Karma's Lemon Jello Cake

There are no words for me to adequately describe how much I love this cake. I got the recipe from the lovely Karma Bennett. Well, I guess I got it from Kace, but she got it from Karma for me. I don't even think you have to be obsessed with lemon like Tyrel and I are these days...this cake is just so good. And it's easy. Seriously, make this.

Lemon Jello Cake
1 pkg. yellow cake mix
1 pkg. lemon jello (small pkg.)
3/4 cup oil
3/4 cup water
4 eggs
1/2 tsp. lemon extract

Put all ingredients in a bowl and beat with a mixer for 5 minutes. Bake in a greased 9x13 pan for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. While hot, puncture cake with toothpick. Let it cool for five minutes and then pour the glaze evenly over cake.

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
3 tbsp. melted butter
juice of one lemon
It is thin but it soaks deliciously into cake.


I almost ate the entire cake by myself last time I made it. So good.

Orange Creamsicle Cookies

During about 8/9 of my pregnancy I had a STRONG aversion to chocolate, which was actually kind of awful but it helped me to discover the deliciousness of some other flavors I'd been shunning my whole life. I absolutely loved and craved everything citrus the whole pregnancy so this recipe came in my searches for delicious citrus recipes. These cookies are way good!

2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 firmly packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons orange zest (for me that was the zest of 2 oranges)
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed juice of an orange (add more or less depending how orangey you want cookies)
2 cups white chocolate/vanilla Chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and creamy. Beat in egg and vanilla until smooth. Gradually add flour mixture until combined. Stir in orange zest, juice and chips. If dough seems really wet make a couple of test cookies. If they come out flat add 1/4-1/2 cup flour.

Drop rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Do not flatten cookies; it will make them dry. Bake 8 - 10 minutes. Do not overcook! Cookies should be a little plump. Cool slightly before transferring to rack to cool completely. Store in airtight container.

Lemon cupcakes with lemon buttercream

Lemon cupcakes with lemon buttercream

Cake:
1 package lemon cake mix
1 cup sour cream
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup oil
4 eggs
1 small package lemon instant pudding

Mix dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients. Mix with electric mixer on medium speed for about two minutes. Use a strong mixer, this batter is thick. For cupcakes, bake them at 350 degrees for 20 minutes (I was able to get 24 very full cupcakes from the recipe). For regular cake, pour into a greased 9×11 pan or two round pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Don’t over bake or the cake will be too dry! The toothpick test works to check to see if they’re done.


Lemon Buttercream Frosting:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, very soft
6-8 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of sugar, then the juice and the zest. Beat until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, until icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency (I added 6 cups total). Use and store at room temperature. (Don’t refrigerate and it will last in a covered container for about three days.)

Garnish with berries, if desired right before serving.

Lemon Drop Cookies

These are so good! They're the cookies Noelle and I made for Cassie's SLC shower and they were a big hit. One important tip is to take them out of the oven before you think they're done to ensure that they stay SOFT and deliciously chewy. Oh so good... Our cookies ended up a little flatter than we expected but they were still tasty as could be. I'm sure you could add a little flour to the dough and they'd probably plump up a little more. This recipe makes a lot of cookies - ain't nobody gonna complain about that!



Lemon Drop Cookies
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups butter flavored shortening
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon lemon extract
4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
Grated or finely chopped zest of one lemon
1 (6-oz) package lemon drops

Glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar
juice of two lemons (about 4-5 Tablespoons) - (You can use less if you want your glaze a little thicker)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In mixing bowl cream sugar, shortening, and eggs; then add vanilla and lemon extract. Stir in flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Crush lemon drops in blender or food processor. Add lemon zest and crushed lemon drops; mix well. Roll into balls, flatten slightly with your hand, and bake on a parchment lined cookie sheet (You must use parchment here to avoid sticking).

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool slightly on pan for a couple of minutes. Make the glaze by mixing powdered sugar with lemon juice to desired consistency. Brush glaze over cookie tops after cookies have cooled slightly. If the cookies are too hot the glaze will just melt off. Let cookies cool completely. ENJOY!

Makes 4 to 5 dozen cookies.

Lemon Herb Chicken & Zucchini Fettuccine

Ok so it seems that we're definitely in a chicken rut and I really wanted to post a non-chicken recipe next, but I made this recipe for the first time a couple of nights ago and I thought it was so good, I just had to put it on here. I just cut up my chicken and zucchini and cooked it in a skillet on the stove because it was too hot for me to venture outside and fire up the grill, but I bet it would be super tasty if they were cooked on the grill. I pretty much followed the recipe just as it is written. It turns out pretty lemony so be prepared for that, but it was goo-ood.

