LEMON BISQUE

When my "Farkle" friends came over on Monday and I served them chicken salad for a light lunch, I also served them this Lemon Bisque for dessert. It is a "light" tasting dessert and was just what the afternoon called for. 

Mrs. Samuel Janzen of Greensburg, Kansas shared the recipe in the cookbook, Pennsylvania Dutch Cooking, A Mennonite Community Cookbook by Mary Emma Showalter.
I basically followed Mrs. Janzen's recipe except I omitted the 1/2 cup sugar. I didn't feel it was needed since it was being added to a package of lemon gelatin that already contained plenty of sugar (in my mind). I told the other "ladies" I had omitted it and they didn't feel it was needed either.

Mrs. Janzen said to cut it in squares to serve it. It held up as squares, but I decided to serve it in my sherbet glasses. 

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LEMON BISQUE

1         package lemon gelatin (4 - serving size)
1-1/4   cups boiling water
Juice and rind of 1 lemon (3 tablespoons lemon juice + 3 teaspoons dried lemon peel)
1/2      cup sugar (I omitted)
1-1/2   cups evaporated milk, chilled(this was almost all of a 12 - ounce can)
2-1/2   cups vanilla wafer crumbs (I had 10 cookies left in my box of wafers.)
1         cup chopped nuts (I used pecans)

Dissolve gelatin in boiling water.

Add (sugar), lemon juice, and peel.

Chill mixture until congealed.

Beat until fluffy.

Whip chilled evaporated milk until stiff.

Add to congealed mixture.

Add chopped nuts.

Spread half of the crumbs in the bottom of a baking dish or oblong pan 7 x 9 inches. (The base of my dish measured 7 x 9 inches.)

Carefully add mixture

and then top with remaining crumbs.

Let stand in refrigerator overnight.

Cut in squares when ready to serve

(or serve in sherbet glasses).









Makes 8 - 10 servings.

CHICKEN SALAD

We got back Saturday evening from our trip to Colorado to visit with family. Sunday morning was taken up with church activities so I spent Sunday afternoon getting ready for hosting the Farkle group Monday afternoon. Monday morning we had to return the rental van (We took a bedroom suit that belonged to my husband's family when he was still at home to our oldest grandson, Colby.) and I also had my 2 year bone density test. (Great news - since I have been taking a generic for Evista for two years, all areas had improved except my left hip but it had not changed.) 

Since my time was limited, I decided the easiest thing for me to make to serve them was chicken salad. That just may be my go-to dish to make when I am hosting. It is so easy because I just put two frozen chicken breasts in the slow cooker and cook them on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours, then shred them after they cool a little bit, and then add the other ingredients. The last time the canasta group met at my house I made my Walnut Chicken Salad but made it with pecans instead. Everyone loved it. 

Today the group liked the fruit in the chicken salad. Crazy how many different ways you can make a simple dish. This recipe was one of Olive Bontrager's recipe. Olive is/was a cashier at Das Dutchman Essenhaus (Amish-Country Cookbook Volume I) in Middlebury, Indiana.

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CHICKEN SALAD

3     cups diced cooked chicken
1/2  cups thinly sliced celery
1     cup drained mandarin oranges
1     cup drained crushed pineapple
1/2  cup grapes (cut in half)
1/4  cup mayonnaise
1/4  cup sour cream
1/2  teaspoon lemon juice
1     teaspoon sugar

Combine the chicken, celery, oranges, pineapple, and grapes.

Combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon juice, and sugar in a small bowl.

Pour over chicken mixture;

toss gently.

Chill thoroughly. (I made mine the night before and stored it in a bowl with plastic wrap over it.)

Serve on lettuce.

SLOW COOKER CHOCOLATE LAVA CAKE

We spent most of last week visiting with our older son and his family in CO. This visit was especially exciting because we had gone over about fours weeks earlier to help them pack up some of their stuff in preparation of moving into a new house. We didn't get to see inside the house when we were there then so this was our first time to go inside. We loved the house and are so happy for them all.

Our last night there our dil Sara surprised us with this delicious Slow Cooker Chocolate Lava Cake. We had gone to the grocery store earlier in the afternoon and bought four different kinds of ice cream not knowing that we would be enjoying it with the cake.

This is a great cake to make when you want a cake but don't want to heat up your house baking it in the oven.

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SLOW COOKER CHOCOLATE LAVA CAKE

Cake:

1         box Super Moist Chocolate Fudge Cake mix
1-1/4   cups milk
1/2      cup oil
3         eggs

Lava Topping:

1         box (4 serving size) instant chocolate pudding mix
2         cups milk
1         12 - oz bag of milk chocolate chips

Beat together the cake mix, milk, oil, and eggs in a large bowl with an electric mixer until batter is smooth (about 2 minutes)

Spray large slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray so the cake won't stick.

Pour cake batter into the slow cooker and smooth over the bottom.

In a mixing bowl, combine the milk and pudding mix until smooth.

Pour pudding mixture over the top of the cake batter in the slow cooker. Do NOT stir.

Sprinkle chocolate chips over top with stirring.

Place lid on top and cook on HIGH for 2  hours. (If you are using a smaller slow cooker, the cake will be thicker and will need to cook longer.)

When it is done, the cake is on top and the pudding (lava) is underneath.

Allow cake to cool and set up. Then serve alone or with a scoop of ice cream.

A DAY AT THE DENVER ZOO

The last time we went to the Denver Zoo was thirteen years ago. Our oldest grandson, Colby, was the cutest one year little boy in his darling overalls. I wish I could show you a picture of him, but I don't have one with me. (It is so hard to believe we have a grandson fourteen years old. We now describe him as a handsome young man.)

I guess we couldn't have asked for better weather for a June day. We had some clouds and some sun; some nice breezes when we were in the shade and some warmth from the sun when we were in sunny places. The temperature was in the 70s which was quite a relief after our mid to upper 90s back home in Kansas City.

I hope you will enjoy my pictures of our day.

We waited 15 minutes for the sea lions show only to be told that the show was cancelled because one of the sea lions didn't want to cooperate. They did release four more into the area though.

Lots of people were sitting waiting for the elephant show. We didn't know when it started so we didn't wait around to see it.

The kids wanted to ride the train, but it was not operational. Instead they (Henry, Sadie, and Hallie) rode the carousel (Merry-Go-Round) I got to stand by Henry during the long ride. What fun!

Henry's favorite animal is the penguin. They were so cute.

 

Hallie's favorite are the flamingos. She reported on them once. She told me the color of the flamingo depends on their diet. (Did you know that? I didn't.)

The next two pictures show a California condor. There were two in the caged area, but I took pictures of only one of them. The second one wasn't right with the sun. They stayed in their stance with their wings spread the whole time.

He was so pretty. Right up next to the fence so I could get a really good picture of him. The one up in the tree in the next picture is harder to see.

Some pretty flowers...

And then it was time to leave...until the next time...hopefully not another thirteen years.