This salad is so good, it's very lemony, and garlicky, it's just superb.  I found it years ago on a now defunct site, Gail's Recipe Swap.  Gail's had so many wonderful people that posted daily, chefs, gourmet cooks, everybody shared their favorite recipes.   It was sponsored by Epicurious and it was a sad day when they closed it.  It's become a family favorite over the years, it's a keeper recipe for sure.  And I do have a treat for you, it's at the bottom of this post.

Homemade croutons make this amazing salad even better. They are so easy to make, just melt a stick of butter, toss in some minced garlic, cube bread, of course Italian or Artisan is best, but a loaf of bread will work, too.  Toss everything together, put on a sheet pan and bake in 375 degree oven until toasted and brown.

DRESSING

Mix together and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving:
3/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
3-5 cloves of garlic crushed
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar

SALAD

1 head of romaine
1/2-1 lb. of bacon, cooked crisp and diced
2/3 cup of toasted almonds
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup julienned Swiss cheese
2 cups of sliced plum tomatoes, or cherry tomatoes quartered
1 cup of croutons

If you are a foodie like I am, you can access all the archived recipes from Gail's Recipe Swap.  It's a really big data base, but if you have the time, it's wonderful to read the recipes and the comments.  It may take awhile for the link to open, it does for me and I have fast internet, but trust me it's worth the slow load.  Bookmark this site, it's the best of the best that will never be recreated.  Here's the link...

Gail's Recipe Swap Archives

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#lemonsalad #lemon #salad #romaine

#bacon #jancooksrealfood #saladdressing #yummy #lunch

#lunchideas #croutons

These are seriously the most delicious martinis you will ever drink.  This has been one of Oprah's Favorite Drinks for years and if you have never had them, you're in for a treat.   Even people who don't normally drink alcohol love them.  They're the perfect girl's night out drink, the perfect party drink, the perfect just because... drink, they are a spring/summery concoction of puckery goodness that packs a whallop of a punch  😜

Servings: Serves 2

Ingredients

Juice of 6 lemons
4 tablespoons sugar
6 fresh mint leaves
4 shots vodka
Ice in shaker

1 sugar-rimmed martini glass, coat rim first with lemon juice, then dip in sugar.  

You can also pulverize lemon drop candy and dip the rim in the crushed candy instead of sugar.

Directions

Mix lemon juice, sugar and vodka in a martini shaker filled with ice. Shake well and pour into sugar-rimmed martini glass. Garnish with mint.

Notes:

 I love roasted chicken, it's so basic, so comforting, the house smalls amazing when it's baking, and once you've finished the prep, it's an easy meal.

This recipe has been around for years, it's and the flavor is indescribable.  I've tweaked it a bit, adding more lemon  and I often add apples tucked in at the sides of the pan.  It's nice to offset the tart lemon with the sweetness of apples.  It's your call, if you're a purist, just omit the apples.  Don't be deterred by using a whole head of garlic, the flavor mellows when it's cooking, and it doesn't overpower the dish.

Ingredients 

2 lemons + juice of an additional lemon
2-3 carrots split in half lengthwise
1 entire head of garlic
¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted
1 3½–4 lb. whole chicken
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Fresh

Steps

Arrange a rack in the center of your oven, and preheat to 425°. Cut 2 lemons in half crosswise and remove any visible seeds.

Cut 1 head of garlic in half crosswise. (If it falls apart a bit, don't sweat it.)

Melt ½ stick butter in a small saucepan or microwave in a small bowl.  Squeeze the juice of the additional lemon into the butter.

Place 1 3–4-lb. whole chicken on a cutting board (best to use a plastic one you can sterilize). A word on bird size. A 3–4-lb. chicken is pretty much the ideal size for roasting this way. Something a little bit bigger will work, but once you get much past 4½-lbs. it becomes harder to guarantee that the breast meat won't dry out in the time it takes the dark meat to cook. Pat the whole thing dry with paper towels. It's super important to get the chicken as dry as possible, which helps with browning.

