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4th of July Picnic in the Backyard

By KariV on July 3, 2013 in 4th of July, Dinner in Minutes, Holidays, Recipes

It’s that time of year for BBQs, Picnics, family gatherings! I love an easy backyard picnic for the 4th of July and today I am sharing with you a fantastic (and easy) family meal!

The menu:

So Tender BBQ Ribs (check out this easy tip for getting the most tender ribs in a short period of time)
Lemon Picnic Pasta (my favorite picnic food!)
Salad with shredded carrots, cheese, tomatoes and cucumbers
Chocolate Chip Muffins
Watermelon

The decor:

Root Beer Bottles filled with Primroses
Easy Paper pockets

I had so many empty Root Beer bottles from our Root Beer Taste Test and I just knew they would come in handy! So I took some scrap fabric in red and white gingham, tied it around the bottles and added some stars and jute rope. I just traced and cut those stars from scrapbook paper that I had in my stash. It’s great to use what you have around the house for a centerpiece! Then I cut some primroses from the backyard and put them in the center of our table. Cost: $0!

When you serve BBQ ribs, you need some wet napkins right? So I made a double-sided pocket and put some Wet Wipes in one side, and Laffy Taffy (for a few jokes) on the other side. Then I set it all up outside on the backyard patio.

I set up the food buffet-style for our guests to pick and choose what they wanted. Easy foods like watermelon, muffins, and make-your-own salad are perfect for an outdoor meal! And back in the silver bowl is my favorite Lemon Picnic Pasta!

And don’t forget those BBQ ribs! (There’s my hubby the Grill Master…thank you for the perfectly grilled BBQ ribs!)

Here’s the secret for easy and FAST bbq ribs: first, pressure cook them in water to cover half-way up the ribs and set the timer for 45 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally. Be careful when you remove them from the pressure cooker…they are already SO tender and ready to fall apart! Then, put them on the grill and brush on your favorite BBQ sauce. Grill for a few minutes on each side. Oh, these ribs are so delicious and so tender…better than restaurant ribs! (really)!

We had so much food that we literally had to use two plates! I picked up those darling gingham plates from the Dollar Store and they sure made it look like a real picnic. 🙂

With just a few touches and a little extra attention, you can throw together a fun and easy picnic BBQ that everyone will love. I wish you a happy and safe 4th of July!

Comments { 2 }

Lemon Picnic Pasta and a Free Printable Label (Plus 20 more fantastic summer recipes!)

By KariV on June 28, 2013 in Cooking Light, Recipes

Summer is great for light and easy recipes and I’ve joined forces with some other fabulous bloggers to bring you some fantastic summer recipes!

I love the flavors of lemon in the summer. I usually think of lemon dessert when I have a bunch of lemons, but this savory pasta dish comes in as my favorite picnic dish ever!

In fact, I am in love with this new pasta we made for our picnic last week. I call it “Lemon Picnic Pasta” because you can take it with you on a picnic, and it doesn’t have to be refrigerated. In fact, it is BEST when eaten warm or at room temperature. And that is the best kind of dish to take on a picnic!

It’s a quick recipe to throw together, too. {Bonus!} All you have to do is first, boil the bowtie pasta in water until al dente. Drain.
Add the butter, garlic, olive oil, salt, basil and lemon zest. (Find the full recipe near the end of this post). Stir well to well incorporate. Then simply enjoy!

Have you ever used a pair of these herb scissors? They are so great for cutting your basil into ribbons (chiffonade) for this dish! Or you can use a knife or a pair of regular herb scissors, but these are WAY more fun. 🙂

That lemon zest adds just the right amount of freshness and flavor to the dish. It is so refreshing in this pasta dish!

Just look at that pasta bursting with basil and lemon flavor! My husband prefers a little less lemon than what I usually put in, so I suggest you add a little at a time and taste it for yourself. You can always add more. 🙂

To take this on a picnic, just package it up in a chinese take-out box and add your label. Oh, yes, I made a Lemon Picnic Pasta label just for you! If you don’t have printable label sheets, you can print it on regular paper and just tape it onto your take-out box.

To download this tag, just like my blog here:

Then download the pdf tag here: lemon picnic pasta tag pdf

Oh, and before I forget, here’s the RECIPE for Lemon Picnic Pasta:

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Enjoy your picnic and your Picnic Pasta!

And now, take a look at these great summer recipes:

Comments { 22 }

Recipe Found! Brown Sugar Bumps

By KariV on June 27, 2013 in Dessert

When I was a little girl, my sister and I used to make a recipe ALL. THE. TIME: called Brown Sugar Bumps. They were easy to make (no baking, no cooking) and SO delicious (at least I thought so when I was a kid).

Since we’re both OLD(er) and married now, we’ve talked about that recipe many times, but we misplaced that well-used recipe book.

The other day, I came across the recipe and I was ECSTATIC! So of course I made them right away! They are just as delicious (and easy) as I remember. And they only lasted ONE DAY at my house.

These aren’t very fancy looking, so I gussied them up with a little gold. 🙂 They sort of remind me of tiny no-bake cookies, but they don’t have chocolate or cocoa in them. Here’s what they require: (full recipe near the end of this post)

First, melt the butter in the microwave. Add the brown sugar, peanut butter and oats. Stir until well combined. This mixture is a little soft, so refrigerate for a bit before you form them into little “bumps.” I just put them in the refrigerator while I was cleaning up, then they were ready to form. See? Easy!

I remember my sister and I would hand roll each of the little bumps, but now I have a mini ice-cream scoop that does the trick nicely! {It’s about the size of a melon baller.}

And in no time at all I had all these little treats:

I sometimes think that when you grow up loving something that you are just “trained to like” them. Case in point: I used to LOVE Tiger’s Milk protein bars. My mom told us they were candy and she’d hide them at the top of the pantry. That wouldn’t stop us as kids: we’d climb up those shelves and find them! I still like them to this day. But my husband (and many of my friends) who have tried them tell me they are not so good!

So I thought this might be the same story with these Brown Sugar Bumps. So far, everyone loves them. Proof: they are gone already! I will have to make some more and take a poll. 🙂

Here’s the recipe:

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So go ahead and give one a try and let me know what YOU think.
These are for you, Sis!

Comments { 0 }

Ginger-Lime Grilled Beef Salad

By KariV on June 19, 2013 in Cooking Light, Dinner in Minutes, Recipes

Today is my wedding anniversary and what better way to celebrate and praise 14 years of wedded bliss than with a perfect and delicious recipe?! This is special tribute to my husband who is a grill master (you are awesome, Honey!) and he will grill anything I ask him to!! I love that we are such a perfect couple for this: I love to cook and deliver up great recipes, he loves to grill them…:)

Summer is perfect for grilling and for salads…and when you have a recipe that combines the two, you have the perfect summertime dinner!

We love this recipe at our house. In fact, whenever my son comes home from college, he requests it! It is easy to make and nice and light for summer. It’s a fast recipe too…just marinate the meat in the morning, then grill it up for dinner! I can’t even begin to tell you how flavorful and delicious this recipe is, you’re just going to have to try it yourself. 🙂

To make the marinade, use some simple ingredients. I always keep these ingredients on hand so I can whip this up at (almost) any time!

Less Sodium Soy Sauce, Chili-Garlic sauce, ginger root, lime juice, and a little brown sugar (not pictured). Those ice cubes in front are actually frozen lime juice…if I can’t use my limes up in time, I just squeeze them and freeze the juice. And did you know that you can freeze ginger root?! It’s true…I’ve had this ginger root in my freezer for a few months and it’s still delicious and fresh tasting in this marinade! (see the full recipe below)

Just mix together all these ingredients, then reserve some aside to use later as your salad dressing. Pour the rest into a resealable bag with the meat and add a little extra lime juice. Then make sure to coat all your meat and store it in the refrigerator until ready to grill. I found that if you marinate for four hours or longer, the taste is SO much better. So make sure to stir this up for marinating earlier in the day.

You can use either Flank Steak or London Broil for this recipe. I’ve tried both and we all seem to like the Flank Steak the best. I will be experimenting with other cuts of meat, I’m sure and I’ll report back. 🙂 Now just grill up the meat:

(Here’s the picture to prove it: My husband is the best at grilling…Happy Anniversary, Honey!)
And while that is on the grill, get your salad ready:

I like to use the organic salad mix from Costco. It has spinach and arugula, but sometimes I just make a simple romaine bed of lettuce for this recipe. It’s always just delicious! I will add tomatoes or green pepper from the garden, and sometimes I shred up a carrot to add, too. Mmmmm….

Let the meat rest for a few minutes before you slice it thinly. This allows the meat to retain more of it’s juiciness! Since everyone at my house likes their salad different, I will put the additions on the side so it’s more like a salad bar…then you can build your own salad and top it off with a bit of the grilled meat. Add a little (believe me, this is flavorful stuff so you only need a little!) of the reserved dressing and enjoy!

{The recipe suggests that you add all the ingredients together and combine with the reserved salad dressing, but at my house everyone likes different amounts of the dressing (or none at all) and so I just let everyone make their own plate.}

See, it’s a hit! No leftovers!

*Recipe here

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Try this recipe and until next time, have a delicious summer!

Comments { 0 }

Lemon Shortbread Cookies and Yellow Gift Cones

By KariV on June 4, 2013 in Dessert, Paper Crafting, Recipes

This past weekend was my birthday. It was a big deal because it marked a new decade for me! So I wanted to do something special…something that I could share with people who have made an impact in my life.

I decided to combine two of my most favorite things: Baking and Gifting. I started by making some of these cones in a happy yellow color. The idea was to give out as many goodies as I was old.

I gifted these throughout the week; however, I delivered the majority of these little gifts ON my birthday. Some fun reactions: “You are giving me a treat on YOUR birthday? Best. Friend. Ever.” 🙂

Since I had a bunch of lemons from my mom, I decided to perfect a recipe I have been working on! These little Lemon Shortbread Cookies are buttery and citrus-y with a little bit of a crunch. Perfect!

I found that I love to add lemon juice AND zest to both the cookie and the glaze. Delicious Lemon desserts are among my very favorites and this cookie did not disappoint! They are simple to make and bake…you roll the dough and cut the chilled dough before baking. (so much easier than rolling out and using a cookie cutter!)

Then, drizzle the glaze over the top, let them “dry” for a few hours and then they are ready to wrap up!

I wrapped them up in a little glassine bag and closed them with a sticker. Then I filled as many cones as I could with cookies and Hershey’s Hugs (I love those)! I had them hanging everywhere…all over the kitchen cabinets and even some door knobs.

I think everyone loved these little cookies. I got some nice texts, notes, and cards back (thanks for the love!) And my favorite reaction: “Oh WOW! These cookies are amazing!! Need the recipe ASAP.”

I love these little shortbread cookies. My last birthday gift is to share the recipe with YOU. So here you go:

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And if you’re interested in how to make an EASY cone out of 12 x 12 paper, I’m sharing a quick tutorial here! Go ahead, make a few and see how many smiles you can inspire when you give them away filled with treats. 🙂