Amy's Lemon Bars

2 sticks butter (yikes--I know)...I tried margarine once....YUCK!  Stick with butter...
2 C flour
1/2 C confectioners sugar
4 beaten eggs
2 C sugar
4 T Flour
1/4 C lemon juice (fresh squeezed is best!!)
1 T finely grated lemon peel
sifted confectioners sugar

Heat oven to 325. Blend butter, 2 c flour and 1/2 c confect. sugar. Pat into pan and bake 18-20 min.

For filling blend together eggs, sugar, 4 T flour, lemon juice and peel.

Pour over 1st layer AFTER it gets out of the oven (maybe cool it for 5 min first).

Return to oven and bake 20 min.

Immediately after removing from oven, sprinkle with conf. sugar. The recipe also says to loosen the edges while it is warm (not sure what this means exactly).

YUM! Enjoy!

This one is from my sister Amy! Wanted to post it up here before it got lost. :)

12/20/24 - This has also been in draft form since 2008.  I haven't personally tried it, so if you try it, let me know if it's good...and if I have it typed up correctly.  

Kathleen's Yummy Meatballs

 I just loved her! She's a spunky lady! Thanks Kathleen for giving Amy the recipe. I can't wait to make it!

1 lb. hamburger
3/4 Cup applesauce
1/2 Cup Cracker Crumbs (we both use premade bread crumbs)
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
Pepper to taste
1 Tablespoons grated or minced onion

mix well then make balls the size of a small tangerine. Roll in flour and brown in butter (be carefull when turning
they are a little fragile). Put in casserole dish and add sauce of 1/2 C Ketchup and 1 C Water mixed.

Cook about 1 hour at 350, covered.

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This recipe came to me indirectly from my sister Amy. It is really from her friend Kathleen. I got to meet Kathleen in August when I went to visit Amy.

12/20/24 - This has been in draft form since 2008!  LOL!  I'm not sure I've tried this...so if you try it, let me know if you like it.  :D

Chai Tea Mix

1 cup nonfat dry milk powder
1 cup powdered non-dairy creamer
1 cup French vanilla flavored powdered non-dairy creamer
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 1/2 cups unsweetened instant tea
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cardamom (if desired, good without it too)

Directions
In a large bowl, combine milk powder, non-dairy creamer, vanilla flavored creamer, sugar and instant tea. Stir in ginger, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. In a blender or food processor, blend 1 cup at a time, until mixture is the consistency of fine powder.

To serve: Stir 2 heaping tablespoons Chai tea mixture into a mug of hot water.

Footnotes

12/20/24 - This has been in my drafts for a long time.  I really like it.  It just has a lot of dairy in it with the dry milk powder, so I haven't made it again.  My tastebuds love it, my lactose-intolerant tummy did not.  :D

 
Cook's Note:
You may choose to omit the French vanilla creamer, and use 2 teaspoons vanilla extract instead. To do so, mix the vanilla into the sugar, let it dry, then break the sugar into small lumps. Follow the same procedure as above.

I found this on the all recipes site, have to give credit where credit is DUE!!
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chai-tea-mix/

I changed 2 small things. I 1/2'd the cloves and took 1 cup of sugar off. It's plenty sweet. I did the calorie work up on this. For a 3 Tbs serving (which is a lot...if you are doing a small mug...you could reduce it to 2 Tbs)

Calories 143
Total Fat 3.2 g
Cholesterol 0.7 mg
Sodium 27.1 mg
Carbs 28.2 g
Fiber 0
Sugars 26.3 g
Protein 1.1g

Ris a la Mande (Rice Pudding)

 1 vanilla pod (I usually just use vanilla...these are PRICEY)
4 Cups whole milk
1/2 Cup Rice
Salt
Blanched Almonds (almonds with skin removed), you really only need 1
1 Cup Heavy Cream
1/3 Cup Sugar

Split the vanilla pod and removed the beans.  In a covered pot, boil the vanilla beans, milk, rice and a little salt over low heat for about 45 minutes.  Stir the pudding now and then.  Remove the vanilla beans and cool the pudding.  Stir the almond into the cold pudding.  Whip the cream and carefully fold it into the pudding.  Taste to see if it needs to be any sweeter.  

