Lemon Cheesecake Bars

Lemon is one of my favorite flavors! So when our family reunion came around again last week, I decided to revisit a favorite dessert from my childhood ~ Lemon Cheesecake Bars!

Whenever I am attending a family reunion, potluck, or the like, I always make sure to take something that I absolutely love! That way, if all the other food is nasty, at least I'll have something good to eat! I may or may not have been known to eat all of my own food! And I almost always make a dessert!

These Lemon Cheesecake Bars are delicious and I most definitely could eat them all in one sitting. The lemon flavor is very light, so don't expect to get a major burst of lemon. If you want to pump up the lemon factor, just add a little bit more lemon juice! But, I think they are perfect the way they are! I was always so excited whenever my mom would make them for us! They are truly one of my favorites!

Here are the Ingredients:

1 box yellow cake mix
1 8oz package of cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil


And here's what to do: 

First off, combine the cake mix, 1 egg, and 1/3 cup oil in a bowl and mix until crumbly.
 

Reserve about one cup (I always save back a little more) of the crumbled mix for the topping.
 

Lightly pat the remaining mixture into the bottom of an ungreased 13x9 pan. It's okay if there is a little space in between, it'll all come together when you bake it! 

Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes, or until the edges just begin to brown.

Next, beat together your softened cream cheese, 1/3 cup sugar, 1 egg, and 1 tsp lemon juice. It may be lumpy or look like it's curdled, but that's because the cream cheese wasn't softened enough. It'll still taste okay!
 

 
Spread the cream cheese mixture onto the baked layer.
 

Top with the reserved crumbled topping. Then bake for approximately another 15 minutes until lightly browned!

Cool completely and cut into squares!

Yum!!!

Enjoy!!!

Late Easter Wrap Up

I have been having internet issues here lately, so please excuse the lateness of this Easter post, but I wanted to share a few things!

Last Sunday was a great day! One of our family get-togethers actually got cancelled and after we went to church, my husband and I were left to our own devices for the day. It was the best holiday ever!

We ended up going to a Mexican restaurant and having brunch. (We are always down for Mexican food ~ even in the morning!) After stuffing our bellies we went home and crashed on the couch and watched movies! I wish all holidays could be that low-key and relaxing!

If you follow my Instagram, you may have already seen some of these pictures. If you don't follow me, you should! I am obsessed with Instagram right now! It's like a mini blog and I usually post things once or twice a day. I love it!

Anyways...back to this blog!

I decided way back in January while watching an episode of Martha Bakes on PBS to make her Carrot-Ginger Cake with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting for Easter. It looked delicious wrapped in candied strips of carrots, but I had seen some super cute bunny and carrot sugar decorations at Country Kitchen that I wanted to put on it instead. I love putting my own spin on things and making it my own! It turned out so good! (And saved a few steps too!)

Getting ready to go in the oven. It was a very easy recipe ~ even for a beginner! This was my first "from scratch" cake I had ever made. And yes, I am a very messy baker. Ask my husband!

Soooo cute!!! I was very happy with the way everything turned out! A lot of times in life things don't go as planned, but this actually did! Thanks Martha!

It was delicious as well! I definitely will be making this again! I highly recommend it! Adding the ginger and the orange to this cake just takes it to a whole other level!

Another shot of my nephew's Easter basket I put together!

And this is my "Easter Basket" from my husband! I mean the Easter Bunny! He always does such a good job! I can't wait to plant it in the ground and have it come up year after year!

On an Indiana backroad heading for church! It was a beautiful day!

I really liked this stained glass at the church. I had seen it before, but on Easter it just really struck me. Maybe it was the sun shining in. I love stained glass.

We went to my husband's parent's church because his dad was in a play. He was the angel that told everyone that Jesus had risen from the tomb.

My Easter meal! It felt a bit like A Christmas Story, going to an ethnic restaurant on a holiday and all. It was delicious and I think I have found a new favorite kind of omelet ~ pico de gallo and cheese with sour cream and a squirt of lime juice! Delicious!

  Hope you all had a wonderful Easter!
 

Lucky Charms Rice Krispies!

You'll definitely want to steal these lucky charms! Lucky Charms Rice Krispie Treats, that is!

If you are looking for a quick and easy treat to make for St. Patrick's Day, look no further than these! Rice Krispie Treats are super easy to make and just by adding some Lucky Charms marshmallows into the mix and a little green food coloring, it transforms them into a tasty holiday treat ~ perfect for an office party, your kids school party, or just because!

Ingredients:

A 10oz bag of mini marshmallows
3 tbs butter
5 cups Rice Krispies cereal
1 cup Lucky Charms marshmallows
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Green food coloring

Begin by combining the Rice Krispies and Lucky Charms marshmallows in a bowl.

