Asian Delight & Ketchup - my youtube update

I went from being sidetracked to uploading 8 videos. I know it seems like a lot of them are Asian food - or Asian inspired food - but I figure that a lot of my viewers don't really know how to make these types of dishes and it would add variety to what they make. For goodness sakes - I don't know why I would rush and make a dirty 30s pie when everyone probably already has their own version - although maybe I'll make a shepherds pie when it gets a bit cooler.


Here is a list of the videos that I put up:

• How to make ketchup from scratch
• 
  
• How to can homemade ketchup in a pressure Canner
• 
  
• How to make Char Siu Style Chicken
• 
  
• How to make GYOZA filling, aka Dumplings, aka Yakimandu aka Deliscious
• 
  
• How to shape Gyoza
• 
  
• How to fry Gyoza (regular and traditional)
• 
  
• How to make wontons
• 
  
• How to make wonton soup

As a special bonus...below is a video of me shooting an AK for the first time LOL.
It's not as bad as I thought - truth be told I think it's easier to shoot an AK than a .40 cal. But you can't exactly put it in your purse huh - haha

Beef Barley Soup & How to Can It

A few nights ago I made Beijing Beef - the cut of beef I purchased was 5 lbs. I took one pound off for the beijing beef, two pounds off for a roast for our sandwhiches and salads, used about a half pound of trim for beef stock which left a little over a lb. I went to Sprouts Market and pearl barley was on sale for 74 cents a lb so I decided it was time to make some beef barley soup.

Click here for soup video


Recipe

Ingredients

1 1/2 - 2 lbs beef cut into small cubes
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 cups pearl barley
4 green onions
1 medium yellow onion
3 small tomatoes
3 pcs celery
1 medium carrot
1 tbsp red chili flakes
1 tbsp parsley
black pepper to taste
1 tbsp iodized salt

3 quarts beef beef stock
PLUS 7-10 cups water

The soup is very straightforward and when that barley blooms there is an incredible amount of it - so 1.5 cups of uncooked barley is just right for a 5 quart batch - so that's 5 good sized bowls for adults. However if you like yours on the thicker side feel free to add more.

I only held back a small bit for Afro to eat - and I canned the rest of it. Because the nature of a beef barley soup is to thicken and reduce the water I added back water and vegetables prior to canning. That's just me because I like my soup more loose. Feel free to keep it thick if you want to...but that concerns me with canned soups because I'm always afraid it won't process.

Click here for canning beef barley video.

It only made 5 quarts which is enough for me I have a lot of the staples canned up these days so I don't mind adding 5 quarts instead of 8 pints just to add some variety in there. But this soup is definitely handy. Mr. Man actually likes adding extra slices of roast beef in his prior to eating.

Happy Cooking and keep yourselves well. I am very perturbed that they have reduced the quality of the food in this country and at the same time reduced the dosage on the over the counter vitamins. Please eat and store a variety of food and vitamins and take not of the true suggested dosages. Also understand that Vitamin D actually serves you better than Vitamin C in fortifying your immune system...do your homework and you will see that far too many people have a Vitamin D deficiency which leaves you open to illness. Do what you can to keep yourself in the best shape possible - I myself have fallen out of shape since being on fertility meds and it's reallly messing with my head - but as of next week I have decided to take my bike to school and continue with the kick boxing. You must really look at yourself and ask if you are doing all you can or just being a spoiled American and simply "trying" your best. Those who "try" watch from the side - those who "DO" are in the game. It is what it is - just pick where you want to be.

SPAM with Zuchinni: Ghetto Gourmet lol

SPAM is magical. I like it I have no problem with it, it's handy and I like that salty faux ham goodness. This is a dish my Mom used to always make for us because no matter what she would always sneak in a few vegetables in our meals.

click here for the video

Almost everyone I know prepping and otherwise has a can of spam or non brand spam in their cupboard - here is just one more way to make it.

Ingredients:


1 can spam
1 tbsp garlic
1/2 white onion
1 tbsp lemon pepper
2 small tomatoes
2 large zuchinni
3 tbsp oyster sauce
1/4 cup water
2 handfuls spinach
1 tsp sesame oil

cut and fry spam
chop onion garlic tomato zuchinni
remove spam when crispy and cut into cubes
saute garlic and onion in 3 tbsp oil and lemon pepper
add zuchinni and tomatoes
when half done add oyster sauce
add spam and stir thoroughly
add spinach, once wilted , the dish is done.

