Grammy's Lemon Bars

Mix together-
1 1/2 c flour
3/4 c butter
1/4 c powdered sugar
Press into 8x10 or 9x13 pan and bake 15 mins at 325.

Beat 3 eggs, 1 1/2 c sugar, 3 T flour and 3/4 c coconut juice and rind of 1 1/2 lemons. Pour over baked crust. Bake for 25 mins at 325.

Drizzle with thin powdered sugar glaze.

The 7 dips from the reunion weekend

Ole' Hot Appetizer

8 oz. cream cheese
15 oz. chili without beans
4 oz. can diced green chilies
shredded Monterey Jack cheese
4 oz. can sliced olives - optional
4 chopped green onions

Layer in order in pie pan. Bake at 350 for 25 min. Serve with chips.


Hot Chipped Beef Spread

8 oz. soft Philly cream cheese
1/4 C. chopped green pepper
2 T dry onion
2 T milk
1/2 t garlic salt
3-4 oz chopped dried beef
1/2 c sour cream

Mix and put in small casserole. Melt 2 T butter. Add 1/2 -1 C pecans and brown in butter. Salt them. Sprinkle on casserole. Bake at 325 for 25 minutes. Serve with Triscuits.


Chili Con Queso

1 # ground chuck
1# Jimmy Dean sausage with sage
Fry and drain.

4 oz. can green chilies
2 # velveeta cheese
2 15 oz. cans tomato sauce with herbs

Melt cheese. Add tomato sauce and stir. Add rest of ingredients. Keep warm in a crock pot or chafing dish. Serve with corn chips. Freezes well.

This was so good, I had to make a second batch for Saturday night!


Ultimate Spinach Dip

1 C. mayo
1 1/2 C sour cream
1 pkg. Knorr vegetable soup mix
4 green onions -optional
1 can water chestnuts
10 pkg. chopped spinach, thawed and drained

Mix all ingredients well and chill. Mix again before serving. Can be served in a bread bowl and bread from bowl cubed to be dipped! I couldn't find the bread at our local grocery store, so I cubed rolls for dipping.


Pretzel Dip

8 oz. sour cream
1 pint mayo
12 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
1 t celery salt
1 t garlic powder
1 t sugar
1 T parsley
2 T minced onion

Mix and chill. Serve with braided pretzels. Pretzel twists break in the dip.


Shrimp Cucumber Dip

1 med. unpared cucumber
1 C. creamy cottage cheese
2 T chopped onion
2 t vinegar
1/2 t horseradish
4 1/2 oz. can shrimp-chopped

Remove seeds from cuke- cut lengthwise. Shread enough to make 1 cup. Mix cuke, cottage cheese, onion, vinegar, and horseradish with mixer or blender- stir in shrimp. Serve with crackers or veggies.
Looks summery. Served at Mom and Dad's 25th anniversary party.

The 7th dip was a purchased veggie dip. But I'll add the dip I served at the Riley gig on Tuesday night, so you have 7!


Spicy Tailgate Dip

1 # ground pork sausage, browned and drained
2 8 oz. cream cheese, cubed
10 oz can tomatoes and green chilies

Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker.
Cover and cook on low setting for 1-2 hours, until heated through and cream cheese is melted.
Serve with corn chips.

This is so easy and so good!

Mexican kebabs

I'm going to a cocktail party tonight and bringing these, and I know someone will ask me for the recipe, it's that good! A great summer dish, and something different for the hors d'oeuvre spread..


Make marinade:

1/2 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp minced fresh oregano
1 minced garlic clove
2 tsp adobo sauce (from a can of chipotles)
Season with salt

Marinate chicken, shrimp, pork, scallops or beef and place on skewers with chorizo, zucchini, yellow squash, cherry tomatoes, okra, red onions, red peppers or pineapple.

Grill or bake or broil - depending on your mood or the weather!

