Lemon Bars

Recipe:
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup butter
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5-6 tablespoons lemon
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
4 tablespoons flour

Mix flour, powdered sugar and butter. Put into cake pan like a pie crust. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Beat eggs, sugar, flour and lemon. Put on top of cooked crust. Bake 20 minutes more.

Recipe from Mrs. Frank Knapek.

Changes:
Made half batch, but still made in a 9 x 13 pan. Cooked at 350 for 10 minutes for bottom layer and 350 for 12 minutes for top layer. Added sifted powdered sugar to top.

Review:
Rating 8 1/2. I love these bars! The best is the slightly browned edges! Powdered sugar on top is great too!

Next Time:
Make exactly as directed. Haven't made it that way in a long time- taste the difference.

Irish Soda Bread

Recipe:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/3 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.

Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and baking soda. Blend egg and buttermilk together, and add all at once to the flour mixture. Mix just until moistened. Stir in butter. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for 65 to 70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the bread comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Wrap in foil for several hours, or overnight, for best flavor.

Recipe from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Irresistible-Irish-Soda-Bread/Detail.aspx

Changes:
Added green food coloring for St Patty's Day. Added 1 1/2 cups raisins- recipe showed raisins, but did not include them on ingredient list. Cooked at 325 for 55 minutes.

Review:
Rating 8. Really cool to see the chemical reaction to rise the dough- you can see it happen while you mix in the butter. Quick to make and tasty to eat!

Next Time:
See if wrapping in foil over night makes a difference.

Chicken Strips

Recipe:
1 1/2 pound chicken breast, made into strips
1/2 cup corn starch
*1/2 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon basil
1/4 teaspoon Mrs Dash seasoning
1/2 package crackers, crushed
2-3 tablespoons butter

Butter a 9x 13 pan. Crush crackers. Add pepper, white pepper, chili powder, garlic salt, basil and Mrs Dash. Mix well. In separate shallow dish mix butter milk and egg. In a 3rd dish put corn starch. Dip and lightly cover chicken in corn starch. Dip into egg mixture. Cover in cracker mixture. Place in pan. When all pieces are done cut up butter and put around and on chicken. Cook at 350 for 30 minutes.

*Buttermilk substitute- add 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon or vinegar to 1/2 cup. Fill rest with milk- let sit 5 minutes.

Recipe by me.

Review:
Rating 8 1/2. Great flavor. Easy to make and fun for Keston to help shake all the spices in. Can really vary spices and amounts to taste. Ate on biscuits- was delicious.

Next Time:
Cover pan in foil first for easier clean up.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

Recipe:
*2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup butter, melted
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar (powdered sugar)

In a medium bowl, stir together graham cracker crumbs, confectioners' sugar, peanut butter and melted butter. Press firmly into the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan. Melt chocolate chips over a double boiler or in the microwave, stirring occasionally. Spread melted chocolate over the crumb crust. Chill for about 5 minutes, then cut into bars before the chocolate is completely set, then chill until ready to serve.

*one package Graham crackers is about 1 1/2 cups of crumbs.

Changes:
Halved the batch. Used milk chocolate chocolate chips. Used a round pie pan. Microwaved chips 30 seconds twice.

Review:
Rating 8. The graham crackers give a nice crunch. I prefer the peanut butter cups to this.

Next Time:
Less butter and add some peanut butter to chocolate.

"Foolproof" Whole Wheat Bread

Recipe:
2 tablespoons dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water (110-115 degrees)
5 cups hot tap water
2 tablespoons salt
2/3 cup oil
2/3 cup honey
12 cups whole wheat flour

Sprinkle yeast in 1/2 cup warm water for 10-15 minutes. (1 tablespoon sugar in yeast helps it to work faster).Combine 5 cups hot tap water with 7 cups whole wheat flour. Mix on low speed until blended. Add salt, oil, and honey. Mix well. Add 1 more cup flour . Add prepared yeast to mixture and blend. Add 3-4 cups more flour. Knead for 10 minutes.Oil hands. Divide dough into fourths. Mold and place in oiled pans. Let it rise until 1/3 more in bulk for about 35 minutes. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove from pans and oil tops.

