A story and a recipe

I've been on a bit of a cooking spree lately, although last night I regressed. Jayda went to kids club and Jed was out riding until 7:30, so I whipped up some good ole tuna fish..in a hot dog bun. Yeah, thats how I roll. Actually Jed had ate all the bread, and hot dog buns were the only bread like substance I could find. One should really investigate these things before one makes tuna fish. Before my lapse and will to spend time in the kitchen occured yesterday, I had been doing really well. I had tried several new recipes and had a weird need to bake. I made mocha chocolate chip bars, creamy lemon bars, homemade macarroni and cheese {not a big hit}. I don't mind trying new things, as long as I know they will be good. I don't like trying new things that are a flop. Flops make me dislike cooking. I'm a bit of a perfectionist, can ya tell?

I recently called my mom for her deviled egg recipe. I know, I know..how hard can deviled eggs be? I knew the basic ingredients and relatively how much, I just wanted to be sure they turned out JUST like my MOM's deviled eggs. I didn't want them to taste like aunt Bertha's or Grandma Smith {no I don't have either}. There are just some things that you grow up aquiring a taste for, and no one elses will due. Things like potato salad, chocolate sheet cake, pork chops, BBQ chicken, green bean casserole {almost ALL the time ;-)}, basically any salad, and so on. These are things that only your momma can make, just how you like it. So if I'm going to attempt to recreate these, I want to know ingredient for ingredient what is required. It'd be shame to like your own version. Only problem with that is the whole, "salt to taste, or season to taste" phrase. I dislike that phrase, as much as I dislike, a little of this or a little of that, until it looks right or tastes right. I'm a exact measurement kind of gal. I need to know exactly how much of this or that will make it taste exactly like yours. So start measuring please?!

I remember going with my Dad and Tiff to help a friend work cows once. The woman doing the cooking was not your housewife, cooking type, mind you. To this day, I still do not know what type of green beans those were, but they left a deep scar on my green bean loving heart. They were cold, and firm and the worst thing I've ever let inside my mouth. Those, I won't need a recipe for. I'd like to forget about the moment they entered my mouth and I instantly wished I had an urge to use the bathroom for a reason other than to spit them out. I remember chewing and chewing and chewing, but being to scared to swallow. Fearful of the consequence. I remember looking at Tiff and her looking at me. Our eyes met and we both knew how very sorry we were to have allowed those green beans on our plates. We were polite little buggers though. Jayda would have spit them right back out and said, "Those are yucky!"  We, instead, somehow managed to allow them into our bellies..just that once. I don't think I've ever eaten green beans that someone outside of my immediate family has cooked. Too risky...much much too risky. I have another green bean story, but we're still trying to forget about it, so it'll have to wait until another time.

Meanwhile back at the ranch, here's the Creamy Lemon bar recipe..it's a keeper! Click on the link for step by step directions, or follow the directions below, if thats how YOU roll!

creamy lemon crumb squares

Ingredients
1-⅓ cup All-purpose Flour
½ teaspoons Salt
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 stick (1/2 Cup) Butter, Slightly Softened
1 cup Brown Sugar (lightly Packed)
1 cup Oats
1 can (14 Ounce) Sweetened Condensed Milk
½ cups Lemon Juice
Zest Of 1 Lemon
Preparation Instructions
PREHEAT OVEN TO 350 DEGREES.
Mix butter and brown sugar until well combined.
Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder.
Add oats and flour to butter/sugar mixture and mix to combine.
Press half of crumb mixture into the bottom of an 8 x 11 inch pan.
Mix together condensed milk, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Spread onto the bottom layer of the crumb mixture. Top with the other half of the crumb mixture, but don’t press.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown.
Allow pan to sit on counter for 30 minutes after baking. Cut into squares and refrigerate for a couple of hours or until cool.
Serve cool.