Lemon Herb Chicken & Zucchini Fettuccine
recipe by Our Best Bites

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 lemons
2 T Red Wine Vinegar
Olive Oil
1/2 lb Fettuccine
2 medium zucchini
1 C shredded parmesan cheese
5-6 cloves garlic
Fresh Basil (about 1/2 C)
Fresh Oregano (about 1/4 C) If you don't have fresh oregano, just add a little dried.
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Prepare grill. You could also do this on the stove top in a skillet, or a grill pan.

Place chicken in a zip-lock bag with the juice of one lemon, a couple tablespoons of olive oil, and a couple tablespoons of red wine vinegar. Smoosh around and set bag aside while you get your other things ready. (If you've got time to spare, let the chicken marinade for 30 minutes, if you don't, just take what you can get. I did mine for 15 min and it was great.)

Put the pot on the stove to boil water for the pasta. While you're waiting for the water to boil, slice the zucchini in half length-wise. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Press, or finely mince garlic cloves. In a small sauce pan on the stove, place 1/4 C olive oil and add garlic. Turn burner onto low-med heat. It shouldn't be popping and frying, it should just slowly warm, infusing the oil with the garlic and removing that zing fresh garlic has.

When water boils, add pasta and a spoonful of salt.

Remove chicken from bag and salt and pepper both sides. Place chicken, and zucchini on grill.

While chicky and zuchs are grilling and pasta is boiling, chop herbs and get out cheese. Zest both lemons and juice the one that hasn't been juiced.

See, now you're all ready. When everything is done cookin' you can throw it together! Keep an eye on that garlic. You DON'T want it to get brown and crispy. It should still look nice and white. Give it a stir. If it starts really cooking, just take it off the heat and set aside.

When zuch and chicken are done take them off the grill and chop 'em up.

Reserve about 1/2 C pasta water. Drain pasta and immediately place in a big bowl. Place chopped zuch and chicken on top. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, cheese, herbs, and garlic-olive oil mixture. Just pile it all in there. Then stick your face up real close and inhale. Ahhhh, heaven.

Now take some tongs and give everything a big toss. If you feel it needs more moisture, add a little of the pasta water, or a little more olive oil. This will make 4+ generous servings.

Garnish with a little more Parmesan on top and another squeeze of lemon if you have any left.

Key Lime Pie

This recipe is like the easiest version ever for a key lime pie, but it is oh so good. It really makes a difference if you squeeze your own limes vs. using the store-bought bottled juice, so it's definitely worth the trouble of squeezing your own.

Key Lime Pie
9 inch graham cracker crust (homemade or store-bought - both work great)
2 1/2 Cups sweetened condensed milk
1/2 Cup sour cream
3/4 Cup key lime juice
1 Tbs grated lime zest (I've never actually added the lime zest but it may make the pie way more delicious...who knows?)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. In a medium bowl, combine condensed milk, sour cream, lime juice and lime zest. Mix well and pour into graham cracker crust.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 7 to 10 minutes, until tiny bubbles burst on the surface of the pie. DO NOT BROWN. Chill pie thoroughly before serving. Garnish with lime slices and whipped cream if desired.

Lemon Bars

So I don't love lemon bars, but Kacey does love them so for her bridal shower last year I decided to make her some from scratch. I found this recipe on allrecipes.com (where I find most new recipes). I thought that they turned out good enough that I even ate some! I squeezed my own lemon juice, but I'm sure you could use the bottled kind and it would still be ok. I also used more lemon juice than what the recipe called for (probably between 1/3 - 1/2 cup).

1 1/2 C flour
2/3 C powdered sugar
3/4 C butter or margarine, softened
3 eggs
1 1/2 C white sugar
3 Tbs flour
1/4 C lemon juice
1/3 C powdered sugar for decoration

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
2. Combine the flour, 2/3 C powdered sugar and butter. Pat dough into prepared pan.
3. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until slightly golden. While the crust is baking, whisk together eggs, white sugar, flour and lemon juice until frothy. Pour this lemon mixture over the hot crust.
4. Return to the preheated oven for an additional 20-25 minutes, or until light golden brown. Cool on wire rack. Dust the top with powdered sugar. Cut into squares and enjoy!