Double Lemon Delights

Double Lemon Delights

from "Favorite Brand Name Bake Sale" Cookbook

Ingredients



2 1/4 c flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 c butter, softened
3/4 c granulated sugar
1 egg
2 tbl grated lemon peel, divided
1 tsp vanilla
   Additional Sugar
1 c powdered sugar
4-5 tsp lemon juice

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in small bowl; set aside. Beat butter and granulated sugar in electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, 1 tbl lemon peel and vanilla until well blended. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speen until blended.

Drop dough by level 1/4 cupfuls (I did 2 tbl scoops) onto ungreased cookie sheets, spacing 3 inches apart. Flatten dough until 3 inches in diameter with bottom of glass that has been dipped in additional sugar.

Bake 12-14 minuted or until cookies are set and edges are golden brown. Cool on cookie sheets 2 minutes; transfer to wire racks. Cool completely.

Combine powdered sugar, lemon juice and remaining 1 tbl lemon peel in small bowl; drizzle mixture over cookies. Let stand until icing is set.


So these were totally and completely delicious! I know that there is a lemon overload on this blog right now, but these are totally worth it! Yummy, yummy!

~Cassy

Lemon Bars

I have always wanted to try making my own lemon bars, and these did not disappoint! Tart and lemony, they're the perfect start to the warm weather coming our way. I think I'm crushing hard on lemons lately, I can't get enough! Luckily my friend has a lemon tree and she is very generous so I'm going to enjoy it. :D

Lemon Bars
adapted from Make it Do

2 cups flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup butter
2-3 tbsp milk

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Mix above dry ingredients with a pastry cutter until well blended, add milk, and mix until it comes together. Press into pan and cook for 25-30 minutes until slightly golden brown. While crust is cooking make the lemon later:

4 eggs
pinch of salt
4 tbsp flour
2 cups sugar
2 lemons zest and juice

In a medium bowl, beat eggs with salt. Mix in rest of ingredients. Pour over hot crust and bake for another 25 minutes.

Cool and dust with powdered sugar.

Skillet Lemon Chicken

Skillet Lemon Chicken
adapted from Ready, Set, Eat

I used the recipe on Ready, Set, Eat as a basic guideline, but there were quite a few things I changed due to what we had on hand :) This is how I did it, but you can go to the website for the original recipe.

Ingredients:

2 cups uncooked white rice

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips

3 Local Deals for:
boneless skinless chicken breast

Store Brand Chicken Breasts Breasts, boneless / skinless
$1.88 thru 2011-05-10
Lucky

Store Brand Chicken Breasts Breasts, boneless / skinless
$4.49 thru 2011-05-10
Raley's & Bel-Air

Store Brand Chicken Breasts Split
Loyalty Card Required
$2.49 thru 2011-05-10
Safeway

1• 2

3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

16 ounces fresh broccoli florets 
3/4 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 cloves garlic, minced 
2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest

Directions:

Start cooking the rice.  While it's cooking, place chicken in medium bowl, add 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt and pepper and toss slightly. At this point I cooked the fresh broccoli so it would be ready to add to the skillet by the time the chicken was done cooking.

Use the rest of the olive oil to coat a large skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook and stir 4 to 5 minutes or until no longer pink. Add broccoli and garlic; stir-fry 1 to 2 minutes. 

Stir together broth and cornstarch in small bowl until well blended. Gradually add to chicken mixture; cook 3 to 4 minutes or until sauce thickens, stirring constantly. Stir in lemon juice and zest. Serve over rice.

Enjoy!

This was really simple and had a lot of good garlic and lemon flavor. After we had dinner we started to think of what else we could use this with. It would work really well over pasta with some freshly grated parmesan cheese, or by itself alongside some garlic mashed potatoes. Bonus: my daughter ate it all! Yes! Really good basic recipe to have on hand, I didn't even have to go shopping for ingredients on this one!

~Cassy

Tortellini with Lemon Cream Sauce

 

Tortellini with Lemon Cream Sauce 

from The Cottage Home

Ingredients:

1 package fresh cheese tortellini (8 oz.)

3 tablespoons butter

1.5 cups heavy cream

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 lemon
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
Begin cooking fresh tortellini according to package directions.

In a large pan, melt butter over medium heat.  Add in heavy cream and bring to a boil.  Once you've reached a boil, reduce the heat to medium.  Add in the juice of one lemon, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.  Taste the sauce to check for salt and pepper.  I like a lot of pepper in my cream sauce and if it doesn't taste savory enough, it probably needs more salt.

Allow the sauce to bubble lightly until it reaches your desired consistency.  Once you are happy with the thickness of your sauce, reduce the heat to low until your tortellini is ready.

Drain tortellini and add to the large saucepan.  Toss to coat.  Serve with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese, freshly grated black pepper and a slice of lemon.


Uh, DELISH. That's all. Not the most healthy meals, so only make it once in awhile. Or when you really need something satisfying!