Lemon Bars

One of my favorite summer sweets is lemon bars and I happened to make these tonight and they turned out great! They're super easy to make and only take a few simple ingredients and everyone will rave about them.

Lemon Bars:

Crust:

1 cup butter (2 sticks)

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour

2/3 cup powdered sugar (plus another 1/4 cup for dusting)

Topping:

1 1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

4 eggs, slightly beaten

1/2 cup lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and flour a 9x13 pan

Directions for Crust:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and powdered sugar

2. Cut in butter until combined and crumbly

3. Press mixture into bottom of pan

4. Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden

5. While crust is baking, prepare the topping.

Directions for Lemon:

1. In a large bowl, add sugar, flour, and baking powder

2. Add slightly beaten eggs and lemon juice

3. Mix well and pour on top of warm baked crust (If crust is fresh out of the oven, let it cool for 5-10 minutes before pouring mix on)

4. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

5. Dust with powdered sugar.

6. Cool bars, cut, remove excess sugar and enjoy them cold.

I hope you all take a chance to make and enjoy these. Here's how mine came out!

Pretty yummy looking, huh?!

Breakfast for Dinner

I love breakfast. I love it more when I can have it for dinner. So, tonight, I went out, bought a cheap waffle maker ($7 from Target) and made waffles. They were fantastic and oh so filling! So, here's how you make them.

Waffles:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
3 whole eggs, beaten
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
16 ounces buttermilk, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Vegetable spray, for waffle iron

1. Preheat waffle iron according to manufacturers directions.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, soda, baking powder, salt and sugar. In another bowl, beat together eggs and melted butter, and then add the buttermilk and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until combined. Allow to rest for 5 minutes.
3. Lade the recommended amount of waffle batter onto the iron according to the manufacturer's recommendations. Close irop top and cook until the waffle is golden on both sides and is easily removed from the iron. Serve immediately or keep warm in a heated oven until ready to serve.

I chose to layer mine with bananas, powdered sugar and syrup.

Leftovers and Temporary Jobs

So, the job hunt continues. I broke down and went to LeadingEdge Personnel so I can at least get some money doing temporary office work. It's money and I'm quite broke.

On the other hand, these jobs are temporary, so, I can still look for greener pastures in fields that I actually want to be in. Last night I applied for a reporter job at KENS-5. It's a local broadcast news station, and I hope I hear something back soon, but if not, there are more jobs out there. I just have to dig them up!

Now, on with the food! Today I made a salad with left over brisket from our 5th of July party.

Salad:
2 cups hearts of romaine
1/2 small avocado
1/4 cup cheese
1/2 cup brisket

Salad dressing:
1/8 cup plain greek yogurt
1/4 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp parsley flakes

Throw everything in a bowl and have a good time mixing! The lemon and parsley give it a great fresh summer flavor and the meat and avocado give you some substance. The lettuce is really there for bulk, but all combined it's amazing. Have with a nice refresing glass of mint iced tea, and you'll be set for a summer lunch!

And, without further ado, here's a lovely photo.

Summer Citrus

I LOVE SUMMER! I love the bright sunshine and the warmth that comes through my new pink curtain. I also love the fruits of summer. Oranges, lemons, strawberries and peaches are some of my favorites and for my family's "Happy Belated Birthday, America!" party I made lemonade cupcakes, and they were a hit!

Lemonade Cupcakes:

1 box Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Lemon Supreme Cake Mix

1 can Creamy Lemon Frosting

24 lemon drops

24 drink umbrellas

Lemon Curd (recipe to follow)

1. Preheat oven to 350℉. Line 24 muffin cups with 2 paper liners in each cup. Prepare the cake mix according to package directions. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake until cupcakes are lightly golden and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 18 to 21 minutes. Transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack and cool completely.
2. Cut out cone shaped holes from each cake. Fill with 1/2 tablespoon lemon curd. Shave off the cone from the cone shape and place back on cupcake. Repeat for all cupcakes and let sit.
3. Stir frosting. Spread the frosting on top of all of the cupcakes and make smooth, making sure to keep the double paper liners in place.
4. Dip lemon drops into lemon curd and set in center of iced cupcake. Place umbrella accordingly.

Lemon Curd:

3 large eggs

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon finely shredded lemon zest

3/4 cup granulated white sugar

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1. In a stainless steel bowl placed over a saucepan of summering water, whisk together the eggs, sugar and lemon juice until blended. Cook, stirring constantly, to prevent curdling, until the mixture becomes thick like sour cream or a hollandaise sauce. This will take approximately 10 minutes.
2. Remove from heat and immediately pour through a fine strainer to remove any lumps.
3. Cut the butter into small pieces and whisk into the mixture until the butter has melted. Add the lemon zest and let cool. The lemon curd will continue to thicken as it cools. Cover immediately, so a skin will not form, and refrigerate for up to a week.

They were really quite great, and even though they took some work, they were totally worth it! So, here's a picture of them, well after they were almost all gone!

Hope you all had a great 4th of July weekend!