Recipe from The Magic of Wheat Cookery by Lorraine Dilworth Tyler.

Changes:
Halved the recipe. Used 1 cup bread flour, 2 1/4 whole wheat flour and 2 3/4 cups wheat bread flour. 1 1/2 whole wheat, 2 wheat bread first flouring. 1/4 ww and 3/4 wb second flouring and 1 cup bf and 1/2 ww the third.

*Made with 1/2 bread flour and 1/2 whole wheat. turned out great.

**Made into 3 loaves instead of 2. Rose for 1 hr 15 minutes. Cooked at 400 for 10 minutes then 350 for 17- covered loosely in foil.

Review:
Rating 9. Great bread- even better because it is so quick and easy to make!

Next Time:
Simplify flour concoction. Maybe 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 wheat bread flour.

**Rise twice, maybe- or once for 2 hrs.

Spanish Rice

Recipe:
2-3 tablespoons oil
1 cup long grain white rice
1 large clove garlic, chopped
1 small- medium yellow onion, chopped into chunks
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 can whole peeled tomatoes, torn up
1 tablespoon tomato bouillon
pepper

Take a skillet and put a "glug" of vegetable oil in it. (Probably 2 or 3 Tablespoons) Heat the oil.

Put in rice, garlic and onion.

Saute until the rice is a light to golden brown.

Add chicken broth, tomatoes, tomato bouillon and a sprinkle of pepper over the top of the liquid. Stir, cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed. Keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn on the bottom.

Recipe from Chad's parents, Steve and Ina Welker.

Changes:
I used 1 can of chicken broth(which is about 1 3/4 cups), 2 cloves garlic, 1/2 a large white onion, 3 tablespoons of tomato liquid and 1 cube tomato bouillon.

Review:
Rating 9. We love this rice-ipe! Makes good, sticky rice.

Next Time:
More pepper.

Microwave Monkey Bread

Recipe:
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup nuts
2 tablespoons raisins
1 (7.5 oz) can of refrigerator biscuits- any type

Put butter, brown sugar, water and cinnamon in a 1 qt, microwave safe baking dish. Microwave, covered, for 1 1/2 minutes. Stir well. Add in optional nuts and raisins.

Separate uncooked rolls and cut into 4ths. Mix pieces in sugar well- until fully coated.

Push all ingredients to the sides and put a small juice glass, upside down, into bowl center. Microwave on high for 4 minutes, uncovered. Let stand 1 minute. then invert onto serving dish. Pull apart and eat.

Recipe from Chad's Jr High home-ec class.

Changes:
Used nuts and raisins. Used 4 rolls from a 16 oz rolls package.

Rating:
Rating 7. Quick microwave treat. Needs a little tweaking.

Next Time:
Add 2 Tablespoons white sugar to first mix. Cut rolls into 12ths or more.

Potato Bread

Recipe:
2 cups water
5 1/2 cups bread flour
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 1/4 cups mashed potatoes
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoon salt

In mixing bowl, combine water, potatoes, yeast and flour and mix until well combined. Add the butter and mix until it is integrated into dough. The dough will still be very soft. Cover and let rest on the counter for 20 minutes.

Add the salt to the dough when you do the next step.

If you are using a mixer: Use the dough hook and mix it on medium while you sprinkle in the all-purpose flour a tablespoonful at a time. When the absorption of the flour starts to slow down, turn it out on a well-floured counter and knead until the dough is smooth and supple, but no longer tacky.

If you are making the dough by hand: Spread the cup of all-purpose flour on the counter and knead for 4-5 minutes, adding more flour if needed. Knead until the dough is smooth.

Roll the dough in flour, put it in a clean bowl, cover and let rise until doubled in bulk (about an hour).

Turn the dough out on a lightly floured counter, divide in half and shape into loaves. Grease two loaf pans. Put the shaped loaves in the pans and let rise until doubled in bulk (about an hour).

Preheat oven to 375°f / 175°c. Bake bread for 35 minutes or until golden brown (~195°f / 90°c internal temperature). Turn out of pans onto cooling rack for at least an hour.

