Sandwich and Side Picnic Recipes

Great Picnic Food Ideas: Sandwich and Side Picnic Recipes

It's gorgeous outside. Time to plan a picnic! Adrien Sharp for the Kraft Kitchens shares some great ideas for what to serve and how to pack up a great meal that travels.

Transcript:
Are you looking for new ways to spend quality time with your family? One of my favorite things to do on a nice summer day to go on a picnic. Bring a football maybe a kite and everyone gets a chance to enjoy the outdoors and each other for an afternoon.

Hi I'm Adrien Sharp for the Kraft Kitchens here with some great ideas for what to serve and how to pack your next picnic.

Let's start with the food.

Sandwiches are the original here when it comes to food that travels but just because they're portable does not mean they have to be predictable. With just a few simple steps you can create your own masterpiece. This is the Kickn' Chicken Wrap. Perfect for eating outdoors. The kick comes from the chipotle flavored mayo and the jalapeño American cheese. All you need to do is spread your mayo on the bottom, add the cheese, next with the chicken, the lettuce and then the celery. That's all there is to it!

This ones the the Tuscan Club on a ciabatta roll. It's made with shaved oven turkey breast bacon lettuce tomato and here comes the Tuscan part: sun dried tomato and basil cream cheese on the top half of the ciabatta and some Italian dressing on the bottom half.

And to go with these great sandwiches I've made some terrific side salads. This one's coleslaw and it's extra crunchy with crispy crumbled bacon and chopped salted peanuts. And rounding things out we have a very easy pasta salad with rotini, vegetables, reduced-fat parmesan and to complete it, some Lighthouse Italian dressing.

For the desert, the ultimate packable, pudding snacks.

Now you want everything to be fresh tasting and safe to eat when you picnic so you will need a cooler. No need for a fancy one, this plastic one on wheels does the job just fine. It's all in how you pack it. You need to keep things cold but making sure things don't get all smushed together is pretty important to. Nobody likes a crushed club.

So let's back up and I'll show you exactly how I packed this picnic today. On the bottom I put all the heavy stuff. You have your bottles of water, the soda and 100% juice for the kids. I even freeze a few of the juice pouches and water ahead of time to melt slowly so even at the end of the day there is still something cold to drink. Then I lay down one of these ice blankets. These do double duty by keeping things cold and separated. Salads and pudding go in next. Followed by another ice blanket. And then last, but not least, the sandwiches. Then I put the third ice blanket on the top.

Now if you don't have ice blankets you can use gallon sized freezer bags and fill them with ice cubes. The key is to make sure they are sealed tightly and do not put them on top of the sandwiches.

So there you have it. The great American picnic.

Look for many more portable recipes and tips for Summer fun on Howdini.

Quick and Easy Pasta Recipes

Quick and Easy Dinner Recipes - 30 Minute Dinner Ideas

Sometimes it's a race getting dinner on the table. Tracy Metro for the Kraft Kitchens shares two recipes that will beat the clock and allow you to make a home cooked meal in 30 minutes, or less. So, put down that delivery menu!

INGREDIENTS

Easy Beef and Broccoli

2 cups instant white rice, uncooked
1 Tbsp. oil
1 lb. beef stir-fry strips
2 cups frozen broccoli florets
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1/4 cup KRAFT CATALINA Dressing
1 Tbsp. grated ginger root

STOVE TOP One-Dish Chicken Skillet

1-1/2 cups hot water
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine, melted
1 pkg. (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Chicken
6 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1-1/2 lb.)
1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/3 cup BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream


DIRECTIONS

Easy Beef and Broccoli

1. COOK rice as directed on package. Meanwhile, heat oil in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add meat; cook 3 min. or until evenly browned, stirring frequently.

2. ADD broccoli, hoisin sauce, dressing and ginger root; stir. Cover. Cook 5 min. or until heated through.

3. SERVE over the rice.

Tips
• If you can't find beef stir-fry strips in your supermarket, you can use any grilling steak, cut into thin strips, instead.
• Substitute jarred minced ginger for the grated ginger root.


STOVE TOP One-Dish Chicken Skillet

1. MIX hot water, butter and stuffing mix.

2. COOK chicken in large nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium heat 5 min. on each side.

3. MIX soup and sour cream; pour over chicken. Top with stuffing; cover. Cook on low heat 10 min. or until chicken is done (165ºF).

Tips
• Substitute fat-free milk for the sour cream.

Peppercorn Steak (Steak Au Poivre)

A five-star recipe for New York Strip steak with an incredible cream sauce cooked with green peppercorns, onions, shallots, butter, and cognac. The green peppercorns, combined with cognac, adds an exceptional flavor to this savory sauce. This is a recipe that is sure to become a favorite!

