Posts Tagged ‘make it do’

Last week I cooked and cooked.

I made an amazing Grilled Salad with Strawberry Balsamic Reduction for Pioneer Woman’s Tasty Kitchen Blog.  It was the first time I’d ever tried lettuce on the grill and I am happy to report that it not only was easy, but it was crazy delicious.

The other crazy delicious thing I made last week was Lemon Bars.  This is one of the desserts that takes me back to my childhood.  Back then they were in my top 3 favorite treats… along with Rhubarb Pie and Carrot Cake.

They still make the top 10 list.  And this, my friends, is my all time favorite recipe for lemon bars.  They strike just the right balance of tart and sweet and the crust is divine.

Here’s the recipe:

Lemon Bars

2 cups flour

½ cup powdered sugar

1 cup cold butter

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray 9×13 pan with cooking spray.  Mix above ingredients with a pastry cutter until well blended and pulling together.  Press into pan and cook for 25-30 minutes until slightly golden brown.  While the crust is cooking make the lemon layer:

4 eggs

pinch of salt

4 tablespoons flour

2 cups sugar

2 lemons zest and juice

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

Cool and dust with powdered sugar.

Here’s the step by step:

Before turning on the oven to preheat to 350 degrees and spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray.  I prefer a glass Pyrex pan for Lemon Bars… but you can use metal too.

In a mixing bowl add butter, flour and powdered sugar.  Yes, it’s a lot of butter.

Using a pastry cutter cut the butter into the flour and powdered sugar.  I press down and turn… just like my mom taught me.

It’s a good work out….  and trust me, you are going to need it.  You’ll be eating Lemon Bars soon.  Cut the butter in until the crust starts pulling together and is well combined.   You could also use a food processor… but I’m an old fashioned kind of gal and I love my pastry cutter.

Press the dough into your greased 9 x 13 pan.  Pop it into the oven and cook until golden brown.  This takes 25 minutes in my oven.  Do not cook on convection.

While the crust is cooking, crack 4 eggs into a medium mixing bowl.  Add a pinch of salt and whisk them together really good.

Dump in the rest of the ingredients: 2 cups of sugar, 4 tablespoons of flour, and the zest and juice of two lemons.

Give that a good whisking until it’s nicely mixed.

And pour it right over the hot crust… right when it comes out of the oven.  It’s going to sizzle.  Then it goes right back into the oven for another 25 minutes.

Once it’s cool, give it a good sprinkling of powdered sugar.  I love to use a small mesh strainer to sprinkle the powdered sugar.  Depending on how you cut them, you get about 20 bars.

Lemon Bars are fantastic made a day ahead.  I actually think they are easier to cut and even taste a bit better the next day.  That is just perfect for a party.

I hope you love them as much as I do!

A day to fly kites might just be the perfect sort of spring day.  This week I am focusing on the little moments.  The ones that happen when you stop and smell the flowers.  Flying kites is just that kind of activity.

On any given day, there are any number of more important things to do rather than flying kites.

But I have a funny feeling our family will always remember our kite flying days… and I will never remember the important things I didn’t get done.

Here’s a tutorial for how to make the most simple of kites.  One that is perfect for the kids because it flies best when running with it.  Come to think of it, running with a kite might not be so bad for me either.

You will need:

• 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper – I love something patterned and pretty, or start with white and let your kids decorate it with markers or crayons.  You can use cardstock, but it’s a little trickier to fold.
• Tape
• A hole punch
• A coffee stirrer or bamboo skewer
• A tail – crepe paper works well
• String

Start by folding your paper in half widthwise.  If you paper has a pattern like mine, you’ll want the pattern on the outside… just like I’ve done.

From the center fold mark about one inch.  From the outside edge measure about 1-1/2 inches.  Fold the paper diagonally being sure to fold at those two marks.

Fold back one side open.  This is the back of the kite.

And tape them together at the spine as shown.  If you really want your kite to last, use a stronger tape, like masking tape.  Somehow my roll of masking tape has walked off.  I’m not blaming the artists in my home.  I’m sure somethings do have legs of their own.

Next tape your coffee stirrer or bamboo skewer (cut off the sharp point to length) to the back of your kite, like so.

Flip it over and punch a hole for the string about 2 inches from the top (which is the side where the wings are slightly larger.)

Add a tail.

Tie on some string.

Now all we need is sunshine and a little breeze.