Lemon Cake, Anyone?

I found myself yearning for something lemony this weekend and decided to make one of my favorite recipes. This recipe was shared on a website I used to visit and I've made it several times since discovering this simple lemon delight. I have made it in its original form and also tailored the recipe when I want to cut calories a bit. Enjoy!

Lemon Cake


Preheat gas oven to 350 farenheit (325 for electric oven)

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 tsps baking powder
1/2 cup milk (I use 2%)
Zest of 1 or 2 lemons, depending on how lemony you want it to be. (I use zest of two.)

Cream butter and sugar together. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Sift half of the flour and baking powder into the butter/sugar/egg mixture. Stir and pour in half of the milk. Stir until well blended. Repeat with last half of dry ingredients and then the rest of the milk. Stir in the zest.

Pour into a 9x9 or 8x8 cake pan or round pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 35 min. at 350 degrees or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

Glaze:
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp lemon juice (about one lemon)

Mix sugar and lemon juice and pour over hot cake in oven. Turn oven off and let cake sit in oven for about 10 minutes. Remove and cool before cutting.

9 servings

Warning: If you do not use fresh lemons for the zest and juice in this recipe and I find out about it.....I will hunt you down and shake my finger in your face while scolding you. I promise.

Note: The cake is usually best after sitting overnight. Also, if I'm feeling really wild, I'll double the glaze.

For the lighter version: I replace the sugar with 1/2 cup Splenda sugar blend for baking and use Egg Beaters instead of the eggs. Using these substitutions, I have calculated the calories to be about 248 and the fat to be about 11 grams per serving. (I have not calculated the calories/fat for the original version.) Not the lightest thing out there, but a little better than the original recipe. When lightening up the recipe, I do not replace the sugar in the glaze as I'm not sure how it would effect the consistency.

Light Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo

I decided to share this recipe because it is a huge favorite with my family and it's lighter than any other fettuccine alfredo I've had. I've always enjoyed alfredo sauce-based dishes, but most are so rich that I can usually only eat a few bites. This recipe has the perfect balance of richness and light flavor. This recipe can also be tailored to your taste or needs. It could be made without the chicken. I've made it with shrimp. Vegetables could also be added to your liking. All in all, it is one of my all-time favorite recipes. I hope you try it and enjoy! Please let me know if you do and how you liked it. The recipe follows the photos.

Light Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle one boneless, skinless chicken breast with garlic powder, salt & pepper. Bake, uncovered, in a pan for 30 min. Cool chicken and chop into bite-size pieces.

[NOTE:  I highly recommend having the sauce ingredients measured out and ready to go. It is a very quick process and it helps to have everything ready. Even then, it is very easy to scorch the garlic. Be careful.]

[NOTE 2: DO NOT FORGET TO SAVE OUT THE PASTA WATER FOR THINNING BEFORE YOU DRAIN THE PASTA. This is VERY IMPORTANT for the recipe to turn out correctly. I've forgotten in the past and had to use milk. It turned out okay, but not as good as with the pasta water.]

INGREDIENTS

-1 Tbsp butter
-1 clove garlic, minced
-zest of one lemon
-2 tsp all-purpose flour
-1 cup 2% milk
-3/4 tsp salt
-2 Tbsp Neufchatel or low fat cream cheese
-3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (not powdered)
-3 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
-freshly ground black pepper, to taste
-12 oz. fettuccine pasta (fresh or dried, I use dried and cook for 14 min.)


DIRECTIONS

Make the sauce: Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and lemon zest and cook until the garlic is slightly soft, about 1 minute. Add in the flour and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, about 1 minute. Whisk in the milk and 3/4 teaspoon salt and cook, whisking constantly, until just thickened, about 3 minutes. Add the Neufchatel and parmesan cheese; whisk until melted, about 1 minute. Stir in the chopped parsley, chicken and pepper. Remove from heat and keep warm.

Meanwhile, in a large pot, boil fettuccine in salted water until al dente, stirring often. RESERVE ONE CUP OF COOKING WATER BEFORE DRAINING. Return drained pasta to pot.

Immediately add sauce to pasta along with about half the reserved pasta water. Gently toss until pasta is coated, adding more pasta water to thin sauce. (I usually use about 3/4 of the pasta water.)

(This recipe easily makes 8 reasonably sized servings. I am including the nutritional info from the original recipe. It is calculated as making 4 servings and DOES NOT include the chicken meat.)

