Special Saturday Picnic Lunch

A few days ago I had mentioned that my family has a tradition of going to McConnell's Mill State Park every fall.  Well, today was the day!  We had an official "Family Fun Day" with a trip to McConnell's Mill, a picnic lunch, running in the field, a snack at Brown's Country Kitchen, a trip to Baldinger's Candy Store and a great car ride with the windows down, enjoying the incredible autumn air.  The trees are turning gorgeous colors and the weather has chilled to a perfect playing outside temperature.  We had one of our best days EVER!

Our main entrée was pinwheel sandwiches.  We spread Laughing Cow Light Mozzarella Sun-Dried Tomato and Basil cheese on a tortilla.  We then layered Castle Wood Honey Ham or Castle Wood Turkey Pastrami on top.  Next we put a layer of spinach on top of the meat and rolled the tortilla like a jelly roll.  We sliced the roll into pieces and they were ready to eat.  We didn't think that Molly's 1 year old brother would be too keen with this entrée so we made him a good old pb&j cut into quarters.  He loved the pb&j but also enjoyed the pinwheels.  Guess we don't have to make something different for him next time.

The vegetables of the day were mini sweet peppers, cut into strips, and sugar snap peas.  The kids really love the crunch of these vegetables.  Molly and her sister actually ate more veggies than chips.  It was pretty incredible.

An easy fruit for a picnic is apples.  Whole apples are great but when a few family members don't have all of their teeth yet, we opted to peel and cut our Empire Apples.  We added a little bit of orange juice to keep them from browning.

Since it was a picnic, potato chips were definitely in order.  We purchased some baked potato crisps from Giant Eagle, our local grocery chain.  We opted for the Cheddar and Sour Cream flavor and man, were they good!  Its products like this that make healthy eating a little easier.

Our outrageously awesome dessert was a cupcake tasting provided by Babee Cakes Bakery!  (Click to see the incredible menu.)  April sent a box of goodies to us that included 3 different flavors.  Since cupcakes are temperamental during shipping, April sent these incredible treats in individual containers which made them into cupcake parfaits, almost like a shot glass dessert.  YUM!  We received the Pucker Up, a Lemon and Ginger cupcake, the Little Punkin, enough said, and the Snow White, a white chocolate wonder with a lightly minted and the most delicious frosting that we've ever eaten.  April my dear, you have quite a gift!

Throw in a few bottles of water and some Honest Kids Super Fruit Punch for the kids and we were set!

As I mentioned, after running around and working up an appetite again, we headed to Brown's Country Kitchen in Portersville.  They have such great food but its the pie that brings us back every time.  This place is like an old fashioned diner meets Grandma's kitchen.  Its a little off of the beaten path but the locals know it well and visit it often.

After we sufficiently stuffed ourselves, we headed to Baldinger's Candy Store.  This place has been around forever.  Well, the old place was around forever.  But, they've opened a newer store and it is still wonderful.  There is a distinct candy smell when you open the door.  Everything is laid out so nicely on old tables with signs that read, "Every item on this table is 10 Cents" or "Penny Candy".  Yes, they still have candy for a penny.  It is a rite of passage for just about every kid who has ever lived in the northern suburbs of Pittsburgh.

Our ride was so serene.  The leaves are all changing but they haven't really started to fall yet.  The trees were vibrant and full.  The colors are unmatched by any crayon I've ever seen.  Autumn is definitely my favorite season and this tradition makes it even better.