<p>We have a big cooler for the food and just put the utensils and plates/cups in the actual picnic hamper. Also use some soft-sided coolers for food and drink. My kids were the ones that pushed me to do the beach picnics–I kept worrying about packing and food getting spoiled, etc. etc. now we have it organized and we can put it together in no time. We’re doing one tonight and when I got up D2 and boyfriend had all the utensils and plates organized and had started to marinate the sword fish.</p>
<p>Consolation:</p>
<p>1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed (16 oz if you cook them yourself)</p>
<p>The parenthesized part is a pound of cooked beans? If you cook a pound of dried black beans, you get a whole lot more than one can’s worth of beans.</p>
<p>No, sorry, 16 oz after you cook them according to the original recipe.</p>
<p>I just made this for a party on Sunday, roughly doubling it. I used 2 cups of uncooked rice (cooked, obviously 
), almost all of a 32oz bag of frozen corn, 1 lb of dried black beans soaked and cooked by me, 3 big jalapeno peppers, and an entire bunch of scallions. I doubled everything in the dressing except the oil, using about 1/2 cup instead of 2/3, and bumping up the spices.</p>