Spotlight on Summer: Picnic Fare and Quick Cooking

Last week, I posted links to previous blogs that contained recipes for cool and creamy foods.  Today, in part two of the series, I'm doing the same thing, but with foods that are good to take on a picnic or can be prepared on busy summer days with very little effort.  Click the words in bold to go to the page with the recipe.

Picnic Fare:

What better way to celebrate summer than with a picnic?  Picnics are fun, but be sure to keep food safety in mind:  keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold!

Chicken Salad:  This has been my favorite chicken salad recipe for over 20 years!  When I take it on picnics, I serve it just like I do at home:  on a plate with croissants on the side.  If you want to use it for sandwiches, keep the chicken salad in the cooler and assemble the sandwiches when you're ready to eat.  This will keep the sandwiches from getting soggy.

Deviled Eggs:  I like to take chicken salad on a picnic, but my mother liked to take fried chicken.  To accompany the chicken, she always took a batch of deviled eggs.  They're better made the day before so you can pack and go the day of the picnic.  Make sure to leave them in the cooler until you're ready to eat.

Fruit Salad:  My grandmother made this simple salad -- apples, bananas, crushed pineapple and orange juice -- for my mom and her siblings; my mom made it for her kids and now I make it for my family.  It's ideal for a picnic because it doesn't contain mayonnaise, sour cream or Cool Whip. Serve it straight from the cooler as a refreshing fruit salad or as dessert.

Peanut Butter Cookies:  No one will ever guess these cookies only use three ingredients.  They bake in just minutes so you can whip up a batch at the spur of the moment.  They're also easy to pack and mess free since they're not frosted.

Mini Mason Jar Cakes:  Mason jars aren't just for canning anymore.  You can use the four ounce jars to make cute desserts -- cakes, cobblers, pies and crisps -- that are wonderful for a picnic or casual get together.  Don't forget to pack spoons!

Fruit Tea:  Soft drinks and Kool-Aid might be easy to pack for a picnic, but they're not as refreshing as an ice cold glass of fruit tea.  This dressed up sweet tea uses lemon juice, pineapple juice and, the secret ingredient, ginger ale!

Quick Cooking:

Life tends to move a little slower in the summer.  The weather is warmer, days are longer and there's more to do outside.  Who wants to be stuck inside cooking?  These recipes let you put dinner on the table without having to do a lot of work or get the kitchen too hot.

Sauteed Pork Chops:  You won't heat up the kitchen when you cook these pork chops.  They cook in just 11 minutes!  The only thing you need other than the ingredients is a skillet with a lid.

Easy Pork Chops and Apples:  This dish is as easy as they come.  You don't even have to brown the pork chops or cut and peel the apples.  Cook a vegetable separately and you've got a meal that's very easy to prepare.  

Hamburger Macaroni Casserole:  A reader once described this dish as homemade Hamburger Helper, but better.  The macaroni doesn't even have to be cooked separately.  Everything is cooked in the same pan and, from start to finish, takes less than 45 minutes to cook.

Marinated Baked Chicken:  This dish takes very little work, but you do need to plan ahead since the chicken has to be marinated overnight.  The marinade is super easy to mix up:  you use equal parts of Italian salad dressing and soy sauce.  The recipe can easily be doubled or, if necessary, halved.

Broccoli with Lemon:  This recipe starts with fresh steamed broccoli.  If you don't have time to steam the broccoli, microwave a package of fresh broccoli florets that's sold in a microwave-safe bag.  You can mix up the rest of the ingredients while the broccoli is in the microwave.

Potato Salad:  You might not think of this dish as quick, but it can be when you don't have to peel, cut and boil potatoes.  Ore-Ida Steam 'n Mash cut Russet potatoes -- which cook in only 10 minutes in the microwave -- can be substituted for fresh potatoes.  No one will ever taste the difference.

Check back next week for this series finale:  foods that won't heat up the kitchen.

© Margaret's Morsels

The Top Ten Countdown: Number 1

The number one recipe on Margaret's Morsels is Mini Mason Jar Cakes. This summertime canning staple is a creative way to bake and serve cakes, cobblers, pies and crisps.

© Margaret's Morsels

Baby Cakes

The last few years, small desserts have become big business.  Brownie bites, cakepops -- decorated cake balls on a stick -- and cupcakes are just a few that have become popular.  Take a look in the baking aisle at the bookstore and you'll see a proliferation of books dedicated to the concept of diminutive desserts.  There are even cooking classes on the topic for the home baker.


I recently took a "Baby Cakes" class at a local cooking school.  I learned how to make individual pudding cakes, chocolate bouchons -- a two bite cake that resembles a cork (bouchon) -- and decorate petit fours.  The recipe that got my creative juices flowing the most, however, was mini Mason jar cakes.

Mason jars are glass jars with flat lids and screw top bands that are traditionally used to can food.  They can also be used to bake and serve individual desserts such as cakes, cobblers, pies and crisps.  You aren't canning the desserts, but using the jars as vessels to bake the desserts. The desserts should not be stored for long periods, but eaten within a few days of baking.


Jars are available in a variety of sizes, but the four ounce jars are wonderful for mini desserts.  The serving size is enough to satisfy your sweet tooth without feeling as though you're indulging.


You don't need a special cake recipe to make mini Mason jar cakes, but you do need a lot of jars.  I used a cake mix and ended up with 25 cakes. If you don't have enough jars, use the remaining batter for cupcakes or miniature loaves.  If you're making a cake from scratch and it can be halved, you can do that too.


Prepare the cake batter according to the directions.  Coat the clean jars with nonstick cooking spray and add approximately 1/4 cup cake batter, wiping any excess off the rims of the jars.

To make it easier to move the jars into and out of the oven, set them on a rimmed baking sheet.  I put them in a 9 x 13-inch pan.  Don't let the jars touch each other; air needs to circulate to ensure even baking.

Bake the cakes at the temperature listed on the recipe for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  The cakes bake much quicker than they would in a cake pan, so keep an eye on them to make sure they don't overbake.  Remove the pan from the oven and set the jars on a wire rack to cool completely.


Once the cakes are completely cool, they can be frosted or left plain.  If you leave them plain, there's enough room in the jar to add a scoop of ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream when the cakes are served.  To frost the cakes, spread your favorite homemade or store bought frosting over the top of the cakes, wiping the rims to remove any excess frosting.  

When you're finished, put on the lids and the screw top bands.


You can leave the jars as is or go one step further and decorate the lids. Use some fabric -- something that coordinates with the party theme or season is a nice touch -- to cut circles or squares to put on top of the lids before the screw top bands are added.  If you don't have enough fabric, cut a circle that fits only the lids with no overhang when the bands are added.

Fabric left to right:  circle, square, lid only

Mini Mason jar cakes are great for a casual get together or picnic.  Unlike a frosted layer cake, the jars are easy to transport.  If you want to make the cakes year round, it's a good idea to stock up on the jars while they're in season at a good price.  The jars will be hard to find and cost a lot more if you wait until later in the year.

A tray of mini Mason jar cakes.

© Margaret's Morsels