Oatmeal Lemon Creme Bars

Sorry for my leave of absence, I spent the week at the beach! And in the hospital...but that's all together a different story. I went home the weekend before break with an arsenal of ONLY savory recipes on my to-do list. No surgery sweet stuff. Sooo unlike me, but Spring Break was just a week away! My mom told me over the phone her meal plans and they were all amazing, but were in much need of some veggies. We got the health-improved meals all squared away and I was dedicated to my no desserts goal, the same couldn't be said for my mother.

What did she do? Went right ahead and bought a BAG of lemons, practically a case. Her hummus recipe only required two but the store was having a special which meant that a whole bag was less than the price of two individual lemons. So of course she bought the bag, and we were soon searching the internet for lemon dessert recipes. See what happens when you're frugal? You make your daughter look like a beached whale on Spring Break!

Alright, maybe not, but she did tempt me with the idea of making lemony-sweet treats. And my resolve clearly isn't the strongest, it got toppled by the combination of only 5 ingredients.

Is it bad for me to say that it was worth it? Because it totally was. That lemon flavor always puts me in the mood for some sunshine, so maybe she was really just helping put me in the ray catching mood? But then she went and made a sinful breakfast treat (to be shared later), which I logically ate half of.

That woman will be the death me.

Ingredients:

Cut butter into cookie mix.

Stir in egg.

Press half of dough mixture into pan and bake.

Mix together remaining ingredients.

Top cooked crust with lemon mixture.

Evenly top with remaining cookie crumble.

Bake until golden brown.

 Enjoy!

Recipe from here.

Short Cut Ingredients:
1/2 cup cold butter
1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® oatmeal cookie mix
1 egg
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1/4 cup lemon juice (about 2 lemons)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square pan with non stick spray.
2. In a large bowl cut the cold butter into the cookie mix with a fork or pastry blender.
3. Stir in the egg until the mixture is crumbly.
4. Press half of the dough into the bottom of the greased pan and bake it in the oven for 15 minutes.
5. In a small bowl mix the sweetened condensed milk, lemon zest, and lemon juice until thick and combined.
6. Spread lemon mixture over baked crust and evenly crumble remaining dough on the top.
7. Bake another 25 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Let cool and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until set. Cut into bars and store in the refrigerator.

EDIT: So after some pinterest creeping I have noticed that a lot of you guys want a from scratch version, so here it is! I myself have not tried this version but it is from The Pioneer Woman, so it has to be good!

From Scratch Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup butter, slightly softened

1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed

1 cup oats

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup lemon juice

zest of 1 lemon

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and
   lightly grease a 8x11 pan.
2. In a large bowl mix the butter and brown sugar until they are well combined. 
3. In a separate bowl sift together flour, salt, and baking powder.
4. Add oats and dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix to combine.
5. Press half of the oat mixture into pan. In a small bowl mix together sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Spread evenly on top of the oat mixture in the pan. Top with the remaining oat mixture.
6. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Let cool and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until set. Cut into bars and store in the refrigerator.

Linking to: Makin You Crave Monday, Made By You Monday, Mix It Up Monday, Crazy Sweet Tuesday, Tuesday Talent Show, Talent Tuesday, Whats New Wednesday

Apple, Goat Cheese, and Pecan Pizza

I promised to share this recipe a few weeks back but that shady Leprechaun character has obviously captured my attention recently. But I haven't forgotten!

Every time I go to someones house I have a habit of opening their refrigerator, not because I'm hungry, well chances are that some part of me is always hungry. But because looking into someones refrigerator or pantry is like getting a closer look at what type of person they are. Do they drink Diet Coke, Pepsi, or Mountain Dew? (I'm hoping Diet Coke) Do they have any fresh vegetables? A million condiments? But most importantly, whats in their Ziploc containers? Show me the leftovers!

Once my mom and I went over to my sister and brother-in-laws house for dinner and ended up having an unplanned appetizer leftover tasting. We liked it so much that I requested it for the next dinner date!

Now don't forget that we had an amazing Coconut Cream Pie for dessert, but this entree was equally as delicious. And you can make it as simple or hands on as you'd like! We used pop-can pizza dough but you could just as easily buy dough from your bakery, make a batch yourself, or use frozen preformed crusts. Now this isn't your typical pizza, and be thankful of that. I like to think of it as a "gourmet" pizza, I wear my fancy pants when I eat it, join in and put on a pair yourself.

Now don't let the out-of-the-box pizza toppings scare you off, they work magically together. Crunchy, sweet, and savory. Oh yeah, inspired by a Cooking Light recipe too. Which means you can wear your "skinny" fancy pants.

You're so very welcome.

Ingredients (minus the dried herbs)

Spray cookie sheet with non-stick spray and spread out the dough and bake.

Cover with a layer of apple slices.

 Sprinkle with herbs.

Sprinkle with crumbled cheese and bake.

Add a layer of dressed arugula.

