The Picnic Game: Fourth of July Picnic S'more Tartlets

Did you ever play the picnic game as a child? Well, Louise at Months of Edible Celebrations is hosting a virtual Picnic. In order to participate in the Picnic Game, each blogger chooses a letter and brings a dish that begins with that letter.  Join in the fun!
To see the entire list completed, come back and click on the basket on July 1st....in time for Picnic Month!

I'm going on a picnic and I'm bringing.....


A. Angel Food Cake

B. Basil Leaves in Caramelized Prawns

C. Chicken Piccata 

D. Darned Easy Potato Salad

E. Eccles Cakes filled with Leeks, Spinach and Blue Cheese

And my letter is F: Fourth of July Picnic S'more Tartlets
Adapted from the cookbook Cutie Pies by Dani Cone

Ingredients:
1 (12 ounce bag) of semisweet chocolate chips
5 cups mini marshmallows
6 graham crackers, crushed
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 packages ready made Pillsbury pie crust ( or make your own pie crust)

Method:
Preheat oven to 375.

Mix all ingredients except crust and set aside.
Roll out your crust fairly thinly and cut 3 inch rounds out of your pie crust, re-rolling unused dough. You should get 30 or so.
Press each circle into mini-muffin cup, pressing down and up the sides to form a little pie crust. Spoon the filling into the shells to just below the top. Bake 15 minutes.  Cool.

Cook's Note: I found after 10 minutes the marshmallows and chocolate had melted into a puddle before the crust was even baked. So I left them in there the full 15 minutes, made certain the crust was baked through, then removed them from the oven, added more filling to each cup and put it quickly under the broiler. 
Cute idea, gooey when warm, but they firm up nicely after they cool and are a snap to take along on a picnic. Decadently delicious!

The Picnic Game: Baked Beans

Did you ever play the picnic game as a child? Well, Louise at Months of Edible Celebrations is hosting a virtual Picnic. In order to participate in the Picnic Game, each blogger chooses a letter and brings a dish that begins with that letter.  Join in the fun!

I'm going on a picnic and I'm bringing.....

A: Artichokes Steamed and Dressed with Mayonnaise from Mae at Mae's Food Blog

And my letter is B: Baked Beans
 
Be sure to visit Louise next weekend for all the other letters and their matching dishes!

Ah yes...I remember when I used to spend two days making perfect baked beans. And every once in a while I still make them from scratch. But my mother, because we did a lot of picnicking on the boat, knew tons of shortcuts for picnic foods. These baked beans are a perfect example. The ingredients were never written down, but I've been making it forever so did some guesswork for this post. Just eyeball it and if you need or want more of anything, add it. Obviously, we love bacon. We never cared for soupy baked beans either; you'll find these just right: they won't leak sauce into all the other items on your plate. 

Mother's Speedy Baked Beans

Ingredients:

2   28 ounce cans Baked Beans
(I used original pork and beans; nothing fancy)

1/2  pound  bacon, diced, raw, diced

1 tablespoon dry mustard

1/2 cup ketchup

1/4 cup light brown sugar

Method:
Drain both cans of beans slightly; just the juices on top is enough. (The brand I used to use is not available at my market anymore. I didn't have to drain those.) Pour 1 can of beans into a casserole. Sprinkle with about 1 tablespoon dry mustard, then about 1/4 cup light brown sugar. Pour in the other can of beans and cover with 1/2 cup ketchup and the raw diced bacon. Bake, uncovered, in a 375 oven for an hour or until bacon is crisp and the beans bubbly.

The Picnic Game: Cherry Bars in a Jar

Did you ever play the picnic game as a child? Well, Louise at Months of Edible Celebrations is hosting a virtual Picnic. In order to participate in the Picnic Game, each blogger chooses a letter and brings a dish that begins with that letter.  Join in the fun!

I'm going on a picnic and I'm bringing.....

A: Apricot Cobbler from Mae at Mae's Food Blog
 

                    

B:  Banana Cream Pie from Marjie at Modern Day Ozzie and Harriet

And my letter is C: Cherry Bars in a Jar

Be sure to visit Louise for all the other letters and their matching dishes!

Back in the 60's, I made these gems all the time. Such a simple dessert when you're in a hurry and I've always made the recipe in bar form. But recently I remembered the little Ball jars I made my mother's rhubarb pie in. Why not make Cherry Bars in those? I love individual servings like this. So you have a choice...make this as a bar, using a rectangular pan, or make it in oven proof individual dishes like these. This is an easy dessert to serve on a picnic as you can use canned pie filling on top, screw the jar tops back on and pop them in your basket. I know it's called "cherry", but I've also made it with rhubarb curd (if you have any rhubarb in your garden) and roasted fruit. So use any fruit you want; take the fast and easy road with canned pie fillings or make it more elegant with homemade fresh fruit toppings. For Louise's 4th of July virtual picnic, I thought the bright red cherries were very appropriate.
The filling may look like cheesecake, but it's not nearly as dense.

