A Little Bit About a Lot of Things

Spring is finally here!! I have already committed to storing away my winter clothes, so no doubt it will snow in May! So it means dining on patios, open toed shoes, maxi dresses and my favorite, picnics! Not a fan of the outdoors? You could easily do this on a porch (skip the bugs) or throw a blanket down on the floor and transform your living room into the perfect little picnic spot for date night in. Leah and I teamed up with Willow Tree Farm to create some fun ideas to add to your basket, using their delicious chicken salad that comes in flavors like: buffalo chicken salad, premium white meat chicken salad, cranberry walnut chicken salad, sriracha chicken salad and avocado chicken salad.

So if you are going completely gluten free, this recipe is for you. I love lettuce wraps, yes, even the ones at PF Changs. Leah and I thought that we would do a fun take on lettuce wraps (not just a scoop of chicken salad in a lettuce cup) and added in Fox Point Pickling Company’s dill carrots for that extra little zing and that big crunch. Just grab a small head of iceberg lettuce and start peeling off those layers – added bonus, there’s little cleanup to do here!

What’s all over Pinterest? Ball jar meals. So Leah and I took the buffalo chicken salad (that has a nice little kick to it) and added in some layers of black beans, chopped onions, shredded lettuce, cherry tomatoes, and micro greens. Eat straight from the jar or bring along a bowl to pour it into. Tie up a small baguette in wax paper to complete this meal. We made our own lemonade for the daytime version of this meal:

1 3/4 cup of white sugar

8 cups of water

1 1/2 cups of lemon juice

Directions:

Combine 1 cup of water with the white sugar in a saucepan. Bring up to a boil and stir to dissolve the sugar. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Plate in refrigerator until chilled.

Squeeze lemons to make 1 1/2 cups of juice. In a large container, mix together lemon juice, chilled simple syrup and 7 cups of water.

For the evening version of this meal (or even the afternoon 😉 ) pair with a single serve rosé (bonus if you can find one with a straw!).

Everyone loves Mexican, why not try this: corn salsa from Trader Joe’s, black beans, jack cheese, buffalo chicken salad and an olive tapenade to top it off. Serve with a side of your favorite corn chips. So easy to travel with you could even bring it to work for lunch with you during the week!

How much avocado toast can you have? Why not try the new avocado chicken salad from Willow Tree, it is made with avocado mayonnaise and is sweetened up with cranberries. The salad itself is gluten free, even though we served it up on this crusty baguette. We simply paired this chicken salad with some micro greens and pickled carrots. We garnished with some pickles we picked up on the North Fork from Sep’s Farm and a cute fruit salad.

What’s your go to meal for a picnic? And share with me some of your favorite spots!

Disclaimer: I was provided samples of Willow Tree chicken salad for this post. All opinions are my own.

Tags: DIY, gluten free, picnic, recipes