Recipe Advice for Outdoor Baby Shower???

Chips and salsa! Nuts (Cashews, walnuts, peanuts, almonds, pecans). Cut up (raw) sweet potatoes (like french fry shape), carrots(for a twist flavor them like coconut- my mom had a recipe and did this), celery (w/peanut or cashew butter).

Most importantly, have lots of fun and enjoy each other!!

Blessings!
M.
Mom to 5 Wonderful Kids
www.4MyChildrenSake.com

Sounds like it's going to be lots of fun! I think I might have some ideas for you. How about chopped bbq burgers? I went to a party a couple weeks ago where the people who got there first got really hot bbq and the ones who were a bit late got it a bit cold, but it was just as good. So that's something that might work.
Here are some other ideas off the top of my head; nachos or tacos (fix your own), frito pie (might get a bit messy), pizza, fried chicken, sushi (made with tuna or chicken, not raw fish), egg rolls.
And if something has to stay cold, maybe you could just get a cookie sheet, fill it with ice and put the platters/trays on there. It will look okay too.
Good luck!

ps. if you want more help I have a small event planning biz, I can get more ideas for you.

Room temperature--how cool/warm is that? I ask because room temperature in my house tends to be pretty cool--even in summer--and we can leave food out for a while.

I like to have a potato bar--the Yukon Gold potatoes (a little sweet), with baked potato fixin's. Maybe sour cream would not work for you; it does in my house. (I especially like this one for when we're serving alcohol. You guys might not have that issue here.)

Blueberry soup is a good cold soup.

Smoked chicken wings. Smoked deli meat (with the cheese and crackers).

This salad is so very good will need to be made to day before,best served cold but will not hurt for it to sit out for awhile.

Picnic Pasta Salad
4-6 cups of cooked and diced chicken breasts
1 lb vermicelli or angle hair pasta
cooked and drained
2 cups chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
6-8 green onions chopped
3 hard boiled eggs sliced
1 qt. (2 lg. bottles) ranch dressing pick the one you
like
toasted sliced almonds (I have used the ones that go on top of salads)

I know the amount of dressing sounds like it is to much and gross but it is soaked into pasta, when it sits overnight. This salad is so good that I have used it for meals several times.

Celery with peanut butter and raisins on top (ants on a log) or you can replace the raisins with craisins (fire ants on a log). You could keep that out all day without a problem.

Someone mentioned Texas Caviar--yes, that will definitely stay good all day without spoiling. If you serve it with Fritos Scoops or Tostitos Scoops it will be easier to eat than with regular tortilla chips.

Also, if you've ever had those sausage balls that seem to be popular in South Texas, they should be fine at room temp for the duration of your party. (Mix 2 c Bisquick, 1 lb spicy bulk sausage, and 10 oz cheese, roll into balls and bake at 350 for 20 minutes). Whenever I've had them, they've been served at room temperature, but you can serve them hot or cold too. At the end of the day, if there are any left, they can go in the fridge.

Small bite-size sandwiches should do okay. Just keep in a cooler until right before the shower. Also, at a recent shower I attended they set up a cravings tray. It was mainly various foods she craved; like skittles, funyuns, maraschino cherries, corn pops, etc. They left out the prime rib thank goodness.

I suggest a chicken/pasta salad. Use the rigatoni pasta that comes in a variety of colors in one package. Add olives (black or green), onion, grilled chicken or turkey cubed and broccoli. It prepares a lot and you can refrigerate it the night before and serve it cold. I'd suggest a bowl or even the aluminum pans that have a plastic lid. You can keep it cold by resting it in a cooler or sit the bowl on top of ice and it will keep for a long time. You can have a variety of dressings that people can use, but my preference is Zesty Italian. If you purchase it and open it on the spot, it will keep too. People can add as little or as much as they like for their personal taste. The crackers you're already planning will compliment that.

Have a great time.

Hi B.,

Here are some that I have used

White Brownie squares-Decorated with a baby pacifier from Michael's Arts & Crafts they come in Girls or Boys color and they are small make great toppers. We used royal icing a little dab to hold the the pacifier in place.

Sausage balls are great-serve at any temp. and always taste good. Sam's carries a really good Italian meat ball. If you didn't want to cook, they are already cooked you just warm them up and go.

Pinwheels-Now days you can get sun dried tomato, spinach, garlic, jalepeno tortias, fill with a ham and cheese with mayo, little pepper and some spinach salad, roll and slice. The tortias come in a variety of colors as well as flavors. Makes a great finger food but is pretty on table too!

I hope that helped. Good Luck :)

hi there.i was thinking maybe do some sliced sandwichs finger size ones and chips.pizza.go to kfc get there bucket of chicken that can stay out for a bit.hotdogs.meatballs.wish u the best.

I saw one other recipe for a pasta salad so I decided to share one too:
*1 bottle of Briannas Poppy seed dressing (very important its this kind, I havent found another like it but it is delicious! can be found in walmart or other grocery stores)http://www.briannassaladdressing.com/Products.htm
*4 Grilled Chicken Breasts seasoned with Cavenders (a greek seasoning)
*2 bundles of fresh broccoli florets cut into bite size pieces
*approx 15 baby carrots cut into disks
*3-4 green onions
*1 box Tri-color rotini

*Boil pasta according to directions on box; Grill chicken and cube to bite size pieces.
*Cut veggies and place in a large bowl.
*Combine all with poppy seed dressing and refrigerate for a few hours til cold.

It is very yummy; in fact, I am going to be making some today to eat on all weekend! Hope you try it out.

You can serve beignets. Take a can of small biscuits, cut them in half, and fry them in oil until they are golden brown.

Serve these with powdered sugar on the side.

These are soooo easy to make. They are not the healthiest item but every time I have them they are the first thing to be gone.

You could make a salmon dip. This is also a an item that is quick to go. To serve for outside, I would serve it on a platter and you could place it on a shallow bowl filled with ice.

Salmon - Equal parts smoked salmon & cream cheese. Then add green onion, lemon
juice, and dill to taste. Be especially careful of the green onion...too
much can overpower the salmon. I like to sprinkle dill on the top of the
finished spread. You can also top with a slice of lemon if you want.
You can also buy fresh salmon and cook yourself. Since this is for a baby shower, I would cook it. It is better for the mom to be.

My last idea and I serve this one all summer long. It is sooo healthy and it can stay out forever. It is called TX Caviar and it is such a pretty dip for spring and summer.

Can of corn drained
Can of black eyed peas drained
Can of black beans drained
Can of rotel drained
cilantro
lime juice (for taste)
italian dressing (for taste)
avocado

Put all these ingredients in a bowl. I would chill initially but it can stay out after that for serving.

Serve it with scoops or you could roll it in tortillas. I have never tried but it might be good on water crackers.

Please feel free to email me. We have people over all the time; i.e. pregnant, not pregnant, kids, etc.