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!

Honey Hot Wings

Sorry for the long delay in posting. The move has gone fairly well. The only thing that got broken (that we've found so far) was 4 jars of my grandma's pickled beets. I guess if that's the worst of it, that's not so bad. While we were settling in, we had my husband's parents and grandma over for dinner one night and we initiated a new grill that night, too. We needed a new one and Tim wanted to get it before he left for work so that I could still grill while he was gone. THANK YOU, HONEY!! As a kind of "thank you" to him, I made Honey Hot Wings. He LOVES hot wings. This recipe made enough for him with a couple for me, a couple for his mom, and one for his dad and grandma. Enjoy!


HONEY HOT WINGS

• 2 pounds chicken wings, tips discarded
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1 cup honey, separated
  
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 cup hot sauce (I used Frank's Red Hot, but I think next time I make them, I'll use hot sauce from Apple Acres in Indiana.)
  

1. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat and lightly oil grate.
2. Wash the wings well and pat dry with paper towel. Season with cayenne, salt, and pepper. (I didn't measure the s&p or the cayenne...just gave the chicken a light sprinkling of them and it was perfect!)
3. Cook the chicken wings on preheated grill until cooked through and juices run clear, 20 to 30 minutes depending on the size of the wings. Brush the wings liberally using 1/2 cup of honey while they are cooking.
4. Melt the butter, pour into a large bowl and mix in the remaining 1/2 cup of honey and hot sauce. Remove the wings from the grill and immediately toss them in the hot honey butter sauce to coat. Serve the wings 'wet' or return them to the grill for 1 minute per side to set the sauce.

Zucchini Jam

When I was a little girl, my mom used to make Zucchini Jam for me every year. I just LOVED the stuff. Then, either Jello stopped making apricot jello or my mom just told me that so she was off the hook....she quit making it and lost the recipe. When I married and had kids of my own, I got a bug up my rear to find that recipe again. I searched all over online and tried a recipe or two, but none of them were my mom's recipe with the apricot jello. Then, in 2005 I thought to ask my Grandma in South Dakota. OF COURSE Grandma had it!! I've made it 3 of the last 4 years and it's always so good!! I make several batches so I have enough for gifts all year, too!

Granny's Zucchini Jam

6 cups grated zucchini
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
1-6 oz box apricot jello
2 boxes sure-gel

Bring zucchini to a boil and cook until clear, about 6 minutes. Add sugar, lemon juice, and pineapple. Boil hard for 6 minutes. Remove from heat and add sure-gel. Stir until dissolved before adding the jello and stir that until dissolved, also. Pack into jelly jars and seal. Enjoy!

Best Waffles EVAH!

Yesterday morning, Riley asked for waffles. I had planned and started pancakes already so we had them (See this post for the recipe!) But, this morning I thought it was perfect for pancakes! When I went to the freezer to get the blueberries, they were missing...so I made blackberry topping instead! YUM! I found this recipe, read the reviews and made some pretty big modifications....now we have awesome waffles! They are even kind of healthy for you and very filling! Riley could only eat 2! (My waffle maker makes 2 waffles at a time, approx. 4"x5". The batch made a lot! Plenty for the freezer! )

Margie's Waffles

2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups bread flour
2 tbsp + 2 tsp baking powder (or 8 tsp)
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups milk
3/4 cup applesauce (I used homemade and it's rather thick)
4 eggs, seperated
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp vanilla

Preheat waffle iron.

In a large bowl, sift together flours, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Stir in milk, vanilla, oil and egg YOLKS and mix until smooth.

In a separate bowl, beat egg WHITES until soft peaks form. Gently fold into flour mixture.

Spray preheated waffle iron with non-stick spray. Mine uses about 1/2 cup batter per waffle. Cook until golden and serve hot.

My blackberry topping was simply some mashed berries and a little sugar.

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This recipe is linked to Share My Recipe Sunday at Organize with Sandy!

Honey Garlic Vinaigrette and Grilled Venison

A few years ago, I found and made this awesome dressing. I used it on lettuce from my garden with a little leftover grilled ribeye then. I rediscovered the recipe again and remember why I fell in love with it then....it's EASY, CHEAP and YUMMY! The ingredients are things I always have in the house which makes it even better! Last night when I made this again (with Farmer's Market lettuce) we were trying a new recipe for grilled venison. Tim's friend, Melissa, sent me the recipe on Facebook and I followed part of it. The part I did was super simple and tasty, again with things I always have in the house. (The part I didn't follow was adding grilled tomatoes, bacon and gorgonzola cheese...we didn't miss it.) I put the meat on my salad and it was an awesome concoction! Enjoy!


Honey Garlic Vinaigrette

1 cup vegetable oil (don't use olive oil as the flavor is too strong)
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
3 tbsp honey
2 (or 3) cloves of garlic, minced (I use my garlic press)

Put in a mixing container. I've used a blender or even a pint sized mason jar. Blend well. Allow to stand 45 minutes for flavors to meld. Stir/shake/mix again and serve.

