Super Party Food: Slow Cooker Scalloped Potatoes

About author / Christine Gable

Culinary enthusiast; kids cuisine and slow cooking; magazine recipe developer; professional writer. Her simple recipes are great for family dinners.

It's that time of year again. Seems like there's always one last-minute thing to do, one more item to wrap, something to pick up, and another almost-forgotten gift to grab. And all on the way out the door to another get-together or party. Is everything in the car? … the gifts, the stuff, the food, all the kids …? It's in hectic situations like that when having the food taken care of is a true godsend.

When you can toss everything into a crockpot and forget about it until it’s time to eat, it’s a winner. When you can do that forgetting act in the midst of the holiday hustle-and-bustle, it’s even better, right? Plus you’ll still be sure to arrive with a delicious, hot and steaming buffet contribution in hand.

One tricky part to this endeavor can be keeping the lid on the cooker until arriving at said location, instead of with one that’s cracked, chipped or in pieces—not to mention precious cargo being slopped out onto your vehicle’s trunk (gosh, who needs another clean-up task, eh?!). Many crockpot lids are glass, which makes a secure, stable lid effort doubly tricky to accomplish since most don’t come with a foolproof way to keep them secure during long car trips.

I’ve had everything from baked beans to barbecued meatballs sloshing out on the way to parties and picnics. The solution that we arrived at was thanks to the creative mechanical minds in our house: first we tried duct tape (and it works quite well, but can leave a sticky residue behind, especially when the crock is hot). Who needs that?

A better solution ended up being two large rubber bands. They are actually big enough to loop from each handle to the lid knob. Now that is secure! Just set the whole shebang into a box, cover with a towel for insulation and we’re ready to hit the road. I usually like to use a box that is close in size to the slow cooker so that it provides a stable carrying container (And on the off chance that those rubber bands snap).

So what to put in that party crockpot? How about scalloped potatoes? Just think: creamy, hot, and a bit crusty 'round the edges. It’s comfort food extraordinaire and guarantees that your pot will be able to be transported home in a much easier way. Empty.

My grandma made one of the best batches of scalloped potatoes I’ve ever had. And they didn’t come from a box. Yup, Christmas time was when she pulled out all the stops and treated us to a couple special treats: her real scalloped potatoes and homemade molasses cookies. Coming from a woman who did not like to cook—well, this was truly a little bit of magic and love.

If the only scalloped potatoes you know well come from a box (sorry, Betty Crocker), isn’t it time to treat yourself (and your family!) to a batch of real deal. Best of all, the sauce does not require making a roux or creating a fancy cream-based sauce. We really don’t need that now, do we?

It’s as simple as grabbing a couple cans you probably already have on the pantry shelf (Thanks, canned evaporated milk). Slice the potatoes, mix it all together, put the lid on and come back later to dig in.

Serves/Makes: 6

• 1 can (10.5 ounce size) cream of celery soup
• 1 can (12 ounce size) evaporated milk
• 6 large potatoes
• 2 tablespoons cold butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper