Happy 4th of July! I hope everyone is having a safe, delicious, and relaxing long weekend. Ours is extra long – 4 days! Luckily, there has been some visitors and cookouts and beach time and playdates and cherry-picking and my birthday to help the weekend be packed with fun, fun stuff!
I mean, a 4-day weekend to ring in 31? Couldn’t have planned it better if I tried! Sean and Catherine Lowe (for you Bachelor fans) had their baby boy on my birthday, too. My baby watch Instagram stalking will be replaced with some other type of celebrity stalking soon enough.
Other than all of that, I’ve spent some time in the kitchen. We did have over TEN POUNDS of sweet cherries that needed washing and pitting. I think my back is paying the price. That, and this baby is growing like crazy. I feel like I went from looking “kinda” pregnant to “YEEEEEEEP, pregnant!”…and with that comes all the aches and pains. 64 days to go – whoa!
I also roasted and peeled a TON of beets, made a fruit crisp (cherry + blueberry + peach + strawberry + rhubarb – nom!), whipped up a second pan of s’mores brownies for a cookout tonight, and cut up six mangoes because they were ripe and 2 for $1!!! With laundry and grocery shopping thrown in, I’d walked over 6,000 steps by noon and I may (or may not…) tough it out for a mile or 2 on the treadmill in a bit. I’m committed to finishing my book today – best book I’ve read in a long while!
Other than the salad I just ate for lunch, this weekend has been a bit of a splurge. Holiday…birthday…guests, yep. Splurges.
And speaking of a bit of a splurge, this Barbecue Pasta Salad is an absolute splurge-worthy recipe. Cheese and mayonnaise and BBQ sauce on carb-o-licious pasta and corn? Yes, please. It’s perfect for summer cookouts and feeding a crowd – it makes a ton! Plus, it’s easy to make and keeps well for several days in the fridge. Enjoy!
- 1 lb dry whole wheat elbow macaroni
- 1 small sweet onion, finely diced
- 4 scallions, sliced thin
- 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 Tbsp hot sauce
- 2 tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- pinch cayenne pepper
- 1 Tbsp honey
- 1 cup light mayonnaise
- ⅔ cup BBQ Sauce
- 3 ears of corn, cooked and kernels cut off
- 1½ cups 2% shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 9-12 minutes. Drain in a colander and rinse with cold water until cool; drain well and transfer to a large bowl.
- Stir in the onion, scallions, vinegar, hot sauce, chili powder, garlic powered, cayenne, and honey. Let sit until the flavors are absorbed, about 2 minutes. Stir in the mayonnaise and barbecue sauce until pasta is well-coated. Gently stir in the corn, cheese, and tomatoes; refrigerate until serving.
- Sunday: we went out for my birthday to Lake Street Eats
- Monday: cookout at a friend’s
- Tuesday: Balsamic Beet Salad with Arugula, Goat Cheese, and Walnuts + crostini + corn-on-the-cob
- Wednesday: Quinoa Burrito Bowls w/ Carnitas from the freezer
- Thursday: Grilled Shrimp and Sausage Skewers with Smoky Paprika Glaze and Crispy Sweet Potato Wedges
Be well,
Thanks for including my Balsamic Beet Salad in your weekly menu! ๐
Sounds like you had a great weekend – happy belated Birthday! I was at my Aunt’s river house in Virginia and she ditched her wi-fi so I was unplugged for five days and it was great – just catching up on my blog reading now – this pasta dish screams me!