Easy Lemon Bars

These are not your usual lemons bars. I like them but they didn't go over well with anyone else. I ended up eating almost the whole pan myself. However having to eat that many bars by myself means I don't think I'll be making them again.

So Easy Slap Ya Momma Lemon Bars

1 (18.25 ounce) package lemon cake mix
1 egg
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1/3 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice

   Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
   Pour cake mix into a large bowl. Add the egg and oil; mix until well blended. Mixture will be slightly dry. Reserve one cup for the topping, and pat the rest into an ungreased 9x13 inch pan.
   Now, bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Place aside to cool 15mins. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese with the sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Spread the mixture evenly over the baked crust. Take the reserved crumble cake mix mixture over the top.
   Bake for an additional 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until filling is set and the topping is lightly toasted. Cool before cutting into bars. Refrigerate leftovers.

unbaked bottom layer

 

baked bottom layer

Cream Cheese Mixture

Unbaked bars

Finished Lemon Bars

Applesauce Cake

I had a jar of applesauce I needed to use up before it expired so I decide to try this recipe from the Ladies Of The House. It was okay, soft and had a good texture but it was missing something. It wasn't spicy enough to be a spice cake and I used more raisins than it called for it didn't seem like enough. Maybe some diced apples or more spices would make it appeal to my taste more.

Real Home Fried Chicken

I tried another recipe from The Contemporary Cowboy Cookbook by Dottie Griffith. The picture in the book looked amazing; crispy,  crunchy and golden. Mine was fine but it wasn't crispy. Maybe it's because they were using bone in, skin on chicken and I was using boneless skinless tenders. I've never fried bone in chicken, is it the skin that makes the difference?

First you soak the chicken in buttermilk. Anytime you are frying chicken the buttermilk is a good idea it makes it juicy and tender. The you dip it in flour seasoned with salt, pepper and paprika. The you fry. This recipe had you frying in oil deep enough for the chicken to float. Don't. Not if you are making tenders. It tasted the same as how I normally make them using much less oil.

I would really love a recipe where the tenders are actually crispy.