Beijing Beef = Panda Style

Okey Dokey - I made another video - I'm just kind of winging it and fulfilling requests as I go along...I never even ate this before...but here it is - I just went on what mrmassive1 described and what my sister told me.

click here for part 1

click here for part 2

I must say I do not ever want to wait until like 930pm to start doing a cooking video - I was kind of rambling and going on and on and actually lost memory on my cam. That's never happened before - the loss of cam memory - the babbling occasionally happens when I'm tired.

Oh well here is the recipe

Recipe
Ingredients

1 lb beef flank cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 tsp garlic
1 carrot
2 tbsp cooking oil
1 red bellpepper
2 green bellpeppers
1/2 white onion
2 green onions diagonal slice

Beef Marinade
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
3 Tbsp dark soy sauce
2 slivers ginger
1 tsp chili flake
1/4 cup water
1 Tbsp vinegar
1 splash sake or rice wine

1 egg scrambled - set aside
2 cups cornstarch - set aside in flat dish

3-4 cups cooking oil in a wok for frying

*taste and adjust before adding beef, marinade 30-60 minutes

Beijing "Sauce"

1/4 cup water
4 Tbsp sugar
2 squirts ketchup
3 Tbsp vinegar
1/4 tsp chili flakes
1 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp lemon juice

If you'd like it to be more of that chicken fried style you can cut the cornstarch with all purpose flour 50/50 or use tempura powder. Happy Cooking...

Ham Fried Rice aka Sexy Leftovers hahaha

Fried rice is one of the best ways to use leftovers than almost anything I can think of. I thought it might be helpful to folks to have a demonstration of the order in which you should cook fried rice.

Click here to watch the video.

Happy cooking and Happier Eating!

White Bread...makin it in Arizona

I have not made bread in over 4 years. That is since before i met Mr.Man. For the entirety of our relationship our local dollar stores have carried the whole grain whole wheat 7 grain breads for 99 cents...Sara Lee would simply throw the overstock to the local Dollar Trees or Big Lots. We never hesitated to buy the Sara Lee or Aunt Hattie's because it did NOT have high fructose corn syrup.

I have been extraordinarily busy the last few months but a few weeks ago I finally got off my keister and started trying out different bread recipe. The recipes that I was originally using called for the fresh yeast that I used to have in my professional kitchen and I really can't purchase that right now - it's just not worth the trip to AJ's or Whole Foods.

Also, the delivery people here have a tendency to leave things out on the dock in the heat so it's usually compromised. I figure I might as well try a few recipes out using the individual packets of yeast that I was able to purchase for pennies. I also tried "expired" yeast and current yeast. They acted the same in my opinion.

The other thing is in my work kitchens we always had a proof box or could park a rack near the dish-washing station where it would be subject to warmth and moisture - that had to be replicated in my own kitchen.

I will be doing a video on this - but I just wanted to blog this out.

The photos you see in the photo are the white bread that i made - it was my 2nd attempt. I have discovered that here in AZ you get better results doing a double rise with a 3rd rise while proofing. Proofing is when you allow it to rise in it's final form with controlled temps and moisture. This can be achieved by proofing in the oven with a pan underneath with hot water - this warms the oven and locks in moisture.

My first attempts were as hard as king Arthur style yeasted breads. The yeasted quick breads like those in Northern Europe. What I was aiming for was the familiar fluffiness of American Style Breads without the sugar. I finally got it after trying a recipe provided by SciFiChick...it is an Amish White Bread recipe.

Recipe:

2 1/4 c warm water (110 degrees F)
1/3 c sugar
1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
1 1/2 Tbsp salt
1/4 c oil
5 1/4 c bread flour


I know that most people do theirs on the counter I do mine in the bowl. I have very large stainless bowls and in my opinion this just keeps everything cleaner and I'm used to eyeballing it so I know exactly when it doubles.

• Mix the sugar, yeast and warm water in a bowl - allow it to foam. Mine took 20+ minutes to get a nice foam on it.

