picnic food – RefreshHer

These fall days will pass quickly and we’ll be experiencing cold weather that will push us indoors faster than garlic burns! Therefore, we are trying to enjoy these gorgeous days by taking some drives on the Scenic Route!

We met some dear friends up on a mountain last weekend and my husband and his buddy Rick decided we’d have a charcuterie snack board! You see, these two hike together and it’s become Rick’s new creation to use his bandanna as his “charcuterie board!” Dale has also become quite a good hand at creating great spreads on a board!

I keep a tablecloth in my picnic basket so when we want to eat a meal out somewhere, I already have a cover for the table.

Dale gathered the items he wanted to take and I helped with the presentation. I brought along one of my cutting boards and some cute napkins. I found those cute autumn favor cups at The Dollar Tree. I was impressed at how sturdy they are! They were perfect for the candy, pretzels and apple slices. The other additions to our board were a couple candy bars and muffins.

I failed to get a picture of Rick’s board, but he brought carrots, almonds, beef jerky, cookies, and cheese and as I said, he spreads his treats on a bandannas. His wise wife has purchased new bandannas strictly to use for his hiking charcuterie boards!

It was so much fun to sit at the picnic table and nibble off of the goods on the boards as we chatted and enjoyed the gorgeous views!

The Scenic Route is full of fun adventures and this kind of picnic was easy to pull together and fun to enjoy! The possibilities are endless. Consider:

Grapes
Cheeses
Chips & Salsa
Lunch meats
Crusty bread and Olive oil for dipping
Veggies
Hummus
Crackers
Olives
Nuts

Why not pack up goodies for a Scenic Route picnic and enjoy a charcuterie lunch or snack on the road? Make a special fall memory before the snow flies.

Refresh your picnics with something fun!

With Memorial Day coming, picnic season is in full swing! I love a refreshing salad that removes the fear of food poison! A salad dressed with a vinaigrette is the perfect recipe!

I’ve been making a fruited green salad for several years from Cooking Light, but in my Taste of Home magazine, I found basically the same recipe, only substituting the blueberries or pears with Watermelon! I was excited to try this. I love the presentation; it’s served on a wedge of watermelon.

Refreshing Watermelon Salad

4 cups cubed watermelon
2 Cups spinach
1/2 Cup red onion, sliced
1/3 Cup Blue cheese
Almonds or cashews

To make the salad, cube up watermelon and add slices of red onion and refrigerate for 30 minutes. At serving time, add chopped greens (I used leaf lettuce). Place the mixture on a wedge of watermelon and top with blue cheese and almonds or cashews.

For the dressing, I used my recipe for another salad I make:

Dressing:

1/2 cup canned whole-berry cranberry sauce

3/4 cup orange juice (about one orange)

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger (I didn’t have this and it was still good)

1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix all ingredients in a small jar. Pour over salad just before serving.

This will be a popular salad at your house this summer while watermelon is in season. We LOVE it!

What is your favorite summer salad recipe?

denise a

Category: picnic food

Charcuterie Board Meets Scenic Route

Picnic Salad