LEMON BLOSSOMS

 I hope you are enjoying my posts on the Treats of the Cafe at my church as I am sharing the recipes with you. I am finally getting around to sharing this easy recipe for Lemon Blossoms that I made back at the beginning of February. TheSOMy were beyond delicious and that just isn't my opinion. 

The glaze recipe makes so much that I used it as a glaze for some later cookies. They are so lemony and I love lemony. 

The recipe has to be a winner since I found it in a cookbook called Recipes from Karen's Katering. I can't imagine a katering company serving something that wasn't totally awesome. AND that's what these mini muffins are.

Did I tell you they were easy? Just checking...

PRINT recipe.

LEMON BLOSSOMS

1     pkg. lemon cake mix

1     (3-1/2 oz) pkg. instant lemon pudding

4     large eggs

3/4  cup oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray mini muffin pans with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

Combine the cake mix, pudding mix, oil, and eggs and

mix until smooth. I did use my electric mixer. 

Pour (or scoop) 1 tablespoon batter into each cup.

Bake about 12 minutes.

GLAZE:

4     cup powdered sugar

1/3  cup fresh lemon juice (I did use the bottled lemon juice.)

grated zest of 1 lemon (I used 1 teaspoon dried lemon peel)

3     tablespoons oil

3     tablespoons water

To make the glaze, sift the sugar into a mixing bowl.

Add the juice, zest, and oil and water.

Mix until smooth.

*Dip the muffins into the glaze and place on a wire rack (place wax paper underneath the rack to catch drips).

*The center of all of my muffins sank to some degree so I just spooned a bit of the glaze to fill up the hole.

Worked great and tasted great too.

Let set up before storing in an airtight container. 

The cookies in display on the top rack are my Zero Sugar Cherry Cookies I made. They were a big hit also. RECIPE here.

PINEAPPLE DROP COOKIES

 We had our above normal temperatures the first part of the week and now we are having our below normal temperatures for February in Kansas City. Two or three days and then back to the 50s and 60s. It has been that way most of 2023. We had our coldest temperatures back in December for about a week to 10 days and for several days lingered around 0 degrees F. That was extremely below normal.

With the crazy roller coaster temperatures though the trees don't know if it is winter or spring. We have a huge silver maple tree in our back yard that covers most of our back yard and it has been totally budded out for a week. I know not just by looking but by feeling with my allergies. It's not fair to have beautiful days when you would love to go walking, but know you better stay in because your allergies are bad just staying in the house.

The first of next week we have thunderstorms in the forecast but it won't be the first time this winter. I would be fine with it all if my allergies just weren't so bad right now.

I'm trying to get shared the recipes for some of the cookies that are being made for the Welcoming Center's Cafe at our church to enjoy with coffee or tea. So far, I have scheduled three different people to each make something different for a variety. Today I am sharing Friend Jean's mother, Evelyn Marsh's Pineapple Drop Cookies.

Jean and I are good friends from church and volunteering at Hillcrest Thrift Shop. She has found a number of Amish Cookbooks for me as she works in the Books Department. We also play handbells together at church and she is part of the Unleavened Bread Bakers group I lead. Now she is helping me with Treats for the Cafe. We also share a common interest with birds in our yards. 

These cookies she brought were so delightful. I have to use the delightful instead of delicious because in my mind it shows how light and refreshing they tasted. Not a heavy cookie at all and enjoyed by many. Jean says the recipe makes about 5 dozen cookies, but I only ask for three dozen. I'm sure she enjoyed the rest along with the memories of her mother she recalled as she ate them. I just love family recipes.

PRINT recipe.

PINEAPPLE DROP COOKIES

1       cup white sugar

1       cup brown sugar, firmly packed

3/4    cup shortening or butter

2       eggs

1       cup crushed pineapple with some of the juice

1       teaspoon vanilla

1       teaspoon pineapple flavoring (optional)

4       cups flour

2       teaspoons baking powder

1/2    teaspoon baking soda

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease cooking sheets and set aside.

Cream together the shortening with sugars til light and fluffy. 

Add the eggs, flavorings, and beat well.

Sift the dry ingredients together and add alternately to the creamed mixture with the pineapple.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheets and bake 10 to 12 minutes. Jean usually removes the cookie sheets after 10 minutes.

