Pink Lemonade Bars

A sister in my ward made these for our Enrichment night and they were the biggest hit! I got the recipe and made them as soon as I could because I was craving them like crazy! I couldn't find seed-less jam so I used the regular kind and they were still delicious. I also do not own a food processor so I chopped the almonds by hand and just mixed the crust with a pastry blender. These would be perfect for your next bbq or pot luck!

Pink Lemonade Bars

For crust and crumb:
2	cups + 2 tbsp. all purpose flour
½	cup sugar
½	cup blanched slivered almonds
⅛	teaspoon salt
1	cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
1	tsp. vanilla extract
For Filling:
1-½	cups sugar
¼	cups ap flour
5	large eggs
½	cup seedless raspberry jam (or other favorite jam-I used cherry-berry perserves), stirred to loosen
½	cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
	Grated zest of 1 lemon

1. Heat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease a 13 × 9 × 2 inch baking pan, or line w/ nonstick foil.
2. For crust and crumb: Combine 2 cups flour, sugar and almonds in a food porcessor and pulse to finely grind almons and blend the ingredients. As the processor is running slowly add the melted butter and vanilla extract to the flour-almond mixture.
3. Reserve ⅔ cup of crust for crumb topping, then press remaining crust mix into the bottom of the greased baking pan. Bake the crust at 350 F for 25 minutes.
4. Blend remaining 2 tbsp. of flour into the reserved crust mix and set this crumb topping aside.
5. For Filling:In large bowl whisk together sugar and flour, then add the eggs and jam and whisk to combine. Whisk in the lemon juice and zest.

Assembly:
6. Remove the baked crust from the oven and pour the filling oven the crust. Return the pan to the oven and bake for 15 minutes to set the filling.
7. Remove the pan from the oven, sprinkle the crumb topping over the top of the bar, then continue to bake for an additional 15 minutes.
8. Cool pan on rack for at least 30 minutes, then chill before cutting into bar cookies.

Bow Tie Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes and Basil

The title says it all! This is a really light pasta that is perfect for summer time. The tomatoes and olives in it are so good together and I love the flavor of basil! This was the yummiest dinner I have has in a long time! Oh, I got this recipe from the Food Nanny. She's amazing!!

Bow-tie Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes & Fresh Basil

1 lb. uncooked bow-tie pasta

1 lb. cherry tomatoes

1/3 c. fresh basil, or 1 Tbls. dried

1/3 c. Olive oil

1 large garlic clove, minced

15 large pitted olives, sliced

1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese

crushed red pepper

salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook the pasta according to directions

2. Meanwhile, slice the tomatoes in half and place them in a large skillet. Add the basil, oil, garlic, and olives.

3. Drain the pasta. Place the tomatoes over medium-high heat and cook until heated through. Stir in the pasta. Sprinkle on the parmesan cheese. Add a few shakes of crushed red pepper and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately with garlic bread!! Heaven!

Oatmeal Coconut Chewies

Props to The Sisters Cafe for this awesome recipe. I whipped these together the other night after seeing these gals post the recipe on facebook. They got this recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe and her site has amazing recipes too!

You can't go wrong with coconut in my house. Olivia even asks for coconut ice cream with coconut flakes in it when we go to Cold Stone! And Adam and I drank wayyyy too many virgin Pina Coladas on our cruise a while back. Anyhow, I had all the ingredients on hand and these were super easy to make. Everyone absolutely loved them. They aren't too coconutty, just enough to make the cookies sweet. And they kind of make you think of somewhere tropical, like Hawaii! And who can't use a little more oatmeal in their diet, even if you have to get it by eating cookies :)

These are my new fave cookie, by the way!

Photo courtesy thesisterscafe.com

Oatmeal Coconut Chewies
courtesy thesisterscafe.com

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened to cool room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups flour (you can add an extra 1/2 cup flour for higher altitudes, like Utah)
1 cup shredded, sweetened coconut
1 cup quick oats

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl cream together the sugar, eggs, butter and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto a greased or lined (silpat or parchment) baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 9-11 minutes, until the cookies are set but not overly browned. Don't overcook these or they will be crisp, unless that is what you are going for!

