Goin' on a Picnic

We're headed to San Diego tomorrow for zoo, museums, and picnicking in Balboa Park. San Diego is definitely our family's visit spot, even though we can't afford to live there. Fortunately it's close enough for day trips as well as weekend excursions and vacations.

Anyhow, here's the planned menu for our picnic:
Fox Got the Chicken Salad Sandwiches
Devil Kat Eggs
Romancing the Baked Potato Salad
Fairy Kissed Tapioca Pudding Cakes
Grape Crush and Orange Creme Sodas

Fox Got the Chicken Salad Sandwiches
2 large chicken breasts
salt and pepper
1/4 cup dried minced onion
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
1 cup almonds, chopped or sliced
1 cup craisins
1-2 cups mayonnaise
8 slices good potato or multigrain bread

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Season chicken breasts liberally with salt and pepper. In hot cast iron pan or grill pan, cook chicken breasts for 5 minutes each side on stove, then transfer to oven and bake for 25-30 minutes. Turn off oven and let chicken rest in oven for 30 minutes. Remove chicken and let cool to handle. Chop chicken up into smaller than bite size pieces and place in bowl. Add minced onion, red pepper flakes, almonds, and craisins. Add mayonnaise until mixture is wet enough to bind in sandwich, but not ooze out. Spread salad on bread to make 4 sandwiches. Garnish with lettuce, tomato, cheese if desired.

Devil Kat Eggs
1 dozen hard boiled eggs, peeled
salt and pepper
1/4 cup dried minced onion
1 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon worchestershire sauce
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
1 cup (approx) of your favorite mustard

Cut eggs in half lengthwise. Remove yolks into bowl. Mash yolks with fork or pastry cutter and mix in onion, paprika, worchestershire sauce, and red pepper flakes. Add mustard in by 1/4 cup increments until mixture binds. Add salt and pepper to taste if needed. Put yolk mixture into plastic baggie and cut one corner. Pipe yolk mixture into yolk space in egg whites, adding enough to completely fill space. Serve open faced or 'sandwich' egg halves together for suitcase style eggs.

Romancing the Baked Potato Salad
4 baking potatoes (fairly large russets)
oil
salt
1 pint sour cream
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup bacon bits
1/4 cup chives or 1/2 cup scallions
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash and dry potatoes. Pierce skins with fork. Brush oil on potatoes and season with salt. Bake in upper third of oven for about an hour, or until potato is cooked through. Let potatoes cool completely.

Cut cooled potatoes into 1/2 to 1 inch cubes. Stir in all other ingredients. Keep chilled.

Fairy Kissed Tapioca Pudding Cakes
1 pint pearl tapioca, cooked and sweetened
2 bananas, sliced 1/4 inch on an angle
4 shortcake 'cups' (usually found near strawberries in produce aisle)
whipped cream

Fill each shortcake cup with tapioca pudding. Top with banana slices and whipped cream.