Lemon Bars

 Crust: 

1 C butter

1/2 C powdered sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 C flour

Cream butter and sugar. Add salt & Flour,  mix & pat into 9x13 dish.

Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. 

Filling:

4 eggs, slightly beaten

1 3/4 C sugar

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 C flour

1/4 C lemon juice

Rind of 1 lemon

Mix and pour on top of hot crust. Bake @ 350 for 22-23 minutes. When done sprinkle with powdered sugar Cut when cool. 

Grandma's Country White Bread

 *Makes 2 loaves

INGREDIENTS

3 cups luke-warm water

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 Tbsp. yeast

1/3 cup oil

1 Tbsp. salt

6 - 7 cups unbleached ground white wheat flour (You can use regular all-purpose flour with success as well. You will need more flour... closer to 8 cups, and it will make a softer, less-coarse bread.)

*opt. 1 Tbsp. vital wheat gluten (if using whole white wheat flour)

DIRECTIONS

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water and sugar. Let sit 10 minutes. Add the oil. Add the salt and flour (starting with 6 cups of flour). Mix all together. Knead the dough thoroughly until all ingredients are incorporated, and dough is smooth, elastic, very slightly sticky, and pulls away from the bowl (6-10 minutes). As you knead the dough, you may add more flour as needed, and repeat the process until dough reaches the desired consistency. 

Cover the bowl of dough with a dish towel or plastic wrap and let rise until doubled (an hour or more depending on how warm your kitchen is.) You may speed up this process by placing the covered bowl inside the oven with the oven light on, and another bowl of warm water sitting on the lower rack.

Punch the dough down, divide and and form into 2 loaves. Place the dough in 2 greased bread pans. (I use 9" pans.) Cover and let rise till the top of the dough is an inch or two above the bread pans.

Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes. Remove the baked loaves from their pans immediately, and place on a cooling rack. Slice, and serve warm with butter and honey.

Store in an air-tight bag. Baked loaves AND bread dough freeze well. 

Butter Cream Syrup

 1 Cup Butter

2 Cups sugar

1 Can Evaporated milk

Dash of salt

Boil the above or 2 minutes. Take off of stove and add 2 tsp of vanilla. 

Can keep in the fridge for 5-6 days. 

Easy Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 pound spicy Italian ground sausage - use mild for kid-friendly
• ▢ 4 tablespoons butter
• ▢ ½ white onion - diced
• ▢ 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• ▢ 6 cups chicken broth
• ▢ 2 cups water
• ▢ 4-5 yellow potatoes - cut into 1-inch pieces
• ▢ 3 teaspoons salt - or to taste
• ▢ 1 teaspoon black pepper
• ▢ 2 cups heavy cream
• ▢ 4 cups chopped kale
• ▢ chopped bacon or bacon bits and grated parmesan cheese for topping - optional

• In a large pot saute sausage 5-6 minutes until browned. Use a slotted spoon to transfer sausage to a plate and set aside. 
• In the same pot, add butter and saute onions over medium heat until translucent. Add garlic and saute for another minute until fragrant. 
• Add chicken broth, water, potatoes, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil. Boil until potatoes are tender. Stir in kale, and heavy cream. Add sausage. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed. Serve garnished with grated parmesan cheese and/or bacon if desired. 

 

Mediterranean Chicken Quinoa Bowl

Chicken:
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup olive oil
6 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tsp minced garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
Kosher salt
Ground Black Pepper

Greek Yogurt Crema:
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon lime juice
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon minced garlic
1/8 teaspoon paprika
pinch of sugar

Other Ingredients:
2 cups cooked quinoa
2 cups cooked brown rice
2 cucumber, cubed
3 roma or plum tomatoes, cubed

1/2 bunch Cilantro, chopped
Corn
Feta cheese, crumbled

Avocado, sliced
Red Wine Vinaigrette

Marinate Chicken:
Combine olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, and a big pinch of Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper in a ziplock bag. Add chicken, toss to coat, and allow to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.

1-Grill chicken and then slice

2-Mix together all ingredients for Greek Yogurt Crema.

3-Let everyone individually combine their desired ingredients for a delicious and healthy mediterranean chicken bowl.

BJ's Restaurant copycat

Pineapple Buns (Bo Lo Bao)

 These are a favorite of ours from Hong Kong! Finally found a recipe that's close!

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE BREAD DOUGH:

2/3 cup heavy cream (at room temperature)

1 cup milk (at room temperature)

1 large egg (at room temperature)

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup cake flour

3 1/2 cups bread flour

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

FOR THE TOPPING DOUGH:

¼ cup dry milk powder

1¼ cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon baking powder

2/3 cup superfine sugar (it’s very important that it’s superfine)

¼ cup vegetable shortening (can subsitute lard or butter)

2 tablespoons milk

1 egg yolk

1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

TO FINISH THE BUNS:

1 egg yolk

INSTRUCTIONS

Start by making the bread dough. In the bowl of a mixer, add the heavy cream, milk, egg, sugar, cake flour, bread flour, yeast, and salt (in that order). Using the dough hook attachment, turn on the mixer to “stir.” Let it go for 15 minutes, occasionally stopping the mixer to push the dough together.

After 15 minutes, the dough is ready for proofing. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and place in a warm spot for 1 hour. The dough will grow to 1.5X its original size.

After the bread dough has proofed for an hour, put the dough back in the mixer and stir for another 5 minutes to get rid of air bubbles. Dump the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut into 12 equal pieces. Form each piece into a circular bun, and place on a baking sheet. Cover the buns with a clean, dry kitchen towel and let rise for another hour.

While that’s happening, make the topping. Add the dry milk powder to a mixing bowl. If your dry milk powder has some larger clumps, crush them up with your fingers so it’s uniformly powdery.

Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and superfine sugar. Stir to combine. Add the shortening, milk, egg yolk, and vanilla. Use your hands to mix everything together into a dough. If it’s too dry, add a little more milk a teaspoon at a time until it comes together. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature.

When the buns are done rising for a second time, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Separate the topping dough into 12 equal pieces and roll them into balls. On a clean surface, roll out each ball into a flat circle and place one onto each bun.

Brush with egg yolk and bake at 350 degrees for 12-13 minutes.

TIPS & NOTES:

Makes 1 dozen buns.

Feel free to substitute all-purpose flour for both the cake flour and bread flour! We have since extensively re-tested this recipe, and have not found that using 100% all-purpose flour in this recipe makes a meaningful difference to the result.

https://thewoksoflife.com/pineapple-buns/

Not Marshmallow Cream Fruit Dip

 

Ingredients

• 8 oz cream cheese
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup whipping cream – whipped
• 1/2 cup heath bits (or even a little more ;))

Instructions

• Whip the heavy cream. In a mixing bowl, use a hand mixer to beat the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
• Combine the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla. In another bowl, combine the softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla until creamy.
• Fold in the whipped cream. Then fold in the whipped cream until fully combined.
• Stir in Heath bits. Transfer the fruit dip to a jar or small bowl for serving. Add a sliced strawberry or other fruit as garnish.