Bring On Lemons

  Green Pepper Spread  – recipe by Carol Schwantes   Ingredients:  2 green peppers (chopped fine)  1 onion (chopped fine)  2 teaspoons oil  3 Tablespoons sugar  1 teaspoon lemon juice  8 oz cream cheese (softened)  Instructions:   Add the first 5 ingredients and marinate overnight.  Drain well.  Add the softened cream cheese.  Spread on crackers – enjoy! (also great on a bagel) Today's post was penned by Crystal J. Casavant but recipe credit goes to the amazing Carol! Crystal Casavant writes. Everything. If you follow her blog you have likely laid eyes on every thought she has ever had. Her debut novel, It Was Never About Me, Was It?  is still a work in progress and shall be fully worthy sometime in 2025. She has written for WOW! Women on Writing , Bring on Lemons , and has been featured in several magazines and ezines relating to credit and collections as well as religious collections for confessional Lu...

  Granny Beet Appetizer Ingredients: granny smith apple - cored and sliced (I prefer not peeled) beets (shown is canned pickled but I've used fresh as well as canned non-pickled; this is personal preference at it's finest) feta cheese honey dried cranberries spinach (fresh) pistachios (shelled) None of the ingredients are measured - because it honestly depends what you like the most of and how many people you are serving and what your ratio preference is. Instructions: Start with a fancy tray and cover the tray with fresh spinach leaves at the center of the tray place your crumbled feta cheese surrounded or intermingled with the cranberries organize the apple sliced as desired (if you're preparing ahead, you'll want to stop the apples from browning by using some sugar water with a splash of lemon juice) sprinkle on the pistachios then drizzle honey across the top This is something you can serve with crackers, fresh bread, or just by itself. I'm not a fan of too many...

You'll love these delicious and attractive dandelion cookies! I know we do! Dandelion Cookies - (yields about 3 dozen 3 1/2 inch cookies) Ingredients: 1C butter 1/2C white sugar 1/2C dark brown sugar 2T local honey 2 farm fresh eggs 2t vanilla 3C flour 1t baking soda 2C dandelion petals (just the yellow part) - harvested from a pesticide free area and thoroughly rinsed Instructions: 1) Prepare the dandelion petals by rinsing them (they become sticky and will reduce from 2C fluffy petals to about 1C once wet) 2) Start at the top of the list (with the butter) and add the ingredients together. Stir thoroughly after each ingredient is added. You can adjust the flour as needed - batter should not stick to the bowl but should also not be crumbly. If crumbly, add more butter or a splash of vegetable oil. If sticky, add a bit more flour. 3) Roll your dough into 2 logs and wrap in saran wrap and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours (or overnight) 4) Prepare f...

I hate lengthy introductions, so I'll begin by saying with this pandemic going on, I'm using what I have and avoiding unneccesary trips to the store, so don't beat yourself up if you don't have all the ingredients. Feel free to substitute. And this soup tastes heavenly with homemade beer bread - so check out my recipe for that as well. And without furtho adooooo.... ingredients: 1C shreeded carrots 1 medium onion diced (any onion will do) 1C chopped celery (I didn' thave any when I made this) garlic (use what you have - garlic powder, minced garlice, etc...) 6 medium sized potatoes cut bite sized (peel on or off - you decide) salt (start with 1/2t but adjust according to your tastes) pepper (see above instruction for salt) 3C chicken broth (or whatever broth you have) 2 cans of beer 1/3C butter 1/3C flour 4C milk (heavy cream, whole milk, whatever type of milk is in your fridge) 2C shredded cheese (sharp cheddar is my favorite - but any cheese is...

S'Mores Cookies (yields about 3 dozen 3 1/2 inch cookies) Ingredients: 1 cup room temp. butter 1 cup white sugar 1 cup brown sugar (I like dark) 2 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 3 cups flour (I like unbleached) 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 2-3 T cocoa powder 1/2 C graham cracker crumbs 1-2 C tiny marshmallows (the ones you would use in hot cocoa) Instructions: 1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F 2) Start at the top of the list (with the butter) and add the ingredients together. Stir thoroughly after each ingredient is added.Careful not to over mix once you add the marshmallows - just make sure they're combined. 3) Using 2 table spoons, place your dough on the cookie sheet (I like an airbake cookie sheet - ungreased) and do not roll, form, or worry about any of that. Just 'plop' them on there. I can only fit 9 cookies on a sheet, but of course the size of your 'plop' is going to determine that. 4) Bake on the center rack (thi...

