LEMON BARS

I know this probably seems like a weird thing to bake on a rainy, September afternoon. But with the recent change in the weather (chilly and RAINY) I have had such a hankering to do some baking! But I'm trying to drop a few pounds, so baking for us here at home is not a good idea right now! LOL I found my outlet though - the college kids! They come home on the weekends and then leave to go back to school, after Sunday night service. Now I can bake my head off during the week and send it all with them! WOOHOO! I know you'd think I'd be baking chocolate chip cookies or brownies or some pumpkin dessert. I'm weird though. I just couldn't get lemon bars off my mind today! I think I'm going to be the college kids' new favorite person! *hehe* Plus, whenever my daughter Sarah goes back on Sunday night, the other dorm students ask her what goodies she brought back from her Mom. haha

LEMON BARS

• 2 sticks (8 ounces) butter
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 4 beaten eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel
• sifted confectioners' sugar

Preparation:

Heat oven to 325°. Blend butter, 2 cups flour and 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar. Pat into ungreased 13x9x2-inch pan. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes. For filling, blend together eggs, sugar, 4 tablespoons flour, lemon juice, and lemon peel. Pour over first layer. Return to oven and bake at 325° for 20 minutes. Loosen around edges, cut into bars and sift confectioners' sugar over the top while warm.

CREAMY VEGETABLE CASSEROLE

This is another result of looking for a different side for a church fellowship. This jumped out at me as different, and I like that about a recipe. It's a real comfort type, side dish. And it went over really well. Will definitely make again.

CREAMY VEGETABLE CASSEROLE

1 pkg (16 oz) frozen california blend (broccoli, carrots, cauliflower)
1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 carton (8 oz) spreadable garden vegetable cream cheese
1 cup seasoned croutons

Prepare vegetables according to package directions. Cook until crisp tender. Drain and place in a large bowl. In a separate microwave safe bowl, combine soup and cream cheese. Give it a quick stir and microwave until just warmed through. Pour over cooked veggies in bowl and stir to combine. Transfer to a greased 1 qt baking dish. Sprinkle with croutons. Bake, uncovered at 375 for 25 minutes or until bubbly.

MARRIED POTATOES

I'm always looking for new side dishes to take to church fellowships. This one had a boring name, so I renamed it. Actually I read down through the recipe and thought, well that's nothing more than jazzed up party potatoes! LOL It's party potatoes married to a prominent ingredient - spinach! My little party potatoes grew up and got married! At first, I thought, ewww, but then remembered that I like spinach! LOL These really were VERY good. I love party potatoes, but I honestly don't know if I'll ever make them again without adding the spinach and other extras. And a sure sign to me that they were good, is when I carry home an empty dish. And that was the case this past Sunday after we had a potluck dinner for our church anniversary. These would go really good with any meat that doesn't have a gravy. Like ham, or BBQ chicken, things like that.
And if you are dieting, you could lighten it up by using the light versions of cream cheese, sour cream and cheddar.

MARRIED POTATOES

3 lbs Russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
2 Tblsp butter
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp onion salt
1 (10 oz) pkg frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

Place potatoes and garlic in large saucepan. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Cook for 20 - 25 minutes or until very tender. Drain well. In a mixing bowl, mash potatoes and garlic with cream cheese and butter. Add sour cream and 1 cup shredded cheddar, garlic salt, onion salt and spinach. Stir just until mixed. Spread into a greased 2 qt baking dish. Bake uncovered at 350 for 30 - 35 minutes or until heated through. Top with remaining cheese. Bake 5 minutes longer or until the cheese is melted.
Yield: 10 - 12 servings

BAKING TIPS

If your brown sugar is dried out, put a slice of bread or a saltine cracker in with it to soften it up.

SMOTHERED STEAK

Have you ever eaten at Texas Roadhouse? I love that place! And the funny thing is, one of my favorite picks on the menu is this dish called "Roadkill." It sounds horrible, but it is so stinking good! The last time I was there, I asked the waiter what it was and he said "Ground sirloin." So...... I decided I could make it at home too. And it's SO easy and so simple, you won't believe how good it is though!
P.S. You don't "have" to make your steaks 8 oz portions. Feel free to make smaller 4 oz steaks if that is what you prefer. Just remember, it will shorten your cooking time.

