Lemon Bars Deluxe

Lemon Bars Deluxe

Hello World Wide Interweb! I'd first like to say that I feel truly blessed to be able to share all of these things that were passed down to me with the world. In the  past week I have had views from: USA, UK, Canada, Slovakia, Vietnam, Germany, Russia, and Sweden.  What a wonder way to pass a legacy on to so many people.  The first recipe I have decided to make for the year is a lemon bar. I LOVE citrus fruits. I love oranges, lemon, grapefruit... all of it! As a matter of fact, when I was pregnant with my son I would eat a bag of oranges every two days. I just couldn't get enough of it.

This recipe turned out to look and taste really impressive! The lemon filling formed a perfect crispy top, and the sweet crust that was on the bottom of the bar tasted like a great pastry cookie!  I even caught my svelte husband sneaking seconds in the kitchen (which he never does.)  I was really impressed with myself on this one. It really looked AND TASTED like a professional treat.  It tasted like one of those fruit pies you can get at the gas station ( the diet busters), but way fresher and way better.

My little helper really helped out with this recipe.  He insisted on doing every step by 'him-felf (himself)'.  As you can see from the instructional pictures below, he really was a great help... and a little bit of a challenge on my part.  But we all have to learn at some point, and as my personal philosophy- there is no better time than the present. 

I hope that you all enjoy!

Lemon Bars Deluxe

Layer One:
2 Cups sifted all purpose flour
1/2 Cup sifted confectioner's sugar
1 Cup butter or margarine (butter makes it better)

Layer Two:
4 Beaten Eggs
2 Cups granulated sugar
1/3 Cup lemon juice
1/4 Cup all purpose flour
1/2 Tsp baking powder

Servings 12
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 45 minutes
Clean Up Time: 5 minutes

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

1.  Sift together 2 Cups of flour and confectioner's sugar.

2.  Cut in softened butter or margarine

3.  Press into 13" x 9" baking pan or dish

4.  Bake at 350 for 20- 25 minutes, or until lightly brown

5. While first layer is baking; Beat together 4 eggs

5.  Stir in granulated sugar and lemon juice into eggs

6.  Sift in 1/4 Cup flour and baking powder; mix

7. Pour lemon mixture into baked crust

8.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Top will become brown, and top layer will solidify slightly.

9.  Sprinkle with extra confectioner's sugar.  Cool, cut into bars.

There you have it- a yummy lemon bar recipe! There is a suggestion that you can add chopped walnuts to the lemon mixture. For me though, I like it just this way!

 As previously mentioned and sited, my little helper was a big helper this time.  Let me show you the "before and after pictures" to let you see how much he really got into it:

Before:

After:

AND....

Before:

AND After...

We had such a great time making this together.  I hope that you all have an excellent day.

One Love,

Virginia



Happy New Year!

I hope that everyone had the best holiday season, and that the new year is turning out to be a successful one so far.  After a slight holiday hiatus, I am back to continue my blogging quest into my grandmother's recipe collection.  When going through my recipes to find a new one to the new year with, I ran into a lot of articles and small clippings that had cooking/baking tips.  I think that these tips are very interesting and fun, so this year, I am going to periodically add some of these tips that my grandmother saved. 

Over the holidays, my mother dropped off a picture of my grandparents when they were around my age ( or around, my grandpa was 8 years older than my grandmother.) 

From Left to Right: My grandma Elizabeth Cruden, grandfather John Cruden, Great Uncle Jack Rubino

This picture was taken around the early 1940's, because it was taken on a cross country trip visiting national parks that my grandparents took before my mom was born (my mom was born in '48.)  They took a whole summer to travel across the country. My grandfather was quite the naturalist and spent his younger years work for the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corp) planting pine trees in the parks of Michigan.  He really enjoyed being outdoors, and loved to garden.  After the CCC, he got a job on the General Motors factory line as a welder.  I never really got to meet him, because he died of cancer shortly after I was born.

I'm not to sure what my Great Uncle Jack Rubino did.  I remember my mother telling me that he used to sell 'stag magazines' to the factory workers.  I think my mom said that he was involved in his own family's business of some sort.

But enough about me.  My next recipe is going to be a Raisin Ribbon Bar, which I will post very shortly.  For today, I decided that I would post one of my grandmother's cooking/ baking tips.  I hope maybe google can tag me on some these!

