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Oops! Diet Lemon Squares & St. Patty’s Day Green Fluff Dessert

My good friend Helen came over to visit me last week. She is like a grandmother to me. We have been friends for 20 years! We visit, do fun projects, and cooking together. We thought that it was a good day to bake. I decided on Lemon Bars because they are my Mom’s favorite dessert! They are not too complicated to make, especially if you grate the rind & squeeze the lemon in advance.

All the ingredients were out on our middle island ~ so we were ready to go. The first thing we did was to soften the butter in the microwave…. ½ cup at a time. We went on to finish the recipe that you will see in the photo. You may be wondering where the “oops” comes in. Well, it was at dinnertime when my mom went to use the microware. She found a dish with ½ cup of the softened butter! Helen and I only used a ½ cup instead of the full cup of butter in the crust. It was a little crumbly but just as good! So there…. now you have an option for diet lemon squares! Here’s a trick to help get the squares out easier. After the pan comes out of the oven and cools for about 15 minutes, take a knife or a flat metal spatula and go around the edges of the pan to loosen the edges before it cools and sets completely. You can make these ahead of time and freeze them.  Actually my mom and I love to eat them frozen!

 

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On St. Patty’s Day My Mom and I wanted to make a green dessert. We pulled out a recipe she made for us when we were kids. I also made it for a St. Patrick’s Day Party last week for my Friday Night group. It’s very fluffy and creamy and sort of melts in your mouth. The only warning is that it is very sweet ~ so make sure you have hungry kids around. It’s so simple to make. Mix one can of crushed pineapple with a box of instant pistachio pudding. Fold in 3 cups of marshmallows into that mix. Finally fold one container of cool whip (we used light) and refrigerate . Like I said yummy, but very sweet!

Hope you like them! Bon Appetite!

 

 

Tea Time!

          Do you ever feel like sitting in a big comfy chair and sipping a cup of warm soothing tea? Well….This is one of my favorite things to do!  I have a few favorites and they are actually good either hot or cold.  The first I recommend is Vanilla Chi by Stash.  I bought mine at Wegmans.  You can taste the black tea with hints of cinnamon, ginger root, allspice, vanilla and clove.  It’s like dessert in a cup ~ and low cal! My next favorite is Trader Joes Candy Cane Green Tea. It is a blend of peppermint, vanilla, and cinnamon with green tea. This one is only available around the holidays.  If you try it and like it ~ stock up now!  Another standby we always have in the house is Mango Passionfruit, also by Stash.  This one is fruity and flavorful.  It makes a great ice tea in the summer!  They are all decaf –So they won’t make you buzzy!  Let me know your favorites. Enjoy!

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Halloween Baking

My friend of twenty years and I decided today (October 21st) to do some Halloween baking . Three guess…What Do you think was the major ingredient? Jello ?, Oreos? Beet Juice, Lemon Juice…Wrong ~ It was Pumpkin !!!!! We filled six small bundt pans and one larger ring pan . Those Pans were from my grandmothers baking collection to my mother, who will one day give them to me!!  If you’d like to make these or a loaf, purchase Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Bread mix and follow the directions on the package.  Very simple but VERY good!

Pumpkiin Mini Bundts with Ice cream! Yum!

Pumpkiin Mini Bundts with Ice cream! Yum!

Cooking Dinner ~ Mexican Lasagna ~ Quick & Easy!

I work with a facilitator a few days a week and we made a great recipe.   My mom & I ate this for 3 nights when my dad was in the hospital it was so convenient & so good ~ It’s called Mexican Lasagna.  So easy to make try it – I’m sure you will like it! I  know this might look like a Trader Joes Ad- But It’s not!  We just Love TJ’s Products -so healthy and good for you!
Bon appetite…………..opps I mean ~ Buen apetito!

ingredients

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 pounds ground chicken breast, available in the packaged meats case    (We used Trader Joe’s frozen grilled chicken strips – thawed and chopped up and skipped the next 2 spices because the chicken had a good mesquite flavor – and  you don’t have to pre cook)

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1/2 red onion, chopped

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained

1 cup mild or medium taco sauce or 1 (14-oz) can stewed or fire roasted tomatoes (we blended some TJ’s salsa in a mini processor because that’s all we had in the house)

1 cup frozen corn kernels

Salt

8 – (8 inch) flour tortillas   (we used Trader Joe’s high fiber low carb tortilla’s)

2  1/2 cups shredded Cheddar or shredded pepper jack (We used Trader Joe’s lite shredded 3 cheese)

2 scallions, finely chopped

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Bree & Erin preparing the ingredients

Bree & Erin preparing the ingredients

Preheat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil – twice around the pan. Add chicken and season with chili powder, cumin, and red onion. Brown the meat, 5 minutes.  (you can skip this step if you used pre-cooked meat).  Add taco sauce or stewed or fire roasted tomatoes. Add black beans and corn. Heat the mixture through, 2 to 3 minutes then season with salt, to your taste.

Coat a shallow baking dish with remaining extra-virgin olive oil, about 1 tablespoon oil. Cut the tortillas in half or quarters to make them easy to layer with. Build lasagna in layers of meat and beans, then tortillas, then cheese.

Repeat: meat, tortilla, cheese again. Bake lasagna 12 to 15 minutes until cheese is brown and bubbly. Top with the scallions and serve.

just out of the oven!

just out of the oven!

Cupcakes With Nina! What Could Be Better!

Tuesday I went to a baking class for special needs young adults.  We were making Halloween Cupcakes with a professional baker…Nina.

We made everything from start to finish …. Delicious dense vanilla cupcakes with butter cream frosting.  Nina showed us how to frost and decorate the cupcakes with three different designs for Halloween.  Here’s some ideas for all you bakers out there!

The first was bloodshot eyeballs, the second was a spider web with a jeweled ring , and last was a pumpkin patch!

It was so awesome and also so delicious and amazing to eat.

Wish I could share one with all of you!

Yummmm!!!!!!

Yummmm!!!!!!

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