I'll make this quick - but my mom's name is Patty and she's from the UP. Growing up in Central Wisconsin, I didn't know what a pasty was. I knew my mom got one every time we went to visit grandma though. My mom still loves pasty's like us Wisconsin girls like our deep fried cheese curds. She tried one from a local grocer the other day and commented how terribly tasteless it was. I decided since yesterday was St Patrick's Day I would try my hand at making her a pasty. Here you go! I didn't follow a recipe - so this may not follow the traditional rules of pasty making. You've been warned! (lol - but they were delicious) Filling Ingredients: -1/4 C diced onions -2lb ground beef -3 potatoes chopped into small pieces (if you prefer, you can use 1 potato and 2 rutabaga or whatever combination you prefer - to get you to approximately 3 cups of "stuff") -2 carrots chopped into small pieces -3 stalks of celery chopped into small pieces -1 cl...

I love Meatloaf the singer, but today let's focus on the recipe... Please remember we have a family of 7 (usually feeding a few extras too), so feel free to reduce this recipe - unless you love leftovers? 2 lbs ground beef 1 lb ground pork 2 C peppers (diced) - any color you like, or a mixture 3 eggs (whisked) 1 onion (chopped) 1 loaf older bread ripped into small pieces 1 C oatmeal or rice a dash of: salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme, and garlic powder 2 T mustard 2 C ketchup Preheat oven to 350F In a large bowl, combine all ingredients listed above (save a bit of ketchup for the end) - I use a potato masher to really combine everything, but you can use a mixer, large spoon, or I know folks who enjoy using their hands. Once well combined, place into a greased bread or loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour at 350F then after the hour is done, use the reserved ketchup on the top and heat another few minutes. Allow to cool and bit and serve! When we first got married, Mark asked...

Here is a delicious chicken soup recipe you can make quickly and easily in your Instant Pot - easy to make and since it's all made in one pot, the clean up is even easier than the prep!!! You can easily substitute noodles or rice for the dumplings - so first I'll give you the soup recipe and then at the end the dumpling recipe and you can decide how you want to do it. I used a 6qt Instant Pot but you could easily use a larger instant pot and increase the ingredients proportionately. Ingredients: 1 T olive oil (or whatever cooking oil you like) 3 good size boneless/skinless chicken breasts (cut into cubes) salt pepper 1/2 C diced onion 1 C chopped celery 4-6 C sliced carrots 2 C frozen peas Directions: Set your instant pot to saute and once the indicator reads "HOT" go ahead and add 1T olive oil (or cooking oil of your choice). Then add 3 boneless/skinless chicken breasts that have been cut into cube size pieces. Stir them into the oil a bit then...

Happy Harvest Time! Here I am in my little corner of the cornfield here in lovely Wisconsin. The nights are getting cooler and we are in the middle of many things, one of them being chopping hay and right around the corner will be the corn. I've been busy canning spaghetti sauce, corn, tomato juice,  ketchup, salsa, and applesauce. Next up comes the pears, more apples, pumpkin, and then we can start the process for sauerkraut. This is a busy yet rewarding time of the year. I'm first going to give you the recipe for this delicious caramel apple cake with cream cheese frosting and then I'll also give you the recipe for my homemade applesauce as well as the homemade caramel. You can absolutely make the recipe with store bought ingredients though - so don't be intimidated! This cake embodies everything fall to me - enjoy it with a steaming latte in the wee hours of the morning and start your day off on the right foot! Hugs, ~Crystal Caramel Apple Cake (aka Apple...

This afternoon, I cooked up a lovely German themed meal for our family - and about an hour before my husband came in to eat, I realized I forgot dessert! I whipped up this new streusel recipe that's guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser at your house - it was at ours!!! There's 3 layers, so I'll break it down for you: Crust Ingredients & Instructions: 1.5 sticks of room temp butter (use what you have - salted or unsalted, but if you use salted, just add a pinch of salt to the recipe) 1/3 C sugar (basic granulated) 1T vanilla extract 2C all purpose flour (or bread flour if you happen to buy it in 50lb bags and use it for everything - wink wink) **depending where you live, you may also need to use an egg, but I didn't...the egg will help bind everything together, but if you have a cookie texture without it, you can leave it out. Combine all crust ingredients listed above and press into a 9x13 greased baking pan - set aside Apple Layer Ingredients & I...

