Browse some wonderful ideas for packing into your Picnic Basket. These recipes are sure to be enjoyed by all.
Picnic Recipe for MANDARIN SALAD WITH EGGS
Serves 4
1 head Boston lettuce
4 hard-cooked eggs
1 15-ounce can mandarin oranges, drained
1 8-ounce can pineapple pieces, drained
¼ cup walnuts, finely chopped and toasted
¾ cup lime juice
1 12-ounce jar strawberry jam
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cayenne red pepper
Separate lettuce leaves, wash and pat dry. Place evenly on 4 salad plates. Top each with one sliced hard-cooked egg, several mandarin orange sections and pineapple pieces. Sprinkle each salad with 1 tablespoon of the walnuts.
In a small bowl, blend together remaining 7 ingredients. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of dressing over each salad. Salads may be prepared one hour prior to serving and refrigerated.
Nutritional analysis per serving: calories 285, protein 10 g, carbohydrates 27 g, fat 13 g (2 g saturated, 11 g unsaturated), cholesterol 212 mg, sodium 142 mg, calcium 71 mg.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Picnic Recipe for GREEN NOODLE SALAD
Serves 8
1 12-ounce package fettucine Florentine, cooked and drained
¼ cup Lite Italian dressing
4 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
½ cup red bell pepper, chopped
¼ cup green onion with tops, chopped
¼ cup sliced ripe olives
¼ cup low-fat mayonnaise
¼ cup low-fat sour cream
½ cup salsa
salt and pepper to taste
12 cherry tomatoes, cut into halves
1/3 cup sunflower seed kernels
In large mixing bowl, toss warm fettuccine with Lite Italian dressing to coat. Add eggs, bell pepper, green onions, and olives and mix together lightly. In small bowl, blend together mayonnaise, sour cream and salsa. Pour over pasta mixture and blend gently. Add salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate several hours before serving. Prior to serving, gently toss with cherry tomatoes and sprinkle with sunflower seed kernels.
Nutritional analysis per serving: calories 176, protein 7 g, carbohydrates 17 g, fat 9 g (2 g saturated, 7 g unsaturated), cholesterol 125 mg, sodium 264 mg, calcium 41 mg.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Picnic Recipe for LUCK OF THE IRISH ROLL-UPS
Serves 4
1 large cabbage
1 pound lean ground beef or ground turkey
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 eggs
2 egg whites
1 ½ cups cheddar cheese, divided
2 cups brown rice, cooked
1 tablespoon herb seasonings
1 teaspoon basil
dash of dill
dash of salt and pepper
1 can cream of mushroom soup
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Place cabbage in boiling water 5-10 minutes or until leaves fall loosely from head. Remove cabbage from water to cool. In a medium skillet, brown meat with garlic. After meat is cooked, drain grease and allow the meat to cool slightly. In a medium bowl, mix together eggs, egg whites, one cup cheese, rice and seasonings with meat. Remove full leaves from cabbage, place ¾ cup of meat mixture on a cabbage leaf and roll up the leaf. You will have enough mixture to make 8 roll-ups. Place them in an 8x8-inch casserole dish and cover with undiluted soup. Top with remaining cheese and bake at 400 F for 35 to 40 minutes.
Nutritional analysis per serving: calories 493, protein 33 g, carbohydrates 31 g, fat 26 g (12 g saturated, 14 g unsaturated), cholesterol 163 mg, sodium 602 mg, calcium 362 mg.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Picnic Recipe for LUCKY POCKETS O'GREEN
Serves 6-8
1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach
1 1.4-ounce package dry vegetable soup mix
1 8-ounce carton low fat sour cream
1 3-ounce package low fat cream cheese
1 8-ounce can sliced water chestnuts, chopped
2 green onions, chopped
2 8-ounce cans crescent roll dough, divided
3 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
Preheat oven to 375 F. Thaw spinach and press to remove moisture. Blend together spinach, soup mix, sour cream, cream cheese, water chestnuts and green onions.
On a greased baking sheet, spread out 1 can of crescent roll dough into 4 separate rectangles. Spread spinach mixture on top of rectangles, then sprinkle with chopped eggs and top with remaining 4 rectangles from second can of dough. Cut each rectangle in half and seal all edges with a fork.
Bake at 375 F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm as a vegetable side dish.
