BBQ and Picnic side dishes

[MauEvig]

I know that different barbecue dishes have been brought up, but what really livens up a picnic are all the delicious sides. I love a good Mac Salad and Baked beans, and there are different ways to make it. I'm a little picky about Potato salad, but I've come to really like Wal-mart's Amish Tater salad.

But I feel like I might be a little nuts because the way my family in particular makes Mac Salad is a little different I'm finding than a lot of other people. I chalked it up to being a regional thing, but a friend from up North told me his mom makes it the same way they do down South.

Down South, I noticed they make it with tomatoes, green peppers, cucumbers and Mayonnaise and of course the elbow noodles. When I told someone else how we make it, they said "That's not Macaroni Salad!" But that's what I grew up on.

We make it with celery, hard boiled eggs, paprika, tuna fish and optional onions (I prefer to leave the onions out since I think it ruins the flavor of the salad lol) and Miracle Whip (Or Salad Dressing). My Grandma also makes hers with condensed milk. Of course, we also use the elbow noodles. I think the noodles are the only things the two recipes have in common! The only thing is I think sometimes my family's version is made with Mayonnaise, but we've always kind of preferred with with Miracle Whip. Or of course my Grandma's way with the Condensed Milk. Either way, that's what I love to have when I visit family up North. But I am going to try my hand at making it myself once of these days.

Now I really feel like I stick out like a sore thumb! lol But in all honesty I think I do miss "Northern" cooking sometimes. And no BBQ seems to be complete without Grandma Brown's beans. They don't seem to have those down South either.

But I did discover a Southern favorite that I really like on Steak. Country Bob's. That stuff is good. I used to be an A1 kind of person, but after I discovered Country Bob's, I could not go back to the A1! lol

So what are your favorite BBQ and Picnic sides for Summer?

[Murfreesboro]

I'm kind of in a rush this morning and don't have time to post recipes, but my husband is really good with baked beans. I like potato salad better than macaroni salad. I also like slaw and have a good recipe for that somewhere, need to look it up.

Last summer I found a recipe for grilling corn I liked--I pulled all the silk out of the ears, but left the husks, and soaked them in water for maybe 30 minutes or more. Then I grilled them with the husks on, not long--maybe 15 minutes? They were really good. Nothing says summer to me more than corn on the cob, a plate of sliced tomatoes, and maybe watermelon for dessert.

[MauEvig]

If you have a good recipe to share Murf I'd like to see it! I couldn't tell you exactly how my family's mac salad is made, because figuring out how much miracle whip to use depends on the batch, so we typically play it by ear and just throw in the ingredients.

Oh I love corn on the cob. Good stuff! I love putting it on the grill and wrap it in foil. I know they say to grill it with the husk still on, but I like to check and make sure it isn't rotten first. Those sides all sound pretty good though! I can't wait for summer picnics!