Fun Food Hacks for Easier Entertaining
June’s warm days are the perfect invitation to spend more quality time with family and friends in the great outdoors, with patios and picnics offering an ideal way to combine good food with fresh air and sunshine. These gatherings create lasting memories but sometimes involve complicated logistics that detract from the fun. The next time you plan a patio party or picnic, try these fun food hacks that will help streamline preparation, cooking, and outdoor eating, allowing you to focus on enjoying company rather than struggling with meal management in an outdoor setting.
Our Grilled BBQ-Honey Drumsticks are not a food hack, per se, but chicken drumsticks are the ideal picnic grilling choice, combining budget-friendly value with their naturally convenient built-in handles and forgiving preparation that allows even novice grillers to achieve juicy, smoky perfection every time. The sauce for these drumsticks elevates these humble cuts into finger-licking showstoppers that will have everyone reaching for seconds. Make sure to have the sauce prepared ahead of time before heading out the door.
For a starter, serve these smart Individual Salad Cups with Rhubarb Vinaigrette from The View from Great Island. Salad bites and vinaigrette served in plastic cups make mingling easier, especially at an outdoor gathering with limited or unnecessary seating. The ingredients and assemblage make it so that no forks are needed.
Corn on the cob is one of the most popular, affordable summer vegetables. If you have corn on the cob on the menu, you’ll appreciate How to Shuck Corn in the Microwave from The Kitchn. This food prep method is magic for removing the silks from the cob and requires very little work. Seeing is believing - watch the video.
Versatile aluminum foil emerges as the unsung hero of outdoor cooking, creating perfect grill packets for everything from tender vegetables to succulent fish while minimizing cleanup and maximizing flavor. For an incredibly easy grilling hack, read Southern Kitchen’s How to achieve perfectly cooked and portioned meals every time using just aluminum foil. It doesn’t get any easier than throwing away the cooking vessel once the food is ready. Try some of these grilled recipes from Reynolds®.
No food gathering under the sky is complete without a classic potato salad, the ultimate picnic side that bridges generations with its comforting, creamy perfection. The next time you plan a menu with potato salad, keep this Amazing Potato Peeling Trick! in mind from Foody Tube. It simplifies the peeling process and reduces the prep time by quite a bit. Make Mom’s Best Potato Salad Recipe from Favorite Family Recipes. It’s a simple, affordable, perfectly flavored potato salad.
How you assemble a sandwich matters when it comes to keeping it intact. Layer heavier ingredients like sliced cheese and meat first, then add medium-weight ingredients, followed by lettuce and lighter garnishes. For more sandwich hacks, Here Are The Only 11 Sandwich Hacks You’ll Ever Need, from One Good Thing.
You’ll appreciate this How To Make Semi-Homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches Hack from Sandy Toes & Popsicles. All you need to make these scrumptious sandwiches is large cookies, a pint of ice cream, and toppings like sprinkles, chocolate chips, or even cereal like Best Choice Fruity Crisp Rice. If you want something simpler to prepare, assemble Watermelon Slice Popsicles from watermelon.org. The presentation alone makes watermelon more fun to eat!
Need some food hacks for storing food? Check out these Protection Pointers from Glad®. These helpful food storage ideas will help minimize food waste.
By simplifying the meal preparation and cleanup process with these hacks, you can make the most of pleasant weather while creating delicious memories that will last long after the season ends.
