Lemony Lemon Bars

I have always loved lemon bars. They are great anytime of the year. Here is a quick recipe from a friend of mine. (I added shredded lemon peel to the recipe to give it more lemon flavor)

Lemon Bars
For the crust add:
1 c. butter
2 c. flour
2 c. powdered sugar
Mix together well, and then spread on a greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350 for about 10-12 minutes.

For lemon mixture
Combine:
2 c. sugar
4 beaten small eggs or 3 large eggs
6 T. lemon juice
Add:
4 T. sifted flour and 1 tsp. baking powder to mixture. Mix all together and then
spread over baked crust and bake for an additional 25 minutes or so until golden on top. Bake at 350. Sprinkle powdered sugar on top.

Banana Pudding Bread

This bread turned out extremely great. The pudding adds extra moistness to the bread and the tastes of banana, vanilla pudding, brown sugar and cinnamon combined, give this bread extra great flavor. My adorable other half made this fabulous bread. He makes great breads and he knows just what spices to add. He totally made up this bread and we both thought banana pudding bread suited it best.

Banana Pudding Bread

1 1/2 wheat flour
1 c. white flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 c. brown sugar
2 T. cinnamon
Combine all these together, then add in seperate bowl:
3-5 bananas mushed or 1 1/2 c.
1 box of vanilla pudding (follow directions on pudding package)
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
add these with dry and mix until muffin consistancy. Spray bread pan and bake at 350 for about 50 to 60 minutes. Test middle with toothpick to see if done.

The ULTIMATE Pan Style Pizza Crust

Folks, I just made the best pizza crust I have ever made. My husband of course gave me all the tips on how to do it. If you like your crust thick, soft, and ultimately the best, try this pizza crust recipe.

Pan Style Pizza Crust

1 tsp. granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 T. active dry yeast
1 T. olive oil
1 tsp. salt
*2 cups whole wheat flour
*1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

* If you want just the regular white flour dough, just substitute the whole wheat flour for white flour.
Directions
1.In a large bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water. Add yeast and let stand for about 10 minutes.
2.Next, add the olive oil and salt into the yeast mixture, then mix in the whole wheat flour and 1 cup of the all-purpose flour.
3. Add remaining 1/2 c. flour on a hard surface and knead dough over flour until all flour is combined. Dough should be very pliable at this point.
4. Grease a medium sized bowl and form dough into ball and place in bowl.
5. Cover bowl and let rise for a couple hours.
6. Punch dough down once risen and grease a pizza pan.
7. Roll dough on pizza pan and place a large plate in center of dough. This keeps the dough shape and gives you the thick, soft crust around the pizza once baked.
8. Place dough in fridge for another couple hours, be sure it's covered.
9. pre-heat oven to 350, once temp. is at 350, coat pizza dough in olive oil and place pizza dough in oven for about 5 minutes.
10. Take dough out of oven and smooth pizza sauce or speghetti sauce over pizza. Top with shredded mozerilla cheese and the other topping of your choice. Bake at 400 for about 20 minutes or until center is done and crust golden. Here are the toppings we added:
1. Turkey pepperoni, tomatos, olives, mushrooms, green peppers, and onions.

Roasted Garlic & Red/Green Pepper Penne Pasta

This meal is so quick to put together. One of my favorite past time meals was always sauteed garlic in olive oil, adding some green onions and then some pasta. I decided to try garlic with red pepper since I love anything spicy. This meal is great!

1 package of penne pasta
2 cloves of garlic chopped
1/4 c. olive oil
1 tsp. red pepper seasoning
1/4 c. chopped green onions
1/4 c. chopped green pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. lemon juice

Boil pasta, drain, set aside and add a little olive oil. Sautee/roast garlic in 1/4 c. olive oil over medium heat. Add pepper and seasonings. Once garlic is brown and almost crunchy, add pasta. Add lemon juice and Enjoy!

So Soft, Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls

I love cinnamon rolls, but ah man, why can't I eat them without feeling bad. I decided to make these cinnamon rolls, but add a little whole wheat flour to ease the pain of eating them and comfort my overwhelming sweet-tooth. And I only say that because my metabolism has slowed down quite a bit. I have made cinnamon rolls a lot over the years, but never really had a good one. A few weeks ago, a friend brought over amazing whole wheat cinnamon rolls and we all loved them. I decided whole wheat could be great. While exploring various online recipes, I found one that uses vanilla pudding in the recipe. Turns out, a lot of people use pudding to make cinnamon rolls but usually keep it a secret. This would be the ultimate cinnamon roll! Soft, moist, cinnamon and brown sugar goodness with cream cheese frosting.

Ingredients: (recipe taken from another source, but I added whole wheat flour to it and changed the frosting).

Rolls:
1/2 c. melted butter
2 T. active dry yeast
2 T. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 box of 1.34 oz vanilla pudding
4 1/2 c. flour
2 c. whole wheat flour
2 eggs
1/2 c. warm water

Filling:

1/2 c. melted butter
3 1/2 c. brown sugar
4 T. cinnamon
Reserve butter for dough. Combine sugar and cinnamon together for filling.


Cream Cheese Frosting:

8 oz pack of cream cheese
3 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 T. milk
Blend until soft and creamy. Add more milk or more sugar to make more of your desired texture.



Dissolve yeast into warm water. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. In large bowl, combine eggs and butter, mix then add salt. Make pudding according to directions. Allow to set in fridge for about 5 minutes. Gradually add flour and mix with other ingredients. Add pudding once set, and mix well. Dough should be very soft and easy to work with. If it is too sticky, add more flour until it is soft and manageable, but no longer sticky. Allow dough to rise for about an hour while covered.
Once ready, roll dough out on floured surface. Add butter over dough and then add brown sugar mixture with cinnamon over buttered dough. Roll up the dough and then cut into slices for each roll. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. Take out of oven once slightly golden. Frost and Enjoy!

Mandarin Orange, Grilled Chicken & Apple Salad

This salad combines sweet mandarin oranges, chopped apples, grilled spicy mustard chicken (or any other grilled chicken creation you make) and your choice of vegtables over a bed of romaine lettuce. I loved the colors of the salad blended together, along with the wonderful taste. Here is what I added in addition to main ingrediants.
Chop following:
Tomatos
radishes
sprouts
bacon bits
cucumber
carrots

I love ranch dressing or Italian the best. Add your favorite dressing!
Be creative and add whatever you like. Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Blueberry & Plum Muffins

1 egg
1/4 c. milk
1/2 c. vegteble oil
1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. oatmeal
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 c. plum yogurt
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. blueberries, frozen or fresh

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Beat egg and stir in oil and milk. Mix in remaining ingredients. Gently fold in blueberries Fill muffin cups 2/3 full or grease muffin pan if cups aren't used. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.