melted butter.
03:19Okay, and then just sprinkle it on top.
03:21No matter how many times I've had it,
03:23it still makes me happy.
03:24All right, then this just goes into the oven,
03:26350 degrees for about an hour and a half,
03:28because those potatoes are still pretty frozen.
03:30So it does take a while.
03:32Some melon, good.
03:33In grandma's kitchen.
03:35You can smell the cheesy, buttery perfection.
03:40But you know it's gonna be good,
03:41but I guess I'll taste it to prove it.
03:43Mm-hmm.
03:43I'm glad I went with those little square potatoes.
03:48It never disappoints.
03:50Nothing about these funeral potatoes is sad at all.
03:53Any guesses as to what I'm making now?
03:55It's the famous three bean salad.
03:57No buffet, salad bar, or in this case church potluck,
04:01was complete without the bean salad.
04:04Classically, it is the three bean salad.
04:06The three beans being green beans.
04:08Also, all these were canned.
04:10I'm sure there was a time when everybody grew their own beans
04:12and they made it that way,
04:13but the only way I've ever done this salad is with canned beans.
04:16So we've got green beans and then the wax beans and kidney beans.
04:21Those were the classic.
04:22So over the years, they've incorporated more beans.
04:25I've seen a lot of versions include the garbanzo bean,
04:29and that's what I'm doing today just for some more texture.
04:31So three bean salad is now four bean salad.
04:33As a kid, I was one of the weird ones who actually liked this,
04:37but now I love it.
04:38And if you haven't had this in a while, here's your son.
04:42A lot of store-bought versions even don't have the fresh veggies in there,
04:46and I think it needs the little fresh crunch.
04:49So simply a little bit of onion, celery, and bell pepper.
04:53One thing about all of these recipes,
04:56besides the fact they feed a lot of people,
04:57they're also very simple, unpretentious, and inexpensive.
05:00You know, it's all going to come together in our bowl.
05:03I'm going to take all of my beans and drain them very well
05:06and give them a little rips.
05:07This is another easy recipe that can be double, tripled, quadrupled,
05:11however many people you've got to feed, this will work.
05:14Veggies in.
05:15All right, so it's kind of like a sweet and sour dressing.
05:18So you've got your oil and vinegar and then sugar.
05:21I think the part I didn't like way back when
05:25was when they're too sweet.
05:27I mean, it's not dessert.
05:28So I'm going to adjust the sugar amount according to my taste.
05:33The recipe calls for three-quarter cup.
05:35I'm definitely not using that much.
05:37This is a very tangy dressing,
05:38so the ratio of oil to vinegar is one to one,
05:40which I do kind of like, especially with beans.
05:43Do you notice I also have a vintage cocktail on my shirt?
05:46It's sticking with the theme.
05:48I don't think they serve these at a church potluck, though.
05:50I'll start with sugar.
05:52I mean, it has to be a little bit sweet because that is the recipe.
05:55It's just not like syrup.
05:58And then salt and pepper.
05:59This one is especially perfect for a potluck because it can be served room temperature.
06:03And it can be made ahead.
06:05It's actually better to make it ahead so that the flavors come together.
06:09And with the spoon, out with the perfect bite.
06:15Tastes like what I remember.
06:16This dish could be considered a side or a dessert.
06:19I'm going to throw it in today as the dessert, but it is a salad for dessert.
06:23Ambrosia salad.
06:24Raise your hand if you like ambrosia.
06:26To me, this is a dessert slash salad that I did not enjoy as a kid, but I happen to
06:30love now.
06:31And this was the second most popular answer when I polled the audience.
06:36This is a fruit salad mixed with some coconut and tied together in a creamy dressing.
06:41And it starts with mandarin oranges.
06:43My mom makes her ambrosia with fresh oranges.
06:46So I'm going to freshen up the mandarin oranges by adding in some fresh orange as well.
06:53If you do a fresh orange, you want to segment it.
06:55So you peel away all of the pith and peel.
06:58And then you go on either side of the pith in the middle to create a little segment.
07:04This is a dish that can be enjoyed year round.
07:06It is perfect for the upcoming summer months and all of the barbecues.
07:12I'm just going to get them a little chopped so they aren't too big.
07:16This is really going to brighten up the dish.
07:18No offense to the mandarin oranges.
07:20All right.
07:20And then pineapple is another major ingredient.
07:22Now a lot of versions, some will do crushed, some will do tidbits, some will do chunks.
07:28They all do it from a can.
07:30So I'm going to do a combination of crushed which kind of brings the salad together
07:35and some tidbits because I like a juicy bite.
07:38Okay, next goes the coconut and it's the shredded sweetened coconut.
07:42So remember this is a salad that doubles as dessert and marshmallows.
07:46I don't make the rules.
07:48You got to have the iconic maraschino cherry in there.
07:52My mom says just a few.
07:54And for the dressing that brings this beauty together, a little Cool Whip and a little sour cream.
08:00You've got your sweet and then you're balancing out with a little bit of savory.
08:04You can, of course, make fresh whipped cream.