Remove to a wire rack to cool. Jean dusted the cooled cookies with some powdered sugar. Separate cookies with wax paper to store.

The recipe will make 5 dozen small cookies or 3 to 4 dozen larger cookies.

CRACKERJACK COOKIES

 If you tried and liked the Crackerjack Cookies that Friend Cindy brought Sunday for the PWUMC's Cafe, you will want to keep this recipe. I had never heard of them when Cindy told me she would make some Crackerjack Cookies. They sounded delicious as just hearing the name crackerjack brings up fond memories. One lady chose one and said that she didn't realize people still made those cookies. 

Besides getting to enjoy new recipes, I am having so much fun being able to share them with you.

I haven't personally gotten around to making any yet, but I can attest to their delicious taste. Cindy did not add any nuts since the Cafe is a Nut-Free Zone. They reminded me of a lace cookie I have made. It would be interesting to try making them on parchment paper instead of a greased cookie sheet and see if they spread quite as much. Let me know if you try that and how they turned out in the comment section below.

I apologize for only the one picture. I didn't think to take pictures before I put them out to serve. Will make sure I do better next time.

PRINT recipe.

CRACKERJACK COOKIES

2     sticks margarine

1     cup white sugar

1     cup brown sugar, lightly packed

2     eggs

2     teaspoons vanilla

1-1/2  cups flour

1        teaspoon baking soda

1        teaspoon baking powder

2        cups oats

2        cups rice krispies

1        cup coconut

Nuts if desired

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray cookie sheets.

Cream together til light and fluffy, the margarine and sugars. Add the eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Combine the flour, baking soda, and baking powder and add to mixture. Add the oats, cereal, coconut, and nuts, if desired.

Drop dough at least 2" apart on cookie sheets. Bake for 10 minutes or till lightly browned. Cool on sheets.

CHERRY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

 These cookies looked so good when Friend Sharon brought them to church for the Cafe Treats, but I didn't get to try one. I was going to wait until after church when I cleaned up, but they were all gone. SOOOOO....I had to make some of my own. Oh My Gosh!!!They were so good. I shared some with my Blankets of Hope friends but the rest we have been enjoying them at home. Earlier Wayne told me I needed to make some more and I informed him I had frozen some so he didn't have to worry. 

I am asking that everyone furnish me with their recipes so I can share them here and also so I have a tried and proven recipe I can make. Since I was making Sharon's cookies mainly for us, I used sugar substitutes for the sugar so we wouldn't have the sugar. 

As I said I did end up taking two for everyone at Blankets of Hope so I shared some of the delicious treat with others. I froze about a dozen of them so we could enjoy some of the rest later. 

PRINT recipe.

CHERRY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

2-2/3    cups flour

1          teaspoon baking soda

1          cup (2 sticks) salted sweet cream butter, softened (I used unsalted butter)

2/3       cup light brown sugar, packed (I used truvia brown sugar complete)

1/2      sugar (I used stevia)

1         large egg, room temperature

1         teaspoon vanilla

1/4      teaspoon vanilla

2         tablespoons reserved cherry juice

2-3      drops pink food coloring

1         cup, drained and chopped maraschino cherries (I used a 10 - oz jar of cherries.)

2         cups semisweet chocolate chips (I used a 10 - oz bag of dark cacao chips.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside. (I used a silicone mat)

Mix together the flour and baking soda in a medium sized bowl with a whisk. Set aside.

Using a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter for 1 minute,

until smooth. Increase the speed of the mixer to medium-high speed and continue to beat the butter for 1 to 1-1/2 minutes, until smooth. (Don't forget to scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula.)

Add the sugars and beat for another 1-1/2 minutes until

light and fluffy.

Add the eggs, vanilla, almond flavoring, and cherry juice.

Mix just until well combined. (Mixture will not be smooth.)

Lower the mixer to low and add the flour mixture. Mix just until incorporated.

Don't have to worry about getting it all incorporated. The next thing you do is add the food coloring which is hard to get smoothly blended.

Stir in the chocolate chips. One cup of chips might be enough. They do overpower the cherry taste.

Fold in the chopped cherries. This isn't easy to do.

I used my wooden spoon.

Using a tablespoon cookie scoop,

place the cookie dough about 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 inches, until the edges are just golden.

