3 Easy to make & Delicious Picnic Salads
Memorial Day seems to be the first day of the summer season and brings to mind all the picnics, beach parties and backyard barbeques that are ahead of us.
Since most of these parties are outside for a fair amount of time, perhaps without much refrigeration, these 3 salads perform well and are really delicious!
These recipes do not call for mayo, but instead, each has some type of oil & vinegar dressing. They all can be made ahead and travel well.
Italian Pasta Salad
Ingredients
1 box (12 ox) tri-color spiral or Bowtie pasta (cooked according to directions – best if a little al-dente)
1 container of cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half
1 small red onion, chopped fine
1 small green pepper, chopped
2-3 small sweet mini – colored peppers, chopped
1 jar of sliced Kalamata olives, drained
1 small head Broccoli (slightly steamed & cut up small)
3/4 c. shredded Parmesan cheese
1 (16ox.) bottle Zesty Italian dressing
1/2 jar salad spices (2.5 approximate size)
Rinse pasta in cold water & drain. Mix all ingredients together with 1/2 bottle of dressing. Chill. Before serving, add remaining dressing & restir
Hot German Potato Salad
Ingredients
1/2# Bacon, crisp fried, drained & crumbled
1/2C chopped onion, cooked in reserved bacon fat until soft
1 stalk celery, chopped fine
6 c. cooked & sliced potatoes
2 Tbsp. Flour
2 Tbsp. sugar 1 1/2 tsp salt, dash pepper
1/2 c. vinegar
1 c. water
2 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley
Cook bacon until crisp. Crumble, reserving 1/4 c. bacon fat. Saute onions in fat until soft. Add in and blend, flour, sugar, salt, pepper.
Add vinegar and water. Cook and stir until mixture thickens and bubbles. Add crisp bacon and sliced potatoes. Heat thoroughly, tossing gently. Sprinkle with snipped parsley. Makes 8 or 9 setvings.
This is traditionally served hot, but we serve at room temp, which makes it great for a picnic.
Asian Broccoli Slaw
Ingredients
2 bags Broccoli Slaw
1/2 C slivered almonds, toasted
1/2 c. Sunflower Seeds, shelled
8 green onions, sliced
2 pkgs. Ramen noodles, lightly crushed (Beef or Chicken)
Mix all together in large bowl (EXCEPT the noodles)
The noodles get soggy if sitting too long in the salad, so for picnic fare, I mix all the rest together and add the noodles just before serving.
Dressing
1/2 C. Sugar
3/4 c. oil
1/3 c. Vinegar
Sesoning packets from both noodle packs
Mix together in separate bowl and drizzle over first mix.
We find this salad to be slightly addicting and when taking to a picnic or potluck dinner, it’s always one of the first to go.
All of these salads are super stars for picnics but they are just as good as side dishes for any meal. Enjoy!!