Memories, Lemon Bars, and Cucumber Sandwiches

Okay, so my last post got me thinking about memories from my childhood. Today I'm going to focus on my Grandma Adalee. When i used to visit her in the summer we used to enjoy going to the movie theater and singing in the car together. Her favorite song to sing with us was "You are my sunshine". We also enjoyed walking out at their beachfront condo on Medeira Beach. As far back as I can remember, she was very much into healthy eating. We often ate Grape Nuts cereal (yuck!) and Ruth's Golden Oatmeal cookies because they did not have preservatives. :0) My favorite thing to eat at her house were toasted deli sandwiches. She made them on sandwich buns with chicken, Swiss cheese, and tomato; yum! I still make them at home on occasion. Another wonderful recipe from her were date nut bars. The following recipe for these creamy lemon crumb squares reminds me of them; the crust is very similar! I'll include the date bar recipe in a future post.

I have also included a bonus recipe for cucumber sandwiches. This recipe did not come from my grandma but I got this recipe from a friend of mine's sister and they are absolutely delicious! I never thought that I would like cucumber sandwiches but I'm pretty sure I could eat an entire recipe of these myself! I made these for our girl's night last week and I just had to share it with you.

These recipes are pictured on a plate that I saved from my grandmother's when she moved into a nursing home. Miss you Grandma!

Creamy Lemon Crumb Squares
(Found on Pinterest- original recipe from The Pioneer Woman)

1 ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, slightly softened
1 cup brown sugar (lightly packed)
1 cup oats
1 can (14 ounce) sweetened condensed milk
½ cups lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix butter and brown sugar until well combined.Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder.Add oats and flour to butter/sugar mixture and mix to combine.

Press half of oat crumb mixture into the bottom of an 8 x 11 inch pan. You can use a 9 x 13 pan; it will just be thinner.

Mix together condensed milk, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Spread onto the bottom layer of the crumb mixture. The other half of the crumb mixture mix and knead together with clean hands so that the butter that you added earlier gets incorporated then crumble on top of lemon layer but don’t press. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Allow pan to sit on counter for 30 minutes after baking. Cut into squares and refrigerate for a couple of hours or until cool.Serve cool. Makes around one dozen.


Cucumber Sandwiches

2 8-oz packages cream cheese (I used reduced fat)
1/2 cup mayo (I used light)
1 package ranch dressing dry seasoning mix
Hawaiian dinner rolls
Cucumber
Dill weed

Mix cream cheese, mayo and dressing until well mixed. Split Hawaiian rolls in half. Top each half with some of the cream cheese mixture, top with a thin slice of cucumber,and sprinkle a little dill weed on top (it's missing in my picture). Enjoy!