Cut and serve!

Ingredients:
1 Pizza Crust (Cooking directions below for Pillsbury)
2 Fuji apples, thinly sliced
1 cup (4 ounces) goat cheese, crumbled
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oragano
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons honey
2 cups baby arugula
3 tablespoons toasted chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Place rolled out pizza dough on a cookie sheet sprayed with non-stick spray and bake for 5 minutes.
3. Take out the pizza crust and evenly layer with apple spices. Then evenly sprinkle with dried herbs and top with crumbled cheese. Bake another 8 minutes or until the crust begins to brown and the cheese melts.
4. Whisk together oil, mustard, lemon juice, and honey in a medium bowl. Add the arugula and toss to coat.
5. Evenly sprinkle pecans over pizza and top with a layer of dressed arugula. Cut and enjoy!

Note: Pizza crust cooking times may vary depending on type (homemade, bakery, frozen, ect.).

Linking to: Meatless Mondays

Lucky Charms Cupcakes

St. Patrick's Day part two! Sorry to say these don't involve any Irish gold (aka booze), but you had better believe that they're magically delicious.

Now I don't know about you guys, but I eat the breakfast of a 60 year old woman. Every. Single. Morning. There are no Fruity Cocoa Peanut Butter Honey Crunch Puff Crisps in my pantry. Each morning I get my ♫ red Solo cup and I fill you up ♫ with 1/2 cup non fat plain yogurt and 1/8th cup pumpkin flax granola. Some mornings I mix it up and have a Fiber One Bar, which lately I have gotten into the habit of picking all of the chocolate chips out of. Weird, I know.

Since I live by myself I don't buy milk because I never drink it fast enough and dry cereal just doesn't toot my horn. Luckily yogurt takes like a month to go bad, which took me a while to realize. One night I downed three containers in one night only to notice the next morning that in fact they expired a month and day later. I definitely got my dose of calcium that day.

Since I'm not a huge cereal fan I didn't want to go and buy a whole box of Lucky Charms for these cupcakes. So instead I got two ziplock baggies of it from the stockpile at my sorority house.Shhh that can be our little secret.

But now I'm considering stepping out of my comfort zone and buying a box, just so that every time I open the cabinet door Lucky will stare back at me, enticing me to make more of these treats. They're festive, fun, and so yummy. My favorite part is definitely the combination of crunch that you get from the Lucky Charms marshmallow topping each time you take a bite.

Now feel free to make yours pretty like these, but we got in the habit of keeping a bowl of Lucky Charms on the counter and dunking the cupcake, frosting first, into it before chowing down. They disappeared faster than a bottle of Bailey's in an Irish pub.

They're always after me Lucky Charms.

Mix the batter in a large bowl.

Scoop batter into cupcake pan.

Bake and let cool completely.

I prefer the minis.

Use an electric mixer to make marshmallow buttercream.

Pipe buttercream onto each cupcake. Top with

green sprinkles and a Lucky Charms marshmallow.

Magically delicious is an understatement.

Lucky Charms Cupcakes 

1 box white cake mix

3 eggs

¾ cup sour cream

¾ cup milk

1/3 vegetable oil
½ tsp vanilla extract

½ cup finely crushed Lucky Charms (cereal pieces only, no marshmallows)

~25 drops green food coloring

Marshmallow Buttercream

4 ½ cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup room temperature unsalted butter

1 (13 oz) container marshmallow fluff

Optional: Green sprinkles

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake pans with liners.
2. In a large bowl blend cake mix, eggs, sour cream, milk, oil, and vanilla extract.
3. Mix in drops of green food coloring until desired color is achieved.
4. Mix in finely crushed Lucky Charms crumbs until combined.
5. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full with batter and bake 18-23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean.
6. Take cupcakes out and let cool completely.
7. In a medium bowl beat room temperature butter with an electric mixer.
8. Add two cups of the powdered sugar, the vanilla, and the marshmallow fluff and mix until smooth. Continue to add the powdered sugar, a half cup at a time, mixing between each addition. 
9. Pipe onto each cooled cupcake. Top with green sprinkles and a Lucky Charms marshmallow (do not top with Lucky Charm marshmallow until ready to eat*).

Tip: Marshmallow buttercream may become difficult to mix. If it becomes too stiff, stop adding powdered sugar and finish mixing by hand. *The Lucky Charms will get mushy and loose their crispness if they remain on top of the frosting too long before eating.

Linking to: Makin You Crave Monday, Recipe Party Time, Tea Party Tuesday, Tuesday Talent Show, Crazy Sweet Tuesday, St. Pattys Day Project Parade, Lil Luna Link Party, Show and Tell, Midweek Fiesta, Made By Me Linky Party, Sweet Treats Thursday, Show off your Stuff, Strut Your Stuff,
Kitchen Fun and Crafty Friday, Freestyle Friday, Shine on Fridays, Dwell on Friday, Strut Your Stuff Saturday