Mississippi has so many delightful parks waiting to be discovered, explored, and enjoyed. Plan a day with family and friends of all ages to share a fun park adventure.
Winners Circle Park, a park covering over five acres in Flowood, is the perfect place to escape city life and enjoy a carefree and relaxing day outside, offering something for everyone. The nicely landscaped park has eight open-air pavilions with picnic tables and grills, several center court areas, three beautiful arbors with benches, an amphitheater for cultural events, a state-of-the-art playground, walking tracks, and five lighted tennis courts.
Choose a picnic table, and let the fun begin! Keep the setting simple and colorful with easy and delicious pick-up sandwiches and snacks. The table is covered with a blue dotted cloth with blue and yellow melamine dishes and yellow napkins. Queen Anne’s Lace and summer flowers spill from a basket among fresh seasonal fruit, and lemonade is served in simple Mason jars with straws. Sandwiches are Turkey Pita Pockets, Ham and Cream Cheese Bagels, and Spicy Pimiento Cheese Sandwiches served with Dill Potato Salad. Easy pick-up snacks include Spicy Goldfish Pretzels, Krispy Cheese Wafers, Caramel Popcorn, and Peanuts. Chocolate Chip Cookies, Lemon Crinkle Cookies, and Old Fashioned Teacakes are the favorite sweets of the day.
So, gather some friends, and enjoy a park adventure with lots of snacks and memories at one of Mississippi’s many delightful playgrounds!
Menu
Turkey Pita Pockets
Ham and Cream Cheese Bagels
Spicy Pimiento Cheese Sandwiches
Dill Potato Salad
Fresh Fruit and Dip
Spicy Goldfish Pretzels
Krispy Cheese Wafers
Caramel Popcorn and Peanuts
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Old Fashioned Teacakes
Turkey Pita Pockets
Dressing:
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
For Pita Pockets:
4 pita pockets, cut in half
1 pound roasted turkey, sliced and divided into 8 portions
Spring mix salad
2 Roma tomatoes, sliced
1 avocado, sliced
6 slices bacon, cooked crisp and diced
For dressing, in a bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, mustard, and honey. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator. For pita pockets, spread both sides of each pocket with dressing. Stuff pockets with turkey, salad, tomatoes, avocados, and bacon.
Yield: 8 pockets
Ham and Cream Cheese Bagels
1 (16-ounce) canned ham
1 tablespoon Grey Poupon mustard
2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
6 everything bagels
1 (7.5-ounce) tub whipped cream cheese with chives
Spring mix salad greens
Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Place ham on heavy-duty aluminum foil. Spoon mustard and brown sugar on top of ham. Wrap securely, and bake for 1 hour. Remove from oven, and cool. In a food processor, pulse ham pieces and all juices until finely chopped. Spread both sides of each bagel with a layer of cream cheese. Spread each bottom half with a layer of ham. Add fresh mixed greens and top of bagel.
Yield: 6 bagels
Spicy Pimiento Cheese Sandwiches
1 (4-ounce) jar diced pimientos with juice
1 (16-ounce) packaged shredded mild cheddar cheese
1 cup Hellman’s mayonnaise
½ teaspoon each: salt, black pepper, and white pepper
½ to 1 teaspoon Tony Chachere’s Creole seasoning
In a large bowl, stir all ingredients together. Check seasonings, and add more seasoning if desired.
Spread on sandwiches, remove crusts, and cut into pieces.
Yield: 2½ cups
Benny Hodges, Brandon
Fruit Dip
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (7-ounce) container marshmallow creme
1 teaspoon vanilla or ½ teaspoon almond extract
Optional: pink food coloring
With a mixer, beat cream cheese, marshmallow cream, and flavoring until creamy for about 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in a drop of pink coloring if desired. Serve with fresh seasonal fruit. Refrigerate.
Yield: about 2 cups
Dill Potato Salad
3 pounds small red potatoes, skin on
8 pieces cooked chopped bacon
¾ cup sour cream
¾ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup white vinegar
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon celery seed
1 tablespoon dill weed
For garnish: fresh dill
In a pot of salted water, add potatoes and cook until tender. Remove and cool. Cut into cubes; set aside. In a skillet, fry bacon. Remove to paper towels, and crumble when cool; set aside. Add potatoes to bacon grease and lightly brown. Remove to paper towel-lined plate and season with salt. In a bowl, stir together sour cream, mayonnaise, vinegar, salt, peppers, celery seeds, and dill. Stir in potatoes and bacon. Garnish with fresh dill.
Yield: 8-10 servings
Spicy Goldfish Pretzels
2 (8-ounce) bags pretzel goldfish
1 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon dill weed
1 (1-ounce) package ranch dressing mix
Pour pretzels into a gallon-size zip-top bag; set aside. In a bowl, stir together oil, garlic salt, dill weed, and ranch dressing mix. Pour mixture over pretzels in bag, and seal top. Turn bag 3 or 4 times.
Yield: 1 pound goldfish pretzels
Krispy Cheese Wafers
2 sticks salted butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
8 ounces shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups crisp rice cereal
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. With a mixer, beat butter and flour until texture of coarse meal. Mix in cheese, pepper, and salt. Fold in cereal. Pinch off small pieces, roll into balls, and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Pat flat, and bake for 15 minutes.
Yield: 4 dozen
Caramel Popcorn and Peanuts
7 to 8 cups popped popcorn
1 cup roasted salted peanuts
2 sticks salted butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
½ cup light corn syrup
2 tablespoons molasses
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Place popcorn on a large roasting pan covered on bottom and up sides with parchment paper. Sprinkle with peanuts; set aside. For caramel coating, in a saucepan over medium heat, stir together butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and molasses. Stir constantly, bring to a boil, and cook for about 5 minutes until thickened and foamy. Cook another 2 minutes until candy thermometer reaches 275 to 300 degrees. Remove from heat, and stir in baking soda and vanilla. (Mixture will foam up.) Pour over popcorn, and stir with a spatula. Bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes to coat mixture with caramel. Remove parchment with caramel popcorn, and cool. Break into small pieces. Store in an airtight container.
Yield: about 8 cups
Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2¼ cups semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. With a mixer, cream butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. In a bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Beat flour mixture into creamed mixture. Beat in chocolate chips. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls on a parchment-lined baking sheet 3 inches apart. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Centers will be soft. Cool on sheet for 2 minutes, and remove to wire rack.
Yield: 2 dozen cookies
Lemon Crinkle Cookies
1 (15.25-ounce) box lemon cake mix
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup canola oil
2 eggs
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
¼ cup confectioners’ sugar for rolling
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. With a mixer, beat cake mix, flour, oil, eggs, lemon zest, and lemon juice until combined into a dough. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Remove, and roll dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in confectioners’ sugar, covering completely. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 9 to 11 minutes. Cool on sheet for 1 minute, and remove to wire rack.
Yield: 2 dozen cookies
Old Fashioned Tea Cakes
½ cup sugar
½ cup confectioners’ sugar
1 stick unsalted butter
½ cup canola oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. With a mixer, beat sugar, confectioners’ sugar, butter, and oil until creamy. Beat in egg and vanilla. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Beat flour mixture into creamed mixture. Roll cookies into balls and pat out with fingers onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly brown.
Yield: 2 dozen cookies
Resources – Tablecloth and melamine dishes from HomeGoods, Flowood and Madison; Mason Jars with straws and napkins from Hobby Lobby, Flowood and Madison; Vintage baskets white ironstone platters from Bloomingdeals, Jackson; Palladian Consign and Design, Ridgeland; and Forget Me Nots, Brandon
