Tangy Lemon Bars

Crust:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup butter (2 sticks)
• Two-thirds cup powdered sugar

Crumble together with your hands and press in the bottom of a 9” x 13” cake pan. Bake in a 350° oven for 14 minutes.

Filling:

• 4 eggs
• 2 cups white sugar
• 2 tsp.

Rhubarb Torte

Crust:

• 1 c margarine
• 2 c flour
• 2 T sugar
• One-half tsp. salt
• One-fourth tsp. almond extract

Mix together and pat in a 9” x 13” pan. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes.

Filling:

• 6 egg yolks beaten
• 2 c sugar
• 1 c cream
• 4 T flour
• 5 c diced rhubarb

Mix and pour over crust.

Fresh Blueberry Pie

• Bake one pie shell, cool. A graham cracker crust works well, also.
  
• Put 2 cups of fresh blueberries in crust.
  
• Combine in pan:
• 2 cups of blueberries
• 3 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• one-fourth cup water
• one-fourth tsp. salt

Cook until thick. Take off heat and add 2 Tbsp. butter. Pour over the fresh berries in the pie shell. Cool in refrigerator. Serve with whipped cream. This is very good when you mix strawberries and blueberries or use peaches instead.

The amount of food brought to my mom’s house this past week was amazing! The kind and generous people of their hometown showed their love and care in many ways, and especially in bringing food to the family. From main courses to veggie trays, to cookies, bars and buns, we were well taken care of. If you have an occasion to share food with a family in need, here is a good recipe for you to try.

Delicious Pumpkin Bars

Cake
• 4 eggs
• 1 c. vegetable oil
• 2 c. sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 c. pumpkin
• 2 c. flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon

Mix dry ingredients together, then add the other ingredients and mix well. Pour into an 11" x 17" pan. Bake at 350° for 20 – 25 minutes.

Frosting
• One-half cup margarine
• 3 oz. cream cheese
• 2 c. powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla or almond flavoring

Mix together until creamy. Frost bars and sprinkle with nuts if desired.

Apple Crisp

1. Peel and slice apples into a 9" x 15" pan (approximately 8 cups.)
2. Sprinkle with a mixture of
• three-fourths cup sugar
• one-fourth cup flour
• 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
3. Mix together:
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup oatmeal
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup soft or melted butter

Crumble this mixture over the apples. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until the top is nicely browned. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

Chocolate Raspberry Bars

Crust:
• one-half cup butter, softened
• one cup flour
• one-fourth cup powdered sugar

Combine all until crumbly and pat into a 9″ x 9″ pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until slightly brown on edges.

Filling:
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 4 oz. cream cheese
• 2 to 3 T. milk

Melt chips and combine with softened cream cheese and milk. Spread over curst and cool for 10-15 minutes in refrigerator.

Topping:
• one-third cup seedless raspberry jam
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 T. vegetable oil

Spread jam over cream cheese mixture. Melt chips with oil and stir until creamy. Drizzle over jam. Keep refrigerated – if you can manage to not eat them all right away!

Happy Baking!

Old Fashioned Cream Cake

• 2 jumbo eggs, beaten
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 cup cream
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt

*Healthy Option: unrefined sugar (Sucanat or Rapadura)

Beat the eggs and add the sugar and cream. Mix the dry ingredients together and gradually add to the batter, mixing as you go until all ingredients are well blended. Pour into a 9 x 12 greased cake pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Serve with fresh whipped cream and berries or fruit of your choice. This is almost a biscuit-texture cake so it works very well as strawberry shortcake.

My RECIPE this week is from our Stitcher’s Choice cookbook and it is from Carol, one of our long-time staffers here.

Cinnamon Roll Bread Pudding

• 10 cinnamon rolls, scrape frosting off
• 6 eggs
• 1 cup raisins
• One-half cup sugar*
• 3 tsp. vanilla
• 3 cups half-and-half (milk/cream)

Cut up pre-baked or store-bought cinnamon rolls into a 9" x 13" pan, then sprinkle with raisins. Mix together the vanilla, eggs, sugar and half and half. Pour over the rolls. Sprinkle top with cinnamon. Bake at 300° for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Bake covered for the first hour.

Caramel sauce –

• One-half cup brown sugar*
• One-half cup white sugar*
• One-half cup whipping cream
• One-half stick butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Slowly bring to a boil. Remove so it doesn’t curdle. Serve hot over bread pudding.

*Healthy Option: unrefined sugar (Sucanat or Rapadura)

While it seems like I have been embroidering "forever" I can’t really tell you what got me started. However, I clearly remember when I learned to crochet. My grandparents and an aunt and uncle lived in Ulysses, in southwestern Kansas. When I was seven years old I got to spend a couple weeks at grandma’s house. During that time, my aunt taught me to crochet granny squares. I crocheted all sorts of things out of granny squares including a floppy hat for my Barbie doll. In my teens, I taught my mother to crochet and somewhere along in there my grandmother also learned to crochet. I still have some of those afghans today in the classic 1970’s oranges, greens, and golds! Another thing that happened that summer was my cousin, Dwight, entered some chocolate chip cookies in the open foods category at the county fair. The grand champion was crowned the Sugar Beet Queen (it was sugar beet country). This was a coveted title with matrons vying for the bragging rights year after year. Dwight’s cookies were chosen Grand Champion. Boy, it caused a lot of controversy. Not only was he male, he was only six! Finally it was decided he was eligible to win. Dwight rode in the designated convertible at the parade, the first ever Sugar Beet King of Grant County, Kansas. The recipe he used? The Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe right off the back of the package. He said the secret to his win was the cookies went right from the oven to the fairgrounds and the chips might have still been a little warm and gooey!

ORIGINAL NESTLE TOLL HOUSE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar*
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar*
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
• 1 cup chopped nuts

*Healthy Option: unrefined sugar (Sucanat or Rapadura)

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 375 degrees F.

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

When you have lemons….here is a fun, easy and somewhat healthy recipe. If you don’t like lemon, try a strawberry cake mix and gelatin or white cake mix and your favorite flavored gelatin.

WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS CAKE

Ingredients:

• 1 (18.25 ounce) package lemon cake mix
• 1 cup hot water
• 1 cup cold water
• 2 (3 ounce) packages lemon flavored gelatin mix
• 1 cup milk
• 1 (3.4 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
• 1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

Directions

Prepare cake and bake according to package directions in a 9×13 inch baking dish. With a fork, poke holes all over top of cake.

Combine 1 cup hot water and 1 cup cold water with one package of lemon gelatin. Stir until gelatin is dissolved, and pour mixture over cake. Chill in refrigerator until cool.

In large bowl stir together milk, vanilla pudding mix and remaining package of lemon gelatin until powders are dissolved. Fold in whipped topping and spread mixture over cake. Refrigerate until serving