Sam's Place

Quick Easy Lemon Bars

Quick Easy Lemon Bars:

Well, since I had plenty of fresh lemons left over from what my cousin sent me from his backyard lemon trees I needed more recipes with lemons.

Jimmy was so kind to also send me his easy lemon bars recipe and easy is the keyword in this one. These lemon bars are so easy to make and such a treat for friends and family.

How to Make the Crust:

2 cups flour
1 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Dash of Salt 1/8 teaspoon

I placed the butter, flour, powdered sugar, and salt into my KitchenAid mixing bowl.

Using the flat bar attachment I mixed this to a crumbly consistency. Spread this mixture into a 9-inch x 13-inch ungreased glass baking dish. Firmly press this into the bottom of the dish to form a crust. I pre heated my oven to 350 degrees and baked the crust for 20 minutes on the center rack.

Quick Easy Lemon Bars: Filling

4 eggs beaten
2 cups sugar
6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Powdered sugar to dust finished bars

Again, using my KitchenAid I added the eggs, lemon juice, and sugar.

Using the whisk attachment I mixed this on medium speed until the sugar was dissolved. Now, pour this batter over the hot crust and bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.

After the lemon bars have been out of the oven for about 15 minutes sprinkle with powdered sugar. This will yield 24 squares (3 equal cuts down the length and 5 cuts across the width).

You may also like my Quick Lemon Meringue Pie

As always thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy.

Grow your own fresh lemons with these indoor/outdoor trees.

Meyer Lemon Tree - Fruiting Size/Branched Plant - 8

Brighter Blooms Improved Meyer Lemon Tree, Dwarf Fruit Tree with

Easy Chocolate Covered Strawberries

These easy chocolate covered strawberries are most popular on Valentine's Day but are perfect for any time of the year or any occasion.

I've never made these before and thought I'd give it a try. Although I do need a little practice on my white chocolate drizzle that's okay they are a perfect sweet treat.

You could go out and buy chocolate-covered strawberries but what fun would that be. It only takes about 30 minutes to make these. I ended up with 28 of these little sweet treats ready to enjoy.

Easy to Make Chocolate Covered Strawberries:

easy to make chocolate covered strawberries

The first thing I did was wash the strawberries and let them drain for a few minutes.

Then I dried each one and placed them on a paper towel.

You want to make sure the strawberries are dry before you dip them. If they are wet the chocolate won't stick.

Nestle TOLL HOUSE Milk Chocolate Morsels 11.5 oz. Bag

I used 2 cups of Nestles Milk Chocolate chips, which was more than I needed but I wanted to be safe.

I melted them in a microwave-safe bowl on 50% power for a minute at a time stirring between each heating.

In about 4 minutes the chocolate was melted then I did another 30 seconds on high power just to make sure.

Now it was time to dip the strawberries. I grabbed each strawberry by the green stem and dipped it into the chocolate.

Making sure I covered 3/4 of the way up the strawberry with chocolate.

Hold the strawberry over the bowl and let the chocolate drip back into the bowl.

Then I placed the strawberry on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.

After all 28 strawberries were dipped I placed the cookie sheet in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes.

I melted the white chocolate the same way in the microwave.

Then with a teaspoon, I drizzled the white chocolate trying to make it swirl. Again I do need some practice with my drizzling.

These easy to make chocolate covered strawberries were a lot of fun. Did I mention that they are the most delicious little sweet treats?

You might also like my: Sweet and Salty Chocolate Turtles

As always thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy.

I used Ghirardelli White Chocolate Chips for the drizzle and this microwave-safe bowl to melt the chocolate.

Ghirardelli Premium Baking Chips, Classic White Chocolate, 11 oz

Corelle Livingware 28-Ounce Super Soup/Cereal Bowl, Callaway

Valentine's Day Chocolates
by 238841790896654797

Quick Lemon Meringue Pie

Quick Lemon Meringue Pie

This quick lemon pie recipe is so easy and so good. Every time my mother made a lemon meringue pie it was a treat and I couldn't until it cooled so I could dig in.

My cousin Jimmy lives in Arizona and just happens to have lemon and grapefruit trees in his back yard. Last week my cousin sent us a box of lemons and grapefruits along with his recipe for lemon meringue pie.

There is nothing better than this basic lemon meringue pie recipe made with fresh lemons. When I opened the box I couldn't believe my eyes. These are the biggest lemons that I've ever seen.

Take a look for yourself, on the right is a lemon from our local grocery store and on the left is one of the lemons my cousin sent me. I used just one of these to make the lemon pie filling.

Lemon Pie Filling:

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1-1/2 cups cold water
3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon butter
1 baked 9-inch pie crust
grated zest of one lemon

For the Meringue:

1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch or 1/4 Tsp. cream of tartar
3 egg whites

Here is how we made this: Simple Lemon Meringue Pie Recipe

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake the pie crust for 12 to 15 minutes.

The Filling:

Combine 1 cup sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan. Gradually stir in water until smooth. Then stir in the egg yolks.

Bring this to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly, and boil for one minute.

Remove from heat and stir in lemon zest, lemon juice, and butter. Continue stirring until the filling becomes thick. Then spoon the filling into the pie crust.