With chicken breast facing up and legs pointing toward you, use a sharp knife to slice through loose area of skin connecting the leg and breast, making about a 3"-long incision. Continue cutting downward until you hit the joint that connects the thigh to the body, then stop (once you get through the skin, there’s not much there; if you are cutting through flesh, you’re too close to the breast). This exposes the leg joint, making it easy to tell if chicken is cooked. Repeat on second side.

Season every surface of chicken, including skin along backbone, inside cavity, under wings, and inside part of the leg you just exposed, with lots of salt and pepper. If you’re using kosher salt, it should take you 4–5 generous—as in, four finger—pinches, which will be around 4 whole teaspoons.

Transfer chicken breast side up to a large oven-safe skillet. Arrange lemon and garlic cut sides down in skillet around chicken.

Drizzle chicken all over with melted butter (mmmmmmm) and transfer to oven.

Roast until chicken is nicely browned and cooked through, checking for doneness after 45 minutes. To check, carefully remove skillet from oven (the handle is hot!), poke a knife into leg joints, and pierce the meat. If juices run clear, the chicken is done. If you see a rosy pink color, it needs more time. Continue to roast, checking every 5 minutes, until juices run clear. (If you’re not sure, you can also use the knife to lightly shred some of the meat along the thigh bone—the meat should look opaque and the fibers should separate easily.)

Let chicken rest in skillet at least 15 minutes before carving—this will help the juices in the meat to settle, and will also get it down to a temperature that is cool enough to handle with your bare hands while carving. Don't worry: It's a big piece of meat, so it will still be plenty warm by the time you serve it. Transfer chicken to a platter. Pour all of those wonderful  buttery pan juices over top of the meat and serve with roasted lemon and garlic alongside.   This dish is wonderful serve with rice with the pan juices poured over the rice as well. 

Winner, winner, chicken dinner!
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#chicken #roastedchicken #jancooksrealfood #yummy #yummyyummy #fowl #chickenbreast #drumstick

Oh my, what a special dessert this is.  This Lemon Creme Brulee is a totally decadently richly lemon infused custard topped off with a crackly torched sugar top and it is beyond delicious.  If you are a fan of creme brulee, this takes it to a whole new level.  I first experienced this in a little cafe in New Harmony, In years ago.  I had gone there with my friend, V, and we both were absolutely swooning over how wonderful this dessert was.

I came home, researched many recipes and adjusted them until I found this one that is just perfection.    It's one of those desserts that I don't make often, and only because of the calories.  This is absolutely sinfully delicious, but oh, it's so worth the calories for a special occasion. 

To ensure the custards cook gently and gradually, place the ramekins in a baking pan lined with a kitchen towel and partially fill the pan with hot water (known as a water bath). This helps insulate the delicate custards from the heat. 

Ingredients:

Juice of 2 lemons
2 cups heavy cream
Zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup plus 6 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
5 egg yolks 

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 300°F. Line a shallow baking pan with a kitchen towel. Have a pot of boiling water ready.

In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the lemon juice to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the juice is reduced to about 1 Tbs., 3 to 5 minutes.

In another saucepan over medium heat, combine the cream, lemon zest and the 1/2 cup sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally, until steam rises from the surface, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let stand for 15 minutes.

In a bowl, whisk together the vanilla and egg yolks until smooth and combined. Slowly add the cream mixture, whisking constantly, then stir in the reduced lemon juice. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl and divide among six 3.5-oz. ramekins. Place the ramekins in the prepared baking pan and add boiling water to fill the pan halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover the pan loosely with aluminum foil and bake until the custards are just set, about 40 minutes.

Remove the ramekins from the pan and transfer to a wire rack. Let the custards cool to room temperature, about 1 1/2 hours, then refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to overnight.

Just before serving, sprinkle 1 tsp. sugar evenly over the surface of each custard. Using a kitchen torch according to the manufacturer’s instructions, move the flame continuously in small circles over the surface until the sugar melts and lightly browns. Serve immediately. Serves 6.

