Lemon Delight Trifle

I love going to the library and getting cooking/recipe magazines. One of my favorites is Taste of Home. I found this recipe in one their magazines, and just KNEW I had to try it!!!! I really love lemon desserts...and they are the perfect dessert in the spring too!! This one was fun, and easy to make, and it made ALOT!!!!! It would be perfect to bring to a social gathering. I had my hubby take the leftovers of it to work the next day (so I didn't eat it myself!) and he said it was gone fast, and everyone who had some was ranting and raving about it!!! That makes me happy : )

Lemon Delight Trifle
submitted by Camille
(from Taste of Home Magazine)

3 1/2 cups cold milk
2 pkg. (3.4 oz each) instant lemon pudding mix
1 pkg. (8oz) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 (12 oz) container frozen whipped topping, thawed and divided
1 pkg. (12-14oz) lemon cream-filled sandwich cookies, crushed

In a large bowl, whisk milk and pudding mixes for 2 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set.

In another bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and powder sugar until smooth. Gradually stir in pudding until blended.

Set aside 1/4 cup each of whipped topping and crushed cookies for garnish. Fold remaining whipped topping into pudding mixture.

Place half of the remaining cookies in a 3 qt. glass bowl; top with half of the pudding mixture. Repeat layers. Garnish with reserved whipped topping and crushed cookies. Refrigerate until serving.

Poppyseed Chicken Bake

Found this on pinterest, and made it tonight for dinner. It was superb!!!! Everyone had 2nds....even my 2 year old!!!!! My hubby and I ate it served over some steamed asparagus...but the kids had it just as is, and their asparagus on the side!!! Definitely one we will be making again soon!!!!! Very easy too!!!


Poppy Seed Chicken Bake
submitted by Camille
(from The Girl Who Ate Everything)

5 cups chicken breasts, cooked and cubed(I used about 3 cups of chicken)

1 cup sour cream

2 cans condensed cream of chicken soup (because I only used 3 cups of chicken, I only used 1 can of soup)

2 cups crushed Ritz crackers (about 1 1/2 rolls of crackers)

1/2 cup melted butter

1 T poppy seeds

Additional Ingredients to make it fancy:

1 tsp Worchestire sauce

1 tsp celery salt (I added garlic salt instead, and omitted the minced garlic)

1 tsp minced garlic

1 T lemon juice

1/4 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Boil raw chicken breasts with salt and pepper until done. Let chicken cool slightly and cut into one inch cubes. Place cubed chicken in a 9X13 casserole dish.

Stir together the condensed soup and sour cream. If you wish to add the additional flavorings stir in the worchestire, celery salt, garlic, lemon juice, and pepper to the soup and sour cream mixture. Pour over the chicken.

In a separate bowl, stir together the crushed crackers, poppy seeds and melted butter. Sprinkle over the chicken and sauce.

Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until the top of the casserole is browned and the sauce is bubbly. We served it over some steamed Asparagus, and it was really good!!!!

Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cake

I made this yesterday for our breakfast this morning. Wow, it was so good, and so very moist!!! I was looking for something to use up some buttermilk I had in the fridge, and found this breakfast cake I had pinned on Pinterest awhile back. It has just the tiniest hint of lemon, and mixed with the blueberries and the moistness of the cake from the buttermilk....SUPER YUMMY!!!!! It is very springy tasting to me..and how perfect that we had it for breakfast on this 1st day of Spring!! I think it would be very good for an Easter brunch or Mother's Day brunch!!

Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cake

submitted by Camille

(adapted from Alexandra's Kitchen )

Serves 6-8

½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tsp. lemon zest or more — zest from 1 large lemon
7/8 cup* + 1 tablespoon sugar**
1 egg, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 cups fresh blueberries ( I used frozen blueberries, and it was just fine!)
½ cup buttermilk

* 7/8 cup = 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons
** This 1 tablespoon is for sprinkling on top (I added some cinnamon to the 1 Tbsp of sugar that goes on top of the cake..it was really good!!!)

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Cream butter with lemon zest and 7/8 cup of the sugar until light and fluffy.

2. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Meanwhile, toss the blueberries with ¼ cup of flour, then whisk together the remaining flour, baking powder and salt.

3. Add the flour mixture to the batter a little at a time, alternating with the buttermilk. Fold in the blueberries.

4. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan (or something similar) with butter or coat with non-stick spray. Spread batter into pan. Sprinkle batter with remaining tablespoon of sugar (or cinnamon and sugar mix). Bake for 35 minutes. Check with a toothpick for doneness. If necessary, return pan to oven for a couple of more minutes. (Note: Baking for as long as 10 minutes more might be necessary. Mine only needed 5 more minutes) Let cool at least 15 minutes before serving.

Chex Lemon Buddies

This was fun and different. My kids LOVED them, and these were so easy to make!! Definitely a fun springtime snack for the kids!!!!


Chex Lemon Buddies
submitted by Camille
(adapted from Chex cereal)

Ingredients:
9 cups Rice Chex
1 1/4 cups white chocolate chips
1/4 cup butter or margarine
4 tsp grated lemon peel
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:
Pour Rice Chex into large bowl. Set aside. In 1 qt. microwavable bowl, melt white chocolate chips, and butter uncovered on high for 1 minute. Stir. Continue to melt white chocolate chips in microwave at 15 seconds intervals until completely melted. Add lemon peel and fresh lemon juice, stir. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into 2 gallon ziplock bag. Add powdered sugar. Seal bag and gently shake until cereal is evenly coated with powdered sugar. Spread onto wax paper or foil to cool. Store in an airtight container.

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

Found these bad boys on Pinterest!!! Oh man, were they melt-in-your-mouth YUM-MIE!!!! I am a soft cookie kinda girl. I don't really care for hard, crunchy cookies...unless we are talking Oreo's here...These were soft, and yummy!!! Definitely a recipe we will make again!!!


Lemon Crinkle Cookies
submitted by Camille
(from LDS Living)

Ingredients:
½ cups butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 whole egg
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoons baking powder
⅛ teaspoons baking soda
1-½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease light colored baking sheets with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Whip in vanilla, egg, lemon zest, and juice. Scrape sides and mix again. Stir in all dry ingredients slowly until just combined, excluding the powdered sugar. Scrape sides of bowl and mix again briefly. Pour powdered sugar onto a large plate. Roll a heaping teaspoon of dough into a ball and roll in powdered sugar. Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.

Bake for 9-11 minutes or until bottoms begin to barely brown and cookies look matte {not melty or shiny}. Remove from oven and cool cookies about 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

*If using a non-stick darker baking tray, reduce baking time by about 2 minutes.

Creamy Lemon Crumb Squares

I found this recipe floating around Pinterest and of course had to try them. I am pretty sure I have mentioned before how much I love Lemon-y desserts. They were so very yummy and did not disappoint.

CREAMY LEMON CRUMB SQUARES
submitted by Michelle
(from The Girl who ate Everything)

1 ⅓ cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, slightly softened

1 cup brown sugar (lightly packed)

1 cup oats

1 can (14 ounce) sweetened condensed milk

½ cups lemon juice

zest of 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix butter and brown sugar until well combined.

Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder.

Add oats and flour to butter/sugar mixture and mix to combine.

Press half of oat crumb mixture into the bottom of an 8 x 11 inch pan. You can use a 9 x 13 pan; it will just be thinner.

Mix together condensed milk, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Spread onto the bottom layer of the crumb mixture. The other half of the crumb mixture mix and knead together with clean hands so that the butter that you added earlier gets incorporated then crumble on top of lemon layer but don’t press.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Allow pan to sit on counter for 30 minutes after baking. Cut into squares and refrigerate for a couple of hours or until cool.

Serve cool. Makes around one dozen.

Garlic Lemon Chicken Kabobs

*Update* You can also make this with out cutting the chicken into pieces (I have used thighs, drumsticks and breasts), bone-in chicken, and in the oven too!!! I have tried it all ways and it taste great!!!