The Meringue:

Beat the egg whites on high speed with a mixer until foamy. I used my KitchenAid Stand Mixer for this it works the best.

Add the cornstarch and then add the sugar one tablespoon at a time. Continue mixing on high speed until stiff peaks form.

Spread the meringue over the filling, sealing the edges of the pie. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes until the meringue is golden brown.

Cool the pie on a wire rack to room temperature, then refrigerate for 3 hours. Make sure the pie is room temperature before you refrigerate. I have made this mistake before the lemon filling will not set properly if you put it the refrigerator too soon.

I used a store-bought pie crust for this recipe. If you need a recipe for pie crust you can check out my Apple Pie Recipe here.

Big thanks to my cousins Jimmy and Carmie for sending me these beautiful fresh lemons and your quick lemon meringue pie recipe.

As always thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy

Below are some of the handy kitchen gadgets that I used to make this quick lemon meringue pie. The small hand grater was perfect for grating the lemon zest. The small strainer was a big help squeezing the lemon juice, it fits over my measuring cup and catches all of the seeds. And of course my 9-inch glass pie plate.

OXO Good Grips Grater

OXO Good Grips 3-Inch Mini Strainer

Pie Plate,2-Pc Set,9",Glass

How to Make Roasted Red Peppers

How to make Roasted Red Peppers

My cousins, Jim and Carmie are as passionate as I am about preserving old family recipes and creating new ones. This easy Roasted Red Peppers Recipe is just one example.

If you've read some of my previous posts you'll see that I've called on them before to help clarify an old recipe.

Not many people can do this outside on their grill in January, but they live in Arizona and the temperature was 80 degrees. Much warmer than here in Western New York. Following is their simple process of roasting Red Peppers for our enjoyment.

Roasted Red Peppers by Jim and Carmie

We have been making our own ROASTED PEPPERS for over 40 years and finally decided to write down our process and capture it on film as best as possible.

First, we start with a bushel of red bell or pimento peppers. You can do 3 or 4 peppers or as many as you feel comfortable with. It’s simple, all you need is your gas grill.

Place the peppers on the grill with the grill set on high (no need to wash them) and then cook until they're burnt and blistered.

Place the cooked peppers in a large pot and keep covered. Continue until all the peppers are cooked.

Next, you’ll need news paper, a small bowl of water, and a large bowl. Lay the news paper out on a table. The table can be uncovered or if you prefer you can use an old table cloth. (We use an old table cloth.)

Start by peeling the skin from the peppers, then open the peppers and remove the stem, seed pod, and all the seeds. Then tear the pepper into large sections. One to three sections and place in the large bowl.

(We have found that dipping the pepper into a bowl of water prior to peeling makes the process easier and that two people makes this easier also – one peeling and the other deseeding and tearing into strips.) Be careful during this process as the juice from the peppers will be hot.

After peeling, deseeding and tearing all the peppers into strip’s we divide them into one-quart ziplock storage bags and add a heaping teaspoon of chopped garlic to each bag.

The peppers will yield their own oil and as you bag them the oil will transfer automatically. Lay the bags flat on a cookie sheet and freeze.

Keep frozen until ready to serve. Thaw either in a microwave or allow them to come to room temperature.

They are great by themselves, as a side dish or in a sandwich. Season to your taste with salt and pepper when serving.

The bushel of peppers we used contained 68 peppers and yielded 13-quart bags. The whole process took about 2 ½ to 3 hours.

Check out these Grilled Stacked Veggies made with roasted red peppers.

As always thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy!

North Atlantic Imports 1517 Griddle Cooking Station, 2-Burner, 28-In.

Ziploc Freezer Bags, 114 Count

Granite Ware 0706-2 Covered Preserving Canner with Rack, 12-Quart

Soup Croutons

This easy croutons recipe has been in our family for as long as I can remember. Passed down from our grandmother to our mother's to us. Every time grandma Liz made her Wedding Soup she made these soup croutons to go along with it.

I've only had these in Wedding Soup, but I'm sure they would be great in any of your favorite soups. I had a recipe for these and have made them several times. They just weren't the same as grandma's soup croutons.

Once again I had to call out the reserves, my cousin Jimmy from Arizona had the recipe just the way that grandma made them.

Here is the recipe for soup croutons:

Jimmy's Ingredients for Soup Croutons:

6 large eggs (separated)
4 tablespoons flour
6 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon parsley
1 tablespoon grated Romano cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1Easylife 18/8 Stainless Steel Measuring Spoons, Set of 6 for

This handy set of six measuring spoons makes adding your liquid or dry ingredients a breeze. Everyone needs a set of these in the kitchen

Jimmy's Instructions for easy soup croutons:

In a large bowl, combine egg yolks with all other ingredients and mix well.
In another bowl beat the egg whites until they are fluffy and form peaks.
Fold the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture using a spatula.
Pour and spread the mixture into a 9 x 13 inch greased cookie sheet.
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Let them cool and cut into 1-inch cubes.

Wedding Soup Recipe

Here is the link to our wedding soup recipe, from our grandmother's kitchen to yours. Give this soup and croutons a try I'm sure you'll enjoy these especially on a cold day.

As always thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy!