Lemon Lush

Had to bring a dessert to my mom's tonight for Sunday dinner.  I found this recipe in the Allrecipes.com magazine.  If you like cream cheese, lemons, and shortbread, this recipe is for you.  It was surprisingly light and fun for the springtime.

Ingredients:

2 c. flour

1 c. butter, chilled and cut in cubes
2 (8 oz) packages of cream cheese, softened
1 c. sugar
2 (3.4 oz) packages of instant lemon pudding mix
3 1/2 c. milk
1 (12 oz container frozen whipped topping, thawed

Preheat over to 350 degrees.  In a medium bowl, combine the flour and butter using a pastry cutter until a ball forms.  Press into the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish.  Bake for 20 min. until lightly browned.  Cool completely.  In medium bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth and well blended.  Spread evenly over cooled crust.  In another bowl, whisk together lemon pudding mix and milk for 3-5 minutes.  Spread over cream cheese layer.  Chill until set, then top with whipped topping.

In my test kitchen:

One thing I love about allrecipes.com is the reviews and suggestions given by other cooks.  I followed several suggestions...

I added about 2/3 c. finely chopped walnuts to my flour/butter mixture.  It gave the crust a great crunch.  (Clint hates nuts but oh well...I don't think I will ever make this without nuts again!  I loved it!)  I never really formed the dough into a ball.  I just poured it into the dish and pressed it evenly across the bottom.  I used powdered sugar instead of regular sugar.  It was easier to get a smooth and blended texture with powdered sugar.  I also added 1 T. lemon juice to the cream cheese mixture.  And instead of using Cool Whip, I made my own whipped topping with 1 c. heavy whipping cream, 2 T. sugar, and 1/2 t. vanilla. 

My presentation didn't look nearly as clean as the picture in the magazine.  I'm not sure why...my guess is that my whipped topping wasn't stiff enough and maybe I should have used a better knife when I cut the pie into pieces?  Anyone who has a suggestion on this, I would love to hear it! 

This recipe would also be great if a different pudding was substituted.  Vanilla, banana cream, coconut cream...I would just omit the lemon juice in the cream cheese mixture.  I'm not a huge cream cheese fan so I think if I make this again I will spread an even thinner amount of cream cheese.  It would make the dessert taste a little lighter as well.

~Happy Cooking!

Spicy Egg Bake

I was planning to make German pancakes this morning but I had some left over taco meat and salsa from dinner on Friday so put them to good use with this breakfast casserole that I found in my Taste of Home Breakfast & Brunch magazine.  I halved the recipe since our family is small but still used all of the crescent rolls since they would just go to waste if I hadn't used them.

Spicy Egg Bake

1 tube refrigerated crescent rolls

10 eggs

1/3 c. water

3 T. butter

1 1/2 c. prepared taco meat

1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

1 c. shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 c. salsa

Unroll crescent rolls into a greased 9x13 in casserole dish.  Seal seams and perforations; set aside.  In a small bowl, whisk eggs and water.  In a large skillet heat butter until hot.  Add egg mixture; cook and stir over medium heat until eggs are almost set.  Remove from the heat.  Sprinkle taco meat over dough.  Layer with eggs, cheeses, and salsa.  Bake uncovered at 375 degrees for 14-16 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted.

In my test kitchen: 

It wasn't until I was typing this recipe here on the blog that I noticed that water was an ingredient.  Oops.  I just whisked the eggs and cooked them up.  I am thinking they may have been a little fluffier if I had used water but  I'm not sure it made much difference since I didn't notice until now.  Again, I halved the recipe and put the whole tube of crescent rolls in a 9x9 pan instead.  I used 5 eggs and added some salt and pepper.  I sprinkled 3/4 c. taco meat across the dough and used 1/2 c. colby jack cheese and 1/2 c. mozarella cheese since that is what I had on hand.  I see lots of recipes with Monterey Jack cheese though so I think I will need to buy some and see how it tastes.  I also used Chili's salsa in my recipe since I had that on hand as well.  I actually think I prefer it to regular salsa because it is a little smoother.  I don't really like big chunks of salsa in casseroles and this salsa still gave it the kick that the recipe needed.  I also eyeballed the salsa amount.  I'm sure I didn't use as much salsa as it called for...I think it would taste good with a little or a lot...depending on your preference.

~Happy Cooking!

Breakfast Pie...Status: Success!

I try to cook a nice breakfast every Sunday morning for my family.  Yesterday I made Breakfast Pie.  I got the recipe from a Taste of Home Magazine.  Credit goes to Pam Botine of Goldsboro, NC.  This was a successful breakfast dish.  It set really well so it was easy to cut and serve.  It wasn't as good leftover the following morning...it needed a little salsa or something to liven it up.  But overall, the family liked it. 

Warning:  This recipe needs to be made the night before.

Ingredients:

8 bacon strips, diced

1/2 cup crushed cornflakes
5 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup 4% cottage cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I used colby jack)
1 green onion, sliced
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
2 1/2 cups frozen cubed hash browns (country potatoes)

In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp.  Remove to paper towels.  Drain, reserving 2 teaspoons drippings.  Stir reserved drippings into cornflakes and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine eggs, milk, cottage cheese, cheddar cheese, onion, salt, and pepper until blended.  Stir in hashbrowns.  Pour into a greased 9 inch pie pan.  Sprinkle with bacon and cornflake mixture.  Cover and refrigerate overnight. 

Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking.  Bake, uncovered at 325 degrees for 45-50 minutes until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.  Let stand 5-10 minutes before cutting.

In my test kitchen: 

My family really loves meat.  So I added some additional turkey bacon that I had on hand to the actual casserole mixture.  It was good but I think next time I will put crumbled sausage in the mixture instead and sprinkle with bacon.  I also love green onions but I'm a little particular about them mixed into certain dishes.  So I just sprinkled it across the top of the pie with the cornflakes and bacon. 

I did find that my pie needed to cook about 10 minutes longer than this recipe stated.  And my oven runs a little hot. 

~Happy Cooking!

Hello!

Last year I joined a cooking group.  Each month a pair of us host a dinner.  We choose the theme, the meal, the table decorations, everything.  I've always enjoyed cooking but I had never realized how much I would enjoy trying new recipes until I joined this group.  I would find a recipe that I liked and practice it several times, tweaking the ingredients slightly, making notes, forcing my husband to try it another time. 

And a new me was born. 

I LOVE cooking. 

I would still consider myself an amateur but I am learning something new every day.  I like to make elegant but tasty meals.  Sometimes they work out great and sometimes they don't.  What I really love most is to get feedback from others who may have made what I'm making or want me to try something new. So if you have anything to add, I welcome your comments! 

Happy Cooking Everyone!