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Normally we serve this with a cherry topping you can get.  You make it almost like thicker fruit Jello.  However, last year, I made it with another old recipe I had Rote Grutze.  It's a german fruit pudding. It's normally served with a cream sauce on top...but I found that everyone really loved putting it on their Ris a la Mande...so it might be the new tradition.  :D

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This is another Christmas Eve tradition for us.  The person who finds the almond wins a prize (usually some fancy chocolate).

Again, I don't have Tina's (my mother in laws) actual recipe in hand.  If I did, it would probably be written in Danish.  I found this one in a cookbook called Secret Recipes! Worldwide Ward Cookbook by Deanna Buxton (page 221).  I made it in 2023 and everyone loved it.  No complaints...so it's a keeper.

Frikadeller (Danish Meatballs - Pronounced "Frigga Della")

1/2 lb Ground Veal (we use beef sometimes)
1/2 lb Ground Pork
2 Tbs Flour (or 1 Cup bread crumbs)
2 Cups Milk
1 Egg
1 Large Onion, minced
Salt & Pepper,  to taste

In a large bowl, combine ground veal (or beef) with ground pork.  Mix well.  Add flour or bread crumbs, milk, egg, onion, salt, and pepper.  Mix thoroughly.  Forming balls with a large tablespoon, drop meatballs into a frying pan and fry over low heat.  Makes 4 servings.

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This recipe is a Danish tradition for us at Christmas. It's a little like a meatball...but so much better.  I generally double this recipe (at least). It's great with gravy and/or Red Cabbage Slaw on top.

We celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve each year with a Danish Feast.  I'll post some of the other recipes here so I don't lose them.  :D

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I don't have Tina's (my mother in laws) actual recipe in hand, but I found this one in a cookbook called Secret Recipes! Worldwide Ward Cookbook by Deanna Buxton (page 127).  I made it in 2023 and everyone loved it.  No complaints...so it's a keeper.

Crispy Zucchini Chips

Ingredients:

Olive Oil (or PAM Spray)

Salt (as desired, I like Kosher Salt)

Time :)

 

Slice your Zucchini on the mandolin.  That way they are all roughly the same size.  Cover your pan with parchment paper.  You can either spray the parchment with PAM, or you can toss them in a bowl with Olive Oil before putting them on the pan. Put your Zucchini on your pan in a single layer.  I sprayed a little PAM on top too.  Sprinkle a little bit of salt.  Go lightly here.  I thought I salting lightly, but ended up pretty salty.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.  Bake for 3.5 to 4 hours until desired crispness, turning them occassionally.

Source: Sandy's Kitchen Adventures

She's not lying when she says these are so addictive.  They do take a long time to make, but they are gone SO fast and worth the effort.  Everyone has way more zucchini than they need in the summer...am I right?!  It worked really well on a zucchini that stayed in the garden till it was HUGE.  :D

I started these in the morning and let's just say, I was lucky to have any left for the lunch next day.

Kentucky Butter Cookie

 

1 stick, butter softened
1/3 cup white sugar
2 Tbs brown sugar
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1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
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1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
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Butter Sauce
2 Tbs butter
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp water

Cream together, softened butter, and sugars.  Add egg and vanilla continue mixing.  Add dry ingredients and mix only until combined.  Do not over mix.

Use cookie scoop of desired size (she uses 2 tbs...I like them smaller)and pat down so the are shaped like hockey pucks. 

Bake at 350 for 10 to 11 minutes, they just need to be slightly brown, don't overcook.

While cookies are baking, prepare butter sauce.  Melt butter, add in powdered sugar, water and vanilla stiring constantly.  Stir until powdered sugar is dissolved.  Do not bring to a boil.  Remove from heat and let it set for 5 minutes

When cookies come out of the oven, let cool slightly and top with butter sauce.  Once they have cooled completely, sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Background: I found this recipe on TikTok (user Brook Miller).  She got the recipe from (LifestyleOfAFoodie).  I made this once for my family, then made a craft retreat.  People loved them!  I like them because I basically have all the ingredients on hand at any given time.  They are also not super sweet.  Would make a great cookie for Santa!  :D