Lemon Crinkle Cookies

These lemon crinkle cookies are so good.  They taste just like lemon bars.  If you love lemon bars, you will love these.  I got this recipe off the web at www.ldsliving.com. 

 RECIPE:

½ cups butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 whole egg
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoons baking powder
⅛ teaspoons baking soda
1-½ cup all-purpose flour

½ cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease baking sheets with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Whip in vanilla, egg, lemon zest, and juice. Scrape sides and mix again. Stir in all dry ingredients slowly until just combined, excluding the powdered sugar. Scrape sides of bowl and mix again briefly. Pour powdered sugar onto a large plate. Roll a heaping teaspoon of dough into a ball and roll in powdered sugar. Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.

Bake for 9-11 minutes or until bottoms begin to barely brown and cookies look matte {not melty or shiny}. Remove from oven and cool cookies about 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack

PRINTABLE RECIPE

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Whip in vanilla, egg, lemon zest, and juice. Scrape sides and mix again. 

 Make sure you use fresh lemon zest and fresh lemon juice.

Stir in all dry ingredients slowly until just combined, excluding the powdered sugar. 

 Scrape sides of bowl and mix again briefly.

 

I use a small scoop to scoop out the dough and put it in the powdered sugar and roll it all around.

 I then put them on a plate, it keeps my baking pan cleaner because the powdered sugar drops all over.

 Make sure you spray the pan, the cookies will stick. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until bottoms begin to barely brown and cookies look matte {not melty or shiny}. 

 Remove from oven and cool cookies about 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack

 These cookies taste just like lemon bars.

Biscuits and Gravy

This biscuits and gravy is so easy and simple to make.  I have been making it for years for my kids.  My daughter loves my biscuits and gravy recipe so much that when she goes to a restaurant for breakfast, she will order biscuits and gravy and she doesn't like it.  She is so used to my recipe.  It is nothing fancy, but very easy to make. 

RECIPE:

1 lbs jimmy dean ground sausage

1/2 cup flour

4-5 cups of milk (i used skim milk)

1/4-1/2 tsp pepper (i used 1/2 tsp i like it spicy)

1 can Pillsbury biscuits

PRINTABLE RECIPE

First, turn on your oven and get your biscuits cooking while you make the sausage and gravy.  Next, you brown your sausage in a pan until done.

 Sprinkle in the flour a little at a time and stir in between sprinkles. It will seem dry but keep sprinkling and stirring.  Cook for a few minutes to cook the flour taste out.  The flour mixes with some of the fat of the sausage. So don't drain the sausage.  If you use Jimmy Dean, there is little fat released in the pan.

Sprinkle in 1/4-1/2 tsp pepper at this time depending on your taste.

 Add milk, 1 cup at a time and mix in between.  I use 4 1/2 -5 cups.  We like our gravy a little thinner than most, so put in the milk and stop when you like the consistency.  cook on medium to low heat, don't let it boil and stir at all time. 

 When the gravy is at your consistency, it is done.

pour your sausage and gravy over your biscuits and enjoy.

Imitation Crab Salad

I found this recipe on the internet and modified the recipe to my liking.  My husband thought it needed celery for crunch. So next time I would put that in, so I added it to the recipe, you won't see it in the pictures. 

RECIPE:

1/2 pound Cavatappi noodles, cooked and drained

1 pound imitation crab meat

8 ounces of a block of cheddar cheese, diced

1 1/2 cups frozen peas

1 1/2 cup celery, chopped

1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced

2 Tbls fresh chives, minced

3/4 cup plain yogurt

1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup mayonnaise, Helmans

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup fresh dill, minced

salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl, combine the pasta, imitation crab, cheese, peas, celery, parsley and chives.

In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, sour cream, mayonnaise, lemon juice, and dill.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Pour over pasta mixture and toss gently.  Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving. 

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Chop the imitation crab

dice cheddar cheese from a 8 oz block

I used half a box of Cavatappi noodles

Fresh parsley chopped

make sure you use fresh chives.

Combine in a large bowl

Make sure you use fresh lemons

Mix yogurt, sour cream, mayonnaise and dill in bowl 

I use this brand of yogurt

Mix the dressing with the noodles

Refrigerate for 2 hours. 

Enjoy

Cheesecake Ice Cream

I got this recipe from www.foodandwine.com.  It is really creamy and sweet and has lots of flavor.  