Per serving: Calories 490; Fat 15 g (Saturated 8 g); Cholesterol 48 mg; Sodium 734 mg; Carbohydrate 66 g; Fiber 3 g; Protein 20 g

State Fair Sandwiches

I came up with this recipe last year and we have enjoyed it many times since. If you've ever been to The Great State Fair of Oklahoma, you've smelled the aroma of peppers and onions and sausage cooking in huge skillets to make sandwiches. This is my version and I named it after the wonderful aroma that wafts through the house while the sausage and vegetables are sauteeing on the stove. Heaven.

~State Fair Sandwiches~

Sauce:
-2 or 3 cloves garlic, minced
-One 14.5 oz. can Del Monte Diced Tomatoes w/ Basil, Garlic and Oregano, undrained
-One 8 oz. can tomato sauce, any brand

In a medium saucepan, heat a small amount of olive oil over med/high heat. Add the garlic and cook and stir until garlic starts to brown slightly. Immediately pour in tomatoes and sauce. Once sauce comes to a boil, turn heat to very low. Using a potato masher, mash the tomatoes a bit. Let simmer over low heat until thickened, stirring occasionally. Set aside and keep warm.

Sandwiches:
-About 4 sandwich rolls, split (I've used everything from hoagie rolls to bolillos. I have also tried whole grain and do not find it as tasty as a good ole white roll.)
-One large green bell pepper, cut into thin strips
-One large red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
-One large onion, cut into thin strips
-One 13-16 oz. package smoked sausage, sliced into med/thin slices. (I use turkey smoked sausage to cut back on fat a bit.)
-4 slices mozzarella cheese, or shredded mozzarella

In a large skillet, heat a small amount of olive or canola oil over med/high heat. Add peppers, onions and sausage. Stir and cook over heat until all are slightly browned, but the vegetables are still bright and a bit crisp.

Spoon sausage/vegetable mixture over bottom of bread. Ladle as much or as little of the sauce over, depending on your taste. Layer cheese on top of sauce.

Heat broiler to normal. On a flat pan covered with foil (easy clean-up, folks), lay the sandwiches open-faced with tops alongside. Watch closely. Broil until cheese is melted and bread is lightly toasted. Place tops on sandwiches and cut in half if preferred.

Serve with extra sauce on the side.

This recipe leaves plenty of leftover sausage/pepper/onion mixture and sauce for more sandwiches if desired. Can also be reheated and eaten alone with the sauce. Enjoy!!

When Life Hands You A Lemon, Bake Brownies

Life handed me a lemon yesterday and I wanted to tell you all the events of the morning. For your trouble, I will include a sweet recipe at the end of this entry. Everybody wins!

I left home and took my usual route to work. That route includes a daily stop at my local convenience store. I could say they have the best coffee in the city, but it's actually their sinfully delicious French Vanilla creamer that keeps me coming back. Anyway, as I pulled in to their parking lot, I was forced to park along the far side of the lot as many others were also at the store getting their RDA of the coffee creamers and cappuccini at the store. While returning to my car I looked up and noticed that my right rear tire was almost flat! Had I not parked where I did, I would not have seen that side of my car thus returning to the street headed for the highway and possible disaster. Luckily, the store also sells gasoline and has a free air pump available. I filled the tire and drove straight to my local tire store/mechanic. As my tire was not covered under the Road Hazard Warranty, I would be required to pay the cost of repair. After quickly repairing my tire, the gentleman at the store told me I wouldn't be charged. I am a longtime customer there and he was doing me a favor.

Now, luckily, I did have the extra $20 it would have cost me to pay for the tire repair. I think we can all agree that, unless we are having a tough time financially, $20 is not a big deal to most people. And yesterday it was not a big deal to me. The fact that the gentleman at the store considered me a good customer and did me a favor.....well that was a big deal to me!

So, long story short, I decided to repay the kindness of the tire store employee and bake a batch of brownies to take to his crew this morning.

Recipe courtesy Taste of Home website. I added some chopped pecans and used milk chocolate chips to make them extra special.

Speedy Brownies

Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar
• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup baking cocoa
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 5 eggs
• 1 cup canola oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

• In a large bowl, beat the first seven ingredients. Pour into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Sprinkle with chocolate chips.
• Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Yield: about 3 dozen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And now for the fun part!!

Now go bake some brownies and make someone's day!!