It seems that no matter where I have worked, there has been some sort of treat day. While the days, themes, and frequency vary from place to place, the idea is the same: someone brings some goodies, everyone gobbles them up, and next time it’s someone else’s turn to bring the goodies.
I have noticed that almost everything served on “treat day” is pre-made or pre-cut. Just for fun I thought I would price out what it would cost to buy all the stuff I planned on serving when it was my turn to feed the troops.
I nearly passed out at the grocery store. Since I never buy pre-cut fruits or veggies I had NO idea they were that high priced. A tiny cheese and sausage platter for $14.64! No thanks!
With the holidays around the corner and celebrations booked for the entire month of December, I thought I would share with you my secrets for how to bring office treats you can afford with out looking like a cheapskate.
Use your stockpile. Chips, crackers, candy, cookies, etc. can all be purchased long before you need them on sale or with coupons.
Slice, chop, and peel yourself! You can cut fruit, veggies, cheese and sausage with the best of them. Go to the dollar store and get a couple of platters if you don’t have them already. They will come in handy in the future.
Use stuff that is in season. If grapes are $3.50 a pound, use apples! You need less variety than you think.
Do a little baking. You don’t have to be Julia Child to impress people. Brownies are 99 cents a box. With 2 eggs and some oil you make everyone happy and won’t go broke.
Have 1 or 2 recipes up your sleeve that are easy to make but will impress people. I love Recipe Source. It has a recipe for everything you might want to make, all with almost no advertising. It has 799 recipes for dip! Who knew?
Plan ahead. Last Friday the “treat lady” rushed in with 2 shopping bags brimming with deli department food. She had remembered it was her turn in the shower that morning!
Happy Snacking!
You may also like:
Comments on this entry are closed.