An at-home Picnic is a perfect way to spend a date night or family night with the kids to add a bit of fun and something different to the routine.
If you want to check out some other date night ideas or picnic settings to prepare check out my blog post "10 Unique At-Home Date Night Ideas that are sure to be Magic" for more details. For some great (and easy) recipe ideas that you can prepare for the picnic check out the below: 1. Pita's, Bread & Dips Buy some pita bread and fresh baguettes from the grocery store and local bakery and warm them in the oven at about 150 degree Celsius about 10 minutes before your picnic starts, so they are warm, crispy and delicious for your picnic start. Prepare in advance some dips to for the breads, you can always buy pre-made at the store or make them yourself (plus this option is healthy) try out these two below. My take on a Greek yogurt dip: Ingredients:
Directions: Mix all ingredients together (let sit in the fridge for an hour or two or overnight for best results to let the flavors develop) You will get a light, fresh and tasty dip that everyone will love. Hummus:
2. Fruit Salad You can't have a picnic without fruit. Make a fruit salad using whatever is your favorite fruit that is in season. Here's my favorite fruit salad mix: Ingredients:
Directions: Mix them all together in a bowl. It's colorful, beautiful crisp, juicy, tasty and of course healthy. It is wonderful on its own, or, if you want to add a little more of a treat and some sweetness try this: Ingredients: Easy Sweet & Healthy Yogurt sauce:
Directions: Mix all the ingredients together. You can either mix it in with the fruit as a sauce or keep it on the side as a dip for the fruit. 3. Cheese & Crackers This is probably the easiest of them all. Just choose a selection of your favorite crackers and cheese, cut the cheese into cracker sized pieces and arrange on a plate. If you want some inspiration check out my Pinterest board for Picnics HERE for some plating looks and variations. 4. Sandwich selection Make up a few different types of your favorite sandwiches and cut them into quarters and arrange them on a plate to be shared. Here are a couple of sandwich ideas that you can use that are our household favorites: My version of a BLT: Ingredients:
Directions: Once all of the ingredients are prepped, toast the bread in the toaster and butter the bottom piece once toasted. Layer it with the cheese slice, followed by the tomatoes, arranged to cover the toast surface, salt and pepper the tomatoes to taste. Add the bacon slices on top of the tomatoes, add the mayo to the top piece of bread and place on top of the bacon. Cut into quarters and enjoy. This is a family favorite at my house! Egg salad sandwich: Ingredients:
Directions: Mash up the egg into small pieces with a fork and add salt and pepper to taste. Add in the chopped pickle, the pickle juice, mustard, mayo and yogurt and mix together. If too watery add more egg. Butter both sides of the bread, top with the egg salad mixture, cut into quarters and enjoy. Ham & Cheese Sandwich: Ingredients:
Directions: Butter the bottom piece of bread and add spread some mustard to your taste. Layer on the cheese slice followed by the ham. Salt and pepper the ham to your taste and then layer with the lettuce. Add the mayo to the top slice of the bread and add to the top of the lettuce. Cut into quarters and enjoy.
What better way to end off a picnic then with ice cream! Choose your favorite(s) flavor, buy your favorite kind of ice cream cones and for fun buy some additional toppings (Sprinkles, chocolate, strawberry or butterscotch sauce, cookie crumbles, etc) Scoop up, let the others top as desired and enjoy. Make sure to bring lots of napkins! Bonus* Drinks. You will also want to have a couple of options available for drinks to wash down all the food at your picnic. Here are a couple of easy drink ideas you can use: Fresh, lemon/lime, mint water: Ingredients:
Directions: In a large bottle or pitcher add the mint leaves (twist them a little in your hands first to release the minty flavor) the ice, the water of your choice and then the lemon or lime juice and mix all together. This is crisp and refreshing. For a different flavor you can do the same as the above but instead of the mint add some frozen berries. For adults try: Picnic mimosa: Ingredients:
Directions: In champagne flutes or wine classes add the frozen strawberries (as much as you would like), fill the class halfway with sparkling wine and top off with the orange juice. What better way to spend an afternoon or evening with your partner or with your family, creating wonderful memories that will last. Get free printable recipe cards with ingredient list HERE to make your planning and preparation easy. For a little more fun you can use this printable picnic menu HERE that you can set out on the blanket to add a little more picnic flare. Plus, I will send you a link to the template location so that you can customize the cards and the menu as you like.
I hope that you all enjoy your at-home picnics and I would love to hear about your experiences or your favorite picnic recipes in the comments below.
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