Lemon Bread

There seems to be a lemon theme going on right now.  Three of the last four posts I've done have the word lemon in them.  Maybe lemons were on sale recently...  So, if you haven't gotten your lemon fix with tilapia or soup, go ahead and try it in dessert form!  

Lemon Bread
slightly adapted from: www.food.com

1/2 c. butter or margarine
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1/2 c. milk
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
rind of 1 lemon

For glaze:
1/2 c. powdered sugar
juice from 1 lemon

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar.  Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each one.  Stir in the milk.  In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and lemon rind and stir it well (this helps your rind to not clump together when you mix it in with the liquid stuff).  Pour the flour mixture into the mixing bowl and mix well to combine.  Pour it into a greased bread pan and bake it at 350 degrees for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  During baking, in a small bowl stir together the powdered sugar and lemon juice and set it aside.  (As a side note, my lemons must have been extremely juicy, because I had to add quite a bit more powdered sugar to get the sweetness that I wanted.  Be aware and taste it before you pour it on your bread).  When the bread is done, remove it from the oven to a cooling rack.  While it is still hot, poke holes in the top with a toothpick or fork and then pour the glaze over the top of the holes.  Let it cool completely and then slice and serve!

Slow Cooker Lemon Basil Soup

If you love lemons and having food ready for you when you come home at night, you will love this soup!  Any time that I put something in the slow cooker, I am so happy the rest of the day.  Any time I use up the lemons in my fridge without them rotting, I am also happy the rest of the day. 

Slow Cooker Lemon Basil Soup
by: Carolyn 

1 chicken breast
fresh basil leaves (around 10 small leaves)
fresh ground salt and pepper, to taste
5 c. water
3 boullion cubes
1/2 onion, sliced
2 large potatoes, chopped (or you can use a cup of cooked rice)
1 c. chopped carrots
2 juiced lemons 
zest from one lemon

Combine all the ingredients in your slow cooker.  Cook it on high for 5 hours.  Shred the chicken breast before serving.

Lemon Blueberry Pancakes Dos

For our family reunion this year (my immediate family totals 30 people now!) we divvied out the meals to make it easier on everyone.  Carolyn and I picked up a breakfast, (because who’s kidding, we’d both rather be trying a new pancake or waffle recipe any day), and came across this one, Lemon Blueberry Pancakes.  I know you’re saying to yourself, but Nicole, you’ve tried a million variations of Blueberry pancakes.  Aren’t you satisfied yet?  The answer is NO people.  I will always be trying new variations of my favorite pancake because every time I try a new one I find it exciting and delicious and just a little different than the last.  (Although it truth be told, I do have a favorite basic recipe that I use most often.)  This one was no exception.  Everyone loved them, especially when we put it over the top with Buttermilk Syrup!  Oh it was so yummy!  You should definitely make this, especially if you have an insatiable love for blueberries and lemon (and pancakes) as I do!

Side note: If you have picky eaters like, you know, all of my nieces and nephews (so what if I myself was an extremely picky eater most of my life), I made the lemon pancakes for them, sans blueberries, and the freshness of the lemon was a delicious twist on a regular pancake too.  They loved it (all minus one who shall not be named and ate toast for 2 mornings).

Lemon Blueberry Pancakes

from About.com, Southern Food

Ingredients:

1 large egg

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup milk

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 cup fresh blueberries, or use frozen thawed blueberries

Preparation:

Beat egg until frothy; beat in remaining ingredients except blueberries, beating just until smooth. Gently stir in blueberries. Grease a heated griddle. Cook as usual.  Serve with Buttermilk Syrup if you want to make it exceptional.

Oh look, the picky-eater herself.

Slow Cooker Lemon Rosemary Pork Roast

This week, I finally cashed in on a Christmas present that my hubby got me this year.  It was a cooking class called "Cooking Without a Recipe" at a local cooking school.  Lynnette came with me and we had so much fun!  Our teacher talked a lot about being bold, and being willing to try making food based on what we think will be good.  Since then, I have made some amazing grilled cheese sandwiches, and today I tried this Lemon Rosemary Pork Roast.  It turned out great!  It is a lot of fun to look through my cupboards and fridge and try to imagine what I can make with what I have.

Slow Cooker Lemon Rosemary Pork Roast
by: Carolyn

1 three pound pork roast
1/4-1/2 c. lemon juice
1 c. water
1 tsp. dried rosemary
freshly ground salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
3 carrots, cut into 1/2 inch slices
2 potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch slices
1 onion, cut into 1/2 inch slices

In a frying pan, braise the pork roast.  I coated my pan in olive oil first.  In your slow cooker, combine the water, lemon juice, rosemary, salt and pepper and garlic.  Place your roast in the slow cooker and then cover it with the carrots, potatoes and onion slices.  Cook it on high for 4-5 hours, or until the roast reaches 160 degrees.

