Now that the weather is so beautiful, keep that picnic basket handy! This week my husband and I have already been on two picnics. I used to think a picnic was all about "typical picnic food" like fried chicken, potato salad, deviled eggs, fresh veggies, apple pie ~ the works! But to me, that's too much work to do very often, not to mention the calories! What I have done for the past several years is just make a regular dinner in the electric skillet and pack our light Correlle dishes and silverware, napkins, serving spoons, water in 16 oz.Tupperware glasses with lids for each of us, a large colorful sheet for a tablecloth, salt and pepper and a wet washcloth in a baggie. Sometimes we take chicken breasts cooked in a variety of ways in the electric skillet, baked potatoes done in the microwave and added to the skillet and a vegetable cooked in the microwave and added to the skillet. All the food is in the electric skillet and still hot when we arrive at our favorite picnic spot just ten minutes away. Any casserole can be baked at home and carried to a picnic, with a salad or vegetable and possibly bread to complete the meal. Try a spaghetti casserole or lasagna. Chili in the crockpot with some bread or crackers makes a nice picnic or tailgate party with the family or friends. Some fresh vegetables and a dessert would round it off.
Last evening we took a green salad, corn on the cob and fruit salad. I put the crunchy seeds and nuts, as well as the dressing in separate Tupperware containers to pour over our salads at the picnic site. The corn on the cob was cooked at home and wrapped in foil. It was still too hot to eat after our salad was eaten, so it will stay hot for quite a while in the foil. A simple fruit salad was refreshing too, but if you don't want to attract mosquitoes, leave bananas out of your summer diet because mosquitoes really love bananas and people who eat them. Repellent may still be needed to keep them completely away.
It was wonderful and so relaxing last evening sitting at our favorite picnic spot among all the azaleas and wild flowers and hearing the singing birds and the rippling brook! Later we went for a walk in the woods. Just a green salad, a baked potato and fresh fruit would even be a nice picnic with very little fuss.
A picnic doesn't need to be fancy at all, and with that misconception out of the way, we are free to be more "Spur of the Moment." A time-saving device in having "Spur of the Moment Picnics" is to have a basket ready with a clean tablecloth, paper plates and cups, plastic knives, forks and spoons (if you'd rather use them, rather than plates and regular flatware, as I usually do), napkins, salt and pepper, and anything else that you can have ready ahead of time. You might keep a list of all the last-minute essential picnic items, such as serving spoons, a wet cloth, butter (if needed), a quilt to spread on the ground in case you can't find a picnic table.
Sometimes you may want to plan to meet other families at a special picnic spot. Each family could bring a dish or two to share with the others and serving spoons for their own dishes. If every family brings their own tablecloth, plates, cups, napkins, utensils and drink, it seems easier. I'm sure that every location, whether here or overseas, has great picnic spots. In our area the Lord has blessed us with quite a few beautiful mountain tops and valleys as well as the Blue Ridge Parkway, and I marvel at and enjoy God's creation every day! But no matter where you live, find a good spot near your home if you plan to take a hot meal. Happy Picnicking!
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