SMOTHERED STEAK (because I refuse to call it "roadkill")

1 lb Ground sirloin
1 large onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 stick butter
1 large can sliced mushrooms, drained

First you get your onions sliced and cooking in your skillet. Heat up your skillet, plop in about 1/2 stick of butter and let it melt, then drizzle in a little olive oil with it. Dump in your sliced up onion and minced garlic and let it cook until they are nice and soft and slightly browned. Mmm! They smell so good!

Next you drain your mushrooms and dump those into the cooked onions and garlic. Give it a good stir until they are heated through. Keep this warm until the steaks are done.

Patty out your ground sirloin. There were 4 of us eating tonight, so I used 2 lbs. I get 2 steaks out of a pound. Heat a separate skillet over med - high heat and drizzle with olive oil. Remember sirloin is very lean , so some moisture is needed to compensate for the lack of fat. Coat your skillet with extra virgin olive oil or another favorite light oil. Place steaks in pan and season with salt, black peppercorn medley, Garlic powder, and Lawry's. Cook over medium heat. Sear the steaks quickly on one side to seal in its natural juices and then reduce the heat to med or low. Try 3 - 4 min for the first side (after searing for 30 seconds) and 2 - 3 minutes for the second side. Minutes really count here, so don't leave your steaks unattended. Take your steaks off the heat early. They will continue to cook when removed from the heat. They can go from perfectly cooked to OVERcooked in less than a minute.

Once you remove them from the heat. Load them up evenly with the cooked onions and mushrooms. Right in the skillet. Once you have all the onions and mushrooms on... see that buttery goodness left in the bottom of the skillet? Go ahead.... drizzle it right over the steaks!

Top each steak with a slice of mozzarella or provolone (whichever is your favorite) and cover until cheese melts. Serve on a bed of mashed redskin potatoes. Mmm!! Aren't you hungry now?

ANNIVERSARY CAKE

So tomorrow is our church's 73rd anniversary. We're having a big day with a Potluck dinner and the whole 9 yards. Grilled chicken by the men - will be soooo good! Anyway, I was tossing around the idea of making a cake for it (since I just took a cake decorating class). My daughter (who taught the class) said to go for it, and that she would help me if I got stuck. So this is sort of a joint effort. I made the cake and iced it (she smoothed it! LOL) I made the peach roses, she made the beige ones. She did the writing. LOL We had a lot of fun working on this together, tonight.

PEACH JAM

Mmm! Don't you just love fresh peaches when they are in season? I sure do! The Lord really blessed me this year with a sweet little peach "crop." I have one lonely peach tree in my side yard, but it bore over 100 peaches this year! Some of them were a little small, but still nice and sweet. I was amazed. The same thing happened with my grape vines - it was a bumper crop. I couldn't even GIVE them all away, there were so many. We harvested the peaches, my daughter, Sarah, arranged them so pretty in a basket. I finally got to them this week, and made up a batch of peach jam. It turned out soooo yummy, that I'm thinking about making another batch, because I just KNOW that most of this one will be used for gift giving.

PEACH JAM

3 lbs fresh peaches, peeled, pitted and finely chopped
Juic of 3 lemons (or 1/3 cup real lemon juice)
7 1/2 cups sugar
1 pouch Certo liquid pectin

Bring boiling water canner, half full with water to a simmer. Wash jars, lids and screw bands in hot soapy water; rinse with warm water. Pour boiling water over flat lids in saucepan off the heat. Let stand in hot water until ready to use. Drain well before filling. Prepare fruit. If using food processor, pulse to chop. DO NOT PUREE. Jam should have bits of fruit in it. Measure exact amount of prepared fruit into 6 or 8 quart saucepan. Stir in lemon juice and sugar. Add 1/2 tsp. butter or margarine to reduce foaming, if desired. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil (a boil that doesn't stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in pectin quickly. Return to full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with a metal spoon. Ladle quickly into prepared jars, filling to within 1/8 inch of tops. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with 2 piece lid and ring set. Screw bands tightly. Place jars on elevated rack in canner. Lower rack into canner. Water must cover jars by 1 to 2 inches; add boiling water if needed. *(I use a dutch oven to process my jars of jelly & jam, and it works just fine). Cover; bring water to gentle boil. Process jams 10 minutes; jelly 5 minutes. Remove jars and place upright on a towel to cool completely. After jars cool, check seals by pressing middle of lid with finger. If lid springs back, lid is not sealed and refrigeration is necessary. Let stand at room temperature for 24 hours. Store unopened jams and jellies in cool, dry, dark place up to 1 year. Refrigerate opened jams and jellies up to 3 weeks.