Nutritional analysis per serving: calories 305, protein 14 g, carbohydrates 39 g, fat 10 g (4 g saturated, 6 g unsaturated), cholesterol 97 mg, calcium 164 mg, iron 3 mg, sodium 866 mg.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Picnic Recipe for CAMPER'S LUAU CHICKEN
Makes 2 servings
3 envelopes onion cup-a-soup
1 can (8-oz.) crushed pineapple, undrained
1 whole chicken breast, split
1 small green pepper, cut into strips
2 pieces heavy-duty aluminum foil (18" x 18")
In a small bowl, combine onion cup-a-soup and pineapple. For each serving, place half the chicken, onion-pineapple mixture and green pepper on foil. Wrap loosely, sealing edges airtight with double fold. Place on grill, seam-side up, over hot coals or high heat, and cook 45 minutes, or until chicken is tender.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Picnic Recipe for SUMMER SUPER SANDWICH
Makes 6
1/3 cup Italian dressing
2 cups cooked chicken, shredded
1 small tomato, chopped
½ cup mayonnaise
3 slices bacon
1 loaf 16 oz round rye or pumpernickel bread, unsliced
2 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
lettuce
Combine Italian dressing, chicken, and tomato; chill at least 3 hours. Crisp-cook bacon and crumble. Blend chicken mixture, bacon and eggs with mayonnaise. Cut bread into 12 slices, not completely through. Fill first slice and then every other slice with chicken mixture. Garnish with lettuce. To serve, cut between unfilled slices to form sandwiches.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Picnic Recipe for MACARONI SALAD
2 cups spiral macaroni
6 eggs, hard-cooked
½ cup Cheddar cheese, cubed
1 cup celery, chopped
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoon green onion, chopped
½ teaspoon dry mustard
¼ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons slivered almonds, toasted
Cook macaroni; drain. Combine remaining ingredients; add macaroni. Chill. Serve on lettuce, topped with almonds.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Picnic Recipe for EGG SALAD
8 eggs, hard-cooked
¼ cup onion, finely chopped
½ cup celery, finely chopped
½ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup sour cream
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon dill weed
salt and pepper
Chop eggs; combine with onion and celery. Blend remaining ingredients and pour over egg mixture. Serve on lettuce leaves.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Picnic Recipe for CHICKEN SALAD
2 cups cooked chicken, diced
2 tablespoons green olives, chopped
¾ cup celery, chopped
2 tablespoons ripe olives
2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
2 eggs, hard-cooked
¾ cup mayonnaise
Chop hard-cooked eggs, and mix with remaining ingredients. Keep chilled until ready to serve.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Picnic Recipe for BACON AND EGG SQUARES
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
¾ cup flour
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup rolled oats
1 package (3 oz.) cream cheese
¼ cup milk
8 eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon butter
1 pound bacon, cooked
Cream butter and brown sugar; mix in flour, salt and oats. Press half of the mixture into a buttered 8" x 8" baking dish. Beat cream cheese with milk. Add eggs and beat thoroughly. Melt butter in skillet; pour in eggs and cook slowly over low heat, stirring, until eggs just begin to set. Do not overcook. Add crumbled bacon. Spoon mixture over crust. Top with remaining crumb mixture. Bake 20 to 25 minutes in a 400 oven. Cool slightly; cut into 9 or 12 squares.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Picnic Recipe for GARLIC-FLAVORED FRIED CHICKEN
¾ cup milk
3 eggs, beaten
4 cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon flavor enhancer
2 (2-3 lb.) broiler-fryers
1 cup flour
2 cups breadcrumbs
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
vegetable oil
Combine milk, eggs, garlic and flavor enhancer; set aside. Wash chicken and pat dry; dredge in flour. Combine breadcrumbs, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Dip chicken in egg mixture, then roll in breadcrumbs, coating well. Heat oil to 350; fry chicken until golden brown, about 30 minutes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Picnic Recipe for STUFFED EGGS
6 eggs, hard-cooked
¼ cup mayonnaise
½ teaspoon mustard
¼ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste
Cut eggs in half lengthwise. Remove yolks. Mash with a fork, and mix with the remaining ingredients. Mound mixture into egg whites. Sprinkle with paprika.
Variations: Add any of the following ingredients to yolk mixture, and adjust seasonings to taste.
ham
onion
pimiento
tuna
chives
mushrooms
nuts
olives
pickle relish
bacon cheese
sour cream
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Picnic Recipe for POTATO SALAD
4 cups potatoes, cooked, cubed
4 eggs, hard-cooked
¾ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup onion, chopped
1/3 cup celery, chopped
1 tablespoon mustard
¼ teaspoon dill weed
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
Combine all ingredients; toss lightly. Chill several hours before serving.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Picnic Recipe for CHERRY CUPCAKES
¾ cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
6 eggs
¾ teaspoon almond extract
2 cups flour
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
1 can (21-oz.) cherry pie filling
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and extract. Sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Blend into egg mixture. Spoon 2 tablespoons batter into each of 24 foil-lined 2 ½" muffin pan cups. Top each with 1 tablespoon fruit filling. Bake in a 375 oven for 20 minutes.