Cream Cheese Stuffed Lemon French Toast

 

I found this recipe on Our Best Bites a couple of weeks before Valentine's Day and thought it would be so fun to surprise Dustin with breakfast for the Day O' Love.  Little did I know (until 11:30 PM the night before) that he was planning on leaving for work by 6:25 AM that day.  Luckily, these were all prepared and waiting in the fridge for him to pop in the oven at 5:20 AM so that we could eat by 6:20 and he could be out the door on time.  How romantic of me to have him put his own surprise breakfast in the oven at that early hour!  Be aware that the reason that these were all prepared is because after you get them in the sauce, they have to sit for 8 hours in the fridge.  They are a little bit of a high maintenance meal, but so tasty and fun, especially for a special event. Here is a little tip: instead of buying expensive croissants, look for them in the Day Old section of your grocery store.  I got mine so much cheaper that way.  Plus they're supposed to be a little dried out.  Perfect!  They come partially dried out!

Cream Cheese Stuffed Lemon French Toast

adapted from: www.ourbestbites.com

4 large, stale croissants

1 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened (I accidentally used the lower fat kind *gasp* and it was still great)

1 1/4 c. powdered sugar, divided

2 lemons

2 eggs

1 1/2 c. milk

strawberries, sliced

sweetened whipped cream

Grease a 9X13 baking dish.  Slice the croissants in half lengthwise and set them aside.  In a medium bowl, combine the softened cream cheese, 3/4 c. of the powdered sugar, zest of one lemon and the strained juice of one lemon.  Mix it with your electric mixer until it is light and fluffy.  Spread the cream cheese mixture over one half of each croissant and replace the top.  You are going to put quite a bit of cream cheese on each croissant, using up all of your cream cheese.  Cut each croissant in half and place them in the baking dish.  They get pretty squished in there together, but that is okay.  In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, zest from the other lemon, juice from the other lemon and the rest of the powdered sugar (1/2 cup).  Pour it evenly over the croissants and cover it with tin foil.  Refrigerate it for 8-10 hours (that is why overnight is such a great idea!).  When you are ready to bake it, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Bake it for 30 minutes, then remove the tin foil and bake it for another 20-30 minutes.  The croissants will be golden and the liquid will be mostly absorbed.  After you take it out, let it stand for 5 or 10 minutes.  Serve it with sliced strawberries and sweetened whipped cream.

Lemon Angel Pie

Here's one of my favorite pies!  It's actually a recipe from two different cookbooks.  The crust is from "Betty's Pies", a yummy pie shop in Minnesota that we've been to, and the filling is from the "Lion House Desserts" cookbook. 

Lemon Angel Pie

Crust:

2 large egg whites

1/8 tsp. cream of tarter

1/2 c. granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 275 degrees

Beat egg whites until frothy.  Add cream of tarter.  Beat until stiff peaks form using electric mixer on high speed.  Gradually add sugar, 2 tbsp. at a time until one half cup has been added.  Continue beating until stiff, glossy peaks form.

Grease 10-inch pie pan and spread meringue on bottom and up sides of pie pan using a rubber spatula.

Place on bottom rack in oven and bake at 275 degrees for one hour.  Turn off oven, open door ajar and let meringue cool in the oven.  Fill with desired filling.

Filling:

1/2 c. water

2 tbsp. sugar

1 egg

1 tbsp. cornstarch

1 tbsp sugar

1 1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

zest of 1/2 lemon

1 1/2 tsp. butter

1 c. vanilla chips

1 8-ounce package cream cheese

1/2 c. whipped cream, sweetened with a little sugar

1 tbsp. toasted almonds

Put water and 2 tbsp. sugar in saucepan and bring to a boil.  In a large bowl, mix egg, cornstarch, 1 tbsp. sugar, and lemon juice.  Slowly add hot water to egg mixture in bowl, then pour entire mixture back into pan.  heat until thickened, stirring often.  Remove from heat and add zest of lemon and butter.  Stir until mixed and cool.

Pour two-thirds of filling in bowl.  Add vanilla chips to the filling remaining in pan.  Stir until chips are melted.  Place cream cheese in bowl.  Add filling with vanilla chips to cream cheese and beat together.  Spread this mixture in bottom of pie shell.  Spread remaining two-thirds of lemon filling on top.  Chill two hours.

Top with whipped cream and garnish with toasted almonds.

(Side note: The last time we made it, we made extra of the tart lemon filling afterwards to add a little extra tartness. Yum.)

