This post is in collaboration with CK Mondavi & Family. All opinions are my own.
I’ve been living without a kitchen for the past month and a half. Brad and I moved into our new home and immediately began our kitchen remodel. While I have a handful of small appliances such as my slow-cooker and air fryer for cooking options, easy no-cook meals have been essential to renovation survival.
One of the things I love about our new house is our backyard. It is large without being hard to maintain, flat, and has a few mature trees for tree swings and shade.
As we go through this remodel, our meals are generally quick things we can eat between projects, or stopping for a meal while we’re out running errands. Last weekend, we took some time to utilize the unseasonably nice weather, and our new backyard, for a picnic!
I know that jar salads have been a thing for years , but I had somewhat resisted the “put everything in mason jar” trend (yay Pinterest!). As I thought through what we should enjoy for this picnic, I decided that it was time to embrace the mason jar and use them for our meal.
- 1 Tablespoon Salad Dressing (such as this homemade Poppy seed dressing)
- 1 Pre-cooked sausage (chopped)
- 1 Tablespoon Feta Cheese
- 1 Hard Boiled Egg, chopped
- ½ Bell Pepper, chopped
- ½ cup Bean Sprouts
- ½ Avocado, chopped
- 1 cup Spinach
- Pour the dressing into a wide-mouth quart mason jar
- Add in the sausage, feta cheese, and hard boiled egg
- Shake to level off
- Add in the bell pepper, bean sprouts, and avocado
- Top with Spinach
- To enjoy, either empty onto a plate, or eat straight out of the jar (shaking to mix first)
The key to these salads is to put the salad dressing on the very bottom, and the vegetables that could get soggy at the very top. I’ve discovered that these are also super easy to throw in my backpack and take as lunch to work (especially for those days that are full of meetings and limited lunch time).
Our picnic wouldn’t be complete without a couple side items and beverages. I put some berries in a smaller mason jar for a bit of sweetness to the picnic, and added cheese curds into another jar for myself (because cheese is delicious).
The weather was awesome to take a little break outside, and our meal of jar salads was the perfect compliment to some delicious wine.
CK Mondavi & Family features three different white wines in their lineup. Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Pino Grigio. For our afternoon picnic, we enjoyed some Sauvignon Blanc because it is my favorite wine variety and ideal for an early summer picnic.
While I enjoy Sauvignon Blanc throughout the year, the crispness of the wine makes it optimal for summer. The CK Mondavi Sauvignon Blanc features citrus undertones (with hints of grapefruit), and aromas of lemon and kiwi. I loved pairing it throughout the meal. It went well with the salad, cheese, and even our fruit dessert.
To see other awesome recipes to pair along with CK Mondavi & Family Wines, make sure to follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and Vimeo. For more picnic inspiration, make sure to check out this infographic to learn more about finding the perfect pairing. Plus, enter for a chance to WIN A TRIP TO NAPA VALLEY to play bocce with the Mondavis. Click here: bit.ly/CKMondaviBocce
Natalie says
I would kill for a glass of Sauvignon Blanc right now! It sounds so refreshing! And those salads look delicious too! I’ve actually never had sausage in a salad. That might be what I try next!
Betsy Cohen says
I never get tired of salads in a jar and I love that you took the time to appreciate beautiful weather and had a picnic in your backyard! Good luck with the remodeling and enjoy sipping CK Mondavi wines both inside and out!