Today's the first day of Spring, and in honor of that (despite the snow and horrible rain) I made some lemon bars. Nothing screams Spring like lemon bars! I tried this recipe, and of course it was amazing. The key is fresh lemon. They don't really set properly if there isn't fresh lemon.
Crust:
1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
Filling:
6 extra-large eggs at room temperature
3 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest (4 to 6 lemons)
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (it took about 6 regular sized lemons)
1 cup flour
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting.
Preheat oven to 350*
For the crust, mix together the butter, sugar, and salt. Add in the flour mixture. Gently mix until combined. Press the crust into the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan. Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack. Leave the oven on.
For the filling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature.
Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar and cut into triangles or squares.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
White Chocolate and Cranberry Cookies
I have had this recipe on my phone for over a month. This is one that would be awesome to make around Valentine's Day, but really, anytime. I have some still stashed in my freezer, and they are yummy!
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon vanilla
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup dried cranberries
Preheat oven to 375* and grease cookie sheets.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and the vanilla. Combine the flour and baking soda; stir into the sugar mixture. Mix in the white chocolate chips and cranberries. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. For best results, take them out while they are still doughy. Allow cookies to cool for 1 minute on the cookie sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon vanilla
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup dried cranberries
Preheat oven to 375* and grease cookie sheets.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and the vanilla. Combine the flour and baking soda; stir into the sugar mixture. Mix in the white chocolate chips and cranberries. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. For best results, take them out while they are still doughy. Allow cookies to cool for 1 minute on the cookie sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Homemade Pizza
Sometimes I am surprised that some of my favorite recipes aren't on this blog. Today, I was searching for my homemade pizza recipe and was surprised it wasn't here. So, I'm going to remedy that and post it.
Pizza
Dough—Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add other ingredients. Mix well. Knead. Either let rise in warm place until doubled or put in refrigerator from 12 to 72 hours. Roll dough like pie crust. Place in pizza pan. Prick with fork. Add sauce. Add toppings. Bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes or until cheese bubbles or crust is golden brown.
Pizza
Dough:
1 cup water
1 Tablespoon dry yeast
3 cups flour
1/3 cup oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
Sauce:
1 can tomato sauce (8 ounce)
1 Tablespoon sugar
¼ teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon marjoram
½ teaspoon rosemary (crushed)
Dash of cayenne pepper
Saturday, January 07, 2012
Bates Sausage Dip
I can't believe I haven't posted this recipe. It is making the rounds throughout my family currently, and I saw a similar recipe on thesistercafe.com This recipe was given to me by my friend here in CDA, Felicia. She said it's her husband's favorite, and everyone always wants the recipe, but she hesitates giving it out because the ingredients sound nasty. I'm here to testify that it's delicious. I wanted to have a hard copy, otherwise I wouldn't be so generous to share! ;)
2 hot jimmy dean sausages
2 bricks of cream cheese
1 large container (I'm guessing 16 oz) sour cream
2 cans heredez sasla (in the mexican section in small red and white cans)--I'm sure any salsa would work, but this is what I've used in it, too.
2 small cans chopped olives.
Place cream cheese, sour cream, salsa, and olives in your crockpot. Turn crockpot on high and put the lid on. In a frying pan, fry up the sausage. Make sure the sausage is in small pieces otherwise it will be chunky in your dip. Once the sausage is cooked, place over top of the crockpot mixture. Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4. Stir occassionally to blend together. The longer it cooks, the better this tastes. It can be frozen and re-warmed, and it still tastes great. Serve over chips.
2 hot jimmy dean sausages
2 bricks of cream cheese
1 large container (I'm guessing 16 oz) sour cream
2 cans heredez sasla (in the mexican section in small red and white cans)--I'm sure any salsa would work, but this is what I've used in it, too.
2 small cans chopped olives.
Place cream cheese, sour cream, salsa, and olives in your crockpot. Turn crockpot on high and put the lid on. In a frying pan, fry up the sausage. Make sure the sausage is in small pieces otherwise it will be chunky in your dip. Once the sausage is cooked, place over top of the crockpot mixture. Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4. Stir occassionally to blend together. The longer it cooks, the better this tastes. It can be frozen and re-warmed, and it still tastes great. Serve over chips.