• Mix salt and oil into yeast. Add Flour 1cup at a time until incorporated
• Allow dough to be sticky to the touch like cookie dough
• Knead until smooth (8-10 minutes), Cover with cloth and allow to double (60-90 mins)
• Grease 2 loaf pans and set aside
  
• Punch down, knead 2 minutes, allow to double again (60-90 mins)
  
• Punch down and divide in 2 equal parts
• Knead in a flat circle, folding under and shaping into loaf
• Place dough in loafpans, brush with eggwash and sprinkle with sesame seeds
• Place loaf pans in oven
• Place a roasting pan on rack under the loafpans - fill with 5 cups of boiling water, shut oven and allow to rise 2 inches above loaf pan. Do not overproof or your loaves will DEFLATE. I wait about 30 minutes then throw out the water and put another 5 cups in.
• Once dough bounces back it is ready to bake
• Heat oven to 375 with loaves in there
• Bake for 25 minutes after the oven is at temp

• Remove from heat - cool on racks

Some people just leave it for 10-30 minutes and then put it up - I allow mine to rest overnight. I know it sounds like a painstaking process - but if you want it to be all fluffy and happy like wonderbread this is how I do it in the desert. Also - I started sneaking those little plastic bags they leave by the meat counter and that's what I put my bread in. Every time I go shopping I just yank 3-4 of those bags and leave them in a drawer.

Whole wheat bread coming soon Also!

Happy Baking and Please let me know if you have any questions.

Chicken Wings: Lemon Parmesan & Buffalo!

I made another cooking video!
chicken wings! < click here


Some people say that the chicken doesn't matter it's the sauce that matters...in OUR house the chicken does matter because sometimes people just like their wings plain and extra well.

I learned this recipe from Momma In Law...My mom (Mom1) has always made her chicken without any breading or flour - Momma in Law makes hers floured - she not only marinates the chicken but she also seasons the flour and I think it makes a big difference. I must admit that I only measure the ingredients loosely. Feel free to adjust it to taste - some days I put more herbs and some days I put less. Also note that whole wheat flour is not as clingy or thick as all purpose flour - so if you want it to be real crispy style you might dip your chicken in buttermilk and then use all purpose flour.

Have fun, be safe and be careful frying is dangerous!

2 lbs chicken wings

chicken seasoning
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp creole seasoning
1 tsp oregano
4 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp lemon pepper

marinate 1 hr or up to overnight


flour base
ziploc bag
handful cornflour
2 cups all purpose flour
3 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp garlic powder
4 shakes paprika
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp basil
1 tbsp chili powder
4 tbsp dried parsley

6 cups corn or vegetable oil for frying

---

"buffalo sauce"
4 Tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp sri ra cha (aka rooster sauce)
5 tablespoons hot sauce
pinch of salt - or to taste

optional
3 tbsp honey
1 tsp molasses
1 tbsp whiskey or bourbon

"lemon parmesan garlic sauce"
1/4 cup lemon or lime juice
1 tbsp fresh garlic
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp parmesan cheese
PLUS sprinkle parmesan before serving
1 tsp red chili flake

optional
1 tbsp tequila
2 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp lemon pepper
---
Please just taste them before you drop your wings in there - adjust it as strong or as mild as you like...this is just to show you the method for preparing and serving barstyle wings in your home.



IF YOU'D LIKE ADDITIONAL FLAVORINGS LET ME KNOW - I CAN PULL SOMETHING OUT OF THIS BRAIN OF MINE :)

Cilantro Lime Rice & Tacos --- in 20 minutes!

I MADE A COOKING VIDEO!! hee hee.

As long as I have been cooking I have never recorded a video of myself cooking, my friend Gya was prone to taking video but she's always done that at all events.

Part 1 & Part 2 -- click here to watch
Please rate and subscribe ok?

The videos I made were pretty much live time with a few pauses for when the water was boiling. Waiting for water to simmer is like watching yourself lose weight...it ain't happening. I even did the food preps live so people have a real time understanding of what it takes. Always start the rice first and get that past boil and then start the tacos - Start to finish it shouldn't take more than 20-30 minutes to get dinner on the table.

cilantro lime rice ingredients

1/2 bunch cilantro (reserve 1/3)
1/2 white onion
3 cups rice
1 tbsp garlic or 4 cloves minced
1 tsp red chili flake
2 tsp basil
1 bouillon (1c water) or 2 pints chicken broth
4 tbsp cooking oil
6 cups water
1 shotglass lime juice (3 if you like it tart)
2 tbsp salt

Rice is so flexible you can eat it in all ways including dessert. This is just one more way to make rice --- my cooking errs on the side of less salt, feel free to add more. If you like it spicy throw in a jalapeno into the saute, if you want it more fragrant use jasmine with a pinch of saffron flowers, if you want it dirty add chicken or beef to it while it simmers. My one brother likes it with a LOT of cilantro so when he's over I use 1 1/2 bunches of cilantro. It's very flexible, just adjust it to how your house likes it.

