Key Lime Cookies

These cookies were an excellent addition to a dessert themed bridal shower at work. It was a way of adding a dessert while off setting all the sweets that were brought in by others to share and for those who don't have a sweet tooth. They were a show stealer just like the website (www.mrfood.com) said they would be. Enjoy! :-)  

Ingredients:

• ¹/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 1 ¹/4 cups sugar
• 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
• ¹/4 cup Key lime or other lime juice
• 2 teaspoons lime zest (grated peel)
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¹/2 teaspoon salt
• Confectioners’ sugar

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
    
2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and egg yolk, beating until creamy. Beat in lime juice and zest just until combined.
    
3. Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt; mix well. Refrigerate dough 60 minutes, until firm.
    
4. Shape dough into 1-inch balls and place 1 inch apart on cookie sheets.
    
5. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, or until light golden. Transfer to wire rack. While still warm, pour confectioners’ sugar into a hand strainer over cookies, and dust cookies lightly. *I added some extra lime zest on top of the sugar for presentation!

 Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Summer Squash Shells with Ricotta

All the gardens in the neighborhood are bursting with fresh veggies. We've hit that point in the summer when it's time to get creative with how to use up the surplus of summer squash. I did a little thinking and some blog stalking to help me decide what to make, which led me to this recipe on http://www.weeklygreens.com/. It was super easy, quick and delicious! Perfect to make during the week after work! Enjoy! <3  

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 small yellow onion, finely diced

1 medium yellow squash, finely diced

1 medium zucchini, peeled and finely diced

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 pound medium shells

1-1/2 cups ricotta 

Freshly ground black pepper

1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Directions:

- In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the diced onion and cook until tender, about 6 to 7 minutes. Add the diced squash and the salt to the pan. Turn the heat up to medium and cook until the squash is tender but still holding its shape, about 10 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and keep it warm.

- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it generously. Cook the pasta shells according to package directions for al dente. Just before draining the pasta, scoop out about a cup of the starchy water. You will use this to make the sauce. It can be easy to forget to do this (and once that water is gone, it’s gone!), so I like to set a measuring cup next to the pot as a reminder. I haven’t forgotten since I started using that trick.

- Meanwhile, put the ricotta cheese in a bowl. Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over it, then give it a few cranks of the pepper grinder. Stir until completly blended.

- Drain the pasta, then add it back to the warm pot. Add the squash and onion mixture and the ricotta cheese, stirring gently. Add the Parmigiano and a little of the water. Use the cooking water to control the consistency of your sauce. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary. Serve immediately.

Peach Smoothie

While being at the beach this week, I've gotten into the habit of taking some of our fresh fruit and turning them into afternoon smoothies for the house! One of the top picks so far has been the Peach Smoothie that I threw together. It was given two thumbs up so I thought I would share...

Ingredients:

4 fresh peaches, sliced and peeled

2 cups whole milk

1 1/2 cups vanilla ice cream

3 cups ice

2 packets of Equal or Splenda

Dash of cinnamon

Directions:
Blend all ingredients in a blender until you've reached your desired thickness. Pour into glasses with a fun straw and enjoy!

Blueberry Peach Crumb Bars

I think it's about time I post another yummy recipe that is perfect for summer and you can easily make the argument to eat it for breakfast. I found this yummy Peach Crumb Bar recipe to make for a work retreat and it was a huge hit. To add a little twist, I decided to do half peaches and half blueberries. Highly recommend it. Enjoy! :-)



Ingredients:
1½ cups sugar, divided
1 tsp. baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
¼ tsp. salt
Zest of half a lemon
16 tbsp. cold, unsalted butter cut into small pieces
1 large egg
5 cups peeled, chopped peaches (about 5 peaches)
5 tsp. cornstarch
Juice of 1 lemon
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375° F.  Grease a 9 x 13″ pan; set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup of the sugar, the baking powder and flour. Mix in the salt and the lemon zest, and stir together with a fork. Cut in the butter and egg with a pastry blender until the largest chunks are about pea-sized. The mixture should be crumbly without much loose flour. Spread about half of the dough mixture in an even layer over the bottom of the prepared pan and press down firmly to form the bottom crust.

In another bowl, stir together the remaining sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice and nutmeg.  Gently mix in the peaches with a rubber spatula until combined. Sprinkle the fruit mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble the remaining dough over the top of the peaches.

Bake for about 45 minutes or until the top is slightly golden brown.  Cool completely before cutting into squares and serving.

Cinco de Mayo...

Happy Cinco de Mayo to all! Thought I would share our drink of choice recipe for the evening!

Frozen Mango Margaritas

1 1/2 cups Mango Margarita Mix

4 oz. Tequila

2 oz. Triple Sec

3 cups Ice

Fill the blender with ice and add the Mango Margarita Mix, Tequila, and Triple Sec until smooth. Rub the rim of a margarita glass with a lime wedge and dip into salt to coat rim if desired. Fill glass and enjoy!

A Sweet Treat

If you haven't tasted these Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes yet, add it to your must try list! My sister and I made them for a friends going away party and they were a huge hit. It also turned out to be a great cake if you want to change it up.

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes
Yield: about 21 cupcakes

Ingredients:
For the cake:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. lemon zest
12 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
2 cups fresh strawberries, chopped

For the lemonade syrup:
1 cup lemonade concentrate, thawed
3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

For the frosting:
1 cup fresh strawberries, roughly chopped
12 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
18 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 2/3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
3 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla extract

For garnish:
Fresh strawberries
Lemon slices

Directions:
To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line muffin pans with paper liners. In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and lemon zest. Stir together with a fork and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until it is light and fluffy. Add the sugar and beat until well combined. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add half of the flour mixture to the bowl and beat on low speed until just incorporated. Add in the milk and mix until smooth. Add in the remaining flour mixture and mix on low speed until just blended. Fold in the fresh strawberries with a spatula.

Divide the batter evenly between the paper liners, filling them about 3/4 full. Bake about 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once the cupcakes have cooled, whisk together the lemonade concentrate and confectioners’ sugar in a small bowl to make the lemonade syrup. Poke several holes in the top of each cupcake with a skewer and pour the syrup over the cupcakes, allowing it to soak in. (Place wax paper underneath your cooling rack so you don’t make a mess!)

To make the frosting, puree the strawberries in a food processor or blender. Strain the puree through a mesh sieve to remove the seeds, and set aside. Beat the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and very fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Add the lemon juice and vanilla extract and mix until incorporated. Mix in strawberry puree, a tablespoon at a time, until you achieve your desired texture and flavor of frosting (I used the entire mixture and added some red food coloring to make it nice a pink). Frost cupcakes as desired and garnish with fresh strawberries and lemon slices (I put some thinly sliced strawberries on top).

It sounds slightly intense but so worth it. Enjoy!

Steph J

Something new...

To start things off, welcome to my blog. Over the last month or so I've started to read more blogs and get really into it. There are so many different ideas and stories out there to share, each with their own twist. Since I discovered this growing blog world, I got the itch to start one of my own so here goes nothing. I hope to share random stories, thoughts, adventures and much much more! Blogs can be whatever you want them to be, endless possibilities.

Thanks for reading! :-)