Melt the 3 tablespoons of butter in a large pan over low heat.

After the butter is melted, add the bag of marshmallows and stir until completely melted.

Add the 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract and stir.

Next, add your green food coloring. I used several more drops than shown here to make the treats even greener, but in the photos they don't look green at all! So, you may want to add A LOT of food coloring to darken them up. BUT, do it a few drops at a time and stir so you don't go too overboard! Also, I used gel food coloring, so I'm not sure if that makes a difference.

Keep stirring and adding more food coloring until it reaches the color you want.

I thought this was a pretty green, and they do have a green tint in real life, but like I said earlier ~ I would make it darker next time.

Next, pour in your rice krispie mix and stir until fully incorporated.

They set up very quickly, so stir fast!

Look at all that sticky goodness! Make sure you take off your rings for this next part so you don't get any of the marshmallows on them!!

Put the krispies into a (sprayed or buttered) 13 x 9 pan and spread to the edges, flattening with your clean hands as you go. I also added some more of the Lucky Charms marshmallows on top at this point because they started to melt.

You're supposed to let them cool before you cut them, but I think they are AMAZING warm! Try it next time! You won't regret it!

They are most definitely magically delicious!

Enjoy!

Yummy Raspberry Sauce

My favorite flavor of anything is raspberry! This raspberry sauce/pastry filling is perfect for so many things! You can use it as a filling for a cake. A topping on ice cream. Or, what I am planning on using it for this time around, filling for some chocolate candies I am going to make for Valentine's Day!

Oh yes!

This recipe is easy to make, even for a beginner. 

Take one 6oz box of washed and dried raspberries and put it in a sauce pan.

Add a quarter cup of sugar. You can add more if you need it sweeter, but the joy of raspberries is the sweet/tart taste of them so I didn't want to add too much.

Bring to a boil on low heat, stirring a few times. At this point, add a cornstarch slurry to help thicken the sauce. (A cornstarch slurry is cornstarch mixed with a bit of water so it won't clump up.) Use a rounded 1/2 teaspoon of cornstarch mixed with just enough water to make it liquidy and stir it into your raspberry mixture.

Cook until the sauce thickens a bit and all bits of fruit are broken down. You can stop right here if you don't mind the seeds, but I cannot stand them so I strain them out. Also, with this going to be for chocolates I really wanted the seeds out.

Let the sauce cool for a few minutes and then pour a small amount of it into a mesh strainer placed over a bowl.

Begin scraping your rubber spatula over the raspberry sauce to push it through the strainer and into the bowl below. Use a fair amount of pressure, but not too much that you break your strainer!

You can see the sauce coming out of the bottom of the strainer here. Seed free!

From time to time, scrape the bottom of the strainer into your bowl. Be sure to use a different spatula for this so you do not get seeds in the bowl because that will defeat the entire purpose of this step. Trust me, I know from experience!

Keep going until you have nothing but seeds left. It will look something like this. Throw the seeds out and repeat the process until finished straining all the sauce. It really doesn't take long at all and it's kinda therapeutic.

Ready to eat, pipe, drizzle, or even use it as jelly for toast! This will keep for at least several days in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!

And stay tuned for the chocolates!

Martha Bakes!

 

I was lucky enough to have a rare, lazy kind of Saturday just putzing around the house doing random things when I saw that Martha Bakes was on PBS! 

 

 I hadn't seen a Martha show in a long time so I was excited. I had to sit down and watch it while I was folding some laundry (#multi-tasking!) 

 

 This episode featured recipes from "The South" such as Buttermilk Pie, Bourbon Bread Pudding, and Carrot-Ginger Cake with Orange Frosting. YUM!

 

I forgot how mild-mannered, quiet, and low-key Martha is. I guess I'm just used to watching all these loud, in your face, high energy cooking shows that are so popular right now. I missed Martha!

 

It was very peaceful just listening to her soothing voice narrating how to make a braided pie crust - or a pate brisee as she calls it (that's French for pie crust.)

The kitchen set on Martha Bakes is so bright, clean, and simple. I love it! Now how to incorporate some of that into my own kitchen?

 

I also caught a cool show right after Martha Bakes called A Chef's Life, which chronicled Chef Vivian Howard as she went about putting together her cookbook. It was shot documentary style and really interesting. 

 

I'm really going to have to start paying more attention to what's on PBS! 

 

The Carrot-Ginger cake with Orange Frosting. I may have to make this for Easter.

 

Chef Vivian Howard of A Chef's Life

Photographing her cookbook...how exciting!