Fruit Bars

My son loves fruit. He loved those apple bars I made awhile back & we had some blueberries in the house so I decided to make blueberry bars.

This was a great little treat to whip up pretty quickly. I didn't have any actual lemons so I used just lemon juice and I wished I had used some zest. All in all, pretty tasty!



Blueberry Crumb Bars
Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cold butter
1 egg
¼ tsp. salt
zest and juice of one lemon
4 cups fresh blueberries
½ cup sugar
4 tsp. cornstarch

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375°. Grease a 9×13” pan.

In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, flour and baking powder. Mix in salt and lemon zest. Use a fork or pastry cutter to blend in the butter and egg. The dough will be crumbly. Pat half of the dough into the prepared pan.

In another bowl, stir together the sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Gently mix in the blueberries. Sprinkle the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble remaining dough over the berry layer.

Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Few and Far Between

I start to get on a roll, then my life gets hectic. Oh well. I figure a few posts are better than none at all. So while I sit in Pine Grove, PA tonite for a little business travel (yeah google & see why I am having a hopping night) I thought I would update.

They are both Annie's Eats-shocker I know. I just default to her blog b/c I know the recipe will turn out great. I made some adjustments & have documented those below.



Salmon Pesto Pasta
Ingredients:
For the pesto:
1/4 cup pine nuts
5 medium cloves garlic, with peels
2 cups packed fresh basil leaves, rinsed thoroughly
2 tbsp. fresh parsley leaves (optional)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Pinch table salt
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

For the pasta:
12 oz. salmon
Slice portabella mushrooms (optional)
Salt and pepper
1 tsp. grated lemon zest
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
8 oz. pasta
5 oz. evaporated milk
1/2 cup pesto (above)
Grated Parmesan, for serving

Directions:
To make the pesto, toast the pine nuts in a small skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, just until golden and fragrant, about 4-5 minutes. Transfer to the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Saute the garlic in the skillet. Tear the basil leaves off and place in the processor. Blend it all up while slowly drizzingly in the olive oil. Transfer to a bowl & stir in the cheese, add salt if necessary.

--> This could also be bypassed by purchasing the premade pesto at the store <--

If your salmon is not filleted do so now. In a skillet, swirl with olive oil & bring to medium heat. Add sliced portabella mushrooms & begin to saute. Season the salmon w/salt & pepper and add to the pan. It will start to flake apart as it cooks.

While the salmon is cooking, bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package directions. Transfer the cooked pasta to a colander to drain. In the empty pasta pot, heat the evaporated milk over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer and reduce to about 1/4 cup. Return the cooked pasta to the pot and stir to combine. Add the salmon to the pasta mixture and stir over medium heat until hot. Remove from the heat and stir in the pesto. Top with grated Parmesan, if desired.


This was so awesome. Not only is it delicious, but I was able to make this on a weeknight in probably 30 mins flat.