It’s a beautiful spring day here in Georgia, and wonderful weather for a picnic! With this in mind, I’ve gotten together a perfect picnic for pennies on the dollar. Not only is this a cheap menu, but it is both a simple and unique twist on classic picnic foods. We’ve got a main dish, side and dessert, all very easy to throw together and equally easy on your pockets!

A healthier version of corn dogs…

Quick & Crunchy Hot Dogs

1/2 cup ketchup

1/4 cup prepared yellow mustard

1 cup cornflake crumbs (Total cereal may work, and it has a coupon)

1 (16 ounce) package all-beef Ball Park hot dogs

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with a sheet of aluminum foil.

2.Stir together ketchup and mustard on a plate until mixed. Place cornflake crumbs in a shallow bowl. Roll each hot dog in the ketchup mixture, then roll in cornflake crumbs to coat. Place on prepared baking sheet.

3.Bake in preheated oven until the hot dogs are hot on the inside, and crispy on the outside, about 15 to 20 minutes.

An unusual side dish…

Awesome Brown Rice Salad

2 cups water

1 cup Hinode brown rice

1/4 cup diced red onion

1/2 cup diced celery

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing

1 tablespoon sugar

1.In a saucepan, bring water to a boil. Stir in rice, cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 45 to 60 minutes, or until done (or use instant brown rice for quicker results).

2.Transfer rice to a serving bowl, and stir in onion, celery, cranberries, salad dressing and sugar. Cover, refrigerate, and serve cold.

And for dessert…

S’mores!

There is a rare coupon covering the three basic s’more ingredients- marshmallow, chocolate and graham crackers.

You can make them over a fire in the usual way. If it a backyard picnic, though, you can also put them together (without the top graham cracker) on a baking sheet and broil them until they are lightly browned and all puffed up, then just slap the top graham cracker on when you pull them out of the oven. Either way is a delectably gooey sweet treat to top off a nice spring picnic! 🙂

For your savings, go to this site: http://www.coupons.com/coupons/Food-Coupons-107/?pid=14505&nid=10&zid=py13
Print the following coupons: Big G Cereals, Ball Park Hot Dogs, S’mores, Hinode Rice

Love these savings!! 🙂

Our family loves spending time outdoors, especially this time of year when the weather is absolutely perfect for it! Eating outdoors is just one of many fun & frugal things to do in the springtime. There are so many things to enjoy outside for free or nearly free when it’s gorgeous out! What are your favorite picnic foods? Do you prefer to picnic at the park, in the woods, in a field, in your own yard, at a playground…what’s your preference?