Easy Picnic Recipes

Summer and picnics go together. If you’re like me, I’m always on the lookout for easy recipes that are a step above PB&J, but don’t require that I spend my entire day kitchen. So below, I’ve included a few favorites that travel well and aren’t too messy making them perfect for outdoor concerts, days on the boat and nights at the beach.

Antipasto Skewers
There are a lot of variations to this recipe. I like this one with it’s relatively short list of ingredients and the addition of balsamic vinegar and fresh herbs in the dressing. This makes about 4-6 appetizer servings. If you have leftover tortellini and cheese, toothpicks with just those two ingredients are a kid favorite.

Ingredients
16 slices of hard salami
16 cubes mozerella cheese
8 black or green olives halved
8 cherry tomatoes halved
1 package fresh cheese tortellini (or any flavor you like)
6-8 wooden skewers

Dressing
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh basil
1 tablespoon oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Prepare tortellini according to package. Drain & cool.
Mix dressing ingredients together in a medium sized bowl.
Put all the other ingredients in the dressing and toss. Let marinate for several hours, tossing once or twice.
Thread skewers, alternating ingredients.



BOAT Sandwiches
I have to give credit for these yummy sandwiches to my mom.

Ingredients
Bread – use a nice crusty artisan bread
Olive Tapanade – get it from the store
Arugula
Turkey

Spread one slice of bread with the olive tapanade. Top the other slice with turkey and arugula. Sandwich. Optional: add tomatoes.


Chinese Chicken Salad
This is based on a recipe from the Barefoot Contessa, but uses pre-made dressing to speed up the process. Not quite as good as the original in her “Parties” cookbook, but it does the trick, gets rave reviews and gets you out the door much faster. This makes about 4 servings and it’s a good idea to make it a few hours ahead or even the night before to let the flavors blend.

Ingredients
4 cooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts – shredded or cubed
olive oil
salt
½ lb asparagus, ends removed, cut into thirds
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and sliced to about the same size as the asparagus pieces
2 scallions sliced
1 bottle thai peanut dressing (find it in the international section of the grocery store)


Put 1 tbs of olive oil in a frying pan and sauté the asparagus for 2-3 minutes until it is bright green. I usually add a little salt while it is sautéing.
Combine chicken, asparagus, pepper and scallions in a large bowl.
Add about ½ bottle of dressing and toss. Add more dressing if needed and season to taste.
Serve this cold or at room temperature.