One of the things I love about Spring and Summer is outdoor cooking!!!! Don't you just love the smell of BBQ?! So delicious!!!!! Tonight we tried a new recipe, and we ALL LOVED IT!!!! And it was so easy, and healthy!!!! Hope you all have a FANTASTIC Memorial Day Weekend!!! What will you be cooking?



Garlic Lemon Chicken Kabobs
submitted by Camille
(from Annie's Eats)

3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
Zest of 1 lemon
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 tbsp. minced fresh parsley
1 tsp. kosher salt
½ tsp. ground black pepper
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into ¾-inch pieces

Directions:
In a medium bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon zest, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper. Add the chicken pieces to the bowl and mix to coat with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 8 hours.

Prepare a medium fire in a grill. If using wooden skewers, soak them in water for at least 20 minutes before use.

Thread the chicken pieces onto skewers and discard the excess marinade. Lightly oil the grill grates. Place the kabobs on the grill, cover, and cook until the chicken is opaque throughout, about 8-12 minutes, turning once or twice during cooking. Transfer to a warmed platter and serve immediately.

Perfect Lemon Cupcakes

Really, unless you make these. You have no idea the deliciousness that you are missing out on. THEY ARE SOOOOO GOOD!!!! I think I have found the BEST cupcake I have EVER eaten!!! There is absolutely no exaggeration here! Sooo yummy!!!




Perfect Lemon Cupcakes
submitted by Camille
(from Your Home Based Mom)


Cake:
1 package lemon cake mix
1 C sour cream
3/4 C water
3/4 C oil
4 eggs
1 small package lemon instant pudding

Mix dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients. Mix with electric mixer on medium speed for about two minutes. Use a strong mixer, this batter is thick. For cupcakes, bake them at 350 degrees for 20 minutes (I was able to get 24 very full cupcakes from the recipe). For regular cake, pour into a greased 9×11 pan or two round pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Don’t over bake or the cake will be too dry! The toothpick test works to check to see if they’re done.
The original recipe said that the cupcakes will fall after they come out of the oven, but this is normal and to just fill up the indentation with more frosting. I didn’t have this problem at all!

Lemon Buttercream Frosting:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, very soft
6-8 C powdered sugar
1/2 C fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of sugar, then the juice and the zest. Beat until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, until icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency (I added 6 cups total). Use and store at room temperature. (Don’t refrigerate and it will last in a covered container for about three days.)

Lemonade Party Cake

With my last pregnancy I was on a total lemon kick. It has continued on the past 9 months since I had my baby. Sure wish I knew about this cake back when I was preggo! This lemon cake was so yummy and moist!

Lemonade Party Cake

submitted by Michelle

from Betty Crocker Lemon cake box

1 box Lemon Cake mix

water, veggie oil, and eggs called for on cake mix box

1/2 can (12-oz size) frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed (3/4 cup)

3/4 cup powdered sugar

Heat oven to 350 (325 for darker or nonstick pan). Make cake as directed on box for 13x9-inch pan; cool 15 minutes. Stir together lemonade concentrate and powdered sugar. Poke top of warm cake every 1/2 inch. Drizzle lemonade mixture evenly over top of cake. Run a knife around sides of pan to loosen cake. Cover and refrigerate about 2 hours. Frost cake and then enjoy!

Cool Whip Frosting

1 cup cold milk

1/4 cup powdered sugar

small box vanilla pudding

8 oz of Cool Whip

Beat all ingredients together. Spread on cake.

Lemony Crisps

Lemony Crisps

submitted by Michelle

1 (18.25-oz) pkg. Lemon cake mix

1/3 cup veggie oil

2 eggs

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup powdered sugar

2-3 tblsp lemon juice

Heat oven to 375F. In large bowl, combine cake mix, oil and eggs; stir with spoon until completely moistened. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; place 2 inches apart on lightly greased cookie sheet. Place sugar in shallow dish. Dip bottom of a glass in sugar and flatten cookies to 1/4 inch thickness.

Bake 5-7 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets.

In small bowl, combine powdered sugar and lemon juice, until smooth. Drizzle over cookies.