Lemon Poppy Seed Waffles

So the new waffle recipe that I tried this morning was a complete success!  Nothing makes me happier than when I try a new recipe and it is so so delicious.  I loved everything about these waffles, especially the delicate, but prominent, lemony flavor.  I have always been skeptical of recipes that make you beat the egg whites separately before folding them in to the rest of the batter, because I never feel like I can tell the difference.  But with these, it was very apparent that I whipped those egg whites until they were dreamy because of the light and fluffy texture that they caused my waffles to take on.  There were many recipes that said to make a blueberry syrup for these babies, but as we did not have any blueberries this morning we decided to go for our tried and true maple syrup.  (I always end up liking maple syrup the best anyways so I wasn't too disappointed.)

So here it is, one of my new favorite recipes.  (Matt asked if I even liked them better than bacon waffles, and I had to consider for a minute.  That's how good they are.)


Lemon Poppy Seed Waffles
Adadpted from Back to the Cutting Board

Ingredients:
2 tbsp. sugar
Zest from one lemon (about 1 tbsp.)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. poppy seeds
1 cup low-fat buttermilk (if you don’t have any on hand, use 1 T. lemon juice and pour milk in to equal 1c.)
1/4 cup milk
3/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt (I didn’t have any so I used non-fat sour cream which is a good substitute)
4 tbsp. butter, melted (I used 2 T. butter and 2 T. applesauce, which is slightly healthier and the texture was still amazing.)
2 large eggs, separated
Pinch of cream of tartar
1 tbsp. lemon juice

Directions:
1. Preheat your waffle iron.
2. In a large bowl add sugar and lemon zest and mix together with your fingers until almost like a paste, about a minute.
3. Stir in both flours, baking soda, salt, and poppyseeds.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together buttermilk, milk, yogurt, melted butter and egg yolks. Set aside.
5. In a third bowl or electric mixer, whip egg whites and cream of tartar to soft peaks.
6. Make a well in the flour mixture and pour in the buttermilk mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon a few times.
7. Add lemon juice and mix until the ingredients are almost incorporated.
8. Gently fold in egg whites.

9. Spray waffle iron with cooking spray. Spoon in 1/3 cup (or 1/2 cup for Belgian waffles) of batter. Bake until crisp and golden. Serve with warm syrup.

Lemon Cream Cheese Pancakes

While Nicole and I were together for Christmas, we decided to try something new and exciting for breakfast. I had a couple of lemons leftover from the lemon cake I had made and so we threw together a few ingredients and ended up with these. They tasted especially yummy with powdered sugar on top. All adults loved them. All children didn't (but I wouldn't let that deter you. They were my children, after all).

Lemon Cream Cheese Pancakes

by: Carolyn and Nicole

1 1/4 c. flour

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 c. milk

1 Tbsp. oil

1 egg

zest of 1 lemon

juice of 1 1/2 lemons

4 oz. cream cheese

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. With a pastry blender, cut the cream cheese into the flour mixture until it is little chunks (as my cookbook would say, "pea sized" chunks). Add the milk, egg, oil, lemon juice and zest of lemon and stir to combine. Don't over mix this-it will be chunky from your cream cheese-and you want it to be so that when the pancakes are cooked there is a yummy cream cheese flavor going on in each bite.

Heat your skillet and cook them up (you know how to do this, folks) and serve with powdered sugar or syrup, or if you are feeling really crazy, both!

Lemon Cake

This lemon cake is all lemony, sugary goodness. It is the perfect combo of sweet and tart. My friend made it one day and brought me a couple of pieces and it was amazing! After I ate it, I couldn't stop thinking about it. Within a day or two I called my friend and got the recipe. I bought lemons, just waiting for the perfect time to be able to make it for someone else. I finally had the chance for Christmas dinner and made it for my family, who were not disappointed in its lemony yumminess.

Lemon Cake

1 lemon cake mix

1 small package instant lemon pudding

1 c. oil

4 eggs

2 Tbsp. grated lemon rind (2 medium lemons)

1 1/2 c. water

Glaze

2 c. powdered sugar

juice squeezed from two lemons

3-4 drops yellow food coloring

1 Tbsp. lemon rind

Grease and flour a 9X13 pan. In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, pudding mix, oil, eggs, 2 Tbsp. lemon rind and water and mix well for 3 minutes. Bake it according to the cake mix package directions (I think mine was at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, but just look at the box). When the cake is done, let it cool down, then take a fork and poke that thing like crazy (in a gentle way, you don't want to destroy the top, just make holes in it). Not just a few little pokes, but cover the whole thing in fork pokes. In a separate bowl, mix together the powdered sugar, lemon juice, food coloring and 1 Tbsp. lemon rind until it is smooth. It needs to be pour-able, so if you need a little more juice, squeeze another half of a lemon into it (or more if necessary). Then pour the glaze all over the top of the cake and spread it around to make sure it covers it all and gets into all of those little holes you made. You can either serve it immediately or let it chill for a few hours in the fridge.