Allow the cookies to cool 3 to 4 minutes on the cookie sheet before

removing them to cool on a wire rack.

Allow to cool completely. Store in an air-tight container. 

A NEW PATTERN FOR A BLANKET OF HOPE

 When Blankets of Hope met Tuesday afternoon I left with two colors to inspire a new blanket. Not surprising the colors were blue and yellow - two of my favorites. Later that evening I did a  search for "quilt patterns with two colors. I saw several images that interested me and drew off the blocks on my graph paper. I will eventually probably make all three but settled on one for the color prints I had. 

After I draw what the block looks like then the math comes in to play for me to see the possibilities for the quilt. We traditionally make our blankets 7 columns x 8 rows using  6-1/2 inch squares which makes the blanket 42 " x 48 " and perfect for a wheel chair if that is needed for a recipient. Sometimes our "designers" want to design the squares with a center which messes up the 7 x 8 rows. So all of our blankets aren't our traditional. Also because there are a number of quilters in the group, they will take fabric home and cut the pieces for a traditional quilt pattern of their own trying to stay close to the 42" x 48" blanket.

I am really pleased with the way this block turned out and it wasn't difficult to make and was easy - which is what I like.

What might look difficult for some, I can look at a pattern, break it down into sections, and then figure out an easy way to make it. You might see big squares, little squares, and rectangles. I see the bigger squares and smaller squares and rectangles and how they were made. Once I decide the sizes that I am going to make each section, it's just a matter of cutting strips the width of the fabric and, in this case, 2-1/2 inches wide or 4-1/2 inches wide. Then after sewing two narrow strips together lengthwise (one of each color/print), pressing them, cutting them either in 4-1/2 inch sections or 2-1/2 inch sections. The wider strip is cut into 4-1/2 inch squares for the larger squares. Two of the 2-1/2 sections are sewed together to make the center and then it is just a matter of sewing everything together.

Hope you are still with me. If you are experienced, you had no difficulty with what I just said. In fact you probably already had that figured out. If you are not though, don't worry, I will take you through a pictorial tutorial that hopefully will help you a lot.

I started here with my three drawings:

If I make each grid square equal 2 inches, the finished block will be 12 inches. I can work with that.

Pressing the two color/prints, I cut the strips across the width of the fabric folded in half 4-1/2 inches wide to cut the 4-1/2" cut squares.

The yellow print was a little bit wider so I was fortunate enough to get an extra square (so 9) by opening up the folded piece. (Consider me crazy, but I love when I can get an extra square from the fold.) 

My Blanket of Hope will have a total of twelve (12) blocks. Each block has two 4-1/2" squares of each color or (do a little math) a total of twenty-four (24) 4-1/2 squares of each color/prints. (With a little bit more math) that means three (3) strips needed that are cut 4-1/2" x wof (aka width of fabric) .

The rest of the block is made by sewing two (2) strips - one from each color/print 2-1/2" x wof. I say 2-1/2" because most people do that. I cut the strips one notch bigger (1/8") and then trim after the two strips are sewed together. It takes a little extra time, but I have made so much from strip-sewing and after I pressed the piece, it was slightly smaller than it was supposed to be. soooo... 

Strip sewing is simply sewing strips together lengthwise and then cutting sections the size you need them. I did two strips, but you can keep adding more strips depending on the design you are making. Have you seen quilts with a series of say 1" squares and thought, "Wow! Can you imagine sewing all of those little squares together?" Guess what. Chances are they didn't. They did strip sewing. I'm not saying sometimes they didn't, but that's when they were using scraps of fabric they had. Here are some collages I made sewing you quickly the process of strip sewing.

If you don't have a 1/4" seam attachment for your machine, I would certainly suggest it.

You still set your machine for 1/4" seam on the right, but the "foot" helps you keep the fabrics inline for the 1/4" seam.

After sewing two strips together with a 1/4" seam, "set the seam" 1) press the seam just as it was sewn, 2) press the seam to one side...traditionally toward the darker print. Hint. Place the iron perpendicular to the seam toward the direction you are pressing the seam.

3) Then press on the wrong side of the fabric and 4) the strip is ready to be cut into sections.

If you line up the ruler with the seam and match 2-1/4" line with the seam, you can cut the 4-1/2" rectangular section and trim the excess on the top (remember that 1/8" extra that was cut originally).

