Lemonade!, by Em

Sometimes, when I need a change from my normal water, coffee, or milk, I make myself a glass of lemonade, just to change it up.  I worked at a lemonade stand (seriously, a professional one!) for two summers in a row, so this is, more or less, the same proportions, only I don't usually have ice on hand, while we do keep a pitcher of water in the fridge.  Feel free to use either ice and water, or just cold water.

Ingredients:

Sugar

Water (or ice water)

Lemon juice

Ginger, minced (optional)

Directions:

This is going to be by proportions, so the actual amounts will vary, depending on whether you are making a single serving or a larger amount.

First, fill the glass (or pitcher) about 1/8-1/6 full of sugar.  Next, fill the remaining volume about 1/3 full with lemon juice.  Fill the rest of the way with water.  With larger containers, such as pitchers, you would want to leave about 1-1 1/2 inches empty at the top.

Stir contents and enjoy.  I just added the ginger for the first time yesterday and I added about a teaspoon to an 8 oz glass.  It was good, but because I like my food to have a kick, I'd probably add more next time.

No-bake Goodies by Ang

My father is quite an extraordinary man. Not only does he care for us and help us when we need it, but he actually cleans, repairs, irons AND cooks. I have a lot of wonderful memories of coming home from school and smelling a sweet chocolatey scent coming from the kitchen. I'd run up there thinking that it was my mom, but it was Dad! And he was making his famous no-bake chocolate oatmeal cookies.

These cookies are melt-in-your-mouth perfection, and they're not all that bad for you! Chocolate, oatmeal, tasty crumbs... it was the perfect afterschool snack!

No-Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients

1 stick of butter
2 cups of sugar
a pinch of salt
2/3 cup cocoa powder (dark chocolate preferred)
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup peanut butter
3 cups of rolled oats uncooked

Directions

Melt butter in sauce pan and add sugar, milk, cocoa powder, and salt. Boil for 1 minute. Add everything but oats and stir. Take off burner and add oats, stirring until completely mixed. Spoon out into cookie sized amounts onto waxpaper covered cookie sheets. Let cool (in the refrigerator) and enjoy!

Save time with Flatbread

This is not my recipe, I found it online last week.  It is so easy and quick.  When I'm thinking of ways to save money, I always think about making my own bread.  However, making bread is so time consuming!  Even if the actual ingredient mixing doesn't take that long, you have to wait for it to rise which takes hours!  This is the beauty of flatbread, as the name suggests it is flat, or unleavened.  This griddle flatbread took no time at all.

If you follow the recipe you end up with four "loaves" of flatbread which are definitely large enough that half a "loaf" could make a sandwich.  Take twenty minutes out of your week and you've got quite a cache of sandwich-making paraphernalia.

Variations:

I used whole wheat flour and it was de-frickin-licious.  This bread would make good sandwich bread, but we ended up eating it with hummus!

Asparaguuuuuus! by Ang

One of the most prevalent vegetables at farmers markets around this time of year is asparagus! I love asparagus! It has its own unique taste that compliments many vegetables in wonderful ways that only asparagus can. And it doesn't take much to enhance the depth of its flavor.

Here's a little recipe that I made for my dinner tonight using the fresh asparagus I bought at the Farmers Market two weeks ago!

Parmesan Crusted Asparagus

Ingredients
1 lb green asparagus
3/4 - 1 cup of grated parmesan cheese
1 dash sea salt
1 dash ground pepper
non-stick cooking spray or spray on oil

Directions
Snap off root ends of asparagus (if you snap instead of cut, it will break at the perfect spot so that you're not left with more fiber than actual vegetable). Rinse. Set oven to 350. Mix together cheese, salt and pepper and spread out on a plate (or put in a big ziploc bag). Spray each asparagus with oil. Roll around in cheese until fully coated. Put on a non-stick oven pan. Put in oven for 10 minutes, take out and flip them over, put back in for 10 minutes. Remove and enjoy!

This dish would be good with a variety of meats, especially chicken and beef, or even beside a lemon-pepper fish fillet. It's so quick to prepare, very good for you and oh so tasty!

R's Monkey Bread, by Em

Ingredients:

2 loaves frozen white bread dough

2 sm. non-instant vanilla pudding mixes

1 cup brown sugar

1 Tb cinnamon

4 Tb milk

1 stick (1/4 Lb) butter

Directions:

• Thaw bread dough.  Break one loaf into pieces and place in greased 9x13 pan.
• Melt butter.  Add brown sugar and pudding.  Then add milk and cinnamon.  Pour over bread pieces.
• Break second loaf into pieces and place on top of mixture.  Let raise for 2/3 hours or overnight.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.