Black Bean Pizza

I've been trying to make quick, easy & portable meals to take to the soccer games. I made this last night and really liked it. The only difference I would do is to add a little bit of flare--either sour cream & taco seasoning mixed or salsa over the top. I'm guessing this recipe will be right up Denise's alley. :)

Ingredients

1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed (I used pinto beans and it was yummy!)
1 cup thawed frozen corn kernels
4 plum tomatoes, chopped into 1/4-inch pieces
1/2 cup chopped scallions
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 avocado, diced into 1/4-inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
16 ounces pizza dough, regular or whole-wheat
1 cup finely shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. and place an empty baking sheet on the middle rack.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the blackbeans, corn, tomatoes, scallions, cumin, chili powder, avocado, salt and black pepper; set aside.

3. Working on a lightly floured surface, roll the pizza dough into a 13-inch circle. Transfer to warmed baking sheet and crimp the edges slightly to form a lip at the edge of the crust. Top with black bean mixture, sprinkle with the cheese and bake 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Cut into 8 slices and serve

Chicken Club Pizza

I got my new Kraft magazine in the mail the other day. I love this little magazine. I loved it better when it was free and now they charge for it. So I was flipping through it and folding down corners on pages, marking the recipes I definitely wanted to try soon. One of them that I came across was for Chicken Club Pizza. It looked soooo good. Bacon? check. Chicken? check. Ranch dressing? check. Mmm... So I decided to make it for dinner last night because I had most of the ingredients on hand anyway. My kids really liked this pizza, and Adam literally ate half of it. The leftovers are good too, and you can preheat it like suggested a few posts below, in a dry pan on the stove so it stays crisp and not soggy like the microwave.


Photo courtesy Kraftrecipes.com

Chicken Club Pizza

1 can (13.8 oz.) refrigerated pizza crust (you can make your own, but I bought the can since I wasn't sure how big to really make the crust. If you make your own, make it to be the size of a jelly roll pan)

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup KRAFT Ranch Dressing, divided

1-1/2 cups KRAFT cheddar cheese

1-1/2 cups finely chopped cooked chicken (I cooked mine with salt, pepper, and garlic powder)

8 slices OSCAR MAYER Bacon, cooked, crumbled

1-1/2 cups finely shredded lettuce

1 tomato, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Unroll pizza dough on baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray; press into 15x10-inch rectangle. Bake 10 min.

Mix mayo and 1/3 cup dressing; spread onto crust. Top with half the cheese, chicken, remaining cheese and bacon.

Bake 5 min. or until crust is deep golden brown and cheese is melted. Top with lettuce and tomatoes; drizzle with remaining dressing.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

I used to buy Costco’s Orange chicken in the freezer section for Chinese night. Then I tried this recipe. Josh (the hubby) thinks it tastes way better than the Costco version and costs a ton less! Win-win! It is a family favorite, even the baby “yums” while eating it.  It is a little time consuming but worth it…in my hubby’s opinion! This is one of my go to recipes for when we have guests over for dinner. I always get compliments on how great it taste and the tenderness of the chicken. Enjoy!

Sweet and Sour Chicken
Courtesy Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Chicken:

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts ( I always use thighs because that's what we have!)
Salt and pepper
1 cup cornstarch
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup canola oil

Cut boneless chicken breasts into chunks. Season with salt and pepper. Dip chicken in cornstarch and then in egg. Fry in a little oil until brown but not cooked through. Place in a single layer in a glass baking dish. Mix sauce ingredients (below) together and pour over chicken.

Sauce:
¾ cup sugar
4 tablespoons ketchup
½ cup vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic salt

*Note: if you like extra sauce, double the sauce ingredients – pour half over the chicken and follow the baking directions in the recipe and pour the other half in a small saucepan. Cook the sauce on the stove top at a simmer for 8-10 minutes until it reduces and thickens. Serve it on the side of the chicken

Bake for one hour at 325 degrees in a glass pan. Turn chicken every 15 minutes so it is evenly coated with the sauce. Serve over rice or with Celeste’s easy fried rice! When cut in smaller pieces, bite sized, bake for 30-40 minutes!

Serves 4-6

My Go-To Cupcake recipe

I can't take credit for this recipe. My friend had this "doctored up" version on her blog and now it's the only way I make cupcakes. Super sweet and so yummy and moist, not dry like normal cake mixes. My only complaint is that they fall flat, which I've noticed happens more if I whip the batter too much so try to stir just until the ingredients are fully blended.