Then just rotate it around and trim off the excess on the other half - remembering to match the seam with the 2-1/4" line. For my blanket, forty-eight (48) of these are needed cut from four (4) strip sets

Just as with cutting the 4-1/2" strip sets, 5) if the ruler line for 2-1/4 when the 2-1/2" sections are cut, the excess can be trimmed off the top at this time. Rotate the piece to also trim the excess off the other part. Cut a total of twenty-four (24) of these from three strip sets depending on the width. Hint: Divide 1/2 the width of the fabric (remember the strip is cut the wof but with a fold so two pieces are cut at a time from the open ends) by in this case 2.5 to see how many can be cut from the strip set. Ex. 42" wide fabric folded will be 21". 21/2.5 = 8. Then 8 x 3 = 24. I was able to cut one 2-1/2" section from the leftover on the 4-1/2" strip set so I had a little left over from the strip set for my scrap bag.    6) Trimmed and ready to chain stitch to make the center four-square.

7) When pairing two sets, alternate the prints and "nest" the seams so it feels flat and will they will "meet" on the right side. 8) Secure the placement with a pin on the side (of the seam) that will be stitched first.

This "chain stitching" will be a little slower because it will be necessary to nest the seams and pin one side of the seam down, but 9) it can still be done. 10) Connected chain of pieces, 11) Clip the threads, and 12) set the seams.

13) Press the seam to one direction on top and then 14) on bottom.

Made...

At this point, I usually work from my design wall (a large piece of felt hanging on a wall in my sewing room). If this pattern is new to you, I would suggest you make each block completely. If after you have made several and have a comfortable "feel" for the pattern, you could do some chain sewing if you like.

I space the "pieces slightly apart in the pattern of the block. I can see the rows (across/vertically) and the columns (down/vertically) of the block. I tend to work across or with rows, but it doesn't really matter. With this particular pattern I sewed the middle row first and then the top row and finished up with the bottom row. I don't do any pressing until I have all of the rows back on the wall when making the first block. After that I can press each row after sewing it as I know the way I need to press the seams.

Generally speaking I press the seams toward the darker print. When you are sewing strips or rows together, you want to press so that any seams meeting can "nest". This happens when the seams are pressed in different directions. I realized I needed to be consistent to make it easier for me so I try to press the odd numbered rows toward the first square and the even numbered rows away from the first square.

In this picture I flipped over the strips/rows and used arrows to indicate the direction to press the seams. Don't get confused with the rows -- remember I flipped the block. 

When I have all 12 blocks made, I will sew four blocks of each column together and then put a narrow border between the three columns to add some inches to the width of the quilt. But I'm resting today, so I will continue this when I get back to sewing it. I currently have four more blocks to make and I will be ready to do that. I hope you are enjoying this tutorial and are anxious to give it a try.

THE DAY IN THE LIFE + A RECIPE

 8:30 A.M. Today is the Kansas City's Super Bowl Parade for the Chiefs! What an exciting day! It has been a crazy year when we thought the Chiefs were "for sure going to the Super Bowl" to "we will never go playing like this" to " we are going and we are going to win". .

Today is also one of those days when I will be meeting myself coming and going. I honestly would have enjoyed going to the parade. The last time it was cold, but today it will be around 40, but I'm not going. It just won't fit in my busy schedule anyway. I will probably end up stopping and starting several times today but I do want to get this post out today.

I had planned to write this post last night but ended up talking to my sil Sondra who lives in Texas about her family trees on Ancestry. I've been working with my family trees longer than she has and so my understanding is a little greater than hers. By the time we ended, it was past my bedtime. She thanked me for helping her and mentioned the time. I told her I had meant to write a post for my blog, but me said I could just write it today. She doesn't have a blog so doesn't understand my dedication to it and my readers.

In between my happenings today I do plan to share the recipe I was going to write up last night with you...a slow cooker pork tenderloin. Our younger son Patrick would stop reading right now if he were reading this. He is a "grill man" or whatever you would call it. He won't listen when we try to tell him how good pork chops are cooked in the air fryer. He does cook/smoke awesome BBQ and other meats, but just not open to cooking meats any other way. 