Oh my, there are no words, this is indescribably delightful.  I tweaked Betty Crocker’s original recipe and it's always a huge hit and it tastes just like a lemon drop.  It’s so moist, but not a heavy cake, it’s very lemony and tart, just the perfect spring dessert.  Sometimes I refrigerate this and we eat it chilled, I'm a big fan of cold cake, especially in the warmer months.

Since this is made with a cake mix and canned frosting, it's easy to make and never fails.

Here’s my version, I add pudding to the cake mix, extra lemon juice to the poke part of the recipe and used two cans of lemon frosting, with zest on the top.  The two cans of frosting worked so well, it isn’t too much, but you have enough to spread without having to spread it thinly.

This one is a winner, winner, chicken dinner for sure!  You can all thank me later for the recipe.  ~ Jan

Oh, you sweet talker, Betty Crocker  XXo

1 box Betty Crocker™ SuperMoist™ lemon cake mix
1 box instant Jello
4 eggs
1 cup water
1/2 cup oil

Now for the poke part:

1 cup powdered sugar, I sift this so it’s smooth
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (1 large lemon)

2 containers Betty Crocker™ Rich & Creamy lemon frosting

Lemon drop candies, crushed, if desired - I don't use the lemon drop candies, I zest Lemon Rind on top of cake instead

Directions

Heat oven to 350°F. Line two 9" pans with foil, letting foil hang 2 inches over 2 opposite sides of pans. Grease or spray bottoms and sides of foil.  

Make cake batter as directed above, using Pudding, eggs, water and oil.  Pour into pans. Bake 25 to 32 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes.

In small bowl, mix powdered sugar and lemon juice. Poke top of warm cake every 1/2 inch with long-tined fork or you can use the handle of a small wooden spoon, wiping fork or spoon handle occasionally to reduce sticking. Drizzle and spread lemon mixture over top of cake. Refrigerate about 2 hours or until chilled. Remove cakes from pans by lifting with foil; peel away foil.

On serving plate, place 1 cake, rounded side down; trim if necessary so layer rests flat. Spread with half of frosting. Top with second cake, rounded side up. Frost top of cake with remaining frosting. Garnish with lemon drop candies or lemon zest. Store covered.
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#bettycrocker #jancooksrealfood #lemoncake #lemon 

Kicking off this month's worth of lemon desserts off with one of the very best.  

Oh, this is the stuff that Italian dreams are made of, Portillo's Chopped Salad, creamy dressing, lots of bacon, cheese, pasta, what's not to love...

It's Monday, I was going to post a healthy salad and then I thought, no, why would I do that when I can share this knockoff Portillo's Chopped Salad with all of you.  If you're not familiar with Portillo's, it's a famous Italian restaurant in Chicago who's humble beginnings go back to 1963 when it all started as a hot dog stand.

Over the years, Portillo’s has developed a huge fan base that includes many Hollywood actors, professional athletes, and politicians – you can see many of their pictures hanging on their restaurant walls. 

SWEET ITALIAN DRESSING:

1/3 cup white or regular balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 teaspoons sugar, honey or maple
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

SALAD:

8 ounces (about 1 cup or so) uncooked Ditalini pasta (see note)
5 cups chopped lettuce (use what you like: romaine, spring mix, iceberg or a combo)
1 cup chopped red cabbage (see note)
1 cup chopped tomatoes
3 green onions, chopped
1/2 - 1 cup cooked and crumbled bacon
1/4 - 1/2 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
2 cups cooked, diced chicken (see note)

Steps

Combine all the dressing ingredients in a blender or jar. Process or shake until well-combined. Add additional salt and pepper to taste, if needed. You can make and refrigerate the dressing a week or two in advance.

Cook the pasta according to package directions in boiling, salted water. Drain and rinse quickly with cool water so it doesn't stick together while it cools. Pour a few tablespoons of the dressing over the pasta and stir lightly. Set aside to cool to room temperature (spreading it into a flatter layer - versus mounded in a bowl - will speed up the cooling process).

In a large bowl, toss together the lettuce, cabbage, tomatoes, and green onions. Add the cooled pasta, bacon, gorgonzola cheese, and chicken.

