Lemon Bars

I know most of you already have and use a recipe for lemon bars, but they are another of Timmy's favorite treats. I'm just putting this here for safe keeping since I can't find the book with the recipe that I usually use I found this one online, modified it a TINY TINY bit and we loved it. Maybe I'll even make it again one day!

Lemon Bars

Crust:
2 cups flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup butter

Mix (I used a pastry blender) and press into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 for 20-25 minutes until crust is a pretty golden color.

Filling:
While that's baking, mix:
4 large eggs
2 cups sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 tsp lemon extract (opt, but I added and it was lovely)
Stir well.

Add in:
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp lemon zest (opt...I didn't have any so this was skipped)

When crust is done, pour this over it and return to the oven for 20 minutes. Cool and chill before sprinkling with powdered sugar and enjoy!

(We ate them still warm, but they were even better cold!)

Cashew Chicken

A couple weeks ago, we were in this little tiny diner in Gresham and on the counter they had this 3 ring binder cookbook. It was from a "local author" and I was looking through it and saw SEVERAL recipes that I thought sounded good...but my DH didn't think I needed another cookbook....well, I thought differently and when he went to the bathroom I bought it and stashed it in the diaper bag (I'm gonna be sooooooo sad to stop carrying that big thing!) Rugby and Riley happened to find the book about a week ago and went through it, page by page telling me what they thought sounded good....so I set them up with a notebook and they wrote the recipe name, page and who thought it was gonna be a good one...now, I only have to look at their sheet for TONS of dinner ideas!! And I'll actually be using the cookbook, double bonus! We made chicken quesadillas the other day that were so good, but how do you screw that up? It's pretty simple. Anyway, another one that was marked "Both" (as in they both wanted it) was Cashew Chicken. My kids love chinese food and since most of what they like is simple stir fry stuff, I was happy to make it. This recipe is no exception. VERY SIMPLE and VERY tasty! I think the sauce would be good if I could figure out the breading to make peanut butter chicken. YUM! EnjoY!

Cashew Chicken

Peanut Butter Sauce:
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup peanut butter
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp honey

Mix together until well blended and set aside.

Stir Fry:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1" pieces
3 cups broccoli, chopped
2 ribs celery, cut into 1/2" pieces
2 green onions, chopped (I skipped this for the kids)
2 Tbsp vegetable or peanut oil (I used butter)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp grated gingerroot (next time, I might add a bit more, but I LOVE ginger)
2 packages ramen noodles, flavor packages discarded
1/2 cup cashews

In the oil, saute the chicken, garlic and ginger until the chicken is no longer pink. Remove from skillet and set aside. In the skillet, add a little more oil (or like I did: a bit of chicken broth...less than 1/4 cup) and saute (or steam if you added the broth) the celery and broccoli for about 4 minutes. Add the green onion and continue to cook, stirring often until the veggies are tender-crisp. Add the chicken back to the skillet and pour the sauce over. Bring to a boil, then turn off the heat. While you are waiting, add the ramen noodles JUST THE NOODLES, NOT THE FLAVOR PACKET to a pot of boiling water and boil for 3 minutes; drain. Add the noodles to the chicken and veggies. Sprinkle with cashews and serve.

Peanut butter flavor is very subtle, not at all over whelming. I hope you like it!