It helps to reorganize your chest freezer ever so often if you have one. That's how we found the 2 lb pork tenderloin I cooked in the slow cooker. We knew we had one, but it was in the bottom of the freezer and you know what they say ... "out of sight, out of mind". Wayne took it out and we put it in the refrigerator to thaw. Then I went about looking for a new way to cook it so I would have a new recipe to share.

Looking at the clock, I realize I need to stop, eat some cereal, and then get ready to go get my nails done. I think I will chose a red dipping powder in honor of the Chiefs. I will be back after Gina gets finished. I will have about an hour before I eat some lunch and get ready to go play canasta with my friends. I should be able to watch some of the pre-parade activities while Gina does her thing on my nails. Until later... 9:15 A.M.

11:57 A. M. I'm back from getting my nails done. Love the color! (My hands remind me of my mother's slender hands when I look at this picture.)

Had an apple and got dressed to go to canasta, folded clothes and put a load of clothes in the dryer that I had washed before going to get my nails done all in about 45 minutes. The parade is starting so I'm trying to watch some of that even though I am recording it. Coverage doesn't end until 3:00 so I will have to watch the last of it tonight after I get home from church. I have to grab a little something else to eat for a light lunch before I leave to pick up Friend Fran. I realize I can't watch the tv constantly and type at the same time. I do fairly well but I do need to look down occasionally to think a bit about what I want to say. So I'm going to sign off until I get home from canasta later this afternoon. I will see then how much I can get written. 12:04 P.M.

8:50 P.M. Well, I got home from canasta about 4:15 P.M. but didn't have time to get back to this before having to leave for handbell practice because I needed to get to eat something for dinner. I went to a class at church straight from handbells and have finally gotten home. I'm tired but I'm determined to get this post finished and schedule it to be posted in the morning at 6 A.M. CST.

I did get to see the first of the parade before I left for canasta and then when Fran and I got to Friend Vicky's, she and Friend Ellen were watching the parade. We continued to watch it for probably 30 minutes but decided to go play cards since everyone was recording the event. I think I saw the most important part so will probably not watch it from the recording. Wayne has already changed his profile picture on Facebook to a baseball theme.

So I guess I will get back to the recipe for the slow cooker pork tenderloin. I made this two or three weeks ago and we enjoyed it for most of the week. The meat was so tender and warmed up nicely in the microwave. I enjoyed pork sliders for at least three days. You would never have known the tenderloin had been in the freezer for almost two years. 

I allowed it to thaw in the refrigerator and it fit in my larger slow cooker perfectly. It weighed two pounds which is what all of the recipes I found online gave instructions for. There were many different recipes to choose from. I noticed they all generally agreed to cook the 2 lb roast for 2 to 3 hours or 145 degrees F. I just tried to find a recipe that I might have looked at but wasn't able to find anything as simple as mine and since I don't remember if I found anything exactly the way I ended up cooking mine, I will not worry about it since I do remember how I cooked mine and go from there. 

I cooked mine longer than I could have because it registered higher than 145 degrees when I checked it at almost three hours. I would suggest checking the temperature at two hours and not feel like you need to cook it for the full three hours.

SLOW COOKER TENDER PORK TENDERLOIN

1     pork tenderloin - 2 lbs.

12   oz of root beer (I used one with zero sugar)

BBQ sauce

Spray the inside of a slow cooker large enough to hold the tenderloin.

Place the tenderloin in the cooker fat side down.

Pour 12 oz of a root beer over the top of the roast.

Cover the cooker and cook on HIGH for 2 to 3 hours or until the temperature of the center registers 145 degrees F.

Since it cooked faster than I thought it would, I turned the temperature down to KEEP WARM for 30 to 40 minutes.

Then I removed the tenderloin and placed it in a sprayed casserole dish that was big enough to hold the roast. (I discarded the liquid in the cooker.)

I covered it with my favorite BBQ sauce, covered the dish, and

placed it in a preheated 350 degree F oven long enough to heat the sauce (15 to 20 minutes).

I removed it from the oven and cut it in thick slices to serve.

It was so delicious.

I added additional BBQ sauce when I heated up some slices in the microwave to eat as sliders.

It is now 9:45 P.M. and I'm tired enough to go to bed but I want to play a quick sudoku game on my phone first. That will help relax me. It has been a busy day.