RECIPE:

1. 6 ounces cream cheese, preferably preservative-free, softened but still cool
2. 3/4 cup superfine sugar
3. 1 cup cold sour cream
4. 1 cup cold heavy cream
5. Pinch of coarse (kosher) salt
6. 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
7. 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. In a bowl, beat the cream cheese at medium speed until soft and smooth. Gradually add the sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the sour cream and then the heavy cream. Add the salt, lemon juice, vanilla and beat the mixture just until thick and smooth. Cover and refrigerate overnight, or until very cold. 
2. Beat the cold ice cream mixture until loose and creamy, about 3 minutes. Pour into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Serve immediately, or pack the ice cream into a covered container and freeze for up to 24 hours. Allow the ice cream to soften in the refrigerator for 20 to 30 minutes before serving.

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Make sure you use fresh lemons, not the bottles kind.

Garnish your ice cream with strawberries and crushed graham cracker crumbs.

Lemon Chicken

I found this recipe at mommyimhungry.blogspot.com and thought I would give it a try.  I thought it had really good flavor.  I baked it in the oven, but i think you could also grill it.  It might take away the lemon herb flavor, but worth a try.  My daughter doesn't like chicken on a bone, so I took the meat off the bone and she loved it. Didn't even know it was on the bone. 

RECIPE:

2 tbsp. lemon zest

1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp. fresh rosemary leaves, finely minced
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
4 lbs. of bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts, thighs or drumsticks
2-3 tbsp. melted butter


PRINTABLE RECIPE

 Combine the lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper in a large zipper-lock plastic bag. Seal the bag and shake well to blend. 

Place the chicken pieces in the bag with the marinade, pressing out excess air and sealing once more. Refrigerate and let marinate for 2 hours.

 Preheat the oven to 425˚ F. Remove the chicken pieces from the marinade and transfer to a baking dish, skin-side up. Brush the top of each piece of chicken with melted butter.

Bake for 50-55 minutes (check the breasts after about 40 mins so they don't dry out), until the skins are crispy and well-browned.  Once fully baked, cover loosely with foil and let rest 10 minutes before serving. Transfer to a serving platter and enjoy.

Homemade Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream

What could be better than Homemade ice cream!  I am not an ice cream eater.  I don't hate it, but I don't love it like my husband and kids.  We spend a fortune on Schwann's ice cream.  So I thought it would be fun to experiment with the flavors we love.  I do like cheesecake ice cream, so my next adventure will be trying to make cheesecake ice cream.  This chocolate peanut butter ice cream was so good, it sold me on liking ice cream. 

I got this recipe online and changed just a little bit up.  It is a video if you want to look at it to see how it is made.  I don't add the ribbon of peanut butter at the end.  Just the peanut butter during the end of churning. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QG9-2zvcsVM

INGREDIENTS:

4 egg yokes

1/4 cup white granulated sugar

1/3 cup powdered cocoa (good quality)

2 cups milk (i used 2%)

1/2 cup white granulated sugar

1 tsp pure vanilla

1 cup heavy cream

3-4 Tbls of Peanut butter

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Mix the 4 egg yokes and 1/4 cup sugar in a bowl until well combined.  Then add the cocoa powder, mix and set aside. 

Bring the 2 cups milk and 1/2 cup sugar to a simmer. 

Pour a little bit of warm milk into the egg mixture to temper the eggs, whisking at the same time.  Keep pouring in and mixing at the same time.  You don't want scrambled eggs, so this step is important. Mix about half the mixture into the egg mixture.

Then pour the egg mixture into the sauce pan with the rest of the warm milk and cook on low for around 10-15 minutes stirring at all times. 

Take the sauce pan off of the heat.  Add 1 tsp vanilla and 1 cup heavy cream.  Stir until blended.

Pour chocolate mixture into a bowl.  Cover with cling wrap, have it touch the top of the chocolate so when it cools it won't form a film on top of it. Refrigerated until COMPLETELY cold.

Take the cold chocolate mixture out of the refrigerator and give it a stir.

Use an ice cream maker

 Pour the chocolate mixture into an ice cream maker per manufactures instructions. 

When the ice cream is almost done in the machine, spoon in 3-4 Tbls of peanut butter and let the machine mix it in.

Pour the chocolate peanut butter ice cream into a freezer safe container and freeze until hard.

enjoy this delicious ice cream.  

TIPS:

1. Make sure your ice cream container from the machine is frozen.  At least 24 hours or even more. 

2. Make sure your custard is COLD.  It you fail to do these 2 tips, you will get melty ice cream and be frustrated and never make it again.

3. You can eat the ice cream right out of the ice cream maker it will be soft serve.  Or put it in the freezer and it will be hard to scoop out which i think is better.  My ice cream was frozen in a deep freeze for around 5 hours.