Cooking Games for Potluck

The holidays bring a wave of potluck opportunities, and not all of them are easy to manage. If you’ve been asked to play some cooking games and whip up something delicious to bring to a potluck function, get a bit creative or stick to the basics, but don’t go overboard – this is supposed to be fun, remember?

Potatoes. You can’t go wrong with potatoes. People on all sorts of diets like to eat potatoes and you have plenty of choices as to how to prepare them. You can cut up new potatoes and season them before pan frying. Or create mashed potatoes with a bit of gravy on the side. They are easy to transport and everyone will love your cooking games.

Salad. A salad is another easy item to bring, and it has the added bonus of not being too hot to carry easily. Your salad should be a bit more than just a head of lettuce – try and make it more exciting than the basics, but bringing something green to a gathering shows a bit of balance in the cooking games as well.

Group Cooking Games

There are so many different opportunities to get together over the holiday season, so it's no wonder that there are endless parties that involve group activities for group cooking games. If you're thinking about throwing a party, consider the possibilities that come with a group cooking game.

Fondue Party - Find a recipe for fondue and then tearing up bread pieces and finding some fruit. You can have a fondue pot with cheese and perhaps a chocolate fountain to make it even tastier dessert from snack foods.

Cookie Party - Another easy cooking games party is to simply make a bunch of sugar cookies and then allow your guests to decorate them as they would like. They might decorate just the one cookie to eat now, or you can encourage them to decorate many more cookies and bring them home as a sort of party favor.

Pizza Party – Your cooking games don’t all have to be about sweets. You can easily have your guests create their own pizzas instead. Cook them up and then everyone can enjoy a bit of a hot meal on a cold day!

Cooking Games and Hot Chocolate

There is nothing that ushers in the Christmas season than a hot cup of hot chocolate or cocoa. Delicious, creamy and even decadent, hot chocolate can stand alone, but why would you want to make it live that way when there are so many other fun ways to enjoy the warm drink this Christmas season?

Stir in peppermint. Make you hot cocoa as usual and then rather than stirring with a spoon, use a soft peppermint stick to stir things up. The peppermint will melt into the hot chocolate and then you’ll have a delicious combination of chocolate and yummy peppermint – perfect for cold mornings.

Top it off! At the very least every cup of hot chocolate deserves to have a great topping. You can use a topping of marshmallows or whipped cream like they do in the movies. Or you can get a bit more creative and top your hot chocolate off with whipped cream and sprinkles or perhaps a bit of nutmeg to add some depth to the flavor.

Cooking Games and Pie

There is something about pie that simply sounds delicious. We’re not talking about the mathematical pi – who cares about math when there are chocolate, banana and lemon ice box pies around to enjoy? It’s hard to even imagine a Thanksgiving without a pie, so there is no surprise at all that cooking games with pies are especially popular this time of the year.

There are a few ways to make pies – my personal favorite is to simply buy a pie that someone else has already made for me. Then all I have to do is pop the pie in the oven and bake it. Or I might elect to buy an ice box pie – those cooking games are even easier. In that case all I have to do is take the pie out of the refrigerator.

Of course, the true experts of the cooking games are those who legitimately know how to create a pie from scratch. When you start with an apple and wind up with an apple pie – you are definitely getting the most out of the cooking games you’re playing.

Cooking Games and Tailgating

If you've never been tailgating, be warned that it is an extreme sport. Tailgating isn’t for everyone – it’s a lot like camping, but of a more temporary variety. It is an opportunity to share in the spirit of your team and enjoy the victory that is surely at hand. If you’re going to enjoy tailgating and the cooking games that go along with it, there are a few simple rules to follow:

Know the laws. There are rules about where you can part and you may have to arrange a parking permit weeks ahead of time if you’re planning to tailgate at a particular stadium. Make your arrangements and get situated so that you can enjoy the fun of the event.

Bring friends. Tailgating by yourself isn't the right spirit of the cooking games. If you’re going to be tailgating, you need to have some friends along for the adventure. Invite your friends to bring along side dishes if you’d like since you’re cooking up the main dish.

Get creative. The cooking games that come from tailgating are legendary and you can create fabulous things with a bit of creative flare. Enjoy the opportunity and never try the same recipe twice!

Cooking Games and Dinner

One of the things kids can do for their parents is cook them dinner. It might not be the first thing that you think of when you start brain storming about cooking games, but making dinner for your family is a simple, easy way to help out around the house and earn some serious brownie points. Fortunately, cooking dinner isn't much trouble once you've got the hang of planning for it.

The first cooking game you might try for preparing dinner can be done in the crock pot. Grab some hamburger meat and find a collection of beans, soups and other canned vegetables. Dump the soups into the crock pot while you brown the hamburger meat with onions. Then dump the meat into the crock pot  stir it all up and set it on low all day. When you get home your cooking games will have paid off with a delicious, home-cooked meal.

Cooking Games and Health(ier) Halloween Treats

Let’s admit right now that Halloween treats stop being treats when they are totally healthy. Nobody wants to eat a handful of celery for Halloween after all! It’s about the candy, the sweets and the stomach-ache that comes later. That being said, there are some cooking games that give you a bit more flexibility when it comes to sweets on Halloween – you can make them sweet, but perhaps just a wee bit healthier as well.

Popcorn Balls – Make your own popcorn balls using butter, caramel and other natural ingredients. They will be loaded with sugar and fat, of course, but at least your homemade popcorn balls won’t be full of preservatives.

Candy Apples – These cooking games give you lots of choices for how to make things healthier. You’re going to have to use a bit of caramel on the apple, of course, but you can also use other ingredients to add some additional flavor and fun. Roll the apple in coconut or perhaps nuts. Then, enjoy the apple cooking games knowing you’re eating some good things along with that sticky caramel.