Lemon Bars

Crust:
1 and 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 and 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
Pinch of salt

Filling:
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
6 tablespoons flour
6 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9 by 13 by 2-inch pan.

For the crust, combine the flour, powdered sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the butter to make a crumbly mixture. Press the mixture into the prepared pan. Bake for 20 minutes.

Make the filling while the crust is baking. Mix the eggs, sugar, flour, lemon juice, and lemon extract. Pour this over the baked crust and bake for 25 minutes longer. Sprinkle with powdered sugar when cool. These cut best if cooled completely before cutting.

**The original recipe is Paula Dean's from the Food Network. It calls for 2 cups flour, 2 sticks butter, and 1 cup powdered sugar in the crust. We thought that made the bars too "crusty" though. And we wanted them more lemony, so added the teaspoon of lemon extract.

Peach-Blueberry Cobbler

Thanks to a combination of a recipe from Patty and a recipe from Allrecipes.com, I made a tasty Peach-Blueberry Cobbler today. I don't especially care for blueberries, but this was really good.

Filling:
5 fresh peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced
1 pint fresh blueberries, picked over
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons corn starch

Topping:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1/4 cup boiling water

Cinnamon Sugar for very top:
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
3 tablespoons white sugar

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
2. Combine filling ingredients in a large bowl. Stir to coat and pour into a 2 quart baking dish. Bake for 10 minutes.
3. While the filling is baking, combine all topping ingredients except butter and water. Blend butter into the mix with finger tips or a pastry blender. Mixture should be chunky. Add 1/4 cup boiling water. Stir until just combined.
4. Remove filling from oven and drop spoonfuls of topping over it. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake until topping is golden - about 30 minutes.

Turkey Chili

I was hoping this would be edible (and hoping to sneak a low-fat meal in) and was pleasantly surprised. It's low-fat, until you add the toppings, but ridiculously high in sodium. Can't have it all!


1 pound ground turkey, browned and drained
1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
2 cans mild Rotel with liquid (for a milder chili, use a can of diced tomatoes in place of one of the cans of Rotel)
1 small onion (I used purple, but any would do)
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
1 cup water


Combine all in pot and simmer for 2 hours. If chili gets too thick, add a little more water. Serve over tortilla chips or cornbread and top with sour cream, shredded cheese, and chopped green onion. I think a can of corn might be a tasty addition next time.

Glazed Lemon Cake

Glazed Lemon Cake
2 cups flour
1 ¼ cup sugar, divided
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 package (3 oz.) lemon Jello
¾ cup milk
2/3 cup oil
2 teaspoons lemon extract
3 large eggs, separated

Glaze:
2 cup powdered sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice

Preheat oven to 325. Spray bundt pan with Pam for Baking. Mix with wire whisk: flour, 1 cup sugar, Jello, and baking powder. Beat in milk, oil, and lemon extract. Beat in egg yolks, one at a time. Beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry, beating in remaining ¼ cup sugar. Fold beaten egg whites lightly, but thoroughly, into batter. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 45-55 minutes or until cake tester inserted in middle comes out clean. Let cool 10 minutes. Combine glaze ingredients in saucepan. Heat through. Loosen sides of cake with spatula. Turn out onto cooling grid set on wax paper. Pour warm glaze over cake. Let cool 1 hour.

Chewy Pumpkin Caramel Bars

Here's another wonderful pumpkin recipe. A small bar goes a long way - they are VERY sweet!

Chewy Pumpkin Caramel Bars
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 2/3 cups granulated sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup solid pack canned pumpkin
3/4 cup vegetable oil
27 caramels, unwrapped (about 9 ounces)
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup chopped nuts, divided

Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large mixer bowl. Add pumpkin and oil; beat until blended (batter will be thick). Spread two-thirds batter into greased 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Bake at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes.

Combine caramels and evaporated milk in small saucepan; stir over low heat until caramels are melted. Pour caramel mixture over baked layer; sprinkle with 1/4 cup nuts. Drop remaining batter by heaping teaspoons over caramel mixture; sprinkle with remaining nuts. Return to oven for 20 to 25 minutes (top layer will be slightly soft). Remove to wire rack to cool completely.

It will seem like there isn't enough liquid in the batter, but it works. The easiest way to spread the first layer in the pan is to spray your clean hands with Pam and press it down with your fingers. Recipe is from http://www.razzledazzlerecipes.com/.

Crab Dip Recipe

Robyn made a very yummy crab dip for the shower on Saturday. I strategically sat in places where I was always in reach of it. Here's the recipe:

HOT CRAB DIP
2 (8oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 (8oz.) container sour cream
1/4 C. mayonnaise
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 T. lemon juice
1 t. dry mustard
1/4 t. garlic salt
3 (6 oz.) cans Lump (or med. grade) Crab meat, drained
1 C.(4oz.) shredded Cheddar cheese
crackers or toasted French bread rounds

Combine first 7 ingredients, stirring until blended. Add drained, canned crab meat and mix well. Spoon mixture into a 9 X 13 baking dish that has been sprayed with Pam; sprinkle evenly with Cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until bubbly. Serve immediately with crackers or French bread rounds.

Delicious!

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!

I love fall. Love, love, love it! So much so that I am usually pushing the season. By the end of August, I was making pumpkin bread. Just couldn't resist. Last weekend I made pumpkin muffins and brought out the fall decorations. Robyn and I went a a few fall open houses at some of our favorite shops. Now I officially have the fall bug. I thought I'd share the bread and muffin recipes, and I am looking for a good pumpkin cookie recipe. The ones that I have found online all look like cake-y cookies and I'm looking for more of a cookie-cookie. Anyone have such a thing?

Pumpkin Spice Bread

(from Cottage Living Magazine, November 2006)

This recipe doubles and even triples really well. A single recipe will make four little loaves (bake for 36 minutes).

1-2/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 plus 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

1-1/3 cups sugar

1/3 cup canola oil

1 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons canned unsweetened pumpkin

1 large egg

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour an 8x4 loaf pan. Stir together the first 6 ingredients.

2. In a separate (large) bowl, combine sugar, oil, and pumpkin. Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Add egg, beating until well blended. Gradually add dry ingredients, beating at a low speed until blended. Transfer batter to prepared pan.

3. Bake at 350 for 1 hour 5 minutes or until loaf is golden and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pan on wire rack 15 minutes. Remove from pan.

Pumpkin Muffins

(from About.com, September 2007)

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 can (15-16 oz) pumpkin

1/3 cup melted butter

1/2 cup half and half

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

In a large bowl, combine first 7 ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine pumpkin, butter, half and half, eggs, brown sugar, sugar, and vanilla. Stir pumpkin mixture into the dry ingredients until moistened. Line muffin tin with liners. Fill to 3/4 full with batter. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes. Makes 12-18 muffins.