New Year, New You

Every year, eating healthier appears somewhere -- if not first -- on lists of New Year's resolutions.  If this is one of your goals for 2018, here's a tasty and healthy broccoli recipe to whet your appetite.

In 2011, I posted a Broccoli with Lemon recipe made with butter, lemon juice, salt, pepper and, of course, broccoli.  The recipe I'm sharing today, courtesy of one of my sisters-in-law, has the same name, but not the same ingredients.  The new recipe includes the addition of chicken broth and, instead of butter, olive oil.  These two ingredients give the broccoli a robust -- rather than citrusy -- flavor.

One thing to remember is not all olive oils are the same.  Although olive oils are graded according to their level of acidity, the flavor, color and fragrance depends on where the olives were grown.

Extra virgin olive oil -- the most expensive -- comes from the first pressing of the olives and contains no more than 1% acid.  The next grade, virgin olive oil, also comes from the first pressing, but contains up to 3% acid.  A good rule of thumb is the darker the olive oil, the more flavor it contains.

The last few times I've prepared this dish, I've taken some shortcuts. Rather than buy a head of broccoli and cut it into pieces, I use a bag of precut broccoli.  It may cost a little more, but I find the time saved is worth the splurge.

Instead of cooking the broccoli in a steamer basket over a pot of boiling water, I rinse the broccoli and cook it 3 to 4 minutes in the microwave in a covered micro-cooker I bought from Pampered Chef many years ago. 

If you need to watch your salt intake, you can substitute low sodium chicken broth and omit the 1/4 teaspoon salt called for in the recipe.

If you prefer broccoli like the version pictured below, check back soon for a truly cheesy recipe.  

In the meantime, here's a broccoli recipe that's better for you.

Broccoli with Lemon Version 2

4 Servings

1 lb. fresh broccoli, washed and cut into florets

3 Tbsp. canned chicken broth

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 1/2 tsp. olive oil
1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. freshly ground pepper

Arrange broccoli in a steamer basket over 1-inch of boiling water.  Cover and steam 6 to 8 minutes, or until crisp-tender.  Drain; set aside.  Combine remaining ingredients; pour over broccoli and toss to coat.

© Margaret's Morsels

12 Days of Christmas Gifts from the Kitchen: Day 10

Bar cookies might not come to mind at Christmastime, but for me they are the equivalent of a bow and go gift.  Bar cookies are a real time saver since they don't have to be rolled and cut out.  Frosting is easy since it's typically done in the pan -- not individually -- and can be as simple as a sprinkling of powdered sugar.  Lemon Bars are quick and easy to make, especially when they start with a tasty shortcut!

© Margaret's Morsels

Spotlight on Summer: Cool and Creamy

A lot of you are new to Margaret's Morsels.  To help introduce you to the site, I thought I'd compile a list of summertime recipes from previous blogs. The list isn't all inclusive, but includes some of my favorites from five different categories.  To make it manageable, I'm making this a three part series.  Today's recipes are foods that are cool and creamy.  Click the words in bold to go to the page with the recipe. 

Easy Peanut Butter Chip Pie:  This is the recipe that launched Margaret's Morsels.  The pie gets its wonderful flavor from peanut butter chips.  My son came up with the idea of adding Magic Shell topping for a delicious chocolate/peanut butter combination.  No matter how you top it, it's a cool and refreshing dessert on a hot summer day.

Peanut Butter Fudge:  Here's another recipe that uses peanut butter chips, but it also uses peanut butter.  This fudge doesn't require any cooking, unless you count melting ingredients in the microwave as cooking! Since the fudge is stored in the refrigerator, it makes a cool summertime treat.

Quick and Easy Lemon Bars:  This recipe has been in Margaret's Morsels top 10 since it was first posted in 2011.  These are the only lemon bars I've ever made that turn out perfect each and every time.  Storing them in the refrigerator not only keeps them cold, but enhances the flavor.

Lemonade Pie:  This is another lemon recipe posted in 2011 that currently ranks as the sixth most popular recipe on Margaret's Morsels.  The only appliance you need to make this pie is a hand mixer!

Chocolate Dream Pie:  This is a chocolate lover's dream recipe.  The pie only uses four ingredients and half of them are chocolate!  Just like the lemonade pie, the only appliance you need is a hand mixer. 

