Memorial Day Weekend Picnic

Memorial Day weekend is coming up and thought I would share a picnic sandwich idea, potato salad and a simple dessert for a picnic with you. 

Apricot Cashew Salad Sandwiches

2 cups cooked turkey or chicken

1 Granny Smith apple (or any real crisp apple)

1 cup celery

1/4 cup cashews

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup sour cream

4 tbs. apricot preserves

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

Salt and pepper to taste

8 slices bread

Lettuce leaves

Toss together turkey or chicken, apple, celery, apricots and cashews in a large bowl set aside. Whisk together mayonnaise, sour cream, preserves, ginger, nutmeg and pepper in a separate bowl; spoon over meat mixture and fold in until well blended. Spoon evenly onto 4 slices of toasted or crusty bread. Top with lettuce leaf and remaining bread slices. Makes 4 sandwiches.

Variation – You can use apple butter or Mandarin oranges in place of the apricot preserves and yogurt in place of the sour cream.  Use what you already have in the house.  You could put whole grapes in with grape jelly and replace the cashews with walnuts.  Get creative with your combinations.

Potato Salad

6 to 8 medium unpeeled cooked red potatoes

4 to 6 eggs

1 large bunch of green onion

1 10 oz. jar olives with pimentos

6 slices of crispy fried bacon crumbled (I like to pre-cooked to save time and mess)

1 cup of your favorite real mayo

Salt and pepper to taste

Microwave or boil unpeeled potatoes. Boil the eggs. Allow time for the eggs and potatoes to cool.  Chop green onions and drain the olives with pimentos and chop.  Microwave the bacon until crispy and cut with scissors into small pieces.

Peel eggs and cut up your potatoes.  I leave my skins on my potatoes, but you can peel them if you like.

Put the mayo in a large bowl and add all the ingredients and mix delicately until everything is covered well. Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight to let the flavors marry and the salad is well chilled.

I like this recipe because it is not full of raw onion.  The green onion is not so overwhelming.  You can add raw onion if you like.  If I added it, I would grate it. 

6 to 8 medium unpeeled cooked red potatoes

4 to 6 eggs

1 large bunch of green onion

1 10 oz. jar olives with pimentos

6 slices of crispy fried bacon crumbled (I like to pre-cooked to save time and mess)

1 cup of your favorite real mayo

Salt and pepper to taste

Microwave or boil unpeeled potatoes. Boil the eggs. Allow time for the eggs and potatoes to cool.  Chop green onions and drain the olives with pimentos and chop.  Microwave the bacon until crispy and cut with scissors into small pieces.

Peel eggs and cut up your potatoes.  I leave my skins on my potatoes, but you can peel them if you like.

Put the mayo in a large bowl and add all the ingredients and mix delicately until everything is covered well. Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight to let the flavors marry and the salad is well chilled.

I like this recipe because it is not full of raw onion.  I’ve read that for picnicking an onion collect bacteria and is more likely to make you ill than mayo and the green onion is not so overwhelming. 

Over-the-top Rice Crispy Bars

I love the fact that you can now buy bite sized Snickers unwrapped.  What took them so long?  I hate having to unwrap them when you are using them for a dessert. 

7 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows

5 tbs. butter

7 1/2 cups Rice Crispy cereal

24 Mini Snicker candy bars or your favorite candy bar

In a large sauce pan melt the butter and marshmallows over medium heat (You can also melt in the microwave). Continue to stir until it is creamy. Add the cereal and stir until completely coated. Divide the mixture in half. Press half the cereal into a buttered 9 × 13 pan. I wet my hands and press down on the mixture gently to spread it out.  Lay your favorite candy bars down on the mixture and cover the cereal. Drop the rest of the cereal on top of the candy bars and press down again with your wet hands. Let cool completely before cutting.

Variation - Want to take it even more over the top?  Drizzle it with melted chocolate chips, caramels and/or sprinkle it with peanuts. You can also add a couple tablespoon fulls of peanut butter to the melted marshmallows and butter for a more peanuty taste.

Hope you have a great day and week end.  Be happy and may God bless you and yours.