It’s never too early for a picnic! But sometimes, it’s too early to pack up a basket that will have you sitting on the ground on a blanket. I found a perfect spring picnic website.

I offer full recipes for finger foods or foods that will pack into Mason jars.

Stacked Salad Nicoise

Makes: 2 Mason jars

Ingredients for Salad

• 1 can tuna
• 2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
• 2 boiled potatoes, room temperature and chopped
• ¼ cup blanched green beans
• ¼ cup chopped red peppers
• ¼ cup chopped cucumber
• ¼ cup chopped red onion
• 3 tablespoons chopped Kalamata olives
• 1 cup baby arugula

Ingredients for Dressing

• ¼ teaspoon anchovy paste
• ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• salt and pepper
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

1. Make dressing by whisking together anchovy paste, vinegar, maple syrup, mustard, salt and pepper. Continue to whisk while drizzling in olive oil. Whisk until completely emulsified, set aside.
2. Combine the peppers, cucumber, onion and olives.
3. Divide the pepper medley between the two mason jars. Layer with tuna, green beans, egg and finally arugula.
4. Dress Mason jar salads with dressing and shake to coat. Wait to dress salad until right before serving.

English and Italian Finger Sandwiches

Again, not made for Mason jars, but you can put them into a nice container for people to reach into.

Ingredients

• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp red wine vinegar
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (14- to 16-oz) loaf italian bread (from a bakery), sliced into 24 thin slices
• ⅓ cup roasted red peppers
• ⅓ lb(s) thinly sliced salami
• ⅓ lb(s) thinly sliced prosciutto di Parma
• ⅓ lb(s) thinly sliced mortadella
• ½ cucumber, peeled if waxy, thinly sliced
• Fresh basil leaves, as needed
• 4 – 5 pickled pepperoncini, sliced

Directions

1. Stir together the oil, vinegar, oregano, salt and some pepper in a small bowl. On a work surface, spread out the bread and brush the oil and vinegar mixture onto all of the slices.
2. Layer half of the bread slices with the red peppers, salami, prosciutto, mortadella, cucumber slices, basil and pepperoncini. Top with the remaining bread slices. Using a serrated knife, cut away the crusts from each sandwich. Cut each sandwich into thirds. Place them on a tray and serve.

Strawberry Banana Cereal Treats

Ingredients

• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
• 1 (10-oz) bag mini marshmallows
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• Kosher salt
• 6 cups toasted whole-grain oat cereal, such as Cheerios
• 1 ½ cups freeze-dried strawberries, crushed
• 1 ½ cups freeze-dried bananas, crushed

Directions

1. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with enough foil so that there’s a 2-inch overhang on all sides. Grease the foil with butter.
2. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the marshmallows and honey and cook, stirring occasionally, until the marshmallows melt completely, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and a pinch of salt. Add the cereal and 1 cup each of the crushed strawberries and bananas. Stir with a rubber spatula, making sure to scrape up the bottom, until the cereal is completely coated. Transfer to the prepared baking dish and pat down into an even layer. Scatter the remaining crushed fruit on top and press into the top (use the bottom of a measuring cup to help). Let sit at room temperature until firm, about 30 minutes.
3. Cut into 24 bars. Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Blueberry Lemonade

Get a few more Mason jars….

Ingredients for Blueberry Syrup

• 4 cups fresh blueberries
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 lemon, juiced

Ingredients for Lemonade

• 6 cups sugar
• 24 lemons, juiced

Directions for Blueberry Syrup

1. Put the blueberries, sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, then reduce the heat and simmer until thick, 20 to 25 minutes.
2. Strain the blueberries through a fine-mesh strainer, pressing to get all the liquid out, then place the liquid in the fridge and chill until cold (or place the pan in a bowl of ice to chill down fast).

Directions for Lemonade

1. Mix the sugar with 6 cups of tap water and stir until the sugar is dissolved to make a simple syrup.
2. Pour the lemon juice into a large vat. Pour in three-quarters of the simple syrup and 8 cups of water (give or take). Add the blueberry syrup, stir it around and then give it a taste. Add more simple syrup if it needs sweetness, or more water if it needs dilution. Top up with lots of ice before serving.

