Easy-Peasy Lemon Bars

I came across a new recipe on Pinterest.

Lemon Bars

It only has 2 ingredients.

Yep, really!

Only 2.

So I decided to try it...

and it turned out great!

Lemon reminds me of WARM days...kinda what I needed this week ;)

What's for Dinner???

Since I've been working at the Y in the afternoons I've been trying to increase my repertoire of crock-pot recipes. It's not so fun to get off at 5 or 6:00 and rush home to get dinner started while trying to ignore calm two tired and hungry children...oh, whose kidding, myself included! I've made this before, and my little boys and I like it with rice, so it's a good excuse for me to crack out my no-stick rice cooker!! (Thanks mom!)

So...We're having...

Salsa Chicken

4 chicken breasts
1 package of Taco seasoning
1/2 c. salsa
2 T. corn starch
1/4 c. sour cream

Spray crock-pot with Pan. Place chicken, seasoning and salsa in crock-pot. (I stirred my salsa and seasoning together first, but you don't have to.) Cook 6-8 hours on high (though I've found it's done in 3 or 4). Before serving remove chicken and add the corn starch to sauce to thicken. After it's thickened add the sour cream. Pour back over chicken. Serve over rice, potatoes, or noodles. YUMMY and EASY!!

So in the name of broadening my horizons, would you please share your favorite crock-pot recipe with me??? Mike and the boys will thank you, no doubt!!

CHAI

Well I just finished my second batch of Chai mix since November. I got this recipe from a friend in MI, thanks Jen H! I love sipping it at night (well anytime really) snuggled under a blanket watching tv. This is hands down the best I've tasted, no coffee shop can beat it. A few of you have asked for the recipe, so while it's still out on my counter, I thought I'd better post it.

Chai Mix

1 c. nonfat dry milk powder

1 c. powdered non-dairy creamer

1 c. Vanilla flavored powdered creamer

2 1/2 c. sugar

1 1/2 c. unsweetened instant tea

2 t. ground ginger

2 t. ground cinnamon

1 t. ground cloves

1 t. ground cardamom

1 t. ground nutmeg

In large bowl, combine all ingredients. Mix well. In a coffee grinder, blender, or food processor, blend small amounts at a time until mixture is the consistency of powder.

To serve: Stir 2 heaping Tablespoons into a mug of hot water.

Makes about 36 servings.

Strawberry lovin'

Drew is my strawberry jam lover. Actually we all are when it's homemade. I grew up with homemade freezer jam. My mom would make batches and batches with fresh strawberries we'd all help pick. The last few years I've just been buying frozen strawberries and making it one batch at a time throughout the year. Drew eats a tablespoon in his oatmeal almost every morning. It's also great in plain yogurt and of course in a PB&J sandwich. It tastes sooo much better than what you get in the store (very fresh), it's cheaper, and very easy to make!! It takes 4 cups of crushed berries and I end up with 3 mason jars and a yogurt container full. Here is my stash, now in the freezer, that I made Thursday morning.

We follow the recipe from the Sure-jell box. We get the the pink one because it uses less sugar.

Photo Tag - Snow Ice Cream

I’ve been tagged by my friend Jen P. on her blog It's a Wonderful Life in a post called “Photo Tag”. Here are the rules:

Go to the 4th folder in your computer where you store your pictures.

Pick the 4th picture in that folder.

Explain the picture.

Tag 4 people to do the same.

I've never done anything like this, but I was curious, so I quickly pulled up "My Pictures" and this is what I saw...

This picture of Trent was from December of 2005. He was 3 1/2 years old. It was our first attempt at making Snow ice-cream. When I was in the third grade my teacher made this with us at school. I just loved it and we got to take the recipe home. My mom actually made some with my bothers and I at home...we just had to remember to scoop off the top layer, not collect any that touched the grass, and STAY away from any snow that looked yellow :)

I didn't have that recipe, nor did my mom, so I began searching the internet to see if I could find something that sounded similar. I did find quite a few and ended up combining a couple because of the ingredients I had, or didn't, in my kitchen.

We tried chocolate, and mint with mini chocolate chips!! YUMMM!

The recipe went something like this:

1 cup milk

1 t. vanilla

1/2 cup sugar

4-5 cups of clean snow (don't pack the snow)

Mix together the milk, vanilla, and the sugar. Stir until dissolved. Add snow to reach desired consistency. All ingredients can be adjusted to suit your preferences. ENJOY!

Now onto the fourth rule...I would like to tag...Ruth P., Karla H., Sarah S., and Andrea S.

Looking forward to a blast from the past, ladies ;)