Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Tuesday on the Picnic Table

So about that title...


I can explain. Sort of. Last evening, we had a cookout at the river bottom to celebrate my soon-to-be-son-in-law's birthday (which was last week - but he had to work that night). After getting set up, we realized there were an awful lot of ants around our picnic site. No problem for those of us wearing shoes, but a little less pleasant for our four-legged girl who was barefoot. This is Nellie. She belongs to our daughter. We love her. The ants were really bothering her; she kept lifting her paws to try brush them off but it wasn't bringing her much relief. Nellie, being the athletic little girl she is, decided she had had enough, and jumped up on top of the picnic table. We couldn't really fault her, so we pulled back the tablecloth and let her sit. And she did. She was a good dog while we had our dinner and didn't even try to steal anybody's food; I think she was just relieved to be away from those ants! Dogs are not permitted to be off leash in the river bottom and if anybody is wondering, she is wearing a Gentle Leader head collar which was recommended by our dog obedience instructor. My daughter is pretty sensitive on this issue as someone in the dog park once commented that it must be a mean dog since it is wearing a muzzle. Nellie is definitely not mean.

Our picnic meal was smokies, baked potatoes, veggies and dip, and a pasta salad with iced tea and flavoured ice water to drink. Son-in-law-to-be does not care for mayonnaise or anything creamy and he really likes potatoes. I wanted to come up with a dish that he would enjoy (he passed on the pasta salad) but one that wouldn't have me heating up the house any more than it already was. I decided baked potatoes would be a good choice (and I made sure to bring lots of toppings!) but I dreaded turning on the oven so I got the idea to put them in the slow cooker. I checked out what the internet had to say and sure enough, lots of ideas on how to do it. I poked mine, brushed them with a bit of oil, sprinkled on seasoning salt, and wrapped them in foil. I put the slow cooker to high for 4 hours and they were absolutely perfect. I put an old beach towel in a basket and tucked the foil-wrapped potatoes in there for transporting to the picnic - they were still piping hot when we got there and the leftover one was still hot when we returned home at the end of the evening! I might never bake potatoes in the oven again. I baked ten potatoes, and there was still room for more in the cooker. 

So, not exactly a recipe, but still a story about picnic table gatherings and being with family (the best!). I'm linking up to Tuesday at the {picnic] Table here. Debbie has a yummy-sounding picnic-friendly cheesecake recipe on today's Tuesday at the {picnic} Table post - I think I should definitely test it out soon.

Happy Tuesday.

e.

3 comments:

  1. oh this is perfect - a fun table story & a cooking tip. I've never heard of doing 'baked' potatoes in the crockpot! awesome. Thanks much for staring AND for linking up to the {picnic} table!

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  2. Need to try my potatos that way. Never would have thought of doing them in a Crock Pot.

    What a good little dog. Those ants were giving her fits and she needed relief. Gotta love those pets.

    Linda & Chloe

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  3. Poor puppy! We use a Gentle Leader too and think it is awesome. I will definitely have to try potatoes that your way.

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