Fruit Salad With Savory Dressings

Ingredients for Cool Spicy Dressing

• zest and juice of 2 limes
• ¼ cup mint jelly
• 1 tsp hot sauce
• 1 bunch fresh mint

Ingredients for Vanilla Vinaigrette

• ½ cup white wine vinegar
• 1 Tbsp vanilla
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ½ cup honey
• 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

Ingredients for Salad (Use any combination of…)

• pineapple
• banana
• apple
• pear
• mango
• kiwi
• plum
• cantaloupe
• passion fruit
• oranges
• fresh berries
• grapes
• your favourite fruit

Directions for Cool Spicy Dressing

1. Place all the ingredients in a mason jar. Cover tightly and shake, shake, shake! Store any leftover in the fridge for your next salad.

Directions for Vanilla Vinaigrette

1. Place all the ingredients in a mason jar. Cover tightly and shake, shake, shake! Store any leftover in the fridge for your next salad.

Directions for Salad (in keeping with the Mason jar theme)

1. Put the fruits you have chosen into small Mason jars.
2. Dress some with one dressing and some with the other.

Alternate Directions

1. Put the fruits you have chosen into a blender and puree to create a fruit smoothie.
2. Pour into Mason jars.

List Of Really Great Ideas & Recipes

I couldn’t put the recipes to all of the great things from the referenced blog onto this blog, but here’s a list to entice you to visit.

• Fresh Spring Veggie Pasta with Rustic Pancetta & Fresh Cheese
• Homemade Granola Bars (with dates, apricots, cranberries, almonds and coconut)
• Strawberry Meringue Tarts
• Egg & Potato Salad Pita
• Asparagus, Lemon & Chevre Pasta Salad
• Asparagus Pasta Salad
• Mike’s Crispy Treats (another cereal bar, with white chocolate almond bark and fruit-flavored cereal)
• Corn Dog Muffins (topped with dill pickle relish!)
• Strawberry Arugula Salad (with goat cheese and walnuts)
• Marinated Salami Sandwich (with mozzarella, arugula and fennel)
• Spring Panzanella (radish, pea shoots, asparagus, grilled scallions, and an Italian dressing)
• The Pioneer Woman’s Chicken Nuggets (the seasoning makes the difference)
• Kid Friendly Pasta Salad (with tomatoes, cheddar, green onions and bacon)
• Date Raisin Loaf
• Turkey Waldorf Bites (a cute skewer with grapes, celery and apples)
• Mega Pulled Pork Sandwich with Rhubarb Sauce (I would have included this – yum – but it didn’t fit into a Mason jar)
• Peanut Butter & Jelly Cookies
• Vegetable Salad with Grapes (chickpeas, broccoli, grapes, cucumber and a zesty dressing)
• Strawberry Fool (this could have gone into a jar – strawberries are stewed in liqeur and sugar, then folded into a light custard topped with crushed ladyfingers)
• Cold-Fashioned Potato Salad (a fresh take on a classic)
• Falafel with Chipotle Tahini Dip
• Mini Chicken & Broccoli Pot Pies (so cute, and cooked in a mini-muffin tin)
• Baby Cherry Pies (cooked in muffin tins)
• Sandwiches On A Stick (skewers) (fun)
• Spicy Cabbage Salad
• Banana Crunch Muffins (walnuts, granola and coconut, topped with banana chips, more granola and more coconut)
• Quick & Easy Mini Biscuits
• Three-Ingredient Brownies (chocolate-hazelnut spread, flour and eggs)
• Perfect Iced Tea (wow – sounds great – brewed with many optional items, like honey, citrus slices, mint, berries, peaches, cucumber….)
• Ree-Drummond Vegetarian Hummus Wrap
• Sesame Pumpkin Seed Snaps (that sounds like a cookie, but it’s more like a crispy muffin)
• Mae’s Broccoli Cheddar Salad (with cranberries and raisins)
• Chai Cinnamon Bun Mini Cheesecakes (yum!!)
• Peameal (pork loin) Sandwiches with Coleslaw
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Globs (despite the name, this is a chewy cookie with peanut butter chips, walnuts and pecans)
• Pomegranate & Pear Salad (this can go into a jar)

In Closing

Even if you don’t go on a picnic, you owe it to yourself to try these recipes!

This is a Tiger Lily Approved Fun Thing To Do.