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These Easy Picnic Recipes and smart picnic food ideas will ensure your summer pienics are full of food, fun and laughter. Get the party started with my sure-fire tips for grilling the perfect burgers. And make up a big batch of homemade lemonade with the kids, using my easy recipe. Fried chicken is the perfect easy picnic food because you can make it in advance and serve it cold. Could there be an easier picnic recipe?And don't forget the picnic sides and salads. My easy picnic salad recipes include classics, like potato salad and cole slaw, plus new favorites. And no picnic would be complete without dessert. These easy picnic dessert recipes will have your guests going home happy -- guaranteed!

1. Take This Quiz to Learn How to Practice Picnic Food Safety

What temperature should chicken breasts be cooked to? How long is it safe to leave potato salad out? Discover the answers to these questions and more by taking my Picnic Food Safety Quiz.

2. Tips for Grilling Burgers

If you want to go with a classic entree for your picnic, there's nothing better than burgers. These tips will tell you everything from how to choose the best meat for the juiciest burgers to how to season burgers properly to how to know when a burger is cooked through.

3. How to Make Fried Chicken

I'm a big fan of make-ahead dishes. The only problem with some barbecues and summer picnic foods is that you have to make the main course at the last minute. With fried chicken, though, you can make it ahead of time and serve it cold. Or heat it up. The choice is yours. But you don't have to fuss at the last minute, so you have more time to be with your friends.

This step-by-step instructions show you how to make perfectly crispy, juicy buttermilk fried chicken.

4. Salad Recipes

Round out your picnic with these easy salad recipes. You'll discover vegetable salad recipes, fruit salad recipes, pasta salad recipes, potato salad recipes and more salads to fill out your perfect picnic.

5. How to Make Lemonade

There is nothing quite like the sweet-tart taste of lemonade on a hot summer day. With these step-by-step directions, you can make your own homemade lemonade in minutes.

6. Easy Summer Desserts

Complete your picnic with something sweet. Choose from 10 easy summer dessert recipes, including homemade strawberry ice cream, blueberry pie, ice cream sandwich cake and the best chocolate chip cookies.

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This Seven Layer Salad is the perfect addition to any party, potluck or holiday celebration. It looks attractive, tastes great, and best of all, you can make this layer salad in advance. Feel free to vary the ingredients, but be sure to use a tall glass bowl for this Seven Layer Salad Recipe.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

* 6 slices bacon
* 1 head iceberg lettuce, shredded or chopped
* 1 yellow onion, diced
* 3/4 cup diced celery
* 1 medium red pepper, seeded and diced
* 1 10 oz. package frozen peas, thawed
* 1-1/4 cups mayonnaise
* 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
* 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preparation

1. Fry bacon. Drain on paper towels, and set aside.

2. Place lettuce in a tall glass bowl.

3. Scatter onions over lettuce in an even layer.

4. Top with layers of celery, red pepper and frozen peas.

5. Whisk together mayonnaise and sugar. Spread evenly over peas, like icing.

6. Top with shredded cheese. Crumble bacon over cheese.

7. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes or up to 12 hours.

8. When ready to serve, toss salad.

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This Mexican Pasta Salad Recipe is perfect for picnics, barbecues and potlucks. Jicama adds crunch to this Mexican pasta salad, but if you can't find it at the supermarket, just leave it out. You can make this cold pasta salad in advance and just add the dressing right before serving.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 11 minutes
Total Time: 26 minutes
Yield: 6 Servings, Mexican Pasta Salad

Ingredients

* 8 oz. short pasta (macaroni, rotini, shells)
* 1 14.5 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
* 1 cup frozen corn
* 1 small red bell pepper, seeded and diced
* 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend (or cheddar cheese)
* 1 cup chopped jicama
* 1 cup packed chopped lettuce (optional)

Mexican Pasta Salad Dressing
* 1 cup mayonnaise
* 2 Tbsp. Tomato Salsa
* 1 Tbsp. mild chili powder

Preparation

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain.

2. Toss pasta with black beans, corn, chopped red pepper, cheese, jicama and lettuce. If making this pasta salad in advance, stop here, and refrigerate until just before serving.

3. Make dressing: Whisk together mayonnaise, salsa and chili powder. Toss dressing with pasta salad.

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The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie in my book are big, fat, chewy and loaded with chocolate chips. These jumbo chocolate chip cookies fit that description perfectly. Moist, chewy and really big, these chocolate chip cookies are what the best chocolate chip cookies are supposed to taste like.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

* 1 cup butter, at room temperature
* 3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. dark brown sugar
* 1/4 cup granulated sugar
* 2 large eggs
* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 tsp. rapid rise yeast or active dry yeast
* 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
* 2 cups dark or semisweet chocolate chips
* 1 cup chopped walnuts

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Cream butter and sugars together with an electric mixer.

3. Beat in eggs until the mixture is light and fluffy.

4. Lightly scoop flour with a spoon into a measuring cup (not a coffee cup or drinking cup). Then level with a knife. It is important to measure the flour correctly or this recipe won't turn out right.

5. Sprinkle the flour over the butter-sugar mixture, but do not mix it in yet. Sprinkle the yeast and salt over the flour.

6. Now mix in the dry ingredients, just until it becomes a soft dough. Do not overmix.

7. Stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts.

8. At this point, it's ideal if you chill the dough 24-36 hours. But if you're impatient (and who isn't when it comes to making cookies), you can bake these right away.

9. Line a heavy cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Alternatively, just use a heavy, insulated, ungreased cookie sheet.

