Your Auntie’s Key Lime Pie

Aunt Sharon’s friend Alice’s Key Lime Pie 

2 cans sweetened condensed milk

1 cup plain Greek yogurt (I use a whole container of Chobani Greek key lime yogurt)

¼ cup lime juice

 

Whisk together and pour over graham cracker crust. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

 

 

 

Graham cracker crust

·        1 ½ cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs

·        ⅓ cup white sugar

·        6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

·        ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon (Optional)

Directions

Combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar, melted butter, and cinnamon in a mixing bowl; mix until well blended.

Press mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate.

·        For a baked crust: Bake in a 375 degree F oven for 7 minutes. Cool before filling.

·        For a no-bake crust: Chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour before filling.

 

I used Danish butter cookies and butter…

 

The Best Cheesecake

This is perhaps the best cheesecake I've made. Allrecipes.com version. Original recipe from Kraft.

Philadelphia Classic Cheesecake (my way)

Crust:

1 1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs (8 rectangles are enough)

1/3 cup butter, melted

3 T sugar

Filling:

4 8-oz. packages cream cheese, softened

1 c sugar

1 t. vanilla (accidentally using more doesn't hurt)

juice of 1/2 lemon (my optional addition)

4 large eggs

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Mix crumbs, butter and 3 T sugar until combined. Press firmly onto the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan.

Beat cream cheese, 1 c. sugar, vanilla and lemon juice in a mixing bowl until smooth.

Add eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed until just blended.  Pour over crust.  Tap pan a few times on the counter to level and reduce air bubbles.

Bake in the preheated oven until center is almost set, about 45 minutes. It will look goopy in the center.  Then turn the oven OFF and leave it in the closed oven for an hour.  It will look perfect.

Loosen cake from the pan rim; cool before removing rim.  

Refrigerate 4 hours before serving.

Notes:

• It takes 9 graham cracker sheets to make exactly  1.5 cups of crumbs. They are wrapped in packs of 8. 8 is enough! 
• Also works nicely in a 9" square pan.
• You can eliminate the crust for a gluten-free version. In this case, use parchment paper in the bottom of the pan.
• Reduce oven temperature to 300°F if using a dark non-stick pan, per Allrecipes.com
• Original recipe says bake 55 minutes (with no off oven wait time) but there is potential of browning or cracking.

Lemonies and Orangies

Elder son has a Meyer lemon tree, so I wanted to make a lemon version of a brownie. They were great. My husband won second place in a baking contest with them. (He felt the first place winner was rigged.)  It works with oranges, too.

The original recipe is from iheartnaptime.net

1 stick butter, softened (recipe calls for salted, I used unsalted with no issues)

3/4 c. granulated sugar

zest of 1 lemon

2 large eggs

1 T fresh lemon juice

3/4 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 t baking powder

  for Glaze:

3/4 c. powdered sugar

1 1/2 T fresh lemon juice

zest of 1/2 lemon

Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly spray an 8x8 pan with cooking spray, line it with parchment, spray the parchment. In a large bowl with mixer, beat together butter, sugar and lemon zest until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Then mix in lemon juice. Add flour and baking powder and mix until combined.

Pour into pan and smooth into an even layer. (Batter is thick, I had trouble with this. The softer your butter, the smoother it will be.) Bake 20-25 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let cool.  For glaze whisk together the powdered sugar, lemon juice and zest, them pour over the top, spreading evenly to coat.  Cool completely before slicing into 12 or 16 pieces.

(Because my top was so lumpy, I flipped it over and glazed the underside. It was more porous, so the glaze soaked in more. My husband really liked it this way, and made his prize-winning batch the same way.)

Best Brownies

These are the best.  Recipe from Loveandlemons.com.  

1 1/2 c. granulated sugar

3/4 c. all-purpose flour

2/3 c. cocoa powder, sifted if lumpy

1/2 c. powdered sugar, sifted if lumpy

1/2 c. chocolate chips

1/2 c. nuts (optional)

1/2 t. salt

2 large eggs

1/2 c. vegetable oil

2 T water

1/2 t vanilla

Preheat oven to 325. Spray 8x8 pan with cooking spray, line with parchment, spray the parchment.

In a medium bowl, combine dry ingredients.  In a large bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients. Add dry to wet and stir until just combined. Pour into pan and smooth top. Bake for 40 minutes until a toothpick comes out almost clean. Don't overbake! Cool before slicing into 16 pieces.

Pot Roast

Beef chuck or tri-tip

One can diced tomatoes

One packet onion soup mix

Potatoes

Carrots

Sliced onion

Cabbage or Brussels sprouts (optional)

Cornstarch and water (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°. Place the meat in a deep large dish/baking pan with lid (or could seal with foil). Pour the tomatoes on and around and sprinkle the onion soup mix over. Arrange potatoes, carrots, onion slices, and optional veg on top. Put the lid on, put it in the oven and bake for 3 hours. 

Retrieve the meat and veg from the pan. Pulverize the remaining tomato bits and liquid with an immersion blender. Or regular blender. Or leave chunky if you desire.  

You may wish to thicken the gravy mixture with a bit of cornstarch (mix a slurry with a bit of water).  

Dad’s Achiote Chicken

Chicken

Aciote paste

Olive Oil

Lemon juice

Minced garlic. 

Marinate in a ziploc bag overnight. 

Grill. 

Greek Octopus Salad

So I don't forget...

lettuce

Octopus (pre-cooked from Costco)
feta cheese
cucumber

tomato

tapenade (or chopped olives)

picked red onions

basil 

oregano

olive oil

lemon juice

white balsamic vinegar