Recipe Box: Packed to go

Many years ago, drive-thrus and fast food restaurants didn’t exist. When an individual or a family traveled across the country or just out for a Sunday drive, they packed a picnic basket. You couldn’t pull through the local McDonald's for a burger and fries for the road. If you wanted to ensure a drink or a sandwich, packing was the answer. 

Lunch meat sandwiches, peanut butter and jelly, fresh fruit, hard-boiled eggs, and pie slices made the perfect meal for the road. It took work and planning to prepare for a family to travel. You might be able to pick up items to expand your meals on the road along the way. 

Famously, Loretta and Doolittle Lynn stopped in general stores for a pound of bologna on their journey to visit radio stations while promoting Loretta’s music. Uninformed, Loretta shared publicly why she and Doo continued to eat bologna along the way. 

When we have a busy few days making hay, we order a pizza. It’s quick and it gets everyone fed. However, when my grandma had a load of farm hands to feed, she rolled out potpie squares from scratch. Cooking a whole chicken to debone, she boiled the potpie in the broth, adding the meat to make the dish. On the side, green beans from her garden and peeled potatoes were mashed in her mixer. She wouldn’t have dreamed of a store bought dinner or pizza delivery. 

Most meals families used to prepare were only from products they raised themselves. Eggs, meat, vegetables, fruits, honey, and so much more. Going to the store was only for a very few items. My family loves to garden and can, however, with all the other things vying for our time in a very busy season of raising tween daughters, we cannot always keep up. We try our best to keep tomatoes canned for chili soup, cabbage casserole, and meatloaf, along with fresh onions for Pico. When we are in the grocery store, my daughters have noticed that it costs us a lot more money and time to raise our own products to eat than it does to purchase them. However, they both agree that growing at home is worth the extra effort. 

Out of connivence to move fast and be more productive, our society has continued to improvise healthy foods for faster. When tired and busy, it’s not always appetizing to prepare food from scratch. Cook when you can, take advantage of conveniences now and then that make life easier, and just do the best you can each day, being thankful for what you have. 

Picnic Charcuterie Board 

INGREDIENTS

Cheese:  Pick 3-4 of your favorite cheese. Manchego, Creamy Tuscano soaked in Shiraz, blueberry goat cheese, and Kerrygold Dubliner Irish white cheddar is the cheese I used.

Meat: Choose 2-3 different types of cured meats. I went with a variety pack that included 2 different types of salami and prosciutto.

Fruits and Veggies: pick your favorite summer fruits like berries. I included sugar snap peas for something savory and flavorful. Mini peppers would be great to use too!

Carbs:  I just went with a simple baguette this time. You could also include your favorite crackers or any other type of bread.

Nuts, Spreads, Fill-ins: I added some olives and dried apricots, and then packed an extra container with some more bread, Meyer Lemon cookie thins, and some fig spread. 

INSTRUCTIONS

I used little meal prep to-go containers. Use any glass or plastic rectangle container you have. Anything will work just fine!

Start with your cheese. Starting with the largest things first is helpful. place 3-4 different cheeses in each corner of the container. Slicing and arranging however you want.

Add the meats. Pile a little thing of prosciutto and has the salami in little rolls or folds next to some of the cheeses. 2-3 different types of meat are what I did for this.

Add your bread. I sliced a couple of slices of baguette and tucked them up into some cheese and meat.

Add fruit and veggies. You will start seeing holes that need to be filled in by now. Place your fruit and veggies in any empty spots.

Fill-ins. Lastly, look where there are holes or empty areas. Use your fill-in ingredients, like olives and dried apricots, to fill in those areas. Or add more of your favorite items to them. Keep working and stuffing until the container is full.

The biggest tip for this is that I started on the edges and worked my way towards the middle. There is no right or wrong way to do this BTW. Have fun with it! Get creative!