Tacos are a twice a week staple in this house. I pretty much make these on the fly and no two times are ever the same because I rarely measure - especially if I cook it 5lbs at a time. So if I email you a recipe it may vary from this one but it's all the same range. With dryer meats I add a small can of tomato sauce, if I use the home canned meats I do not add tomato sauce because there is additional liquid in the jars.

taco meat ingredients

2 tbsp garlic or 7 cloves minced
1/2 white onion
3 tbsp oregano
1 tbsp basil
4 shakes cumin
1 tbsp chacheres
4 tbsp cooking oil
1 pint canned ground beef OR
1.5 lbs raw ground beef
4 tbsp new Mexico chili powder

tortillas
shredded cheese
lettuce, cilantro, tomato sliced
salsa

---

Almost all of this can be made from preps as long as you have masa harina mix (or make your own) if you have the canned meat, dehydrated onion, garlic and herbs but instead of lettuce you could use rehydrated cabbage in a loose chop with a bit of lime juice!

Happy Eating!

Taco Meat...gotta love it

Taco Meat...it's flexible.

We use it in Tacos, Burritos, Nachos (see photo at end of blog), Mexican Omelettes or even Taco Salad---you can also throw it into some dirty rice. Truth be told Mr. Man can eat Mexican food any night of the week

I make this at least once a week and keep it in the fridge.

Taco meat recipe
2 lbs ground beef
1 medium onion diced
5 garlic cloves minced
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp creole seasoning
1 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1/4 tsp ground cumin
4 tablespoons New Mexico Chili Powder (available in mild or hot) or CA chili powder is ok


Drain off liquid from canned ground and reserve broth for Spanish Rice.












saute all the herbs in about 3 tbsp of oil (any kind)












Once it is all warmed through and softened add the beef, turn heat to med high.

Smash the beef down with the back side of the spoon to break it up.








Season to Taste.



While the meat is cooking
chop 3 green onions
and a handful of cilantro







When the meat is completely cooked add 1 8oz can of tomato sauce and stir thoroughly. Adjust to taste (sometimes I add lemon pepper, sometimes I add hotsauce)










Add cilantro and green onion after you turn off the heat

Mix mix mix.










Layer your tortilla chips and cheese













Sprinkle Meat and Spanish Rice













Add Salsa (we have 2 cases of herdez still in preps) but we also have home canned.

Add bellpepper and Jalapeno
Add MORE cheese.

Microwave for 90 seconds

Here is a secret to putting up the taco meat.
Let it cool completely before you store it in the fridge.
It keeps longer than 1 week in the fridge this way - but it will probably be in your family's belly before a week passes! I would advise to cook 4 jars or 4 lbs of beef and just leaving it there - trust me it will be gone!

Happy Cooking! Happier Prepping!

How to make Picadillo from Preps...aka "FAVORITE"

My one brother always said "Just make favorite." We always just called it "favorite" I actually went through my Filipino Cookbooks and found that it is actually called Picadillo which means to mince or chop. Everyone makes this differently. I find the older the person cooking it the rawer the beef and potatoes are. This is the way that we like it here.

I tell you what I made this almost everyday for a 12 yr old, 9 yr old, 6 year old that I babysat for a few weeks and they ate it like they had been starved for 3 weeks! The middle one was even having it for breakfast.

Ingredients:

1 pints ground beef (canned)
5 potatoes diced
1/2 large onion
5 cloves garlic
2 tbsp red chili flake
1 tsp basil or parsley
4 jalapeno (optional)
1 bell pepper (red or green)
1 cup peas and carrots (frozen or rehydrated)
2 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp ketchup
2 tbsp oil


Dice potatoes and put in hot fryer or begin pan frying them. I do this so it's quicker to eat.

Start your rice. Start warming cast iron pan.

Mince garlic and onion and throw into pan.
Add Oil, red chili flake and basil.
Saute and Mix around.



While herbs are cooking mince the bellpepper and pop the beef open. Separate liquid from beef and reserve in separate bowl. Set out peas and carrots.










Keep it Moving and Add Beef.













Add Soy Sauce.