Grilled Venison

Enough venison minute steaks to feed your crowd
Soy sauce
Worcestershire sauce
Garlic powder
Black Pepper
Olive Oil (I use EVOO)

In a glass dish or baggie, place meat and sprinkle with other ingredients. Cover or close bag and allow to stand at room temp for 30 minutes. Cook with indirect heat on grill until they are done.

Mediterranean Pepper Salad

Another goodie from the Smitten Kitchen put here for safe keeping. Enjoy!

Copy and pasted from SK:

Mediterranean Pepper Salad
Insprired by one you can buy at Zabar’s, but now no longer need to

I put my own spin on this, of course. I omitted the green peppers because, well, they’re not my favorite and I quick-pickled the red onion to sweeten and soften its blow. But really, my favorite part of salads like this is is that they can be kept in the fridge already dressed, and only grow more deliciously marinated in a day or two. Should they last that long.

1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup cold water
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 a red onion, cut into a 1/2-inch dice (use less if your onion is huge)
3 bell peppers, your choice of colors (I used one red, orange and yellow)
1 kirby cucumber,
1/4-pound firm feta cheese
1/4 to 1/2 cup pitted kalmata olives
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Swish together the red wine vinegar, water, kosher salt and sugar in a small bowl until the salt and sugar are dissolved. Add the red onion and set it aside.

Meanwhile, time to practice your knife skills. Core and seed your bell peppers and chop them into 1/2-inch pieces. Chop the cucumber and feta into similarly-sized chunks. Put your peppers, cucumber, feta and olives in a large bowl.

By now, your onions will have lightly pickled, both sweetening and softening their blow. Drain them and add them to the other vegetables in the large bowl, but reserve the vinegar mixture. Pour a quarter cup of the vinegar mixture over the salad, then drizzle with olive oil. Season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper, or to taste. Toss evenly and serve at once, or let the flavors muddle together in the fridge for a few hours.

Forgetful, who me? People, I just realized I forgot to add the cup of grape tomatoes that are usually in this salad, and that I’d purchased specifically to add to it. Like grape tomatoes? Add them! Don’t like them? Turns out you might not know they were missing.

Black Bean Confetti Salad

I need a place to put this recipe so I remember it, so I'm putting it here. Originally found here at the Smitten Kitchen. I plan to make this over the weekend. Enjoy!

Black Bean Confetti Salad

This works equally well as a small salad–even tossed with salad greens for more bulk–or alongside salsa fresca for scooping up with a tortilla chip.

2 15-ounce cans black beans, drained and well-rinsed
4 bell peppers, a mix of colors, chopped into a small dice
1/2 super-large or 1 medium white onion, chopped into a small dice
Juice of one lime
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon honey
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
Optional: If you’re the kind of person who loves cilantro, it’s a great match for this salad.

Mix beans, bell peppers and white onion in a large bowl. In a separate, smaller bowl, whisk remaining ingredients into a vinaigrette. Ideally, you’ll have a 1/2 cup of dressing. Pour it over the bean mixture, toss it well and adjust seasonings to taste.

Pork Chops

I'll be the first to admit that with my hubby out of town, I'm not into cooking much...hence the lack of posting here...but I have made some pork chops the other night that were really good...Rugby had 3 of them! So I thought I'd share...even though it's not really a recipe..

At Aldi's, they sell an herb mixture called "Country Herbs" that is a mixture of mint, rosemary, thyme, marjoram, sea salt, and some others I can't remember right now. I use this in a lot of my salads, soups and now as a rub for the meat! Generously sprinkle the meat with it. Sprinkle with garlic powder and ground ginger and grill until they are cooked to your liking. While they are still hot, fresh off the grill dab them with butter. The real thing, folks...no substitutions allowed! The kids liked dipping in Sweet Baby Ray's, but they were good without it, too.

Enjoy!

Corn and Black Bean Salsa

A couple summers ago (I think), my SIL Christine made this awesome salsa for the Fourth of July gathering at my husband's parents house. All of his siblings (there are 7 total) come home with their spouses, boyfriends and kids and it makes for quite the party. Tim's dad's business usually puts a float in the parade and the kids throw popsicles off the back of the truck. Good times. But, anyway, for the cookout one night, Christine brought this salsa and I have to share (And put it here so I don't lose it!) it's so good and so easy!

Corn and Black Bean Salsa ala Christine

1 can black beans rinsed and drained
1 can mexican corn - drained
1 small red onion - finely chopped (I didn't put this in) (She doesn't...I do!)
3 roma tomatoes - chopped
3 green onions - chopped
2 avocados - chopped
1 sm clove garlic - minced

MIX together

dressing:
1/4 - 1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 envelope good seasons Italian dressing.

I added chopped fresh cilantro. (Me, too!!)

Serve with chips. (I'm thinking Fritos scoops would be good with this!!)

Enjoy!

