From My Kitchen to Yours....

Every year I spend lots of time in the kitchen making cookies and fudge to give as Christmas gifts to family and friends. This delicious lemon bar recipe is one of my favorites because it is super simple to make and they freeze well! I will warn you, they are very rich and their wonderful intense lemon flavor (similar to lemon drop candy) is very addictive! Enjoy!

Lemon Bars

1/4 c. powdered sugar
1/2 c. butter
1 c. all purpose flour
pinch of salt
2 eggs
1 c. sugar
2 Tbls. lemon juice
2 Tbls. flour
grated lemon rind

Cream powdered sugar, butter, 1 c. flour and pinch of salt together until crumbly. Press dough into 9 inch square greased pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

Beat eggs slightly to blend yolks into whites. Add to the eggs: 1 c. sugar, lemon juice, remaining flour, lemon rind and blend together well. Pour egg/lemon mixture over baked crust and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until lightly brown on top.

Blessings,

From My Kitchen to Yours

Try this simple and delicious chicken recipe tonight, I promise your family will love it as much as mine does!

Creamy Chicken and Biscuits

Ingredients

1 small onion chopped
1 T. butter
1-12-1/2 oz. can of chicken drained or 1-1/2 cups cooked chicken chopped
1-10-1/2 oz. can of cream of chicken soup
1 c. sour cream
1/2 c. milk
1 small jar of pimiento
1/4 t. of sage
1-14-1/2 oz. can of vegetable medley
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
freshly ground black pepper to taste (optional)
6 frozen biscuits, thawed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 11x7" baking dish. Chop onion and saute in butter in a small skillet over medium-high heat until translucent. In a large bowl combine onion, chicken, cream of chicken soup, sour cream, milk, pimento, sage, vegetable medley, and ground black pepper to taste. Spoon into prepared baking dish. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with 3/4 c. of cheddar cheese. Arrange thawed biscuits in a single layer on top of cheese. Sprinkle remaining cheese over the biscuits. Bake until biscuits are golden brown and the sauce is bubbling, usually 20 minutes or more.

Enjoy!

Blessings,

From My Kitchen to Yours

With the return of fall and it cooler temperatures, in the kitchen my thoughts turn to my favorite comfort food recipes! Soups, pot-roasts and stews become the delicious staples for our fall and winter meals!

Many years ago I received a copy of a recipe with a yummy cheese potato soup on it! Over the years, I have added different spices and ingredients until it has evolved into the following recipe:

Cheesy Potato Soup

2 cans of chicken broth
4 c. potatoes peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 c. onion chopped
1/2 c. carrots peeled and diced
1/2 c. celery diced
1/2 tsp. ground sage
1/2 tsp. parsley
one small clove of garlic peeled and minced
1 c. milk
1c. shredded cheddar cheese plus extra for garnish
salt and pepper to taste

Pour the chicken broth into a large pan and add prepared potatoes, onions, carrots, celery, sage and garlic to the broth. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer until the vegetables are tender.

Put half of the cooked vegetables into a food processor and blend until smooth. Please be sure to use caution while processing the hot vegetables! Return these to the pot and add the milk and cheese. Simmer for one minute, stirring constantly. Ladle hot soup into serving bowls and garnish with additional cheddar cheese. Serves four.

Special Note: for a smoother soup, put all the cooked veggies into the food processor and blend. For a chunky soup use a potato masher.

Happy fall, y'all!

Blessings,

Debra

From My Kitchen

to Yours!

Old Fashioned Banana Bread

1/2 c. vegetable oil
3/4 c. sugar
1 c. bananas mashed (2 very ripe medium sized bananas usually makes one cup)
1 T. lemon juice
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Mix together vegetable oil and sugar in large bowl.
Mash bananas with a fork and stir in lemon juice.
Combine flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda.
Alternate mixing a third of the flour and bananas into the sugar and oil mixture, and stir until just combined. Pour into an un-greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.


This wonderful old recipe is a family favorite! It is very easy to make and delicious too! Recently, I tried making this with whole-wheat flour and it just didn't have the light, delicate texture I love. Whole-wheat flour is much too dense for the amount of leaving in this recipe, so I will recommend using white flour for the best results.

Enjoy!

Blessings,
Debra

Zucchini Brownies

A very decadent and

delicious dessert!

Do you have children or a husband who won't eat their vegetables no matter how much you plead? Then try this delicious zucchini brownie recipe! It's a wonderful way to give them a serving of veggies and use up some of that abundance of zucchini squash from your garden! I promise, if they don't see you make them, they will never know that zucchini is lurking within this yummy treat! So get out your food processor and start shredding your abundance of zucchini!

Zucchini Brownies

2 c. all purpose flour
1/3 c. cocoa
1-1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt

2 c. shredded zucchini
1-1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 c. vegetable oil
1/2 c. pecans (optional)

In a large bowl, combine flour, cocoa, soda and salt. In another bowl, combine shredded zucchini, sugar, and oil. Add to dry ingredients and mix well. Stir in nuts and vanilla. Pour into a lightly greased 9x13" pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes.

Creamy Brownie Frosting

3 Tablespoons butter, softened
3 Tablespoons cocoa
1 Tablespoon light corn syrup
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. powdered sugar
1 to 2 Tablespoons milk

Beat butter, cocoa, corn syrup and vanilla. Add powdered sugar and milk, beat to spreading consistency. Makes about 1 cup frosting.

Enjoy!

Blessings,
Debra

Fresh Tomatoes

from the Garden

Searching for a new way and different way to serve all those fresh tomatoes from your vegetable garden? Try this yummy recipe from Living on a Dime! It's a great and easy to make side dish and with butter and Parmesan cheese, what's not to love????

Tomato Casserole

8 medium tomatoes, peeled and cut into wedges
8 slices of bread, cubed with crusts removed
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. of margarine or butter, melted
1 tsp. each of salt, thyme and dried basil
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Place tomatoes in a greased 9x13 pan and top with bread cubes. Mix butter and spices and pour over tomatoes and bread. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake uncovered at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until tomatoes are tender.

Enjoy!

Debra

Recipe For Jewelry Cleaner

Mix together these simple everyday household items:

2 tablespoons liquid hand soap
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon ammonia

Add a drop of food coloring to make it look pretty, and store in a clean glass jar.

How To Use:

Briefly soak jewelry in the cleaner, rinse with water, and pat dry with soft cloth.
This can be used on gold, silver, and costume jewelry.

Do Not Use on opal, other porous stones or pearls!!!!!

This jewelry cleaner recipe came from Debbie Sosa of BeadBewitched on Etsy and ArtFire! She says that she made this cleaner over a year ago and it is still working! Thank you for sharing this idea with us Debbie!

Blessings,
Debra