Serve with Chipotle Mayo

Mix 1/2 cup mayonnaise
3 finely chopped chipotles in adobo
1 T orange juice
1 tsp lime juice
3/4 tsp minced fresh oregano
1 T minced red onion
1 T minced fresh cilantro
Season with salt


(These should be grilled. Last night we had a big storm, so I baked the chicken breasts, and will cube, skewer & serve in a pool of sauce on a large platter hors d'oeuvre style) It still tastes great - the boys ate almost half of it before I could get it into the refrig....

Cook's Illustrated French Onion Soup

(Modified, and saved for posterity, since it was so good)

3 large sweet (I used Mayan) onions, sliced thin
2-4 TB butter - enough to get them cooking, and softening

Cook for 30-35 minutes until reduced, syrupy and brown.

Meanwhile, in a large pot, bring to a simmer
6 cups chicken broth
2 cups beef broth (*I know! I would have thought it was the other way around)
1/4 cup red wine
2 sprigs parsley (not chopped)
1 sprig thyme
1 bay leaf

When onions are ready, ladle some of the hot liquid into the onions, and stir it up to grab all the yummy bits from the pan, and pour it all in to the broth. Weed out the herbs after it has cooked together for a little while, maybe 5 minutes.

Cube some italian bread, ladle a good heaping portion of soup in oven proof bowls, and top with the bread and a couple of slices of swiss cheese. Top with one or two tablespoons of grated fresh parmasean, and broil for around 10 minutes or until nice and crusty.

This was the best onion soup I've ever tasted, much less come out of my kitchen.

(the recipe called for one tablespoon balsamic vinegar stirred in at the last minute but I forgot!)

Pam's Chili

2 lbs. ground beef
onion
garlic
Brown together and drain.

Add
1 6oz. tomato paste
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 large can tomato juice
2 cans chili beans
water (I rinse my bean cans out with a little water and add it to the chili.)

Let the chili season begin! I was walking through the grocery store a few years ago and a friend's mom stopped me and told me about this fantastic chili recipe she had just gotten at her Homemaker's meeting. It's become our family favorite!

Fourth of July "Burger 'n Fries"

(a/k/a What the heck was I thinking? cupcakes)

I read about this recipe on a blog Claire shared on Facebook, Bakerella. The idea was so wickedly cute that I could hardly stand it : Cupcake Buns, Brownie Burgers, and Cookie Fries.

The blog suggested use of box mixes, and I was happy to comply. I spread the project over two days... okay, three days. Day one - bake a box of brownies. Day two - bake yellow cupcakes and roll out sugar cookies. Day three - assemble and decorate.

Making the sugar cookie "fries" was the biggest challenge. I used refrigerated dough and rolled it with a rolling pin, but it was so hot and humid in my kitchen that the dough was sticking. So I calmed down, stuck the partially rolled dough in the freezer, had a drink, and revisited the task once the cool evening air moved in. It was tough to cut the dough into fry-like strips, and I did end up slicing the cookies once they came out of the oven. Had I known I'd end up slicing them in the end, I probably wouldn't have pulled out so many hairs in the process.

Matt was a dear and helped me bake the cupcakes. Decorating was fun - dusting the "buns" with sesame seeds, cutting "burgers" with a cookie cutter, strategically placing "mustard" and "lettuce" - but once again a challenge in a warm summer kitchen. The tops of the "buns" slid to the sides, and the frosting began to run from the tops. I kept my cool and worked on through to the end, putting the plated cupcakes in the fridge to keep from melting.

Hard work? Absolutely. But it was worth it for all the ooohs, aaahs, and smiles in the end.



Now that I'm back at home with new kitchen appliances (including a convection oven), I'll be on to testing some other recipes before too long. Aloha!

Memorial Day Update

Bri called me for the picnic spaghetti recipe - he brought it to a gathering.

I brought Scotcheroos to the fireworks party we attended.

Some holidays just call for Mom's recipes!