Thanksgiving turkey recipe: How to roast a turkey

Thanksgiving turkey recipe: How to roast a turkey

Roasting a tender, juicy, delicious turkey for your holiday feast is a skill everyone appreciates. Yet too often, polite guests are offering their admiration while choking on a piece of meat with the consistency of a wallet. Scott Cutaneo, who trained with the greats - Daniel Boulud, Alain Ducasse and Michel Guerard -; is the chef-proprietor of the four-diamond (AAA) Le Petit Chateau in tony Bernardsville, N.J. Here's his simple recipe for how to roast a turkey.

Step-by-step guide to roasting turkey:
1. Add onions, celery and carrots to bottom of roasting pan, and then sprinkle a few sprigs of thyme over the vegetables. (You could put a rack on the bottom of the turkey, but we like to use different vegetable and herbal aromatics as a base for the turkey. It also adds flavor to the broth that is made by adding water to produce a great sauce or jus.)

2. Place the turkey on top of the vegetables.

3. Truss the turkey by wrapping the string around the back, crisscrossing and wrapping it twice around the legs, and then tying it under the neck.

4. Tuck the wings under the body of the turkey. (Trussing and tucking in the wings keeps everything tight to the body of the bird, which produces a more evenly cooked bird.)

5. Brush the turkey with the oil and butter mix. (This enables the salt and pepper to adhere to the skin, and it also helps keep the turkey moist, tender and tasty.)

6. Sprinkle on salt and pepper.

7. Add two inches of water on the bottom to the roasting pan.

8. For a 12 to 14 pound turkey, place in a 375 degree, preheated oven for a total of approximately three hours.

9. After roasting the turkey for hour and a half, take the turkey out of the oven to see how the cooking process is going. To achieve a more golden brown, baste with some of the broth that has been pooling on the bottom from the stock of turkey and the vegetables. (It's important not to baste your turkey too much. You lose oven heat while you're basting, and it really doesn't add flavor to the meat — or make it more tender.) You just want to make sure the skin is golden brown.

10. Put the bird back into the oven.

11. After roasting at 375 degrees for another hour and a half, take it out of the oven and check the turkey's temperature. (Take the temperature at the back of the breast, and insert the thermometer all the way in, making sure it isnt touching a bone, until the temperature reading stabilizes.) The ultimate goal is 165 degrees, but we want to remove the turkey from the oven sooner than that — at around 155 degrees — because all poultry will continue to cook when it's removed from the oven. You don't want an overcooked bird!

12. Remove the roasted turkey from the oven and cover with aluminum foil so it doesnt lose its heat, and continues to cook.

13. Let your bird rest for around 45 minutes before serving and get ready to savor a perfectly cooked, tender, juicy, moist and delicious roasted turkey!

How to make quick & easy steak salad

Steak Salad Recipe - How to Make Flank Steak Salads

Nikki Shaw for the Kraft Kitchens shows how to make a quick & easy grilled steak salad. Grilled steak, yellow peppers, romaine lettuce, sliced tomatoes and crumbled cheese. Quick, easy and delicious!

Ingredients:
5 cups torn romaine lettuce
2 small plum tomatoes, sliced
1 yellow pepper, halved, grilled and cut into strips
1 lb. beef flank steak, grilled, sliced
1/2 cup KRAFT Natural 2% Milk Colby & Monterey Jack Cheese Crumbles
1/2 cup KRAFT Light Zesty Italian Dressing

Directions:
Prep Time: 25 min
Total Time: 25 min
Servings: 4 servings

1. Cover 4 salad plates with lettuce.
2. Top with tomatoes, peppers, meat and cheese.
3. Drizzle with dressing just before serving.

Tips
- How to Grill the Yellow Pepper: Cut pepper lengthwise in half. Brush lightly with small amount of the Italian dressing. Add to grill along with the steak. Grill 6 to 8 min. or until crisp-tender, turning occasionally. Cut into strips, then use as directed.
- How to Slice Steak for Tenderness: The key to tender delicious flank steak is in the slicing! Using a sharp knife, cut the cooked steak across the grain into thin strips.
- Serve with 2 toasted 1/2-inch-thick slices multi-grain baguette.

How to grill a perfect ribeye steak - Cook a ribeye steak

How to grill a perfect ribeye steak - Cook a ribeye steak

Many steak lovers prefer the buttery flavor of a well-marbled ribeye steak. Grilling the perfect ribeye is a snap after Elias Iglesias, executive chef of Morton's The Steakhouse shares his tips on how to cook ribeye steaks.