No matter, though, since I cover them in homemade cream cheese frosting and you can't see the tops anyway. And no picture, since you all know what cupcakes look like :) Maybe I'll post one later when I'm not so lazy.

Cake Mix (any brand, any flavor)
1/2 cup butter, melted
4 eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup water
1 cup sour cream
1 small box instant pudding (to match your cake mix, like vanilla for yellow or vanilla cake, or chocolate for chocolate cake. I've never made any other kind of cupcake, though, so I don't know what to do with red velvet mixes. I wonder what banada pudding would do to a cake mix though....)

Mix all together and bake according to package directions. These actually make like 25-26 cupcakes.

Spaghetti Carbonara

Kristi and I are trying to eat pasta on Friday nights since we are in the thick of training for our 3rd marathon (Salt Lake on April 16th). Our initial plan was to go to Boston since we qualified for the marathon, but it filled in 8 hours and we missed our chance. :( The Salt Lake Marathon is the same weekend, so we'll be having our own Boston here in Utah. :)

Anyway--I had Kristi's family and a mutual friend's fammily over for dinner last night. I wanted to try a different pasta dish since I've recently made Lasagna and Baked Ziti. My search brought me to Allrecipes where I found this recipe with 709 votes for a 4.5 star rating. Sounded like a lot of people liked it. I made it--it was super easy and fed a crowd easily. Next time I'll use Italian Sausage instead of the bacon, but it was still very good.

On the reviews of the recipe, someone mentioned this would be a good recipe for a brunch. And, even though the sauce is made from eggs--you can't taste them and it's very smooth. I was afraid it would be scrambled eggs and bacon in spaghetti, and it wasn't.

Spaghetti Carbonara II

Prep Time: 20 Minutes

Cook Time: 20 Minutes Ready In: 40 Minutes

Servings: 8

"Crispy bacon and sauteed onions and garlic are tossed with cooked spaghetti, beaten eggs and a generous measure of Parmesan cheese. The heat from the pan and the hot pasta will cook the eggs and melt the cheese. Garnish with parsley and extra cheese."

INGREDIENTS:
1 pound spaghetti
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 slices bacon, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup dry white wine (optional)
4 eggs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 pinch salt and black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook spaghetti pasta until al dente. Drain well. Toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and set aside.

2. Meanwhile in a large skillet, cook chopped bacon until slightly crisp; remove and drain onto paper towels. Reserve 2 tablespoons of bacon fat; add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, and heat in reused large skillet. Add chopped onion, and cook over medium heat until onion is translucent. Add minced garlic, and cook 1 minute more. Add wine if desired; cook one more minute.

3. Return cooked bacon to pan; add cooked and drained spaghetti. Toss to coat and heat through, adding more olive oil if it seems dry or is sticking together. Mix cheese with beaten eggs and add to pasta. Cook, tossing constantly with tongs or large fork until eggs are barely set. Quickly add 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, and toss again. Add salt and pepper to taste (remember that bacon and Parmesan are very salty).

4. Serve immediately with chopped parsley sprinkled on top, and extra Parmesan cheese at table.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2011 Allrecipes.com Printed from Allrecipes.com 3/2/2011


A review from the site said:
It's a great recipe with some modifications. An Italian friend of mine who cooks told me that the proper way to make smooth Carbonara sauce is to combine the beaten eggs with the grated parmesan, and then to pour that mixture onto the spaghetti once the spaghetti has cooled slightly (so that it's still hot, but so that the eggs don't cook and the cheese melts seamlessly into the eggs and pasta). I tried that, and the sauce was unbelievably creamy! A few other changes I made - I used less pasta, pancetta instead of bacon, and grated a brick of fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano for a sharper flavour - so that was about 3 cups of grated cheese instead of 1 cup. The final product was full of flavour and my guests wanted seconds - and no need to add salt. I didn't use wine because I didn't have any at the moment, but next time I will - it will probably add some interesting dimension. Also tips on reheating in microwave - if it's on a high setting, it will cook the egg and the pasta will solidify. I reheat mine on medium heat so the sauce stays creamy.