Refreshing Lemonade Pie

Last summer while we were on our family vacation in the deep south, I picked up Southern Living's special recipe magazine containing 135 "almost" homemade recipes. I actually made this recipe for the first time last summer but since Mother's Day will be here in just about a month, and with my own mother coming up from Florida who happens to love anything lemon, I thought why not make this incredibly refreshing dessert for her. I can imagine just sitting out on our back porch enjoying this confection's cool lemon flavor after a Mother's Day brunch.

What you will need...

This is a good "make ahead" recipe

1 graham cracker pie crust

(I made my own from scratch. I actually bought one and decided it was too small, so I added more butter and crackers and then pressed the crust into my own deep dish pie plate. I also baked the crust for 9 minutes at 350 degrees.)

2 (3.4 oz) pkgs. instant lemon flavored pudding

1 (12 oz) can of evaporated milk

2 (8 oz) pkgs. of cream cheese, softened

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 (12 oz) can frozen lemonade concentrate

Thawed frozen whipped topping or Cool Whip

What you will need to do...

First in a medium bowl, whisk together the evaporated milk and the 2 packages of pudding until pudding thickens...about 2 minutes.

Next in a larger bowl, beat the softened cream cheese until it become fluffy. Add the lemonade concentrate and beat until smooth. Pour the lemon mixture into the cooled pie crust and refrigerate until chilled, about 8 hours or over night.

Dollop the Cool Whip on top and garnish with lemon slices and fresh mint before serving.

I think this has to be a perfect spring/summer dessert regardless of whether you live in the North or South. This pie is so creamy, yet very refreshing and light.

Do you have a favorite lemon dessert?

I would sure love to hear from y'all!!!

Have a great day!

XO

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Daily Dish Magazine

Yummy Taco Lasagna

I found this recipe at a linky party last year and it has been a family favorite ever since. I wish I could thank the blogger who posted it because she has made my family very happy with this dish. Unfortunately dummy me did not take note of who the blogger was, so if you are out there and this recipe looks familiar to you, pleeeeease accept my undying gratitude! 

This recipe is so incredibly tasty but yet very simple to make.

What you will need...

2-3 lb. ground beef (for a lower fat option you can substitute lean ground beef like sirloin or even ground turkey or chicken.) 

12-16 oz. cream cheese depending on how creamy you'd like your dish to be

Seasonings include...chili powder, garlic, onion powder, salt & pepper, cumin and red pepper if you like it hot!
2 jars taco sauce or you can put salsa in the blender with regular tomato sauce if you don't have any taco sauce on hand   4 cups shredded cheese or taco blend About 14-15 lasagna noodles
1 cup of tortilla chips, crushed
What you need to do...   1) Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, and then boil lasagna noodles for about 8 minutes

2) Generously season your beef and brown in a skillet. Partially melt cream cheese in microwave and then add to the ground meat and blend.

3) Spray 13×9 pan with cooking spray and then lay out your first 4 noodles lengthwise and then cut one more noodle to fit in perpendicular to the other 4 to completely cover the bottom of the baking dish. Spoon 1/2 of the beef mixture onto the pasta. Pour 1/3 of the taco sauce over the meat, and top with a third of the taco or Cheddar cheese.

4) Make another layer of noodles like the first and then add the other half of the beef, add another 1/3 of sauce, and then another 1/3 of the cheese. Top with last 3 lasagna noodles.

5) Pour the last of the taco sauce on top, then sprinkle on the last of the cheese.

6) Grab a handful of chips and crunch them up on top of the cheese.

7) Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and dish is heated through.

And Enjoy! XO

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Foodie Friends Friday

School Cafeteria Sugar Cookies

This cookie recipe is the one both my grade school and high school cafeterias use to make, yes way back in the olden days!!! Whenever I smell the amazing aroma of these wonderful little cookies baking, I am transported immediately back to my carefree school days. And these cookies couldn't be any easier to make, just 5 simple ingredients are needed. This recipe yields 48 cookies.

The 5 super simple ingredients are...

1 lb. butter (or 4 sticks), softened

2 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 egg

2 tsp. of good vanilla

3 2/3 cups of all-purpose flour

What you will need to do...

Cream together all ingredients and using a tablespoon, drop onto un-greased cookie sheet. Make sure there is plenty of space between your cookies because they do spread out while baking. Bake at 350 degrees until the edges become golden brown, about 11-14 minutes. And that's it! Remove cookies from the pan and let cool on wire rack.

It's just too incredibly easy to make these scrumptious confections!

Trust me when I say that they are the best sugar cookies ever...and how could they not be with a pound of butter in them right?

Have a great Day!!!

XO

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Being Featured Today...

OK I cannot believe that this is the second time BGFB is being featured as a host pick over at the Daily Dish Magazine. The theme of last week's party was Fun Kid recipes. This time my traffic light kiddie treat received the nod!

To check out all of the other fabulous features at the Daily Dish just click on the link below.

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Have a great day!!!

xo

Baked Asparagus Fries

Spring is here and asparagus is totally in season! I am always looking for different ways to prepare this green, and this recipe is sooo different from anything else I've ever come across. It's best to use the pencil thin asparagus because they are much more tender.

one lb. of asparagus

Cut the ends off of the asparagus and then cut each stalk in half.

2 cups of Panko bread crumbs and 1 cup of sliced almonds

Blend the two together in food processor or blender.

1 cup flour

2 eggs lightly beaten

Roll stalks in flour and then dip them into the beaten eggs. Roll them in the nut and Panko mixture and place on a jelly roll pan which has been coated with cooking spray.

Season generously with salt and pepper and then bake in an oven preheated to 375 degrees for about 35 minutes. The asparagus should be golden brown.

To make the dipping sauce blend together equal parts of sour cream and mayonnaise. Add crumbled blue cheese, a touch of blue cheese dressing and a splash of lemon juice and mix.

Enjoy!

XO

This recipe has been adapted from the blog Spoon Fork Bacon.

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