Cherry Bars in a Jar

Ingredients:
16 graham crackers, crushed
1/3 cup  butter, soft
1/2 cup  sugar
1 8 oz  pkg cream cheese
1/2 cup  sugar
2 eggs  
1 can  cherry pie filling

Method:
Mix grahams, sugar and butter. Press into the little Ball jars or press into a 9 by 13 pan.  Beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth and add eggs. Pour over crumbs. Bake 325 for 25 minutes or until very lightly browned. You'll see cracks in some of the tops. That's OK. When slightly cool, pour cherry pie filling over top. Refrigerate.

You'll find the individual jars need to come to room temperature as the graham cracker crust gets quite firm. But they're still delicious no matter if you serve them cold or at room temperature.

Independence Day Fun!

Here's an update on the Picnic Game:

I'm going to a picnic and I'm bringing:

A: Almond Joy Pie: Brought by Marjie from Modern Day Ozzie and Harriet

B: Baked Beans: Brought by Kasha from Grub and Stuff

C: Chocolate Picnic Cake: Brought by Janet from Dying for Chocolate

D: Dutch Funnel Cake: Brought by Julie from The Sporadic Cook

E: Easy Blender Chicken Pie: Brought by Juliana from Simple Recipes

F: Five Bean Salad: Brought by me!

Do you remember this one? It was standard picnic fare when I was a child. Every once in a while when I'm asked to bring a salad to feed a crowd, I turn to this old standby. With Mother's old recipe, you can take short cuts and use some canned veggies. But to keep things fresh, you can make nearly the entire thing with lovely crisp vegetables. I personally use canned kidney and garbanzo beans, but use fresh yellow and green beans, quickly steamed. I use frozen limas, but par boil and cool them. Sometimes I add a carrot, or radishes...odds and ends of whatever's left in the vegetable bin. You can also add other kinds of beans like black or cannellini beans, but I am posting Mother's original recipe, cans and all; tweak it any way you like. It all depends on how much of a hurry you're in. Note: This has to be made a day ahead.

Mother's Five Bean Salad

Ingredients:
1 can slender green beans

1 can yellow  wax beans

1 sm can small lima beans

1 can kidney  beans

1 can garbanzo beans

1 cup diced celery

sweet red onion  rings to taste

1/2 cup diced green bell pepper

1/2 cup diced red pepper

2 cups cauliflower florets

1/2 cup water

2 cups cider vinegar

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 Tablespoon salt

1 clove garlic, split, remove before serving

Method:

Combine vinegar, water, sugar and salt and heat to dissolve sugar. Set aside to cool.

Place all the beans in a colander to drain the liquids and then place in large bowl. Add celery, onions and green pepper and cauliflower. Mix. Pour the dressing over the vegetables. Push the split garlic down in the marinade. Refrigerate for at least 24 hours, stirring several times.

Easily feeds 15 or more depending on portion size.

Check with Louise at Months of Edible Celebrations for the rest of the picnic recipes! There's still time to join the fun.

And do you need another dessert for the 4th? Here's an idea...........

Great BBQ's, family, children running around with sparklers and tables loaded with food is how I remember most of the Independence Day celebrations in our family...and the magnificent fireworks as we all lay back on our blankets. I bet most of us will be having picnics on the 4th...and while strawberry shortcake is what my mother made most often for dessert on the 4th, as kids we all preferred ice cream cones or popsicles. Because I'm still a kid at heart, I found a frozen dessert recipe that's made with fruit and yogurt. It's a favorite of mine because it has sweetened condensed milk as an ingredient. Has to be fabulous, right? Did I mention there are marshmallows? Yep, those too.
You want to make this at least a day ahead. It's a quickie dessert with red, white and blue ingredients for a Happy Birthday to America!

Fourth of July Frozen Delight

Ingredients:
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup lemon juice
2 teaspoons lemon rind
2 cups plain yogurt
2 cups miniature marshmallows
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1 pint fresh strawberries, sliced
1 cup fresh blueberries

Method:
Combine the condensed milk, lemon juice and rind and mix well. Stir in the yogurt, marshmallows and nuts. Spread half the mixture in a 9 by 13 dish. Put half the strawberries and half the blueberries on top. Pour the other half of the yogurt mixture on top and use the remaining fruit on top, pushing them in slightly.
Cover and freeze.
Remove from freezer about 10 minutes before you're ready to cut and serve.
Makes about 15 servings.