10. Use an ice cream scoop or a 3/4-cup measuring cup to portion dough onto the cookie sheet. Leave about an inch room between the cookies. You will have room for 4-6 cookies on one sheet. Do not use two cookie sheets! Bake in batches on the center rack, or the cookies won't turn out right.

11. Place cookie sheet on the center rack of the oven. Bake 10 minutes. Without removing the cookies, turn oven temperature down to 350 degrees. Bake another 8-12 minutes, until the cookies are browned around the edges, but not in the center.

12. Important: Cool on the cookie sheet for at least 10 minutes before serving. The cookies are still "baking" (absorbing residual heat) at this point, so if you remove them too soon, they may not be cooked through.

13. Remove cookies to a rack and repeat with remaining cookie dough.

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I like to make these Lemon Bars for bake sales, potlucks, picnics and spring and summer celebrations. There is just something about the sweet-tart taste of lemon that really tickles the taste buds.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 60 minutes

Ingredients

* 1 cup butter, softened to room temperature
* 1/2 cup powdered sugar
* 2 cups all-purpose flour

For the Filling

* 5 large eggs
* 1-3/4 cups granulated sugar
* 3/4 cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice
* zest of 2 lemons
* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/3 cup powdered sugar

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish.

2. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar together. Add flour to mixture just until it comes together as a dough. Turn out onto a floured board and knead a few times. Press into bottom and slightly up the sides of the prepared pan.

3. Bake 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Let crust cool on a wire rack.

4. For the filling, beat eggs, sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest together. Whisk in flour until smooth. Pour into crust. Bake 30 minutes or until filling is set.

5. Let lemon bars cool to room temperature. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Makes 36 lemon bars.

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This Mustard Potato Salad is a favorite among kids and adults alike. I like Yukon gold potatoes for this mustard potato salad recipe, but russet potatoes work fine, too.

Serve this mustard potato salad at your next picnic, potluck or cookout with Bacon Cheeseburgers or Fried Chicken.

Ingredients:

* 2-3 lbs. Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced
* 1 cup mayonnaise
* 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
* 2 Tbsp. sweet pickle relish
* 1 tsp. kosher salt
* 1/2 tsp. freshly-ground black pepper
* 5-6 dashes hot sauce, to taste
* 1/2 cup chopped celery

Preparation:

1. Place potatoes in a heavy saucepan. Cover with water by one inch.

2. Bring to a boil. Cook until potatoes are fork-tender. Drain. You'll want the potatoes to cool quite a bit before making the mustard potato salad.

3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, mustard, relish, salt, pepper and hot sauce. This is your dressing for the mustard potato salad.

4. Fold in celery and potatoes.

5. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

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Grilling Perfect Burgers is easy if you follow these simple tips:

* Use beef with the right amount of fat. I recommend 80% to 85% lean ground beef. The fat is what makes your burgers juicy.

* I also recommend grass-fed beef, if you can find it (Whole Foods carries it; you can also find it at farmer's markets). Grass-fed beef not only tastes better, it's also leaner and has a better nutritional profile.

* If your ground beef is frozen, thaw completely in the refrigerator before using. Do not try to cook beef from a frozen state.

* To see if your burgers are done, check using an instant-read thermometer. Insert it in the side of the burger through to the middle. Burgers should be cooked to 160 degrees F.

* Color is not an indicator of whether or not your burgers are cooked thoroughly. Burgers that are brown inside may not be cooked to 160 degrees F, and burgers that are cooked through may still be pink inside.

* Handle the beef as little as possible while shaping the burgers. Overhandling results in toughness.

* Form patties that about 3/4-inch thick. Press your thumb in the middle of each patty to prevent it from bulging during cooking.

* Refrigerate your burgers while preparing the grill. Preheat the grill long enough to get it nice and hot, about 15 minutes should do it.

* Season the burgers with salt and pepper on the outside, just before grilling. I recommend Maldon Sea Salt. Its large crystals really bring out the flavor of the burgers. And by seasoning the outside of the burgers, the salt, which enhances the beef's flavor, will hit your mouth first.

* Place the burgers on the grill, and leave them there. Do not press down on the burgers during cooking.

* Flip once, after 3-6 minutes.

* Let your burgers rest at least 5 minutes before serving.

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Great Fried Chicken is juicy on the inside and crispy on the outside. The long soak in buttermilk makes this fried chicken perfectly tender on the inside. Letting the chicken rest before frying it gives it that nice crispy crust.

Don't worry about the large amount of hot sauce in this Buttermilk Fried Chicken Recipe. The chicken won't be too spicy. The flavor of this fried chicken is more well-seasoned than spicy.

Click here for step by step pictures of How to Make Fried Chicken.

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Refrigeration time: 8 hours
Total Time: 8 hours, 50 minutes

Ingredients

* 1 3 lb.-chicken, cut up or 3 lbs. chicken parts
* 1 quart buttermilk
* 1 Tbsp. kosher salt
* 1/4 cup hot sauce
* 2-1/2 cups self-rising flour
* peanut oil, grapeseed oil or canola oil for frying

Preparation

1. Place chicken in a large non-reactive container. Whisk together buttermilk, salt and hot sauce. Pour over chicken.

2. Cover the chicken and refrigerate 8-24 hours.

3. Place a wire rack over a baking sheet. Dip chicken pieces in flour and set on baking rack. Let the chicken rest 15-20 minutes. This will help the coating adhere to the chicken when it's fried.

4. Heat oil to a temperature of 350 degrees in a large cast iron skillet or electric skillet. An electric skillet works well for this fried chicken recipe, because it maintains the temperature of the oil.

5. Fry the chicken 9-11 minutes on each side, until crispy and cooked through.

6. Drain fried chicken on paper towels.

Serve buttermilk fried chicken warm or cold.

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