We've tried making cough drops in the past and they didn't turn out. My candy thermometer had broken and like any project, if you don't have the right tools, you'll end up with a mess. This is a pretty simple process, but you'll need: a candy thermometer a wooden spoon A saucepan candy molds 2 cups of water 1/2 cup local honey flavor oils powdered sugar wax paper a covered container a sink of hot soapy water ready for clean up Once you've gathered those items, you can start: 1) combine the water, honey, and flavor oil in the saucepan and attach your candy thermometer to the side of the pan (some people use essential oils, some people use tea bags, elderberry syrup, etc...let's not get in a debate about this, YOU do YOU and I'll tell you that I really enjoy working with LorAnn flavoring oils and for a cough drop recipe I'll use cinnamon, but you can also make root beer barrels using the root beer flavor instead). 2) Using a mediu...

Lemon shortbread cookies Preheat oven to 350F 1C white sugar 1C brown sugar 1t baking soda 1 1/2C melted butter 2 eggs 2t vanilla extract 1t almond extract Lemon flavor to taste (1-2t) *mix above ingredients at medium/high speed Add: 3C flour *combine (should not be sticky) Add: 1C walnut pieces (Could also use white chocolate chips) *combine gently Spoon into balls and place on baking sheet, press gently. Bake 13 minutes then add topping To make topping: 1C powdered sugar 1t vanilla extract 1t almond extract 1-2t lemon flavor *mix Gently drip over warm cookies Allow frosted cookies to cool Eat & Enjoy!! ***for even more enjoyment, share with a friend!!! 😘

My mother in law loves lemon flavored anything & we whipped up this little beauty tonight. She's coming over tomorrow and we are sure she will be impressed! The children even enjoyed this delightfully delicious treat and you can cut down the sugar by serving it with a bit of butter instead of the glaze. It's also fabulous as the base under a strawberries and whip cream, or under a bit of rhubarb compote. Let's get down to business: Preheat your oven to 350F Grab your ingredients: 3 eggs 1C sugar 6oz sour cream 1/2C applesauce (or vegetable oil) 1.5T lemon zest 2T lemon extract 1T vanilla 1T baking powder Dash of salf I tossed all the above ingredients into my stand mixer and mixed at a rather fast speed until they were combined. Now add: 1 1/2C bread flour Mix again on low spead Pour into greased loaf pan (or mini loaf pan, cupcake tins, or turn it into a cake and use a cake pan - the world is your oyster!!!) Bake loaves for 63 minutes until go...

Who doesn't love the taste of fresh corn on the cob? Here at our house, the problem is the season is short and the corn goes really quickly! We found a solution - and that's to buy lots of extra sweet corn while it's in season and then freeze it so we can enjoy it throughout the winter! This is also a great recipe for kids or those who for whatever reason have a hard time managing to eat the corn off the cob. You'll need: 3 dozen ears of sweet corn 1 pint of half n half 1 lb of butter (salted or unsalted) 2 T salt (less if you are watching your sodium) 3T sugar 1) remove the kernels from the cob (do this however you feel comfortable, but at our house we use an electric knife and it goes quickly, but they do make special tools just for this purpose and that's fine too) 2) remove the starch from the cobs but taking a small knife and working your way down the cob to get any leftover kernels and you'll see the starch coming off too 3) place kernels...

Did you know you probably have 99% of the ingredients to make poppy seed torte? The only one you may have to run out and buy is poppy seed, but I'm confident all the other ingredients are staples in most households. You can buy a box mix to make poppy seed torte, but really this recipe is easy to follow and tastes just like you remember when grandma made this as a special treat or holiday dish to pass. Give it a whirl and let us know how you liked it! Preheat oven to 350F Crust: 2 1/2C graham cracker crumbs (3 packages of graham crackers) 1t salt 1/4C sugar 1/2C melted butter Mix crust ingredients and press into an un-greased 9x13 pan. *If you have a pan with a cover, that's the one I usually grab for torte recipes Place pan in pre-heated oven until crust starts to brown a bit (just like you do for a cheesecake) Poppy Seed Filling / Custard: 2 3/4C milk 1/4C poppy seeds (the fresher, the better) 1C sugar 3T corn starch 2T butter 5 egg yolks (4 if the eggs...