Buffalo Chicken Casserole
I received this recipe from my sister Becky. We had it on Superbowl Sunday last year, and then haven't had it since. My husband requested it for Christmas dinner, and so that's what we had. What can I say? It's easy and pretty good. I have never made it with bleu cheese, but I'm sure that it's great.
1-1/4 lb boneless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch strips
1/3 cup buffalo wing sauce (I used frank's)
6 cups (thawed) southern style hash brown potatoes (I didn't thaw these out, and I've used regular hash browns and southern style)
1 cup ranch or blue cheese dressing
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 10 oz can cream of celery soup (I used cream of chicken, tasted great)
1/2 cup corn flake crumbs (My sister used ritz crackers)
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
1/4 cup chopped green onions (3 to 4 medium onions)
For authentic flavor, go with red hot buffalo wing sauce. Other flavors to try include teriyaki, sweet and sour, or bbq.
Preheat oven to 350*. Spray a 9x13" baking dish with cooking spray. In a medium bowl, stir together chicken strips and wing sauce. In a large bowl, stir together potatoes, dressing, cheese, and soup. Spoon into baking dish. Place chicken strips in single layer over potato mixture. In a small bowl, stir together crumbs and butter. Sprinkle in baking dish. Cover with foil. Bake 30 minutes; uncover and bake 20-25 minutes or until potatoes are tender and jice of chicken is no longer pink when centers of thickest pieces are cut. Sprinkle with green onions. Serves 6
Sidenote: I added a little bit more soup the second time I made this because it was just a little dry. However, adding my soup makes it a little more rich.
1-1/4 lb boneless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch strips
1/3 cup buffalo wing sauce (I used frank's)
6 cups (thawed) southern style hash brown potatoes (I didn't thaw these out, and I've used regular hash browns and southern style)
1 cup ranch or blue cheese dressing
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 10 oz can cream of celery soup (I used cream of chicken, tasted great)
1/2 cup corn flake crumbs (My sister used ritz crackers)
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
1/4 cup chopped green onions (3 to 4 medium onions)
For authentic flavor, go with red hot buffalo wing sauce. Other flavors to try include teriyaki, sweet and sour, or bbq.
Preheat oven to 350*. Spray a 9x13" baking dish with cooking spray. In a medium bowl, stir together chicken strips and wing sauce. In a large bowl, stir together potatoes, dressing, cheese, and soup. Spoon into baking dish. Place chicken strips in single layer over potato mixture. In a small bowl, stir together crumbs and butter. Sprinkle in baking dish. Cover with foil. Bake 30 minutes; uncover and bake 20-25 minutes or until potatoes are tender and jice of chicken is no longer pink when centers of thickest pieces are cut. Sprinkle with green onions. Serves 6
Sidenote: I added a little bit more soup the second time I made this because it was just a little dry. However, adding my soup makes it a little more rich.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Peanut Butter Balls
I make this recipe every year. It is one of my favorites, obviously since it's loaded with lots of butter. This year, I had to call my sister for the recipe since mine was somehow misplaced. I figured I'd better add it on here to guarantee it wasn't lost again. Enjoy, I know I will!
1 lb powdered sugar (4 cups)
1-1/2 cups creamy peanut
1 cup butter, softened
Mix all ingredients together and form into balls. I usually freeze them or put them in the refrigerator for a few hours. Once they come out of the freezer/refrigerator, dip them in melted chocolate. Put back in freezer or fridge or leave on the counter until the chocolate hardens. These can be made way in advance and then frozen in a ziplock freezer bag.
1 lb powdered sugar (4 cups)
1-1/2 cups creamy peanut
1 cup butter, softened
Mix all ingredients together and form into balls. I usually freeze them or put them in the refrigerator for a few hours. Once they come out of the freezer/refrigerator, dip them in melted chocolate. Put back in freezer or fridge or leave on the counter until the chocolate hardens. These can be made way in advance and then frozen in a ziplock freezer bag.
Sunday, November 06, 2011
Pumpkin Gingersnap Cookies
This is not my recipe, but you can bet I am going to make these today!!
PUMPKIN GINGERSNAP COOKIES
2 1/3 c all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 c sugar (plus more for rolling cookies)
1/2 c canned pumpkin
1/4 c molasses
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1. Sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt. Set aside.