08:07But the people that prepared this for the church potluck, this is what they used.
08:10This is another one that is expected to be made in advance.
08:15Thus making it, again, perfect for a potluck.
08:18A little sour cream.
08:19Give her a stir.
08:21You just want to fold it so you don't break up all those oranges.
08:24Some people put chopped nuts in here also.
08:27I feel like it might make a good garnish.
08:30Okay, now this has to chill in the fridge for several hours.
08:34I'm going to give it a taste.
08:38Mm-hmm.
08:39It's delightful.
08:41Who'da thunk it?
08:43Who'da thunk it?
08:44That's going to be the pleasant surprise of the party.
08:47We're frying chicken.
08:49Name a church potluck that didn't have fried chicken.
08:52You can't.
08:53So that's what we're doing.
08:54I'm trying a new fried chicken recipe that I've never done before.
08:57Because if I'm going to have fried chicken, I want it to be extra crunchy.
09:01So I'm trying this triple dipped fried chicken.
09:04One of our top rated recipes at All Recipes.
09:06First, we make our seasoned flour.
09:08Flour, the recipe calls for garlic salt, which in and of itself is a vintage item.
09:13It looks vintage.
09:15I'll do garlic powder and salt.
09:16Same thing, guys.
09:17Same thing.
09:18Some paprika.
09:19A little bit of poultry seasoning.
09:21I'm going to add in a little bit of cayenne.
09:23And some black pepper.
09:24Give it a whisk.
09:26Then I'm going to make the wet mixture.
09:27Because we're going to go back and forth from wet to dry.
09:30Three times because it's triple dipped.
09:32The wet mixture starts with a beer.
09:34But this is not a beer batter.
09:36And I'm Catholic, so we can have this at our church potluck.
09:43And then I'm also mixing in a couple egg yolks.
09:46And some more salt and pepper.
09:48We mix this.
09:49And then I'm putting some flour into this mixture.
09:52This is going to act as a glue to help the dry stay on.
09:56Into the flour.
09:58Each time you want to shake off the excess.
09:59Then into the wet.
10:02I'm going to do a couple at a time.
10:03As you know, I will not be able to have a wet hand or dry hand.
10:06Excess off and back into the dry.
10:09So it's gone flour once.
10:11Flour twice.
10:12Back into the wet.
10:13And then the third time into the flour.
10:16And I'm just setting them on a wire rack.
10:18As you keep going, you're going to get little wet pieces of flour.
10:22That's good.
10:22That's going to create the little craggly edges.
10:24This is just the quintessential slow Sunday dinner.
10:29You want your oil to be at 350 degrees.
10:31And then you're obviously going to have to do this in batches.
10:34So like I said, this was a slow Sunday situation.
10:36You don't want to rush it.
10:37You don't want your oil to be too hot.
10:39Or it's going to be really browned on the outside.
10:41But the inside is still going to be raw.
10:43So 350 to start.
10:44And then it will lower to about 325 to finish cooking.
10:47You also just be aware of the different sizes of chicken.
10:50So obviously the smaller pieces are going to cook faster.
10:53Look at the crunchy craggly edges.
10:56That's what I like.
10:57This is a really good time to have a digital thermometer.
11:00Just saying.
11:01It's one of the only times I use it is when I'm frying chicken.
11:03Because we've got to cook it all the way through on the inside.
11:06Takes about 15 minutes per batch.
11:09That's some good looking fried chicken.
11:11Hit them with a little salt when they come out.
11:14Look at all those crunchies.
11:15It's perfectly golden brown.
11:17I mean, you know that's going to be good.
11:21Let me just give it a little sample.
11:23I always reach for a wing first.
11:25It's just what I do.
11:28Mm-hmm.
11:30That could be some of the best fried chicken I've ever made.
11:32The crunch.
11:33The flavor.
11:34The chicken is tender and juicy on the inside.
11:37We're about to have the best potluck ever.
11:39Get ready.
11:41Take a look.
11:42How far back did this meal take you?
11:45All the way.
11:46I hope I have inspired you to bring back some old favorites for your next potluck.
11:51I know I've been inspired.
11:53Let me build the perfect potluck plate.
11:55I feel a little bit like a grandma at how excited I am about this meal.
11:59That is a beautiful church potluck plate if I've ever seen one.
12:03Very well-rounded.
12:04It's got all the food groups.
12:05We've got all the components to a perfect meal.
12:08And I'm here for it.
12:11Mm.
12:12Now that the flavors have settled into the bean salad.
12:16Perfection.
12:16Oh, I'll be making all kinds of perfect bites.
12:19A juicy bite of ambrosia salad.
12:22Is it a side or is it a dessert?
12:26Mm.
12:27It kind of makes me feel like I'm on vacation.
12:29Tastes very tropical.
12:30If you try these out at your next potluck, I guarantee you will come home with a clean dish.
12:35And as promised, these dishes were simple.
12:38They're comforting.
12:39And they were made with love.
12:41Cheers.
12:43That really is the best fried chicken I've ever made.
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