Baked Lemon Pasta

I have been seeing lots of recipes for variations on lemon pasta.  Some have shrimp or chicken added, while others have spring veggies.  I thought I'd try out a basic version.  My kids love lemons and pasta so I thought that they'd enjoy this.  This was simple enough to put together.  The kids enjoyed it.  I'm not the biggest fan of citrus so this wasn't my favorite.  But I was happy that they enjoyed it! I think adding some grilled chicken would be a great addition.

Baked Lemon Pasta
recipe from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:
1 pound Thin Spaghetti
4 Tablespoons Salted Butter
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 cloves Garlic, Minced
1 whole Lemon, Juiced And Zested
2 cups Sour Cream
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt, Or More To Taste
Plenty Of Grated Parmesan Cheese
Extra Lemon Juice

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook spaghetti according to package.

In a skillet, melt butter with olive oil over LOW HEAT. When butter is melted, add minced garlic. Squeeze lemon juice into the pan. Turn off heat.

Add sour cream and stir mixture together. Add lemon zest and salt to taste.  Pour mixture over drained spaghetti and stir together, then pour spaghetti into an oven safe dish.

Bake, covered, for 15 minutes. Then remove foil and bake for an additional 7 to 10 minutes. (Don’t bake too long or the pasta will dry out.)

When you remove it from the oven, squeeze a little more lemon juice over the top. Top generously with Parmesan cheese, then chopped parsley. Give it a final squeeze of lemon juice at the end.
  Family Rating: 1 thumb up.

Lemon Cream Crumb Bars

My mom volunteered to bring dessert for Easter.  She saw a recipe for an Eclair Pie that she wanted to try (which by the way was really good!).  I saw lots of lemon flavored desserts on the blogosphere and thought it would be fitting to have some type of citrus dessert too.  My kids love lemon (they can both eat them like you would an orange slice!) so I figured they would enjoy these.  These were really quick and easy to put together and my daughter helped me make them.  This is an egg-free recipe so the kids had fun licking the bowl clean.  I'm not a big lemon/citrus fan but found these bars tasty enough.  The kids really liked them!

Lemon Cream Crumb Bars
recipe from Dessert Now, Dinner Later via The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, slightly softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup oats
1-14oz can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup lemon juice
Zest of 1 lemon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream butter and sugar.

Sift flour, salt, & baking powder.

Add oats & flour mixture to butter/sugar mixture & combine. Make sure there are no butter chunks.

Press 1/2-3/4 mixture on the bottom of an 8x8 pan.
Mix together the condensed milk, lemon juice, & zest. Spread onto the bottom layer of the crumb mixture.

Knead the remaining crumb mixture with hands, & crumble on the top of the lemon layer, but don't press down or you can ruin your lemon filling.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Allow pan to rest for 30 minutes before cutting/serving.  These can be chilled in the refrigerator and served cold, which is how I served them.  

Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.

This post is shared at:
Tasty Thursdays @ The Mandatory Mooch
One Project at a Time @ A Bowl Full of Lemons

Tuscan Lemon Muffins

I don't think I've yet to make a muffin that my family hasn't enjoyed.  As the saying goes, muffins are just an excuse to eat cake for breakfast!  This recipe caught my eye because my kids are big lemon eaters.  While I'm not a big fan of lemon I thought that they'd enjoy these....and of course they did! The lemon flavor isn't too overwhelming that I actually enjoyed them too.  They were very moist possibly due to the ricotta and olive oil, which were new muffin making ingredients for me).   I do not have turbinado sugar, though I should really get some since this isn't the first recipe that I've made that used it!.

Tuscan Lemon Muffins
Cooking Light, May 2011

Ingredients:
7 9/10 ounces all-purpose flour (1 3/4 cups)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Cooking spray
2 tablespoons turbinado sugar

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 375°.

2. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 3 ingredients (through salt); make a well in center. Combine ricotta and next 5 ingredients (through egg). Add ricotta mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moist.

3. Place 12 muffin-cup liners in muffin cups; coat with cooking spray. Divide batter among muffin cups. Sprinkle turbinado sugar over batter. Bake at 375° for 16 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes in pan on a wire rack.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up!

Lemony Chicken with Artichoke Hearts

I'm not a big fan of lemons, but my children are.  They eat lemon slices by the bowlful when the server brings them when we go out to eat and I order a diet coke with lemon.  I thought that maybe they'd like this dish and they'd get to try artichoke hearts - something I wasn't sure that they've tried before, but that I love (especially with spinach in a dip!).  Although this takes some time to cook, most of it is simmering and not hands-on time, so you can do other things and just check on the pan every once in awhile. I served the chicken over spaghetti.  My daughter was happy as long as she didn't get any artichokes (though she did try her required one bite).  My son ate some spaghetti, which had the sauce on it.  Overall, it was not bad, but not something I'd be making again (not that I usually repeat recipes).

Lemony Chicken with Artichoke Hearts
recipe very slightly adapted from allrecipes.com - by GURTRUG

Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 lemons, juiced
1 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup water

Directions:
1.Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Combine the flour and salt on a plate, then gently press the chicken breasts into the flour mixture to coat. Shake off the excess flour. Arrange the chicken in the skillet and cook until browned on each side, about 10 minutes. Add the lemon juice, chicken broth, Worcestershire sauce, white wine, garlic, bay leaf, and basil. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer on low heat for 15 minutes. Stir in the artichoke hearts, and continue simmering until the chicken is no longer pink in the center, about 15 minutes more.

2.Mix the cornstarch and water in a small bowl. Stir the mixture into the chicken, and continue cooking until thickened, about 5 minutes.

Family Rating: 1 thumb up.

The Weekend Chef: Classic Lemon Bars

This weekend my husband and I attended a friend's cocktail party on Saturday night and then went up to visit his parents on Sunday.  He decided to make a big batch of lemon bars that he could bring to both occasions.  For the cocktail party he cut them up into little bite size cubes.  Unfortunately, I'm not a big lemon dessert fan, so I didn't have any of his bars.  But from other people's comments, these went over well. My kids also loved these, but they also eat lemon slices like they are candy.

Classic Lemon Bars
http://www.foodnetwork.com/, Courtesy of Food Network Magazine

Ingredients:

For the Crust:
Vegetable oil, for greasing
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, diced
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar, plus more for garnish
1/4 teaspoon salt

For the Filling:
4 large eggs, plus 2 egg yolks
2 cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 8 lemons)

Directions:
Make the crust: Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-by-13-inch pan with vegetable oil and line with foil, leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides; grease the foil with oil. Pulse the butter, flour, both sugars and the salt in a food processor until the dough comes together, about 1 minute. Press evenly into the bottom and about 1/2 inch up the sides of the prepared pan, making sure there are no cracks. Bake until the crust is golden, about 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the filling: Whisk the whole eggs and yolks, sugar and flour in a bowl until smooth. Whisk in the lemon zest and juice. Remove the crust from the oven and reduce the temperature to 300 degrees F. Pour the filling over the warm crust and return to the oven. Bake until the filling is just set, 30 to 35 minutes.

Let the bars cool in the pan on a rack, then refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours. Lift out of the pan using the foil and slice. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.

Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.