If you drink Fischer beer save the bottles they pop and seal! Perfect for reuse with Asian Sauces.

Keep it Moving...and Move heat to Medium High or High if you can handle it.





Add Potatoes
Add Peas and Carrots
Add Bellpepper
Add Jalapeno

Saute Saute Saute!








Add 2 squirts of ketchup or 6 oz of tomato sauce.












Serve over Rice with a side of...

MEATLOAF...that's in my next blog!

Quick Recipe: Bellpepper Chicken and Thai Cucumber Salad

Here is just something quick and easy that I make as a saute for Mr. Man.

Bellpepper Chicken Ingredients
2 chicken breasts
1 bellpepper
1 small onion
3 tbsp oil
1 clove garlic chopped
1 good pinch red chili flake
1 tsp basil
2 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp oyster sauce.

Saute garlic, chili flake, garlic and basil. Once garlic is light brown throw in Chicken. Cook Chicken thoroughly - Season with soysauce and oyster sauce. Throw in Wok aggressively. Once everything is mixed through add bellpepper and onion. Once the onion and bellpepper are fork tender the dish is ready.

Thai Cucumber

2 cucumbers sliced
1 cup vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 pinch salt
2 Tbsp pepper
3 Tbsp red chili flake
1 tsp soy sauce or fish sauce
1 shake garlic powder
1/4 white onion chopped

Mix everything but cucumbers together in a large bowl with a whisk. Taste. Adjust to taste for more heat or more sweet. Add sliced cucumbers and mix thoroughly. Chill for 1 hour. Serve. I serve this as a side to any kind of roasted meat with rice.

Asparagus Beef from Preps!

Hi!

I decided that we should test our canned meats to see if we want to go forward using the same cuts. So far we have tested the canned ground, canned chicken breast and the canned beef. I totally spaced it and forgot to take a pic of the first 2 so I will have to redo them.

Asparagus Beef Ingredients:

1 pint canned beef (biggest chunk possible), reserve liquid in separate bowl
1 bunch asparagus (flash blanched)
1/2 white onion
1/2 green bellpepper
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster or hoisin sauce (you can also use plum sauce)

This fed 4 very easily.

Crack open the canned beef and pour out liquid into a separate bowl mix in cornstarch.

Chop asparagus and blanch in boiling water.
Drain and set aside.

Chop onion and Bellpepper



On High heat saute onions and bellpepper until soft. Add Beef and stir constantly until it is warmed throughout. Do NOT overcook or press try to maintain the appearance of the beef. Add soy sauce and oyster sauce then Mix thoroughly. Once everything looks coated make a well. Throw in beef broth in the center and cook until it is clear like gravy. Add asparagus and toss 4 or 5 times.

Serve over rice or rice noodles.



I would also like to add that I find using the canned beef chunks much easier than using fresh beef because it has a softer quality and a quicker cook time since you don't have to cook that long to get the soft bite. Stir fry is not that hard - it's the timing of the ingredients to keep that balance of soft and crunchy, salty versus sweet and the blended scent of it. Once you get the hang of it - this dish can be done in 10 minutes including prep time. By the way I also added baby spinach to mine for extra slide and vitamins.

Happy Prepping and even HAPPIER eating everyone!

Deconstructed Enchiladas & Canning Update

Well sometimes you want the flavor but you don't want to bake.

Steamed Rice
3 chicken breasts seasoned and grilled
1/2 onion
2 cloves garlic
2 cups enchilada sauce
Shredded cheese
Chopped green onion
2 tortilla chips sliced and fried (topping)


I just saute the garlic and onion with a bit of mexican oregano - add my own enchilada sauce and let that thicken while i cook the chicken.

Top the rice with chicken then drizzle with sauce and cheese. Sprinkle green onion and tortilla topping and serve.







Okay the latest update on my canning is 16.5 cases. Those smaller jars you see on the upper right are butter and salsa. Those are the "special" ball short pints. I really like them. They just don't stack very well so I keep them in the original boxes.








13 full cases on the ground. What a trip. I've said this before but I'll say it for anyone who hasn't read my blog before I only started canning on March 20th. In less than 3 months you too can have 198 bottles. Mind you we have given away over half a case and half a case was eaten by I dunno whom?

It's preserves, jams, jellies, ground beef, cubed beef, skirt steak, chicken, spaghetti sauce, chicken stock, veggies, salsa butter.

