Chicken Lettuce Wraps & Watermelon Appetizers

One thing is for sure, we love P.F. Chang's Chicken Lettuce Wraps.

However, in spite of all our good intentions to stop in for our favorite menu item, we never seem to get there as often as we would like. So this week I decided to try making them myself. 

Since I was already preparing appetizers to share at a neighborhood party I thought a plate full of little chicken lettuce wraps might be fun to take as well so I tried cooking up a batch. When I finished making the filling I thought I better be sure it passed the taste test first and proceeded to assemble a couple samples for the Hubs and Miss E to try. Right away they gave them two thumbs up so I decided to sample a little myself. Oh my goodness, was it good!  In fact, the chicken lettuce wraps never made it to the party. That's right, we ate them all right then and there. I know that sounds terrible but thankfully I still had the yummy Watermelon Appetizers already plated and ready to go.

These summery treats were fresh and tasty and best of all, simple to make with only four ingredients; watermelon, feta, mint { fresh from our garden! } and drizzled with a balsamic vinegar reduction. Easy, Peasy!

So, as it turned out, the chicken lettuce wraps became our dinner instead and the watermelon appetizers made it to the party. 

Fast, easy and so good!

Happy Saturday!

Father's Day Coffee Klatch

Saturday morning my youngest sister hosted a family Coffee Klatch to celebrate Father's Day so naturally I wanted to bake something to share.

These Poppy Seed Bundlettes were quick and easy to prepare as well as

these simple Strawberry Shortcake Parfaits. My tray of goodies was in addition to the other delicious treats which included Mom's fresh Rhubarb Muffins as well as Lemon Oreo Cheesecake Bars and a Bagel Casserole both of which my sister made. YUM!

We had a wonderful morning of  gabbing and giggling, enjoying the potluck of fabulous homemade sweets and savories and best of all 

celebrating our wonderful Dad!!

Happy Monday!

Mississippi Mud

The ultimate brownie!

It has been a long time since I have made these but for some reason the recipe came to mind and sounded particularly good last week. And they didn't disappoint! In fact, I shared a plate full with friends and they commented on how much they enjoyed them. Chocolate and marshmallow is always a choice in my book. 

Have a great Monday!

DIY Backyard Fire Pit: seating area

Rain, rain go away

Bring my love a sunny day!

The weather has actually been really nice this spring however, according to the forecast, the next several days are going to be rainy just like today. No worries though, a little stormy weather won't stop the hubs. He will work in the yard rain or shine. Currently he is working on the DIY fire pit which he completely redesigned this week after asking one of our neighbors for his suggestions on the design and materials for the bench and wall. 

Last fall the fire pit itself was finished and had actually been used a few times so the last stage to be completed was the bench and wall. The rock for the seating was in place and he had also poured the cement retaining wall behind it which you can see above or go here to read the full post. His plan was to resume and finish the project in late spring early summer by covering the retaining wall with special natural looking rock in in similar color tones and made for that purpose and top the seating with wood planks. 

Well, that plan entirely changed this week and he has taken out all the big rock and is going to use all wood for the back wall and bench. 

He plans to have the entire area framed in this weekend and once we have chosen the wood he will finish it up.

His plans include a S'mores stick holder on one end as well as a wood rack on the other end. I have also asked the hubs to make a matching tabletop to cover the fire pit when not in use and am hoping I can find a few pillows to add to the bench as well.

Our flowers are beginning to bloom and our fruit and vegetables are looking good. We even had ripe strawberries this week! The DIY Total Yard Makeover is coming together and will be in full bloom soon.

So, rain or shine, I am sure there will be progress on the fire pit this week which I will be sure to share. 

Happy Saturday!