An End of the Summer Cook-Out

Last week I featured an End of the Summer Lunch, this week it's an End of the Summer Cook-Out. We had supper here at the farm with old family friends on Friday night. They showed up with arms full of fresh flowers from their garden, a loaf of bread and a jar of their first harvest of honey, and dessert besides. We had standard cook-out fare and then the four adults sat at the picnic table, talking and laughing about childhood memories way past dark. Our teens amused themselves with croquet, a rousing round of hide-and-seek tag, and then board games inside.

Menu -
Grilled Burgers and Dogs with all the Fixin's
Corn on the Cob
Baked Beans
Potato Chips
Watermelon
Chocolate Eclair Cake

Chocolate Eclair Cake

2 pkgs. instant French vanilla pudding
8 oz. Cool Whip
1 box of graham crackers

Make pudding according to directions on box. Mix with Cool Whip and put 1/2 of pudding on a layer of graham crackers. Place another layer of crackers, then the other half of pudding, ending with crackers.

Topping:
2 (1 oz.) squares of melted unsweetened chocolate
3 tabl. butter or margarine, melted
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. light corn syrup
1 1/2 C. 10x sugar
3 tabl. milk

Mix topping ingredients well and spread on top of graham crackers. Chill.

(NOTE: My friend substituted sugar-free pudding and light Cool Whip successfully - the texture and taste remained unchanged but the calories and sugar were cut.)