Life got in the way

Life got in the way of my blogging (again). My DH is out of town and now that school's out, I have all four at home with me and up to TWO extras, depending on the day. Sooooooo, I hope to be back posting recipes for you soon!! My husband's cousin's wife made an awesome salsa that I need to get the recipe for to share, and hopefully I can find Christine's corn salsa recipe to share, too. I LOVE SUMMER FOOD!!

Be back soon!!

Sloppy Joes

Last night, I hadn't planned our dinner. I babysat until 4:15 and played with the boys until Tim called and said he was on his way....oops! I had 1 hour to get dinner on the table. Searching the freezer, I found 1-1 1/2 pound block of hamburger and a pound of ground venison. COOL! Tacos....but I was out of taco seasoning, so I went to allrecipes.com to get the recipe for the taco seasoning I liked. Their front page, featured recipe was a neat sloppy joe....neat because it's not so liquidy and run down your arm messy! WOOHOO! Mom's everywhere: REJOICE! I read the reviews and tweaked it some. It was good, but missing something to Tim's and my taste, but Rugby ate FOUR of them and Riley loaded up on Granny's potatoes she sent home with us this weekend (They came in really handy last night....10 minutes in the microwave and we were set!!) So, here's the recipe, let me know what you think!! Enjoy!

Sloppy Joes

2 pounds ground meat (beef, turkey, chicken, venison)
1/2 cup chopped onion
3/4-1 cup chopped celery
3 cloves minced garlic
1/2 cup grated carrot (Optional, but I added because I wasn't going to be serving a veggie on the side)
1 can tomato soup
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tbsp cider vinegar
1/8 cup brown sugar (originally called for 1/4 cup, so use your judgement)
1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
2+ tbsp BBQ sauce (we use Sweet Baby Ray's)
1/8 tsp-ish Hickory liquid smoke

Cook meat and veggies until meat is browned. Add rest of ingredients and cook until heated through. Serve on buns.

(Serves 8)

Fry Bread

My mom and I were talking about "Indian Tacos" this weekend while I was back home. My husband was raised in an area very near to an Indian Reservation and they attend church on the reservation. His mom has this recipe for fry bread from some of the ladies at church and it's SO GOOD!! You can top it with taco stuff, or butter and cinnamon/sugar or powdered sugar (frosting, too) or drizzle with honey or some butter and jam. Really, use it just like a bread....we've also had it for a bun of a hot dog which was good, too. Enjoy!

Indian Fry Bread

Flour-enough to make a soft dough
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2-3 tbsp oil
2 c water or milk

Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix thoroughly. (Start with a couple cups of flour and add more as needed). Knead until smooth. Let stand at least 15 minutes. Melt 1 inch of oil in a heavy skillet until hot (like for donuts) (I use my deep fryer set at 375). Roll dough out on a floured board and cut into desired shapes. Fry 2 or 3 at a time until browned on one side, then flip and brown the other side.

Lime Cookies

I made these cookies this morning. They have a really fresh taste. The lime really pops. I've used the recipe exactly as written on allrecipes, so here it is for you. I baked for a slightly less amount of time so that the cookies still had a bit of chewy left to them.

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon lime zest
• 3 tablespoons lime juice

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 2 large baking sheets. Stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon in a bowl; set aside. Stir together 1/3 cup sugar, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon in a separate bowl and set aside.
2. Cream together the butter, 1 cup sugar, and lime zest in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the lime juice, then the flour mixture 1/2 cup at a time. Form the dough into walnut-sized balls, and roll in the spiced sugar mixture. Arrange onto prepared baking sheets 1 inch apart. Flatten the balls slightly using a decorative cookie stamp or the bottom of a glass.
3. Bake the cookies in the preheated oven until the edges of the cookies turn golden brown, 13 to 16 minutes. Cool the cookies on wire racks, then store in an airtight container up to 1 week.

Rhubarb Upside Down Cake

My hubby LOVES rhubarb. I make a rhubarb crunch that he claims as his favorite, but I need a little more variety than making just that one rhubarb dessert. So today I'm making rhubarb cookies with browned butter icing and yesterday I made Rhubarb Upside Down Cake while my il-laws are here. It's super simple and SO YUMMY! Enjoy!

Rhubarb....I used chopped, about 3 cups. You could leave the rhubarb in long pieces cut to fit the pan, also.
1 white cake mix (YES! I actually used a cake mix!)
ingredients for the mix
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Place the rhubarb in a greased 9x13 pan. Pour the prepared cake mix over the rhubarb and pour the cream over the cake mix. Bake according to the directions on the box. When the cake has cooled slightly, invert the cake over your serving platter so the rhubarb is up. Allow to cool completely. Use the remaining whipping cream with some powdered sugar to make homemade whipping cream to serve on top of each slice.

(Picture coming soon!)

*Tip for making whipping cream: Freeze your mixing bowl and your wire whisk attachment before preparing the whipping cream, when they are that cold, it makes it easier to whip.