Tip of the Day

Substitute For Condensed Milk

"Ever wonder what you might do as substitution for a can of sweetened condensed milk?  Here's a simple recipe which fills the bill perfectly.  What it makes is equivalent to a 14- ounce can of regular sweetened condensed milk."

Substitute Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 Cup instant powdered milk

1/3 Cup boiling water

3 Tbps Butter, melted

2/3 Cup granulated sugar

1/2 Tsp Vanilla

Dash Salt

Combine powdered milk, boiling water; melted butter, sugar, vanilla and salt in the blender.  Process until smooth, approximately 3 to 4 minutes.

Hope that this helps someone out!! Again I wish everyone the best New Years.  Please look forward to all of my new 2011 posts!

One Love,

Virginia



Mississippi Mud Cake

Mississippi Mud Cake

My Thanksgiving Offering
M-i-ss-i-ss-i-pp-i Mud Cake
The Ten Pound Cake

I made this cake to bring with us for Thanksgiving. I thought for sure with all of the sweet and tasty ingredients that it would be delicious.

It is a sweet chocolate and coconut cake with toasted walnuts, and a marshmallow frosting and middle. The cake was very moist, and the marshmallow was very gooey. This is actually my first time ever using marshmallow fluff, and I didn't expect it to be the sticky and messy, but it all turned out in the end, which is one thing I am truly thankful for. :)

Mississippi Mud Cake

1 Cup Butter
2 Cups Sugar
2 Tbsp Cocoa
4 Eggs
1 Tsp Vanilla
1 1/2 Cup Flour
1 1/2 Chopped Walnuts or Pecans
1 1/2 Cup Coconut
1 Sm. Jar Marshmallow Fluff
Chocolate Frosting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. In a large bowl, cream together:  butter, sugar, and cocoa.
2. Beat in eggs, and vanilla

3.  Gradually add flour, stirring well.

4. Fold in nuts and coconut. Batter will be very heavy.

5.  Spoon into greased 9 x 12 pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 40 Minutes.

6.  Spoon contents of one jar of marshmallow fluff on top of cake.  Bake for 5 minutes.

7. When Cake is done. Frost with chocolate frosting ( I made my own), and decorate.

I thought this cake tasted very good. When I was decorating the cake, I cut it in half and was going to put one half on top of the other. Unfortunately, I didn't get it quite square, and because the marshmallow was so sticky I really couldn't move it. LOL. Oh well. Also, the marshmallow was sooo messy.  Thankfully, I read the back of the can and it said, 'to clean use hot water'. The hot water really did the trick. I decorated my cake with coconut and chocolate chips because since this is a new cake, I kind of like to clue people into what is on the inside. I hope you all enjoy. Happy Holidays.

One Love,

Virginia



Left Over Casserole

Thanksgiving Casserole
Left Overs. Reinvented

I made this before the Thanksgiving holiday, and realized that after it was done that this whole thing could be made just using left overs from thanksgiving with just a few extra ingredients.

This was really creamy and rich.  It took all my favorite left overs and stuck them into one dish. Yes! 

In this recipe, I used chicken. However; you can easily substitute cooked turkey for chicken instead.

I hope that you all enjoy.

Thanksgiving Casserole
Formerly Chicken Casserole

1 Pkg Stuffing
4 Tbsp Margarine, Melted
2 1/2 Cups Turkey or Chicken, Cooked
1/2 Cup Onion
1/4 Cup Mayonnaise
3/4 Tsp Salt
2 Eggs
1 1/2 Cup Milk
1 Can Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
1/2 Cup Grated Parmesan

1. Prepare stuffing as directed.

2.  Place half of stuffing mixture on the bottom of a 9 x 12 baking pan.

3.  In medium bowl mix turkey or chicken, onion, mayo, and salt.

4. Mix turkey in with stuffing mixture.

5. Pour over stuffing in pan.

6. Mix together egg and milk. Pour over pan.

7. Refrigerate until chilled.

8.  Spread cream of mushroom soup over casserole. Bake at 325 for 40 minutes.

9.  After Baking, Sprinkle with Cheese and bake until cheese is melted.

... And there you have it! A way to re- prepare your holiday left overs. 

I hope that you all have a wonderful day. :)

One Love,

Virginia

Potato Pancakes

Sour Cream Potato Pancakes
Hash Browns With a Kick
Is This Really a "Pancake"?

It's been a really long time since I've had potato pancakes. The last time I can remember having them was when my aunt made them for me in Tennessee about 12 years ago. I really didn't like them then; and to be completely honest, still not to crazy about them now.  However; I am not closed minded, and I gave this a chance since it had been so long.