2. Using an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the pumpkin, molasses, egg and vanilla extract. Add in dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate dough for at least an hour.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
4. Roll dough into 1-inch balls and coat each ball with sugar. Place on lined cookie sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until tops of cookies crack. Allow cookies to cool on sheet for a minute or two before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Source: Two Peas and Their Pod
PUMPKIN GINGERSNAP COOKIES
2 1/3 c all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 c sugar (plus more for rolling cookies)
1/2 c canned pumpkin
1/4 c molasses
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1. Sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt. Set aside.
2. Using an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the pumpkin, molasses, egg and vanilla extract. Add in dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate dough for at least an hour.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
4. Roll dough into 1-inch balls and coat each ball with sugar. Place on lined cookie sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until tops of cookies crack. Allow cookies to cool on sheet for a minute or two before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Source: Two Peas and Their Pod
Monday, May 16, 2011
Cheeseburger Soup
1/2 pound ground beef
3/4 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup shredded carrots
3/4 cup diced celery
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried parsley flakes
4 Tablespoons butter or margarine, divided
3 cups chicken broth
4 cups diced, peeled potatoes
1/4 cup flour
8 ounces american, processed cheese (2 cups)
1 to 1-1/2 cups of milk
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup sour cream
In a 3 quart saucepan, brown beef, drain, and then set aside the beef. In the same pan, sautee onions, carrots, celery, basil, parsley, 1 Tablespoon of butter, until vegetables are tender. About 10 minutes. Add broth, potatoes, and beef, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Meanwhile, in a small skillet, melt remaining butter, and add flour. Cook and stir for 3-5 minutes until bubbly, then add to your soup. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low, then add your cheese, milk, salt and pepper. Cook and stir until cheese melts. Remove from heat, blend in your sour cream.
3/4 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup shredded carrots
3/4 cup diced celery
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried parsley flakes
4 Tablespoons butter or margarine, divided
3 cups chicken broth
4 cups diced, peeled potatoes
1/4 cup flour
8 ounces american, processed cheese (2 cups)
1 to 1-1/2 cups of milk
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup sour cream
In a 3 quart saucepan, brown beef, drain, and then set aside the beef. In the same pan, sautee onions, carrots, celery, basil, parsley, 1 Tablespoon of butter, until vegetables are tender. About 10 minutes. Add broth, potatoes, and beef, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Meanwhile, in a small skillet, melt remaining butter, and add flour. Cook and stir for 3-5 minutes until bubbly, then add to your soup. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low, then add your cheese, milk, salt and pepper. Cook and stir until cheese melts. Remove from heat, blend in your sour cream.
Monday, May 09, 2011
Mushroom Soup
My kiddo LOVES mushroom soup, and he's been asking me to make him some since he discovered it at a resturaunt last Fall. I tried this recipe, and I really liked it.
8 oz fresh mushrooms
2 Tablespoons onions, chopped
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tablespoons butter
2-3 Tablespoons flour (separated)
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup light cream or evaporated milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Cut the mushrooms into slices. Melt butter in large frying pan. Add in the onions, garlic, and mushrooms. Cook until onions are soft. Blend in 2 Tablespoons flour and stir. Add in the chicken broth and heat until slightly thickened while stirring frequently. Stir cream with additional 1 Tablespoon flour. Add in cream to soup. Heat to thicken while stirring frequently. Serve and enjoy!
The changes I made were using 1/2 n 1/2 instead of cream. It required an extra Tablespoon of flour to it because it's not quite as thick as cream. I'd also add just a dash of nutmeg. I love the flavor it adds to the soup, but to me it was just a little too strong. Overall, great recipe. I have a feeling we'll be eating this again!
8 oz fresh mushrooms
2 Tablespoons onions, chopped
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tablespoons butter
2-3 Tablespoons flour (separated)
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup light cream or evaporated milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Cut the mushrooms into slices. Melt butter in large frying pan. Add in the onions, garlic, and mushrooms. Cook until onions are soft. Blend in 2 Tablespoons flour and stir. Add in the chicken broth and heat until slightly thickened while stirring frequently. Stir cream with additional 1 Tablespoon flour. Add in cream to soup. Heat to thicken while stirring frequently. Serve and enjoy!
The changes I made were using 1/2 n 1/2 instead of cream. It required an extra Tablespoon of flour to it because it's not quite as thick as cream. I'd also add just a dash of nutmeg. I love the flavor it adds to the soup, but to me it was just a little too strong. Overall, great recipe. I have a feeling we'll be eating this again!
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