So - I took a look at a recipe a friend sent me for rhubarb cookies and I tweaked it a bit to ensure I would end up with lots of fluffy melt in your mouth delicious cookies. So here goes: Ruby Doodle Cookies! 3 cups cake flour 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup butter, melted 3/4 cup sugar 1 egg 1 cup sour cream 2 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 cups rhubarb, diced Juice from 1/2 lemon (or approximately 2 teaspoons of lemon juice) Set aside another 1/2 cup of sugar and if desired, mix with chi latte mix (you'll use this to roll the cookies in) Pre-heat oven to 350 F and place rack in the middle position. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Step One: Measure and combine in your mixer the sour cream, butter, egg, and vanilla, mix well. Step Two: add salt, sugar, lemon, baking powder, and baking soda. Continue mixing well. Step Three: add rhubarb and again mix well. Step Four: add flour and mix. Batter should be easy to handle (you...

Truffles - Ready to Eat!  If you're anything like me, you love pumpkin spice anything from September all the way until just before Christmas. Truth be told I love it year round, but it's much easier to find it during fall here in Wisconsin. Last night, the children and I made a delicious pumpkin cream cheese recipe that is seriously amazing. I want to share it with you and since not all of you live close enough to drop in for a taste and a cup of coffee, I'll give you all the information you need to make them at home. add frosting to cake The first thing you do is make a pumpkin spice cake and then you demolish it. My 8 year old son (Andre) had a little trouble destroying a lovely and delicious cake, but it is what it is. Pumpkin Spice Cake Ingredients and Instructions: Preheat oven to 350F Grease a 9x13" glass baking dish mixing frosting & cake Combine the following: 4 eggs, 1 1/2C brown sugar, 1 C vegetable oil, 1 can pumpkin puree, 2 C b...

I'm beginning to think I have a social anxiety thing going on. When I run out of things, I just make more instead of going to the store. I'm beginning to loathe even the idea of going to town to buy something...but that's not what this is all about. A few years ago I started making my own deodorant because my children were to that age where they wanted to start wearing it and I didn't trust all the ingredients in store bought, mass produced versions. I've tried many recipes over the years and this is what I feel works best without irritating tender skin. I highly encourage you to try this recipe for your children and yourself, but ESPECIALLY if you are breast feeding because you don't need extra chemicals getting close to baby's food supply or your lymph nodes for that matter). Here's what you need: **A small mason jar or several small plastic containers with lids (example: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GNOHBLM?psc=1 ) **tablespoon for measuring ...

New York Style Cheesecake Recipe Crust: 2C graham cracker crumbs 1/4t sea salt 1/3C sugar 4T melted butter Cake: 5 bricks cream cheese 6 eggs plus 3 egg yolks 4T butter 8oz sour cream 2C sugar Zest of one large lemon 2T vanilla Directions: 1) warm up sour cream, butter & cream cheese (need to be room temperature) 2) preheat oven to 375F and put rack in center of oven 3) using butter flavored cooking spray, spray the sides & bottom of an 8" spring form pan 4) combine crust ingredients and press into bottom of pan 5) cut your parchment paper to the width of the sides of the springform pan & line the pan 6) bake a few minutes until golden brown 7) remove & cool 15 minutes 8) combine cake ingredients in your stand mixer and mix until creamy and smooth 9) spray sides of springform pan 10) use 3 large pieces of aluminum foil and crisscross them underneath your springform and wrap the pan to keep water out 11) start your teapot a...

I'm at a bit of an advantage here - since I have access to free milk...but even with buying the milk at the store, this recipe is sure to save you some money on your next grocery bill. Our family of 6 goes through a LOT of yogurt, and I was sick of spending $20-$30 on yogurt, so we started making our own. It's nice to know exactly what your family is eating, and the whey can be used for lacto-fermenting vegetables, taking baths, softening skin, hair conditioner, etc... Here's the scoop: You will need: 8 C (that's 1/2 gallon) of 2% or whole milk 1/2 C original yogurt (non flavored and any brand will do) .... or once you make yogurt, hold 1/2 cup back and use as starter for the next batch a nut bag (if you do this often, it's worth it to have one...otherwise try a cheese cloth...or if need be, line a plastic noodle strainer with coffee filters) a crock pot with "low" setting a candy thermometer an oven a timer (I use the timer on my ove...