There is nothing like the smell of greasy fried potato stuck in an apartment. Yum. Yum. Yum.  Ok, not yum, it was pretty gross.  I would first like to say that I am not really a fan of a lot of fried foods beside chicken nuggets. I like a few french fries every now and then, but the taste of greasy nasty grease really gets to me. But let me not be partial, and describe this recipe to you.

The potato pancakes were very creamy inside.  It had a very nice texture, and cooked very well. It really did look pretty on the outside with it being golden brown and crispy.  They were fun to cook.

I hope that those of you that like potato pancakes really try this out for yourselves. I'm sure you will like the, unlike picky me.

Sour Cream Potato Pancakes
(Sour cream makes these pancakes extra light and tangy)

3 Lg. Idaho Potatoes
2 Eggs
1 Small Onion, grated (1/4 Cup)
1 Cup Sour Cream
1/2 Cup All Purpose Flour
1/4 Tsp Baking Powder (not soda)
1 Tsp salt
1/4 Tsp Pepper
Vegetable Oil for frying

Makes about 30 pancakes

1. Cut potatoes and shred into a bowl of cold water.  Drain, then rinse in cold running water.  Squeeze firmly in paper towel to remove as much water as possible. This will keep the potatoes from discoloring.

2.  Beat eggs in a large bowl until frothy.

3.  Add potatoes, onion, sour cream, flour, baking powder, salt and pepper; stir. The mixture will be loose.

4. Heat oil in large skillet. Drop potato mixture by tablespoon into hot oil.

5.  Flatten with spatula to make an even thickness.  Brown one side about 5 minutes and flip. You will be able to tell when one side is done when you see the edges turn golden brown.

6.  Place cooked potato pancakes on paper towel to absorb excess oil.

Serve with apple sauce.

There you have it! Potato pancakes!  It took a little bit of fiddling with the oil temperature on my stove to get the pancakes to cook just right. If it was a little too low, they wouldn't brown. If it was a little too high, it would be too dark. I finally found a spot right between the 7 and 8 on my dial that worked to mass produce these little pancakes.

I hope that you all enjoy!

One Love,

Virginia

Honey Glazed Chicken

Honey Glazed Chicken
The sweetest chicken I've ever had

So, I have to apologize for the end pictures on this one. It might just be one of the least attractive end pictures you have ever seen, but please don't let that dissuade you from trying this. That stuff in the picture to the right that looks like gravy- not gravy. Its a sweet honey citrus sauce with cinnamon and sugar. 

When I gave this to my little boy, I told him it was candy chicken. He completely went for it. That was actually the first thing on his plate that he ate the whole portion of.  I really liked this because the glaze made the chicken extra tender underneath, and the top was so sweet that I kind of felt like it was more of a desert than an entree.

The sauce is a really sauce that thickens quite a bit when it is heated up. It is made up of honey, orange and lemon juice, worcestershire sauce ( thank God for spell check on that one), and cinnamon. Very tasty! I hope that you all enjoy.

Honey Glazed Chicken

1 lb Chicken
2 Tbsp Butter
1 Tsp Salt
1/4 Tsp Pepper
1/2 Cup Crushed Cornflakes
2/3 Cup Honey
Glaze:
1/2 Cup Fresh Orange Juice
2 Tbsp Flour
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1 Tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 Tsp Cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 Degrees.

1. Brush chicken with margarine and sprinkle with salt and pepper
2. Roll chicken in crushed cornflakes.

3. Bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 45 minutes, or until chicken is golden brown.

4. While chicken is baking, prepare glaze.  In saucepan combine: honey, orange juice, flour, lemon juice, worcestershire sauce, and cinnamon. Cook on medium heat until bubbly and thickened.

5.  Remove cooked chicken from oven and drain off any excess fat. Spoon glaze over chicken in baking pan. Sauce will get very thick while it cooks on the chicken.

I really enjoyed this sweet chicken.  A funny thing about the recipe directions though. The recipe was all typed out on a sheet of paper. And after all the instructions there was one last line- it said "P.S. Before placing chicken in baking pan; roll in crushed corn flakes. Should have been added in the preparing of chicken".  When I made this I started cooking the chicken without the cornflakes on it.  Then as I read through the recipe for the glaze, that's when I came to the "P.S" part.  LOL.  You can kind of tell in my picture above that the chicken is already a little cooked when I rolled it in the corn flakes :).

I hope that you all have a great day.

One Love,

Virginia