#KitchenClearout April roundup and May linky

Well, here we are in May? How on earth are we into May already?! The weather for the past couple of  days has been abysmal - torrential rain, gale force winds and quite chilly - but waking up this morning to blue skies and sunshine has made me realise that the summer isn't that far away in fact. Last week we were on holiday so I cleared out the baking cupboards a bit but I haven't had much time to blog about it yet. There are some great recipes linked up this month, with everything from exotic cuisine, veggie options and meaty fayre to sweet treats and kiddie fun. Without further ado, let's have a closer look.

Colcannon, which is basically posh mash with cheese and leeks (in place of the traditional kale or cabbage), was a kid-friendly globe-cooking recipe that used up some potatoes and leeks.

Galina from Chez Maximka, the Queen of Cakes and Bakes, shared this delightful Limoncello Ricotta Cheesecake, which was a great way to get rid of some of the limoncello lurking in her drinks cupboard - I think we all have a bottle or two of drinks that never get drunk that have been brought home from holidays or received as gifts !

Galina was back with some tasty Choc Chip Cashew Oat Cookies - see, I said she was the Queen of Cakes and Bakes ! - which used up some leftover Easter chocolate. Not sure what that is !

Jess from Jess Eats and Travels is still cooking her way around the world and is up to Antigua & Barbuda, so she shared this recipe for Butter Bread.

She also linked up her Argentinian-inspired Veggie Chilli with Chimichurri, which sounds like a great way of clearing out the spice rack.

Venturing into my bookmarked #readcookeat recipes, I knocked up a tasty Shrimp & Macaroni Casserole, which was a combination of Juliette's favourite things and used up some odds and ends of different cheeses.

Jess from Jess Eats and Travels was back with a Mackerel Salad, that appears to have magical powers to bring out the sun. It was a beautiful day when she ate it, when she blogged it and now, when I'm sharing it in the roundup !

Galina has been experimenting with vegetarian dishes recently and her Fruity Aubergine & Chickpea Curry looks very tasty and finished off her Sri Lankan Massala Curry Mix.

Another bookmarked #readcookeat recipe, Lamb Tagine used up some ends of bags of dried apricots and almonds, as well as some peppers that were starting to go wrinkly in the bottom of the fridge.

#KitchenClearout is all about using up things that would otherwise end up in the bin, and they don't have to be recipes. I used up some seeds in fat balls for the birds a couple of months ago and this time, I made Pierre's day by letting him make edible slime with a bag of Pina Colada flavoured icing sugar that nobody was keen on. 

Poutine-style Chicken & Potatoes was a great post-Sunday lunch/pre-shopping dinner to clear out the fridge of all the leftovers - roast chicken, roast potatoes, chips, roast carrots, gravy - as well as some offcuts of puff pastry and the end of a bag of grated cheese.

And finally for this month, Jess's Lamb Shish Kebabs with Grilled Vegetables and Bulgar Wheat are a lovely knod towards the summer with (hopefully) warm days and barbecue weather.  

Feeling inspired and fancy joining in? Have a rummage through your kitchen cupboards, spice rack, freezer or fridge and see if there's anything that needs using up, then come and share your creations with us. Or if it's way past its sell-by date, throw it in the bin and come and tell us what you found ! It would be great if you could add my badge and a link to this post for anyone else who wants to get involved.