25 Party-friendly Memorial Day recipes

It's almost here -- the unofficial kick-off to summer and grilling season -- Memorial Day weekend!  I've been watching the weather forecast like a hawk for the past two weeks (yes, before Memorial Day predictions were even available, erp) in anticipation.  It seems like Pittsburgh has been dancing with summer for weeks already, which is fine by me.  Dust off the patio furniture and fire up the grills, kids, because it's party time!

I've picked a few of my very favorite picnic recipes to make your holiday weekend even merrier; almost all can be made ahead or on the grill so you can get maximum time to party with friends and family.


Appetizers
Bacon-wrapped potato wedges
Chicken dip
Mini corn dog bites (my #1 pick... your guests will gush over these!) 
Broccoli and cheddar quinoa cups (vegetarian!)


Burgers and more:
Rosemary chicken burgers (my fav!)
Stuffed turkey burgers
Greek lamb burgers
Portobello beef burgers (omit the beef for a vegetarian entree)
Slow cooker short rib ragu
Chili lime chicken 

Sides to please everyone:
A-Z summer salad
Pat's loaded baked potato salad
World's best macaroni and cheese
Tomato and corn pie
Watermelon, arugula and goat cheese salad (light and refreshing!)

Desserts to definitely save room for:
Apple crumb pie
Coconut cream pie
Gooey butter cakes
Black bottom cupcakes
From scratch "box" brownies
Salted brown butter Rice Krispie treats
Monster cookies
Orange creamsicle cookies
Chocolate pudding dump cake (only 4 ingredients & 5 minutes of prep!)
Peanut butter cup fluffernutter blondies


For more recipes to rock your picnic guests' taste buds, check out the categories if you want something specific or use the handy dandy search bar on the right side of the blog.  Happy cooking! :)


One year ago: Spring asparagus bacon hash