Rainbow Charcuterie Dinner Board

My family loves when they see a charcuterie board on the menu!  I don't make them as often as I used to, but they feel like the perfect warm weather dinner.  

You can prep everything ahead of time.  Chop the cheeses, fruits, veggies and prep the meats the night before or earlier in the day.  Leave everything in containers in the fridge so that your board will come together so quickly at dinner time.  That means I can play outside with the kids and help with homework up until dinner time and have very little work to do to assemble my board.  This kind of meal also means very few dishes to mess with.

We had this for dinner last week and it was a hit!

Wouldn't this be such a fun rainbow dinner for St. Patrick's Day this month?

Prettiest, yummiest dinner ever!

A good board at our house includes 4-5 cheeses, meats, fruits, veggies, crackers and dips.  I also plan to have this meal twice in one week to make sure that none of those meats and cheeses go to waste.

I buy some things just for board dinners (salami, cheeses, rosemary crackers) and then use up lots of things that we already have on hand.  We finish up bags of chips, crackers, the last few mandarin oranges, etc.

I have one kid who will try anything if I present it on a charcuterie board.  It's such a fun way for him to try new foods and find new favorites - pepperjack cheese & rosemary crackers!  I think it's because there are tons of foods he knows he loves on the board so he feels no pressure when he tries some new foods.

I made a loaf of crusty bread to go this meal to make it a little more filling for dinner.  Then I put all of the leftovers in the kid's school lunches for the next day.

You've got to add charcuterie boards to your menu now that the weather is getting warmer!  Start small with just 1-2 meats and cheeses and a few other fruits, veggies and salty snacks.  Then add more to your board as you feel comfortable.