We are celebrating the month of August by sharing favorite summer picnic recipes. Did you sign up to bring something? If not, don’t be shy. It is never too late. Ann signed up for dessert and has her recipe and picture ready to go.
Please post your recipe in the comment section and email your picture to writeforus@imperfectwomen.com. We will post your picture in the comment section for you. If you do not have a picture, that is OK too. Just post your recipe. Don’t wait too long or Ann’s Oatmeal Blueberry Bars will get stale. 
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20 Responses to It’s Time For Our Virtual Picnic – Hope The Rain Stays Away!
The original recipe is called Oatmeal Berry Breakfast Bars and is available at Family Fun Magazine’s website. I substituted some whole wheat flour and cut down on the sugar. I also cut mine into 24 servings instead of the original 16.
Oatmeal Blueberry Bars
Crust and Topping:
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes
2 1/2 cups quick-cook oats
2 tablespoons apple or orange juice
Filling:
1/4 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
2 tablespoons flour
Pinch of salt
3 1/2 cups (18 ounces) fresh blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Directions:
Heat the oven to 375°. Grease a 9- by 13-inch pan.
Combine the flour. Add the flour, light brown sugar, and salt to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse once or twice to combine, then add the butter and pulse five or six more times until coarse crumbs form. Add the oats and pulse two or three more times.
Remove 1 1/2 cups of the mixture and set it aside. Add the juice to the remaining mixture and pulse three or four times until it’s just moistened. Press this mixture firmly and evenly into the bottom of the pan using your fingers or the bottom of a measuring cup.
For the filling, whisk together the sugar, flour, and salt in a medium-size bowl. Add the fruit and lemon juice and gently toss the mixture using a rubber spatula until the fruit is coated. Distribute the filling over the crust.
Sprinkle the reserved crumb mixture over the filling. Bake the dish until the top is golden, about 35 to 40 minutes. Let the pan cool on a wire rack for about 2 hours, and then cut the sheet into 24 bars. Store them in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
That picture just didn’t come out as well as I hoped. Too gray. They aren’t gray!
I found and tested this recipe several years ago when it appeared in an issue of Martha Stewart Living Magazine. I’ve added my own notes below in italics.
White Sangria
1 peach
1 nectarine
3 apricots
5 ounces peach brandy
1 bottle (750 mL) chilled Italian sparkling wine (Asti works and isn’t too costly. You can also use your favorite sweet white wine with a sparkling water or club soda.)
1 cup peach nectar
Superfine sugar (optional)
In a pitcher, combine peach, nectarine, and apricots, all pitted and cut into wedges. Stir in peach brandy; let sit at least 1 hour. (I let mine sit for several hours.) Stir in sparkling wine and peach nectar. Add superfine sugar, if desired. Serve chilled.
Great start ladies! I will post mine tomorrow.
I don’t really have a recipe for this and many of you probably have a similar way to make vegetables on the grill. I usually cook most of my vegetables this way. I also made asparagus this way the other night and it was so good.
Potatoes on the Grill
I take a sheet of foil and spray with Pam spray.
Slice the potatoes in layers on the foil.
Salt and pepper to taste.
I usually add another spice or two to flavor.
My family likes garlic so I will add that .
In one packet I usually slice onions with the potatoes.
In a separate packet I will place a different vegetable – unusually carrots or yellow, green or red pepper.
I then place several pats of margarine around the top and fold the foil into a packet.
I place this on the grill over medium heat for 45 minutes to an hour.
A big plus is that you throw the dish you cooked the potatoes in away when you are finished.
It is also very easy to take these vegetable foil packets to a picnic and just throw them on the grill.
Asparagus
Mmmmm! These are nice in a campfire too. I like olive oil for the fat. My kids prefer butter. I’ve never tried asparagus. Mmmmm!
Everything looks good. I love asparagus. Next time I grill, I will try it that way. Yum.
Well, I totally forgot to take a picture. At least until my dish was half-consumed. Sorry! But my contribution is grilled steaks with chimichurri sauce. You can grill whatever cut you like (our picnic area has a grill, right?), and then the recipe for the chimichurri (an Argentinian herb sauce) is as follows:
1 small bunch flat leaf-parsley
1/4 cup (packed) fresh cilantro
1/2 Cup Olive Oil
1/4 Cup Red Wine Vinegar
1/2 medium onion; chopped
4 cloves garlic
1 Tablespoon dried oregano
1 Teaspoon ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
Combine all ingredients in food processor; use as marinade before grilling or sauce after grilling meat (can be used on chicken as well as steak).
Fruit Pizza is easy and refreshing.
Bake a sugar cookie in a pizza pan. You can use a bag of mix to make your dough, or a tube of the slice and bake kind.
Just roll it out and bake it, it’s good thick.
Let it cool and then refrigerate for about an hour.
Cover the cooled cookie with a layer of Cool Whip or a higher grade whipped cream
Decorate with assorted fruits and refrigerate until serving.
Blueberries, mandarin oranges, and strawberries all taste good and are some of my favorite.
Enjoy!
As Joel Gosselin would say, “Oh my!” That looks soooo lovely, Lily. Please bring enough for seconds!
I made the grilled potatoes and grilled asparagus today since it was almost 100 degrees this afternoon and very humid. Yummy! And my daughter just decorated the fruit pizza with the same that we saw on your picture Lily. It is heavenly (and fun for her to make!) Thanks.
All these recipes sound DELISH, but that picture of the fruit pizza is just so pretty and colorful!
Things do look so good. I will need to try some of these recipes in the near future. Ann, how did your kids like the pizza?
Coleslaw with No Yucky Mayo!
1 BUNCH CILANTRO
2 CLOVES GARLIC
1 JALAPENO PEPPER, STEMMED AND SEEDED
JUICE OF TWO LIMES
2/3 CUP OLIVE OIL
¼ CUP RED WINE VINEGAR
1 TEASPOON SUGAR
1 TEASPOON SALT
½ TEASPOON GROUND CUMIN
1 TEASPOON GROUND BLACK PEPPER
1 PACKAGE COLESLAW MIX (RED, GREEN CABBAGE AND CARROTS)
BLEND ALL INGREDIENTS EXCEPT FOR COLESLAW IN A FOOD PROCESSOR. POUR OVER COLESLAW AND TOSS TO COAT. THIS IS BEST IF YOU LET IT MARINATE FOR AT LEAST 1/2 HOUR BEFORE SERVING.
This looks FABULOUS! Mayo is not exactly figure-friendly (though I like it) so this looks like a healthier alternative. Do you know what caught my eye? Lime juice and cilantro. Yum!
Ann, between you and me (and all IW readers LOL), I “borrowed” this recipe from Jennie.
I am not exactly a cook. You can usually find me doing “prep work” or the dishes afterwards!
The coleslaw is delicious, however. It’s one of my favorites.
Jennie and Anya, OMG that looks fabulous.
Pam,
My kids LOVED the fruit pizza. They’ve made it 4 times since the recipe was up!
Ann,
I wish I could take credit but I can’t. That was Lily’s recipe.
Anya…I made your Coleslaw and it got RAVE reviews from everyone at the picnic we went to on Saturday. My hubby loves it because it has no mayo. As I reminded him, “no yucky mayo”!
Thanks for the recipe. This one is a keeper for sure!