Picnic in a Box

A box, or a container, or a mason jar; anything with a lid or cover. If you’re going to eat outside and you don’t want flies or mosquitoes buzzing around your food, keep it covered. It’s been so hot and humid here in El Paso after our storms last week that we just wanted to sit outside for a nice and cool weekend meal. But, it was still too hot to BBQ. What to do? I decided to cook a small pork roast I had in the fridge in the crock-pot overnight. After checking to see what would go with it, I saw I sill had some of the red chile BBQ sauce I had made for the brisket last weekend. Hm? Shredded BBQ Pork, some cold Pineapple Coleslaw and Borracho Baked Beans with a little Pico de Gallo. Ok, that was settled. Dessert. I had bananas I was saving for some Buttermilk Banana Bread I was planning to make during the week. When I saw there was more than enough for the bread I decided on our picnic dessert…Banana Pudding. So there you go, our picnic in a box, El Paso style.

BBQ Pork
1 (3-pound) Pork Rib Eye Roast
1 cup of water
2 tablespoons BBQ seasoning

Combine in slow cooker and cook on low for 12 hours. Allow to cool and shred, using two forks. Combine shredded pork, 1-cup red chile BBQ sauce, and ½ cup beef broth in a large pot. Stir to combine. Heat thoroughly.

Borracho Baked Beans
1 large can of BBQ Baked beans
1 12-ounce can beer

Combine beans and beer in sauce pan and heat over low heat. Simmer over low for 15 minutes.

Pineapple Cole Slaw
1 package pre-shredded cabbage and carrots
1 (8 ounce) can of crushed pineapple
½ cup mayonnaise
1-teaspoon cider vinegar
1-tablespoon sugar

Combine cole slaw mix and pineapple in a bowl. In a smaller bowl combine mayo, vinegar and sugar. Whisk to combine. Stir into slaw mix. Cover and chill.

Now put your picnic box together. Layer beans, pico de gallo, cole slaw, and pork in your container. Provide covers for the containers to keep the pests away and off your food.























Make your Banana Pudding. Everyone has a favorite recipe for this delicious dessert. I’m no different. The only thing I do a little differently is I add 1 tablespoon of vanilla vodka to the pudding along with the sweetened condensed milk. I also add a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the cool whip before folding it into the pudding. Layer in your container and refrigerate until ready to serve. Ah, summer nights can be so cool when hot.