Perfectly Planned Picnics
 

Between the no-see-ums and the sunburn, there’s still fun to be found out-of-doors in the coming months. Otherwise, why do we go to so much trouble?

In case you haven’t seen a no-see-um (lucky you!), then I’ll update you and tell you they are some pesky, biting, teeny-tiny critters here in the South. Down here, we put on some Skin-So-Soft, ignore them and get on with outdoor dining. It is just too much fun to miss out.

You can’t hold us back from a lawn chair and a basket.  Mother’s Day, graduation barbeques, Memorial Weekend, family reunions, company picnics, Father’s Day and the 4^th of July beckon. We’ll be packing and unpacking right up through Labor Day.

The hard part of all this outdoor dining, besides the no-see-ums, is all that organizing. Every time you turn around you’re trying to figure out what to pack, what to bring, what you might need. It seems nearly every weekend; I’m turning in a circle in the middle of the kitchen trying to figure out what I forgot to pack. To make picnicking and outdoor dining easier, I created a checklist which I keep in my picnic basket. I keep adding to it. I’ve added it here to make your summer more organized.

Print the following Picnic Check out and drop it in your basket and the summer picnic will be packed with fun:

To print out the checklist, four simple steps will move text from one place to another.

Highlight the text you want to move

Copy the highlighted text

Place the cursor in the new location on a Word Document where you want the text

Paste the text in its new location

Print the Word document
 

Menu Making Tips

It’s easier to pack foods that need to stay on ice that it is to keep them hot at a picnic.

Make sure you have a way to keep them hot or cold as you plan your menu.

Go for finger foods. They are much easier to eat while holding a plate.

Remember to plan on lots of beverages and always pack water

Consider a potluck. It makes life easy!

Food Packing Tips

Do not use your picnic basket for hot or cold food. Do use it for all the other items that you need.

Hot items:

Laundry baskets are great for transporting items. Line a laundry basket with a beach towel. Then wrap each casserole or Crock-Pot in another beach towel and nestle into the baskets. The towels provide insulation to keep things warm, protection from the items banging against each other and if something sloshes out of the dish, it won’t get all over the car. Just throw the towels in the wash later.

Cold items:

In your cooler, place heavy items on the bottom. Add your more fragile items to the top. Pour ice in so it nestles around the dishes. Ice used for drinking can be packed in a smaller cooler or in plastic bags on the top of the big cooler.

Taking a separate drink cooler is a good idea. Your food cooler will stay colder because it is not constantly opened. Besides, someone digging for the orange soda can tip over the potato salad.

Once at the picnic, place your cooler in the shade.
 

Sandwiches: 

Pack lettuce, tomato and pickle in a separate bag so that it doesn’t make the sandwich soggy.

When making tuna, seafood or chicken salad, a thin spread of margarine or butter on the bread will help keep the bread from getting wet.

Unsure what your guests like? Make sandwiches plain but pack individual condiment packs.