Lemon Cream Cheese Bars

OH BOY... Just yummy!  And not even a little bit, I mean as good as it gets yummy.

And a few hidden benefits... Impossibly easy, fast and have I mentioned that this tastes pretty good.

An update for those of you playing along at home... Mother in law came through her surgery just fine.  She had an angioplasty through a vein that was a little too thin to allow a stint (so that one is going to a problem down the line, but let's dwell on the good stuff.  She also hat a stint put in a vein (kind of a permanent patch on a weak thin vein).  Just incredible what can be done these days.  No open heart chest cracking stuff, they put a small hole in her leg, followed a large vein to her heart and did all the work while watching TV (I think Regis and Kelly, but they never did say).  Mil was uncomfortable last night, but slept just fine and is expected to check out of the hospital in a couple of hours.  She lives in a rural part of South Dakota.  She is an Avon lady (has been for over 35 years).  Her only concession to the surgery, she has asked her clients to come and pick up their ordered items at her home instead of her delivering them.  Over the weekend, she has a trip to visit four of her eight great grandchildren.  I guess 75 is the new 45.

And so she can sit and visit with her friends (the only real reason she sells Avon), I think I am going to make another batch of these for her to share.  I made these last week so Jackie and I would have a little sweet treat for us to enjoy during the long miserable drive from Kansas to South Dakota (there are some big states out here).  And enjoy we did.  I just can not say enough about the taste of these...

But before that, let me tell you about Jill of the Dulce Dough Blog.  Literally (in Spanish), sweet dough, Jill has an amazing blog.  Her photos are amazing.  She spends a lot of time getting angles, lighting and her props set to show off the food.  That's her magazine quality photo to the left (with a LINK to her original post of this recipe).  Now, she certainly made these look as delicious as these tasted (have I mentioned that I enjoyed the taste?) !!!

I am new to Jill's blog, just discovered it a few weeks ago when she first submitted to eRecipeCards.com.  About all I have seen are her treat posts.  And after reading her bio, I understand why.  Her blog is a New Year's resolution from just this year.  Yes, she is that rare individual who has stuck to her resolution.  An accomplished home baker, she decided to concentrate on baking a treat at least once a week for her family.  And thus... a Blog is born.

Jill is a wife, mother of two, pet lover dog and three cats.  Active in church and community with plenty of home hobbies.  I looked hard, but could not find exactly where she lives, but her bio photo shows her in the mountains.  Fresh air, family, loved ones, friends, cats ... who could ask for more...

Oh, and she can make these...

Now, I have read over her blog.  Jill has plenty of baking chops and she can easily work her way through a scratch cake recipe with the best of any blogger.  One hand tied behind her back she can whip up a yeast dough.

This is made from a mix.

No shame, sometimes you get that phone call that you need something for a bake sale in an hour (kids tend to forget to mention things), or, like me, I had already spent a couple hours making buns, a pasta, and a chicken salad for a surprise drive through the plains the next day.  I was just looking for something easy fast and... did I mention... really really really good.

Now, ordinarily on this blog I post my interpretation of the recipes I make.  I am one of those cooks that simply can not leave a recipe alone.  I am always adding changing switching something.  No insult to the recipe or the original poster, I just like figuring out how to make a twist to a recipe that makes it more personal.  And, there is that, "I am cheap" factor.  So often I make do with something in my pantry or in my herb garden that I can change for an ingredient I did not have.

Not so with these.  I did add just a dusting of powdered sugar, but I do not consider that a big enough change to copy Jill's recipe outright. This recipe was not an inspiration, it was an out right steal.  So, rather than reprinting the recipe, I am going to direct you to Jill's original post for her...

Lemon Cream Cheese Bars

Total baking time is 30 minutes.  Total prep time is about 10 minutes.  You only need a Lemon cake mix, some cream cheese, a Lemon, eggs, oil and sugar.  With the possible exception of a cake mix (I buy them when those sales happen, a buck a mix is a good enough price I can justify buying one), everything is in my fridge or pantry.  Another huge advantage to making sure this is in your recipe file.

And did i mention the taste.  Seriously, just about the best Lemon Bars you will ever eat (especially if you are not a fan of the tart lemon taste some bars have).

So if I have tweaked your interest in the recipe, or in Jill or in her DULCE DOUGH Blog, click this link and tell her hi from me.

And for a quick look at what she blogs, click on the logo link image to the right.  You will see all the eRecipeCards that Jill has submitted to eRecipeCards.com.  You can add her recipes to your eRecipeBOX (once you set up your free account) and find this recipe in six months when your kids tell you you have an hour to get a dessert to the school fund raiser.

See how useful the site is... and how easy it is to find your favorite bloggers!

These posts continue to highlight the bloggers, their recipes and my inspirations from my daily readings of eRecipeCards.com!

