It's Just About Food

I wish I had more for you today than just food, but I don't.  I do have a lot of food though.  Food that's quick and won't heat your kitchen and will get you back to scrapbooking or card making in no time.

I said last week that I'd be plucking recipes from Pinterest this week.  My requirement was that I wanted recipes that didn't heat up my kitchen, anymore than it already was.  And so I did.  I picked more than I needed, so half my menu for next week is planned too.  Love that.

• Fresh Cherry Scone Recipe - I'm a sucker for anything with cherries in the ingredient list.  So when I had cherries that needed using and a sweet tooth that needed soothing, I went with this for a quick weekend morning addition.  I got to mixing and found the batter was way. . .WAY. . .to wet for a scone; it was more like a cake batter.  I ended up adding at least a half a cup (probably closer to a full cup) more flour to the batter, and it was still wetter than I'd like when I finally just threw it in the oven.  The recipe also has a "what?" moment when you get to the salt. . . I believe it should read "1/2 tsp," as two teaspoons would be too much.  I added turbinado sugar to the top, too.  In the end they were good; light and moist. I'll make the recipe again, add more flour (and do so before adding the cherries so my batter is blue) and enjoy.
• No Bake Peanut Butter Marshmallow Bars -  And no-bake they were.  I probably could have done the stove-top part in the microwave, but it didn't take long and I set them up early enough in the day to not worry about being too hot.  These were delish. . .totally addictive.

• Lemony Tortellini Bacon Salad - I picked this for a dinner, but worried it might not be enough for a dinner for us six.  I would have made some type of bread, but it was too hot.  I did double the recipe, but not the recipe for the dressing - turned out there was plenty of dressing and plenty to feed us.  It was really good - creamy with a bite of lemon and, hello, bacon.  I served it on lettuce and we even had leftovers, probably enough for a lunch.
• Coconut Cloud Martini - If it's gonna feel like the tropics, but you're land-locked, you might as well sip on something that is tropical.  I mixed this up for hubby and I the other night.  It was very good. . .I will add more cream of coconut and a little less alcohol next time; I can't drink that much alcohol anymore.  #gettinold.  I also didn't take the time to garnish, but with this one, the toasted coconut will be worth it!
• Butter Dip Biscuits - I'm always looking for a quick biscuit.  This one with butter, lots of butter, sounded interesting.  It was fast to pull together, and even though it used the oven, it was only on for a few minutes.  The biscuits were light and slightly chewy (in a good way.)  These would be awesome for breakfast sandwiches or with jam.
• Bourbon Brat Skewers - Another winner; hubby was on board when I said "bourbon."  The kids even ate the veggies, since the grilling and the glaze made them sweet.  We (everyone but hubby) don't eat mushrooms, so I did grape tomatoes I had on hand.  I also used smoked kielbasa instead of the Johnsonville brats.
• Chicken Pasta Salad - This one had me worried with the amount of apple cider vinegar.  I mixed it up early in the day - doubled the recipe since I was cooking for the in-laws - and by the time we ate it, it had mellowed.  I'd tasted it right after mixing and the vinegar was a bit much for me.  If I had to serve right away, I'd cut down the vinegar.

I've got a coconut cream pie in the 'fridge and Hawaiian BBQ in the slow cooker, I just need to figure out a side or two.

Here's to hoping I can get something done over the weekend.  I need to - my sanity needs it.

Happy Friday,