Banana Cream Supreme:  This isn't a pudding and not quite a pie; it's the best of both!  This no bake dessert is assembled in a spring-form pan with a layer of bananas between the filling.  Although it's delicious in the summer, my teenage son thinks it's also good in the fall, winter and spring!

Cherry Pie Filling Salad:  This first time I ever saw this recipe, I thought it wouldn't be any good.  Boy, was I wrong!  Not only is it delicious, it's versatile and can be served from the refrigerator or freezer as either a side or dessert.

Vanilla Ice Cream:  This is the recipe my mom used to make.  To this day, I think it's the best vanilla ice cream ever!  The only change I've made to the recipe is to replace the raw eggs with egg substitute.

Peach Ice Cream:  This peach ice cream isn't vanilla ice cream with chopped up peaches.  It uses fresh peaches and canned peach nectar. Peaches peak in July and August so this is a great time to make this ice cream.

Orange Peach Soup:  Here's another recipe that uses fresh peaches. This chilled peach soup can be served for brunch, lunch or even supper. It makes a great first course, especially when the meal that follows is light.

Lime Jello Salad:  This has been a family favorite since a friend gave me the recipe over 20 years ago.  If you don't like lime, you can substitute other flavors of jello and fruit.

Fruity Orange Gelatin:  If you prefer jello that jiggles, give this salad a try. Unlike congealed salads made with red jello, there's no mistaking the flavor of this salad.  It only uses five ingredients and three of them are orange!

Cherry Gelatin Fruit Salad:  Here's another jello recipe that jiggles.  This is my most requested congealed salad recipe.  No one will ever guess it only uses four ingredients and all of them are sugar-free!

Sour Cream Cherry Cheesecake:  The kitchen won't get hot when you make this cheesecake.  The crust is the only thing that needs to be baked and that only takes 10 minutes!  The rest of the cheesecake is made by doctoring up a package of cheesecake mix.  I use cherry pie filling on top, but you can use your favorite flavor.

Check back next week for part two of the series.

© Margaret's Morsels

The Top Ten Countdown: Number 2

The second most popular recipe on Margaret's Morsels is Quick and Easy Lemon Bars.  This recipe only uses five ingredients and one of them is a cake mix!  It was the number one recipe on my blog until two months ago.

No Bake Dessert

Earlier this year I posted a blog that included a recipe for lemon bars. This has become my most popular blog to date!  Apparently I'm not the only lemon lover so I thought I'd share another lemon recipe.  Unlike the lemon bars, this one doesn't require any cooking.

Although lemon icebox and lemon meringue pies are good, I prefer a lemon pie with a creamy consistency that doesn't skimp on flavor.  It took a few years, but I found exactly what I was looking for when I came across the recipe for Lemonade Pie.  Unlike a lot of no bake pies, this pie gets its creaminess not from Cool Whip, but from cream cheese.

The mixed up pie filling.

Normally when I cook, I try to substitute healthier alternatives whenever possible.  You can do that with this recipe, but I don't recommend it.  The pie will not set up properly and the pieces won't retain their shape when you use nonfat, low-fat or a combination of these ingredients.  It's the fat in the ingredients that makes the pie firm.  If appearance doesn't bother you and you want to make a rich dessert a little healthier, substitute lighter versions of the evaporated milk, pudding and cream cheese.

The pie made with low-fat ingredients.  Compare the 

texture to the pie pictured at the top of the blog.

A lot of lemon pies derive their flavor from lemon juice or lemon zest.  Not this recipe.  The lemon flavor comes from a can of frozen lemonade concentrate and a package of instant lemon pudding.  If you want a firm pie, don't use sugar-free pudding.  It doesn't have the same consistency and won't set up like regular pudding.

Once the filling is mixed up, pour it into a large graham cracker pie crust. In my opinion, there's too much filling for the crust.  I only use enough to fill the pan to the top of the crust. 

You can put the leftover filling in individual graham cracker crusts or serve it as a pudding.  I put the leftover filling in dessert bowls and serve it as a prelude to the next night's dessert.

It's still warm enough in my part of the country to enjoy this cool creamy pie.  If it's too cool where you live, file the recipe away for next year so you can have your lemonade and eat it too! 