To serve, you can toss the salad with the dressing before serving - or, if you anticipate leftovers, add dressing only to the portions of salad served and then store the dressing and salad separately for fabulous leftovers.

Notes

Pasta: ditalini pasta is a tiny tube-shaped pasta. If you can't find it, you can easily substitute another small pasta shape. Even small elbow macaroni would work. You're looking for about 3 cups cooked pasta when it's all said and done. 

Lettuce: the lettuce is really customizable, the original Portillo's salad is a combination of iceberg, romaine and red cabbage. 

A rotisserie chicken works great here, as well as any other kind of leftover cooked/grilled chicken (the more flavorful, the better!). You could also leave the chicken out completely for a side dish salad.  

Vinegar: white balsamic vinegar works really well, but regular dark balsamic will work, too, just keep in mind that the darker dressing will add color to the salad.. I think you could easily use red or white wine vinegar, too. 

Leftovers: this salad makes the best leftovers. If you aren't going to eat the entire salad, just don't add the dressing until you serve it so it doesn't get soggy.
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#salad #choppedsalad #jancooksrealfood #portillos #bacon #tomatoes #healthyeating #healthyfood 

What's better on a cold Sunday night than a Stromboli  and football.  Well, no football for me, but the rest of you, go ahead enjoy it.  I'll just be in the kitchen, eating my Stromboli, catching up on past episodes of my favorite soap, The Young and Restless...

The original Pizza King in Evansville, In is home to Stromboli's, and there are none better.  We lived there for years and ate them many, many times, but now that we live in Middle Tennessee, they aren't readily available, so the search was on to duplicate their recipe.  I searched online, made several variations and this one is the closest I can come to Pizza King's.

Legend says that customers would fight over the last loaf of this bread. It was an over-the-counter item that was brought in warm and steamy, smelling like a chocolate fantasy. It freezes well and makes marvelous gifts when baked in smaller loaf pans. 

This recipe is from Elsah's Landing, a wonderful restaurant near St. Louis, that sadly, like so many family owned establishments, is long gone.  I ate there years ago and was so impressed I immediately bought all of their cookbooks and I've made, many, many wonderful dishes from them.  Their carrot cake has been a family favorite for years, but that's for another post.  

They now sell their cookbooks, used, on eBay, but ouch, they can be really pricey!

So, if you're looking for something a little different, the chocolate chips just take this banana bread to a new level.  Get out your bakeware, use those bananas on the counter that are overripe and whoever is lucky enough to eat this will thank you...

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup butter
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
3 Tbsp milk
2 cups sifted flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans, or more, you can never add too many pecans 

PREPARATION:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream sugar, egg and butter together in large mixer bowl. Beat until fluffy. Set aside.

Combine bananas and milk in small bowl. Set aside.

Sift flour, baking powder, and baking soda together in small bowl. Stir by hand into reserved creamed mixture alternately with reserved banana mixture until flour is just moistened.

Stir in chocolate chips and pecans. Grease 1 (9x5x3 inch) loaf pan. Turn batter into pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan. Cool on rack.

NOTES:

I tent my foil, be sure to poke holes in it, for the last fifteen minutes so that the top doesn't overbrown.

Sometimes I make these in mini-loaf pans.  They make great little joy gifts. 

I can't remember how long I bake these in mini loaf pans, so I went to Google, because Google always knows everything 😊

Baking in mini loaf pans is so much fun and so easy, too! The key is to adjust the bake time, reducing it by around 20-25%. Color and depth go into the final amount of time that should be reduced. Check your baking treats regularly for the best results

Mini Loaf Pans on Amazon

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#bananabread #chocolate #chocolatechip #yummy #food #jancooksrealfood #sundaybaking #bakingforfun #goodfood #sweettreats #fantasy #chocolatefantasy #stlouis 

Spring is on the horizon, the birds are singing, the daffies are blooming here in Middle Tennessee and when I think of spring and food, I immediately think of... lemon!   I'll be posting a fresh, tart, puckery lemon recipe every day for the month of March, just because...