Chocolate-Lemon Bars: Not so much

Not sure if it was me or the recipe, but these tanked!

Prep Time:
20 min
Total Time:
55 min
Makes:
16 servings, 1 bar each
What You Need
20 FAMOUS Chocolate Wafers, finely crushed (about 1 cup crumbs)
2 Tbsp. margarine or butter, melted
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. grated lemon peel
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
1/4 tsp. CALUMET Baking Powder
2 Tbsp. powdered sugar
Make It
PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Mix wafer crumbs and margarine; press firmly onto bottom of 8-inch square baking pan. Bake 5 min.
MEANWHILE, beat eggs, lemon peel and lemon juice with wire whisk until well blended. Add sugar, flour and baking powder; mix well. Pour over crust.
BAKE 25 min. Cool on wire rack 10 min.; sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cut into 16 squares. Serve warm. Store leftover bars in tightly covered container at room temperature.

Golden Grahams Indoor Smores

YUM! made this for a RS luncheon today. Pretty sure there wasn't anyone that didn't like it (except for the fools who didn't try it because they were dieting!)

INDOOR S'MORES (From Golden Grahams Cereal box)
Makes 48 squares
2/3 c Light corn syrup
2 tb Butter or margarine
11 1/2 oz Nestle milk chocolate morsels
1 ts Vanilla
10 oz Golden Grahams cereal (about 8 cups)
3 c Miniature marshmallows
Grease a 13x9x2" rectangular pan. Heat corn syrup, butter and chocolate morsels to boiling in 3-quart saucepan, stirring constantly; remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Pour over cereal in large mixing bowl; toss quickly until completely coated with chocolate. Fold in marshmallows, 1 cup at a time. Press mixture evenly in pan with piece of waxed paper. Let stand until firm, at least 1 hour. Cut into 1-1/2 inch squares.

Tex Mex Sundaes - not so great

I tried this recipe a week ago when we had friends visiting from California but I forgot to blog about it.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/tex-mex-sundaes-recipe/index.html

The tortillas weren't super cruncy. The chocolate sauce I bought was clumpy. I didn't even try the ice cream but I think it turned out ok. I gave it to my friend - and she enjoyed it.

The ice cream took more work than I'm used to - I have a yummy easy vanilla ice cream recipe. It was my first time to make something other than vanilla in my ice cream maker. Do you have one? Yum - ask for one for your birthday! They aren't that expensive and they are so much fun and so easy.

Baked Salmon - not so much

I made baked salmon tonight. Bret and the kids love salmon. Bret just wanted a sandwich (at least that was his order when he left me in the morning); although I think when he got home and realized I hadn't made him one, he felt left out.

The recipe wasn't super yummy. The kids scraped off the topping and then they really liked it. So I guess I could have just made them plain. Bret had bought a pack of salmon fillets frozen from Costco - super easy!

http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/cookingschool/videos/videoplayer.aspx?vid=1074

Kristi Bigelow's White Chocolate Party Mix

This is a recipe from a friend - we love it.

White Chocolate Party Mix
5 cups Cheerios
5 cups Corn Chex
2 cups Salted Peanuts
1 lb M & Ms
1 pkg (10 oz) mini pretzels
2 pkg (12 oz) vanilla chips
3 Tbs oil

Combine all ingredients except chips and oil in bowl. Microwave chips and oil on medium-high heat 2 minutes. Stir. Microwave on high 10 seconds. Stir until smooth. Pour over cereal mixture and stir well. Spread on wax paper. Cool. Break apart.

Blood Orange Lemonade

www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/danny-boome/blood-orange-lemonade-recipe/index.html

Lemons, Lemons and Lemons

Homemade Lemon Squares.

Lemon Squares
Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2004
Prep Time:
20 min
Inactive Prep Time:
hr min
Cook Time:
45 min
Level:
Easy
Serves:
2 dozen squared
Ingredients1 3/4 cups all purpose flour 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, plus extra for dusting 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into pieces 4 large eggs 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar 2/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest 1 teaspoon baking powder Pinch salt
InstructionsPreheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9 by 13-inch sheet pan with heavy duty aluminum foil, so that the ends of the foil hang over the sides and set aside. In a bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups of the flour with 1/2 cup of the powdered sugar. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Press in an even layer into the bottom of the pan and bake until pale tan, about 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. While the crust is baking, prepare the filling. (The filling will set up better if the crust is still warm.) In large bowl, beat the eggs and granulated sugar until pale yellow and frothy. Add the remaining 1/4 cup of flour, and the remaining ingredients and whisk to combine. Pour over the warm crust and bake until set, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack. Dust with confectioners' sugar before cutting with a thin, sharp knife into squares.

Mini Meatloaves

I know who really likes meatloaf - who makes meatloaf on purpose? Well Alex really likes meatloaf and so I found a recipe that I like too. It is mini - meatloaves. It is so easy to cook and takes less time because of their size.

I have been making this recipe for years.

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/recipe.aspx?recipeID=35722&Source=SearchResultPage&terms=mini%20meatloaf

I made a Knorr Veggie Side to go with it - have you tried those yet? Pretty quick and easy and not too bad tasting. Tonight was a pasta with spinach and broccoli and olive oil.

I also made Rice Krispie treats.

Party Pretzels

Have you heard of these yet? It is like a party in your mouth!

32 oz small pretzels
½ tsp onion powder
½ tsp garlic powder
2 tsp dill weed
½ package ranch dressing envelope
1 bottle buttery popcorn oil

Mix dry ingredients and oil. Add pretzels. Put in Ziploc bag or Tupperware and marinate overnight. Seal and turn until oil is absorbed. YUM!

Chocolate Chip Cookies - EVERY WEEK!

I really try and make these almost every week.

Mom taught me the recipe decades ago - it is the easy one on the back of the Nestle semi-sweet chocolate chip bag. Mom sent me a cookie recipe kit when I moved into my apartment - a 3/4 measuring cup with oven mitts and baking sheets. The 3/4 measuring cup is used once for each the sugar and brown suagr and then 3 times for the flour.

Homemade Lasagne with Oven Ready Noodles

This is a regular meal that I make when I'm leaving town - it is easy for the kids to cook and make some salad and garlic bread to go with it.

Pizza Puffs

I made these in advance of me being gone for 10 days. They are a favorite in our house but didn't turn out when I tried to make them and have them bake them later.

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

This one was a success and easy.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sandra-lee/creamy-chicken-noodle-soup-recipe/index.html

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

This was a hit with the family and pretty easy.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sandra-lee/creamy-chicken-noodle-soup-recipe/index.html

Salsa Maker - ever heard of one?

Homemade Salsa - YUMMY!

I love making homemade salsa. Bret doesn't love it. Alex loves anything with chips. Jasmine loves the juice part but not the tomato part.

AND I got a salsa maker for my birthday. I haven't been able to try it out yet. I got it hours after I made my last batch of salsa. I use a recipe from my sister-in-law's Mom - Kathy Knott. It is way easy and fresh! Love it.

Oreo Disaster

This recipe was a non - repeat. No one liked it but it looked great. Too bad I wasted a bag of oreos to make it.