Breakroom Potluck Tips

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Our potlucks are pretty weak. Everyone just grabs something from the warehouse store or orders chicken or pizza. Of course, we are all very busy, plus we cannot have appliances (slow cookers) from home, and the breakroom fridge is already full so we cannot bring anything that requires refrigeration.

What are some popular potluck items? Recipes? Tips?

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Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.

Our unit does a potluck once a month to celebrate that month's birthdays. Past themes were favorite salads and taco bar sign-up (everyone brings one item for the taco bar).

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Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

I like to bring things like taco soup with tortillas

or chili

or a really good chocolate mayonnaise cake or grand marnier cheesecake.

or you can do meatballs in grape jelly/chili sauce

or you can come up with a theme like above, like Italian day, where people bring in pastas, salads and garlic bread, etc.

Crock pots are so easy to use. I have cooked pot roasts in onion soup and Worstchestershire sauce all day-----they love it.

Or you could do a break fast, have a skillet, bread, bacon, sausage, make French toast with cinnamon and orange, and fresh fruit salad or plate.

There are a thousand ideas out there. Ask people what their special, most-loved dishes are and have them show them off.

We always have successful potlucks where I work.

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

How far in advance are sign up sheets posted? When we do a potluck, we have about 2 weeks' notice to sign up to bring something. Those who don't bring don't get to partake. We also aren't supposed to have crockpots or anything, but we bring them anyway. Since management also brings them, there's basically no enforcement of the rule.

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Why is the breakroom fridge always so full that you cannot put potluck food into it?

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Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.
Why is the breakroom fridge always so full that you cannot put potluck food into it?

Because everyone puts their thermal lunch kits in there. You know, the ones that stay cold WITHOUT refrigeration? Those.

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Specializes in CMSRN, hospice.

Yeah, under those conditions, it's hard to diversify a potluck. I would prioritize cleaning out the fridge and making sure people are getting rid of the old stuff on the regular. That way at least there's room to keep stuff.

Stuff that was really enjoyable in potlucks we've had:

-broccoli cheddar soup and homemade bread

-spinach artichoke dip

-pizza dip

-homemade salsa and guac

-cheesecake of all kinds (I make it because I looooove cheesecake)

-subs

-cinnamon rolls with cream cheese icing (one nurse just had a recipe to try and she brought them in. Delicious!)

-yogurt bar with granola and fruit and stuff

-buffalo chicken dip

-ham and cheese sliders (we needed an oven for this one)

-mini chicken pot pies

-various greens and salads

It seems like if you could make room to store stuff, most of the things above could be microwaved. It is nice to have this fresh from the slow cooker, so maybe it's worth ignoring that particular policy? :saint:

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Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
Why is the breakroom fridge always so full that you cannot put potluck food into it?

Sounds like a fridge purge is in order! One of my favorite things to do. Plus, I keep all the Tupperware.

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I used to just mooch lumpia and pancit from the lunches of my Filipino coworkers. They were happy to share and I was happy to partake. Over and above this, we would arrange an occasional night shift event and people signed up for what they were going to bring. Just having the event made it successful.

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Specializes in Pedi.
Sounds like a fridge purge is in order! One of my favorite things to do. Plus, I keep all the Tupperware.

We once went into our breakroom fridge with gloves and masks on on a night shift. Made a lot of room for other things. Make a rule for your fridge. If there's no name/date on the food, it's trash the next time the fridge gets cleaned out.

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Specializes in Behavioral Health.

I had one unit that did themes for potlucks. Popular themes were:

- Grand Rounds. Everything had to be round. Oranges, donuts, melon balls, etc.

- Glove Up. Finger foods. Chips and dip, veggie platters, etc.

- Log Roll. Everything had to be shaped like a log. Hot dogs, pretzel sticks, churros, etc.

- Code Brown. Everything brown. Chocolate cake, refried beans, etc.

But there were three or four people who went all out with the homemade stuff that really got everyone else to up their game. Before them it was just chips and dip, pizza, or whatever they could find on their way to work or on their way home the night before. After a couple people brought in whole meals made from scratch people felt like tools bringing a bag of chips so they started getting more interesting. It lasted for about two years, then one of the bakers left and it dwindled until we stopped having pot lucks all together.

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You can search popular recipe sites online. Lots of folks Pin work potluck ideas ... ;)

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