And now, I am going to get a little personal... Today is the anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley.  Long before he became a punchline, Elvis was indeed the king of Rock and Roll.

And he loved his mama and my mama loved him.  I plan on calling my mama today.  I call her every year on the anniversary of the death of the king.  Here's a little bit of why...

"It was 35 years ago today, Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play"... No wait, that's the Beatles, the wrong 60's icon.

Starting over, today marks the sad anniversary, 34 years ago today, truly "The Day the Music Died". Oops, sorry, that's the Big Bopper, and Buddy Holly, the wrong 50's icon.

But, this is the anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley. Long before the kids of today made him into a punch line, he was the reigning undisputed King of Rock and Roll. Mourned in assisted living homes across the country, poodle skirt wearing grandmothers are a little sad this morning. I know my sainted mother remembers this day, and I have three very strong memories of Elvis from three important crossroads of my life. Today I will blog about my first Elvis memory.

Those of you that think there will be another recipe can skip this part... just stories, those of you that want some insight into my soul, read on. You may need some Kleenex before it's over.

My very first memory concerns Elvis, my sainted Mother and my Dad. It was 1962, and my Dad piled the family (me, my older brother Steve, and Mom) into the Chevy and drove to the Starlight Drive-In in Pekin, Il. BTW, The drive-in really was near a levy. And also BTW, it will help if you kind of curl up your lip and snarl a bit whenever you read -Steeeeeeve during the rest of this post. No special reason, it just always drove him crazy. Still does a little.

My Mom was hot. She was a huge Elvis fan, and I think having 2 kids under 7 kind of cramped her style. My Dad was a greaser. There is this amazing photo of the two of them, Mom in her big poodle skirt (sadly, no poodle, but still that big skirt look), and my dad next to her with a pack of cigarettes rolled up in his T-shirt sleeve. I guess a trip to an Elvis movie was as close as they could get to their wild youth. But I am digressing again...

Ok, anyway, I was only 5 years old, but I remember this night very clearly. It was a double feature, featuring an Elvis movie, "Follow That Dream" - Think "Grapes of Wrath" with girls, singing and more girls (in those weird bikinis, with the bottoms looking like granny panties). It was set in Florida, since the bikinis would be out of place in Oklahoma. The Elvis movie was first. We had a tradition at the drive-in, Mom and Dad would climb in the back seat, while Steeeeeveand I would climb up front. Of course, Steeeevewould get the seat with the wheel, but it was still fun to be in the front. Of course, now that I have had a couple of kids of my own, I realize that the whole switching seats was just a scam so Mom and Dad could neck in the back... But I digress again.

I remember Steeeeeve and I tolerated the Elvis movie (too much kissing for this 5 year old). I do recall laughing and having great fun while all 4 of us danced whenever Elvis sang the fast songs. Steeeeve and I would ignore the slow ones, cause we knew the kissing was coming. We tolerated the kissing, liked the fighting (amazing how much fighting there always is in every Elvis movie, he does like to throw the first punch) and ate popcorn and corn dogs. What a great time.

BUT...

The second feature was "King Kong vs. Godzilla". I still have that image of Kong being floated with giant balloons. I think that new Pixar movie "Up" owes an "inspired by" credit to KK vs Godzilla, but I digress.

The BEST part of this night was what happened before the movie started. I had to pee (no, that wasn't the best part, just setting up the best part). Dad took me to the concession stand and left Mom and Steeeeve in the car (I can still remember the dancing hot dogs, popcorn and drinks all marching in a line) while we walked. I finished my business, and when we returned to the car, Mom and Steeeeve were BOTH asleep! It was kind of late by then, around 10 PM. For Mom, raising two boys is very hard work, so who could blame her for whatever nap time she could get. Steeeevewas a Pansy then, and still is. But I am digressing again...

Dad gently put Steeeeve in the back seat to sleep next to Mom. While I was allowed to take the drivers seat. Whoo whoo... Drive in, staying up late, driver's seat, my wimp of a brother asleep in the back while I watched a monster movie with my Dad. Of course I remember this night clearly, TODAY I AM A MAN!

I remember a LOOOOng build up to the fight, with way too much talking. I also remember the first blow in the battle... Kong beat his chest, roared in challenge, Godzilla tossed his head back, screeched in answer, and proceeded to fire his atomic breath at King Kong's crotch. To a 5 year old, there is not much funnier than crotch jokes. Come to think of it, take a look at "America;s Funniest Videos" sometime, crotch jokes are still funny.

I stayed awake for the entire movie, and the drive home. I remember dad carrying Steeeeve into the house (panzy). I also remember going to Sunday School the next day and telling everyone about Kong, whileSteeeve had stories of Elvis and kissing... Bwahahahahahahaha


And on that note... Here's my favorite Elvis song... Many a loaf of bread has been beaten into submission during the kneading stage with "Jailhouse Rock" setting the rhythm!  Enjoy