Easiest lemon pie eva'!

1/2 cup lemon juice
3 egg yolks
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 prepared graham cracker crust
Cool Whip
lemon zest
fresh strawberries to garnish

Whip egg yolks with lemon juice and sweetened milk. Pour into pie crust. Bake for 30 minutes at 350. Chill pie for 2 hours. Frost with Cool Whip and garnish with lemon zest and strawberries.

Enjoy!

Baby Blue Punch

The wonderful DJ Fitzgerald (no relation) of DJ Delights made this for my shower. Make it next time you need something fun for a baby shower!

1 package blue, Kool-aid mix
1 (2 liter) bottle Sierra Mist

1 bottle white cranberry juice
8 scoops vanilla ice cream
1 cup white sugar, or to taste

In a large punch bowl, stir together the drink mix, lemon-lime soda, and white cranberry juice. Taste, and stir in sugar to your liking. Float scoops of ice cream on the top. You can then float duckies on top!

Easy Baked Mac and Cheese with Bacon

Mac and Cheese from scratch is the best and it's so easy!

2 cups uncooked mac
3 strips of bacon
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
2 cups cheddar cheese
1/4 cup parm cheese


Cook mac according to package directions. Cut bacon in small pieces and cook in medium saucepan. Once cooked, remove bacon and leave drippings. Add flour and cook for a minute. Whisk in milk, and bring to a boil, always stirring, until sauce becomes thick. Then add 1 cup cheddar cheese and parm cheese and heat through. Mix mac, cheese sauce and bacon, and spread into baking dish. Sprinkle last cup of cheese on top. Bake for 20 minutes in 350 oven.

ps: you can also add spinach or broccoli, if you want a healthier version!

Easy chili in the crock pot

lb browned ground beef
1/2 onion chopped
1/2 green or red pepper chopped
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 cans of tomatoes with chilies (I use Rotel) undrained
1-2 cans of red beans (depends how many beans you like) undrained
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons chile powder
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon parsley
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Brown beef. Drain off grease, and season to taste with salt and pepper. In a slow cooker, combine the cooked beef, kidney beans, onions, tomatoes, celery, peppers, and red wine vinegar. Season with chili powder, cumin, parsley, basil and Worcestershire sauce. Stir to distribute ingredients evenly. Cook on High for 6 hours, or on Low for 8 hours.

Lentil salad with cumin lime dressing

Ok, so I am expecting a baby and am supposed to eat a lot of protein. It's harder than it sounds to eat protein at every meal. So, I am trying to think of creative ways. I received a calendar from the Scholar House here in Louisville which contained several recipes. This is a great one to get protein in your diet without eating meat :)

1 cup of basmati rice cooked to package directions
1 cup of lentils cooked to package directions
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup pinenuts
1/2 cup red pepper, diced

cumin lime dressing:
1 cup lime juice (use the bottled stuff)
1 cup veg oil
2-3 cloves garlic
1 jalapeno pepper, diced
4 teaspoons cumin
s and p

Mix first five ingredients together and chill. Mix up dressing in blender. Add dressing right before serving and chill. You can eat this alone or add some baby greens. Again, adapted from the Louisville Scholar House calendar.

Liz's easy lasagna

Okay, I haven't posted in a while. I got inspired by a nice lady in the grocery who recommended these noodles. I was a little skeptical, but they turned out great! No boiling and the texture was perfect. Thank you random lady in the grocery!

Barilla lasagna noodles (no boiling variety)
1 lb ground beef
1 onion
1 green pepper
2 cloves garlic
16 oz ricotta cheese
2 cups mozz cheese
1 cup parm cheese
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 egg
1 26 oz jar of pasta sauce
1 cup water

Brown beef with pepper, onion, and garlic. Drain beef and add sauce and water. Bring to boil and simmer. Mix ricotta cheese, 1 cup of mozz cheese, 1/2 cup of parm cheese, egg and parsly.
Pre-heat oven to 375. In 9 by 13: layer cup of meat sauce, 3-4 UNCOOKED noodles and 1/3 of ricotta cheese. Repeat layers. Top with remaining mozz cheese and parm cheese. Bake covered for 50-60 minutes.