Recipe from http://ayearinbread.earthandhearth.com/2007/05/beth-potato-bread.html.

Changes:
Used only 5 cups bread flour and 1/3 cup regular flour. Made mashed potatoes in the microwave instead of boiling. 375 for 28 minutes.

Review:
Rating 7 1/2. Turned out well, makes great sandwich bread. Not as moist as I thought it would be. A little salty.

Next Time:
Try new potato bread recipe. Add less salt and boil potatoes.

Cinnamon Rolls

Recipe:
1 quart whole milk
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
2 packages Active Dry Yeast
8 cups all-purpose flour
1 more cup of flour
1 heaping teaspoon baking powder
1 "scant" (less than a full) teaspoon baking soda
1 heaping tablespoon salt
1 1/2 to 2 cups melted butter
1 cup of sugar
generous sprinkling of cinnamon

Frosting Recipe:
1 bag of powdered sugar
2 teaspoons maple flavoring
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup of brewed coffee
1/8 teaspoon (a generous pinch) salt

Mix milk, vegetable oil, and sugar in a pan. "Scald" the mixture (heat until just before the boiling point.) Turn off heat and leave to cool 45 minutes to 1 hour.

When the mixture is lukewarm to warm, but NOT hot,(110-115 degrees) sprinkle inYeast. Let this sit for a minute so the yeast gets all warm and moist. Then add 8 cups of all-purpose flour. Stir mixture together. Cover and let rise for at least an hour.

Now add 1 more cup of flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir/knead mixture together. (At this point, you could cover the dough and put it in the fridge until you need it—overnight or even a day or two, if necessary. Just keep your eye on it and if it starts to splurge out of the pan, just punch it down.)

Sprinkle surface generously with flour. Take half the dough (only do this if making a full batch-otherwise use all dough at once) and form a rough rectangle. Then roll the dough thin, maintaining a general rectangular shape. Rectangle should increase in both width and length as you roll it out. Now drizzle melted butter over the dough, then sprinkle sugar over the butter followed by cinnamon. Starting at the opposite end from you- long side, begin rolling the dough in a neat line toward you. Keep the roll relatively tight as you go. Next, pinch the seam to the roll to seal it.

Spread 1 tablespoon of melted butter in each of seven round, foil cake or pie pans. Then begin cutting rolls approximately 3/4 to 1 inch thick and laying them in the buttered pans. Repeat this process with the other half of the dough. This recipe makes approximately seven pans of rolls.

For frosting mix all ingredients listed well, until smooth. Should be thick, but pourable. Taste and adjust accordingly. Generously drizzle frosting over warm rolls after you pull them out of the oven.

Recipe from http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/cinammon_rolls_/ . Site has step by step pictures.

Changes:
Made half the recipe. Used skim milk. Spread on 3/4 cup butter and 3/4 cup sugar. Cooked at 375 for 14 minutes. Used 3 Tablespoons pure maple syrup instead of maple extract in frosting.

Review:
Rating 9. Great cinnamon rolls- large recipe- even halved. Frosting was delicious.

Next Time:
Cut bigger rolls. Maybe use more butter, sugar and cinnamon. These are non-caloric!!

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

Recipe:
4 chicken breasts
4 0z sliced ham
1 cup Cheddar cheese
1 can (10 3/4 oz) cream of mushroom soup
2 cups stuffing cubes
2 tablespoons butter

Put butter in skillet and brown chicken on all sides- does not need to be fully cooked. Set chicken aside. Put stuffing in remaining butter and juices in skillet and stir. Put 3/4 stuffing in bottom of casserole dish. Place chicken on top, followed by ham and cheese. Pour soup over top. Add remaining bread crumbs. Cook at 350 for an hour.

Recipe from Mom's Updated Recipe Box by Donna Weihofen.

Changes:
Used Colby jack cheese. Used 3/4 can of soup.

Review:
Rating 7. Too dry. Nothing combined the ingredients to keep them moist. Didn't need the soup.

Next Time:
Cover while cooking, cook for less time, maybe some cream cheese instead of soup. Use thin, pounded chicken breast and stack 2 layers of everything.