Lemonade Pie

8 Servings

2 (5 oz.) cans evaporated milk

2 (3.4 oz.) pkg. lemon instant pudding mix

2 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened

2 (3 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened

1 (12 oz.) can frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed

1 (9 oz.) ready made prepared graham cracker crust

Whisk together the evaporated milk and pudding mix in a bowl 2 minutes or until thickened.  Beat cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy.  Add lemonade concentrate, beating until blended.  Add pudding mixture and beat until blended.  Pour into pie crust.  Freeze 4 hours or until firm; transfer to refrigerator.  Garnish, if desired.  Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator.

© Margaret's Morsels

Quick Fixes with Mixes: Lemon Bars

I have a recipe box -- actually four of them -- that contains untried recipes I've collected over the years from a variety of sources:  magazines, newspapers, friends, family, cookbooks and the Internet.  Sometimes when I go through the boxes searching for a new recipe to try, I'll discover two copies of the same recipe.  The recipes have different names, but the ingredients and method are identical.  When I find a recipe that sounded so good I filed it twice, I know I need to try that recipe.  This is how the recipe for Quick and Easy Lemon Bars went from my untried recipe box to my tried and true recipe box.


I never had much success making lemon bars.  They always turned out dry, even when I made them from a packaged lemon bar mix.  That changed once I made the Quick and Easy Lemon Bars.  They received rave reviews and requests for the recipe!


Lemon bars are a layered bar cookie consisting of a crust and a lemon topping.  Traditionally, the crust is made with flour, butter or margarine and confectioners sugar.  A variation is to add flaked coconut or chopped nuts to the crust.  The crust is partially baked before the lemon topping is added.  The topping usually contains eggs, sugar, lemon juice and a little flour to help it thicken.


To save time, you can substitute packaged ingredients for both the crust and topping.  You can use refrigerated sugar cookie dough or a cake mix for the crust.  The topping can be made with a package of lemon pudding with additional ingredients added for taste and texture.  The recipe for Quick and Easy Lemon Bars relies on packaged ingredients for both the crust and topping.

Ingredients for Quick and Easy Lemon Bars.

The recipe starts with a package of lemon supreme cake mix.  You can use a yellow cake mix, but the lemon cake mix gives the finished product an extra burst of lemon flavor.  The cake mix is combined with butter and an egg and patted into a 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan.  Unlike traditional lemon bars, the crust is not partially baked before adding the topping.

The unbaked crust.

The topping only uses two ingredients:  sweetened condensed milk and lemon juice.  The two are combined and poured over the crust. 

The lemon topping added to the unbaked crust.

The pan goes in the oven and in less than 30 minutes you have a batch of lemon bars.

The finished product.

One advantage of bar cookies is you can make a lot of cookies at one time.  A disadvantage is cutting the cookies.  You can't turn the lemon bars out of the pan because of the lemon topping.  This means you have to cut the cookies in the pan.  It's almost a given the first cookie will tear up, but that's ok because the rest will come out easier.

To avoid this problem, I use a 13 x 9 x 2-inch spring-form pan I purchased several years ago. 

My 13 x 9 x 2-inch spring-form pan.

I love to use it for bar cookies because the sides are removed which makes for easier cutting.  Not only is it good for cookies, it's also good for cakes, especially when it needs to be cut into layers.  If you do a lot of baking, I highly recommend this pan.

The open spring-form pan.

The lemon bars need to be completely cooled before being cut into squares. The bars are rich so you don't want to cut them too big.  For a fancier presentation, sprinkle the bars with sifted powdered sugar.  Don't put the powdered sugar on until until you're ready to serve the lemon bars. The lemon topping will absorb the sugar if it's added too early.

The lemon bars can be stored at room temperature, but the flavor is enhanced when stored in the refrigerator.  You can cover the pan with plastic wrap or cut the lemon bars and store them in a single layer in an airtight container.  If you need to make layers, place a piece of parchment or waxed paper between the layers to keep the bars from sticking together.

Living in the South, I always associate lemons with the summer.  However, these bars are good year round.  After the winter we've had, maybe a batch will make it feel as though summer's just around the corner.

Quick and Easy Lemon Bars

24 Servings

1 (18.25 oz.) pkg. lemon supreme cake mix

1 stick butter, melted

1 egg

1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350°.  Stir together the cake mix, butter and egg.  Press mixture evenly into the bottom of a greased 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan.  Combine the sweetened condensed milk and lemon juice.  Pour mixture over the top of the cake mixture.  Bake for 23 to 27 minutes.  Cool completely.  Cut into bars.  If desired, dust with powdered sugar right before serving.

© Margaret's Morsels