Lemon Bars

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I made lemon bars the other day and decided that I would take some to my dentist office. I plated them using only the best ones of course and saving the ones around the edge for us because they don't look as nice (but taste just the same). I arranged them with fresh mint leaves from my garden so they looked "just so" and put them in the fridge (subconsciously they taste better when they are pretty to look at). Anyway, I was running a little late so I quickly ran upstairs, brushed my teeth and ran back down, only to open the fridge and have the plate drop out, do a double flip and land upside down. If I were judging the creativity of the dive I would have given it a "10". I literally froze and was trying to grasp the reality of it. I don't use profanity but I did shout out a couple of choice words. I heard Phil in the background laughing and he said he wondered what words I would have chosen if I did curse. So, I scooped them up, rearranged the cellophane and put them back in the fridge and grabbed the ones in the tubberwear that were for us. Well, as I was sitting in the chair at the dentist office,  I had a moment of panic because I had just realized that I gave the office the ones that we're the "cast offs". They must have tasted okay because Heather, our hygienist wants to make them for this weekend. So... here you go Heather, I hope you are more careful than I was... ENJOY!

Ingredients

Crust:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup powdered sugar, plus more for dusting
• Pinch salt
• 2 sticks butter, room temperature plus a little more for greasing

Filling:

• 6 large eggs (room temp)
• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup lemon juice, aprox 4 - 6 lemons)
• 2 tablespoons lemon zest
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tablespoon powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9 by 13 by 2 - inch pan.

Make the crust by combining the flour, powdered sugar and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the butter to make a crumbly mixture. If you have a processor you can put all ingredients in and pulse to incorporate, making sure to not over mix. Press the mixture into the prepared pan. You may need to dip your fingers into a little flour or powdered sugar to keep the dough from sticking to your fingers. Bake for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, to make the filling, mix the eggs, granulated sugar, flour, and lemon juice and zest. Pour this over the baked crust and bake for 25 minutes longer. Sprinkle with powdered sugar when cooled.

Trifle and my BFF's

Vicke, Ceci, Cindy, Robin, Patty

These are some my best friends from the 7th grade and I am so blessed to still have them in my life. We got together for a couple of days here at our house because Patty came down for a family wedding. Patty, who is from Austin Texas came the furthest, Cindy and her husband Donavon came from Santa Barbara, Robin came from Yorba Linda and Vickie lives here at the beach just 5 minutes from me. When we get together times stands still. There is a sisterhood that comes with life long friends and a special bond that only comes from knowing someone when you were young (other than your sister, she has to love you... right Teri? My sister is probably shaking her head right about now )

     I made carnitas for dinner and a trifle for dessert, and was asked to post the trifle, so here it is. It's SUPER easy! (Thank you Patty for helping me put this together)

Ingredients

Lg. flat of strawberries (I get the ones from Costco)

Lg. container blueberries (again, Costco)

Lg. container raspberries (I got mine at Trader Joes, but Costco had some as well)

Birds custard pudding or 1 Lg. Instant vanilla pudding mix (this is the easiest and just as tasty)

1 qt. heavy whipping cream

1 box angle food cake

Splash brandy (or splashes, depending on how much alcohol you want to taste)

Mint leaves for garnish

Directions

Bake cake according to directions. Cut up all fruit and set aside. Make pudding and whip cream, set aside.

Start by putting a little pudding at the bottom of trifle dish. Tear up the cake in pieces and layer on top of pudding. Sprinkle brandy over cake. Layer the fruit on top of cake making sure it is against the sides (so you can see the layers when it's done). Put the whipped cream on top. Start the process all over again, layering each element. End with the whipped cream on top and layer the fruit on top of that for a nice presentation.

This is best when made the day before so your flavors can marry.