You guys, sometimes working in food is magical. Recently, I was thinking to myself I wanted to try the Pioneer Woman’s cobbler again with self-rising flour, instead of making my own, because I always find that the cobbler is a little wetter than I want it to be, and instead of messing with the recipe (yet) I wanted to see if it was me.

That same day, I got an email from King Arthur Flour introducing their new self-rising flour and saying that they were going to send me some flour and challenge me to make better biscuits.

I told Jeff the story of the self rising flour, and he got it. That’s why we’re married, you guys, because he gets that hearing that your favorite flour-maker is now making the very flour you need is BIG NEWS.

Anyways, flour in hand, I have now tried the cobbler (it wasn’t the flour, so on to recipe-testing, more on that later!) AND I made some killer Savory Cheddar Biscuits that required just three ingredients and took like one second to put together. I flew to NYC earlier this week, and I brought the rest of the batch along as a snack, and let me tell you, it was definitely not a mistake.

This recipe is the easiest, you guys. I made half the recipe, and it made a perfect number of biscuits for about four people (or just one if you’re flying and can’t stop eating biscuits.)

Ingredients:

1 cup self-rising flour
2 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions: Preheat the oven to 425. Mix cheese and flour together, then add cream until just mixed. Transfer to a floured surface, then pat into about 3/4″ thick disc. Use a biscuit cutter/round cookie cutter to cut out biscuits – I recommend a 2″ size. Place them on a piece of parchment and brush with cream, then stick into the oven. Bake for about 16 minutes until golden brown. Cool for five minutes, then eat one, or four.

Serve with chili, or barbecue, or just eat them for breakfast…do what you feel in your heart. I bet these would be good with bacon and eggs. Just saying…biscuit sandwich, anyone?

I bet many of you guys have Pinterest, yeah? When I first got Pinterest, it was the summer of 2011, and I made boards with “clever” titles and willy-nilly added pins. This was before Pinterest really took off, before Pinterest had a business value, and before I really knew what to use Pinterest for.

When I got married, Pinterest was invaluable for looking at venues, ideas for tables, cake options, dresses, colors…you name it! But mainly, I used Pinterest, both in 2011 and now, for recipes.

Originally (and this board still exists, don’t be like me circa 2011) I had a board called “Recipes to Try.” Great, right? WRONG. This board is a catch all for everything and anything – too many recipes in one place, with no clear organization. This meant I never actually made anything off of Pinterest, which was the whole point of pinning in the first place! When I go to Pinterest for a recipe, I am looking for that moment – a specific need – a breakfast, or a brunch item to share, a cocktail, dinner, etc.

I have a GMS Pinterest for y’all, and I try to keep it organized in a way that would help you out when looking for recipes. I recently revamped it, and I am here to help you get your Pinterest on (for food, that is) in a way that will help you cook more often, eat a diverse number of dishes, and even maybe eat healthier (or at least, eat more vegetables in your risottos).

So one way that I have my Pinterest organized is by meal part…that is, by what meal I’d eat it for. You can break it up into as many as makes sense for you, but I recommend at least breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, appetizer, and snacks. As you can see above, I also have side dishes and weeknight recipes – this is because I like to think in terms of weekend cooking (a pot roast, chili, a stew) and weeknight recipes (fish tacos, baked chicken with potatoes, etc.)

Another section I have is seasons. For GMS recipes, I try to put everything in a couple places for you to find, but I do so much seasonal cooking (and eating!) that it makes sense to have them grouped this way. I have one for the major seasons, and of course Popsicles deserved its own board.

A final major section I have is holidays – whenever I am planning a party (or just to celebrate festively) I start a board for said holiday – this helps me figure out what I want to make or bring to any parties. Of course, Memorial Day recipes are mostly patriotic and grilling recipes, so you could also put some of those into a “Grilling” board, but we don’t have a permanent grill right now…someday!

I also have a couple boards for major diets – paleo, vegetarian, gluten free, etc., so if you’re looking to incorporate those into your life – or if you have a dietary restriction – I would recommend adding one or more of those, too.

I hope that this overview was helpful to you – let me know if you have other ideas, tips, tricks for me and my readers relating to Pinterest – I am all about using it as a recipe box tool!

Summer salads are one of my favorite foods, you guys. Summertime means long, hot days full of sunshine and outdoor activities – picnics, swimming, lawn games, hiking, you know the drill. You don’t want to be stuck in the kitchen making complicated dinners and heating up your house anymore than you need to – which is why this barbecue salad is perfect.

The lovely people over at Rootz gave us a sample of their new Pineapple Barbecue Sauce to try and I must say – I am in love! I love the sweet and smoky flavor, I love that it’s made locally to Los Angeles, and I love that it isn’t full of weird ingredients I cannot say. You can get their Sweet + Spicy Sauce here if you’re interested, and I hope to see this BBQ Sauce out soon (support their kickstarter here!)…but this recipe will work with either sauce, so without further ado, here’s what you need to make this easy dinner salad.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

10-15 shrimp, defrosted if originally frozen
6 oz barbecue sauce
olive oil
1 bag mixed greens
1 avocado, sliced
1 can black beans
1 red onion, diced or thinly sliced
1 cucumber, diced
1 ear of corn, sliced off cob (either raw or cooked)
1 lemon, juiced

Directions:

1. Put shrimp and barbecue sauce in a bag or shallow container, and allow to marinate for about fifteen minutes.
2. Meanwhile, toss together mixed greens, black beans, fresh corn, cucumbers, and onion.
3. Over medium heat, heat about a half tablespoon of olive oil in a cast iron pan. Using a spoon, add shrimp (and some of that delicious BBQ!) and cook until pink, about four to five minutes.
4. Serve salad, topping with avocado and shrimp, and, if desired, squeeze lemon juice over top!

If you want, go ahead and add cheese (I would recommend feta or goat) but this was amazing with the addition, so I kept it plain. I used the frozen shrimp from Trader Joe’s to make this for myself, since Jeff isn’t too keen on seafood, and just half everything above – it’s a great lunch or dinner. For lunch, keep your shrimp separate until just before you eat so nothing gets soggy. AND if you have a grill, try grilling your shrimp on kebabs first!

I wanted to share with you guys, finally, today George’s recipe for our delicious plum and bourbon cocktail from a few weeks back. This was the perfect cocktail to refresh you after a long, hot day – sweet and balanced with the bourbon with the freshness of the plum.

You can find the full recipe here if you want to make this for your next party, and I suggest you do.

Happy Thirsty Thursday, kiddos!

We’ve made it past Monday, folks, and we’re gliding into the week just fine. I’m being helped along over here by some delish blueberry cobbler muffins that I made this weekend. Jeff loves cobbler and he loves blueberry muffins, so I thought I would make some cobbler muffins and bring them along to an outdoor movie we saw this weekend.

Have you guys seen Wet Hot American Summer? It was pretty funny to see in on the big screen here in LA. I love summer and how it’s light out until well past eight p.m., and how every night can seem like a weekend, and how weekend nights stretch out in front of you with a world of possibilities. It makes my heart light and free.

This muffins also made my heart light and free. I used the Pioneer Woman’s recipe and simply put it into muffin form, and voila! These babies cooked up in just over thirty minutes, and they literally took five minutes to put together – in my book, that’s about as easy as a dessert can get.

I recommend you go see an outdoor movie (even if it’s in your backyard!) and bring these babies along. You won’t regret it, and you might even make some friends.

Happy August! Happy Summer! Happy Cobbler Eating!