Strawberry Lemon Bars

While trying to come up with a yummy strawberry dessert, I happened across one for Strawberry Lemon Bars. It looked tasty, simple, & I had everything on hand to make it, so why not?! Of course, I never follow directions completely, so I put my own twist on things.

It turned out great, but when I make it again, I will change just a few things. The original recipe called for lining an 8 x 8 pan with aluminum foil. The 8 x 8 pan made the bars too "bready" in the middle, so I will probably switch to a shallow pan. I probably won't line it with foil next time either. Aluminum foil & fillings do not mix well.

So without further ado......

Strawberry Lemon Bars with Lemon Glaze

Ingredients for the bars:
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup butter
1 tsp of lemon juice
1 tsp of almond extract
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1 egg 
1/2 cup - 1 cup of diced fresh strawberries (I just kept adding until it looked full) 

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.
Stir together flour, baking powder and salt. 
Mix sugar and butter with electric mixer.  
Add egg, lemon juice, vanilla, & almond. 
Mix in flour mixture.
Fold in diced strawberries by hand.
Coat pan with Crisco & lightly dust with flour.
Pour batter into pan.
Bake for about 35-45 minutes until done.
Let the bars cool before cutting and glazing.

For the Glaze1 cup of confectioners sugar 
lemon juice (enough to make it slightly runny)

Whisk together and pour over cooled bars.

Strawberry Flag Poke Cake

Since I have gotten a few comments on Our 4th of July Festivities, I thought I would include the recipe for my strawberry poke cake.

Bake a regular strawberry cake mix as directed. I added sliced strawberries to the mix as well. Allow to cool.

While the cake is cooling, prepare jello as directed.

Poke small holes into the cake. You can use a fork, a wooden skewer, a chop stick, or whatever you have handy.

Then pour slightly cooled Strawberry jello over the cake, allowing in to seep into the holes.

Since this was for July 4, I wanted to be extra festive.

I poked another set of holes in different places and poured Blue jello into those holes.

*if you are out of a particular kind of jello, plain works just as well with a pack of Kool-aid for color & flavor*

I bake the cake for another 10 minutes on 350. Then I put the cake into the fridge to cool.

After the cake cooled, I added cream cheese icing and topped with sliced strawberries and grapes, because my family doesn't like blueberries.

It sure was a hit. There wasn't a single piece left.

Mardi Gras ~ Laissez les bons temps rouler

When I was in college, I foolishly wanted to experience New Orleans in the height of all her "glory" - Mardi Gras. It just seemed like one big party to me, & hey, that's what I went to college for, right? ......

yeah, anyway

I never made it to Mardi Gras, but I did make it to New Orleans about 11 years ago. It wasn't quite what I had in mind, but at the same time, it was everything I had imagined.

Bourbon Street itself is not only a little strange, it is a whole different world! People are cra - zy! Mimes perform on street corners & CHASE you if you take their picture. Young kids tap dance with bottle caps on their shoes as a distraction so their partners can pick your pockets. Naked women hang out of windows. And old men in suits & fuzzy bedroom shoes interview invisible people in McDonalds at 3am.

There is so much history & legend in New Orleans. It would be interesting to go back today & actually appreciate that history. BUT I REALLY do not want my kids anywhere near that insanity! So we will just read about it.

Mardi Gras is the celebratory season before Lent that culminates with Fat Tuesday. It has pagan roots that evolved into Christian beliefs. The idea of Mardi Gras is to prepare oneself for the fasting & self denial that occurs during Lent. In recent years, the carnival celebrations exploded into debauchery.

So for the fun of it, I cooked Jambalaya & a King Cake. As usual, I tweaked my recipe, but you can find the original here. I combined & rolled out 2 cans of cinnamon sweet rolls & shaped into a ring. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes. Mix the included icing with 1/2 jar of Vanilla frosting & 1/4 c. of milk. Separate into 3 bowls so you can add food coloring (purple represents justice, green is for faith, & gold is for power). Then drizzle icing over the warm cake. Decorate accordingly. (I didn't feel the need to hide the baby.)