Turkey and Broccoli Casserole

My MIL makes an awesome Chicken and Broccoli casserole, so I asked her for the recipe. I made a couple modifications to it so its a bit different then hers, but I think thats a good thing. I don't think I could ever make it exactly like she does, so we'll just have to visit more often to have the real deal.



Turkey and Broccoli Casserole

Ingredients:
2 10 oz packages frozen broccoli cooked and drained/ or fresh steamed
2 or more cups of cooked turkey (or chicken)
2 can cream of broccoli soup undiluted
2/3 cup sour cream (you can use mayo, but I detest it)
1 teaspoon lemon juice (I skipped this since I used sour cream, but add if you use mayo)
1 teaspoon curry (add more to taste)
1/2 cup grated Cheddar or more

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place broccoli in the shallow baking pan, cover with chicken. Combine in a
bowl soup, mayo lemon and curry, mix together. Pour over chicken. Sprinkle with cheese and bake for 25 to 30 minutes (until bubbly).

Lemon Bars

We have a Eureka Lemon tree in our backyard and the lemons are ready for harvest. So today, I made us some delicious and easy lemon bars.



Lemon Bars (from alpineberry.blogspot.com)


Crust:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/8 tsp salt
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cut into 1/2 inch pieces

Filling:
2 large eggs
1 cup superfine or bakers' sugar + 2 tablespoons (only add the extra tablespoons if you used eureka lemons like I did)
2 tbsp all purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt
2 tsp finely grated meyer lemon zest
1/4 cup freshly squeezed meyer lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and line an 8-inch square pan with parchment paper.

To make crust:
Combine flour, confectioners' sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Add butter and pulse until the mixture is pebbly. Press evenly into the bottom of your prepared pan. Bake until lightly golden, about 18-20 minutes. Set aside crust.

To make filling:
In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, flour and salt. Whisk in lemon zest and juice until well combined. Pour over crust (it's okay if crust is still hot). Bake until filling is just set, about 15 to 18 minutes. Cool completely before serving. Dust with confectioners' sugar if desired.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

After 2 weeks without a fridge, I am finally back in business! Its amazing how much your life is dependent upon keeping things cold ;)

To celebrate our working fridge, I made a coffee cake. This is a sour cream coffee cake with a pecan-cinnamon streusel. It turned out really good and I highly recommend it. The cake was moist and the streusel added some great flavor. I doubled the streusel recipe and I recommend you do as well. Next time I make it, I would do more layers of streusel instead of just the bottom, middle, and top.



Sour Cream Coffee Cake (foodtv.com)

Ingredients:

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 extra-large eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups sour cream (I used fat free)
2 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

For the streusel (this is doubled from the original):
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional (I used pecans)

For the glaze:
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons real maple syrup

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan. (I used a bundt pan)

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for 4 to 5 minutes, until light. Add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla and sour cream. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Finish stirring with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed.

For the streusel, place the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and butter in a bowl and pinch together with your fingers until it forms a crumble. Mix in the nuts, if desired.

Spoon half the batter into the pan and spread it out with a knife. Sprinkle with 3/4 cup streusel. Spoon the rest of the batter in the pan, spread it out, and scatter the remaining streusel on top. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. (I put it on the bottom, middle, and top, but I think it would be even better with more layering.)

Let cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes. Carefully transfer the cake, streusel side up, onto a serving plate. Whisk the confectioners' sugar and maple syrup together, adding a few drops of water if necessary, to make the glaze runny. Drizzle as much as you like over the cake with a fork or spoon.