By my calculations that's at least 100 days of food - 200 days if i rationed it and watered the preserves down to juice with some added lemon juice. We will keep going and do the best we can and keep working on our garden. I have to go to Asia for 2 weeks - family stuff but I'll be back by July 14th. I love food snobs who say oh organic this and organic that and blah di blah. Good luck with that. Time is getting short. I love to see confident people knocking the efforts of others...Just hope that your life never depends on my preps - coz your snobby ass might have to eat some humble pie.

Holla!

Fried Rice...from leftovers

...Leftovers, my Maternal Grandfather used to call them RE-RUNS.

This is a recipe for fried rice in which I use the leftover steamed rice, leftover protein (usually meat or chicken) and whatever vegetables are around. Traditional fried rice has no garlic and no onion and also the egg would be fried into the rice after a light beating. This is how we do it in my house - you can change it and make it yours.

Fried Rice Reruns Recipe

4 cloves garlic
1/2 onion
large pinch red onion flake
2 eggs scrambled (set aside)
2 green onions chopped
leftover meat, spam or ham
2 tbsp soysauce (optional)
1/2 cup peas
1/2 cup carrots
2 tbsp oil

Chop Green onion (set aside
Chop Garlic
Chop regular onion











Heat wok or large saute pan.
In a separate pan scramble eggs, once cooked top with green onion and loose chop with spatula. Turn off heat and leave aside.









Chop meat or chicken. In this recipe I also had some leftover ground beef from canning so I threw it in there.











Reconstitute your dried veggies, set aside frozen, OR chop fresh.












Move spatula through rice whether it's cold or leftover.












Saute garlic until golden brown with chili flakes.
Keep the temperature as hot as you can stand it and keep it moving.













Saute onions until soft













Add meat, once fully sauteed add your soysauce and or seasoning of choice (maybe curry or oyster sauce or even teriyaki sauce)











Add Rice and a bit of pepper if you like, top with veggies. Continue Mixing and Stirring.











Once the meat and rice are fully incorporated top with the egg/green onion mix. I add the eggs last so they are not discolored...Mix thoroughly and turn off heat.









That's it. You can do it.

I think this is a good lunch with a light salad on the side. This is also something you can make from your preps as long as you have some dehydrated veggies. It is also a way to make sure that none of the meats you cook are wasted. If you put chicken, beef, pork (ham) and shrimp - HEY that's house special fried rice. HAHA.

Let's review.

Prep and Chop
Fry Egg
Garlic and Onion
Meat
Seasoning
Rice
Veggie
Egg
eat

7 up cake and Lemon Bars....

Baked goods - it's all they ever want around here

I got one of these recipes from Momma In Law and the other I inherited from an old co-workers Momma. Out of all the fancy things I could make around here this is what everyone wants.

7 up Cake:

preheat oven to 350

3 sticks butter
3 cups sugar
6 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
3 cups flour
3/4 c 7 up

Beat sugar and eggs until fluffy and white.
While that is beating butter and flour bundt pan. Add eggs ONE AT A TIME incorporating completely. Add vanilla scraping sides.
Add flour to mix 1 cup at a time again scraping sides and getting the bottom mixed in. Drizzle 7up in 1/2 at a time and fully incorporate. Pour into pans. Mini Bundt pans should be filled to half - regular bundt pans can be topped off.

Bake:

Full bundt pan: 75 minutes
mini bundt pan: 35 minutes

Allow to cool slightly before flipping onto plates.
I find these don't need anything but a dusting of powdered sugar - or maybe a chocolate drizzle. Mr. Man likes his with Fresh Strawberries and Chocolate Sauce Drizzle.







Lemon Bars

Crust
2 cups flour
2 sticks butter (1/2 cup)
pinch of salt
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Filling
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1/4 c flour
1/4 c lemon juice
1 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 350. Cut the crust with a pastry cutter or fork until it's incorporated. Press into a 9X12 pyrex or roasting pan. Bake 25 minutes or until golden brown on edges and firm in center.

Remove from the oven

whisk the sugar, flour and eggs together. Once this is 'smooth' add the wet mix on top of the crust and pop back into oven another 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and cool. I run a knife around the edges of the pan while it's still hot because it makes it easier to split the bars out once it is completely cold.

Topping/Glaze

1 1/2 c powdered sugar
2 Tbsp water
2 Tbsp lemon juice

Whisk the glaze together and smooth over the top of the cookie bars.
Cut in squares.