Jolene's Recipe Journal

K is for Key Lime! This year I'm participating in a bi weekly challenge with some blogging friends to post recipes using all of the letters in the alphabet.  It can feature a food that begins with the letter of the week or the recipe name can contain the week's letter. I'm going to be honest, K has been a bit of a PITA for me.  I started out making Key Lime Pie Bars which were delicious but did not photograph well.  Then I made Kahlua popsicles and they did not set and we ate them with a spoon. So here I am, back for another try at K again. I got this recipe from the Nellie & Joe's website.  It starts with a "simple syrup" of sorts with part Key lime juice and part sugar.  You cook it until the sugar is dissolved and then let it cool. Then you rim the glasses with graham cracker crumbs.  You can dip the rims in water but I dipped mine into the Key Lime syrup and then into the crumbs. For the cocktail you add 2oz of the syrup, 4oz of vodka and a coup...

I'm wrapping up Brunch Week with a family favorite, pancakes. I chose this recipe because the last thing I want to do on a lazy Sunday or Mother's Day is wash a ton of dishes. Since these banana pancakes are mixed in the blender, clean up is super easy.  I made a few minor changes to the recipe.  I added a teaspoon of vanilla extract and a teaspoon of cinnamon. I find blenders work best when you add the wet ingredients first. I like to coat my griddle pan with nonstick spray but then also add a bit of butter. I've got a nice wide turner that's perfect for pancakes and I cooked them four at a time. I was very happy with how light and fluffy they turned out. You can top them with more bananas and drizzle them with honey or maple syrup, I think they'd also be fantastic with Nutella or peanut butter in between them and I'm definitely going to make the next batch a double and do some with blueberries. Thank you so much to Christie from A Kitchen Hoors Adventures for...

These Caesar Salad in Peppered Parmesan Bowls would be beautiful for brunch, Mother's Day, or a baby shower. I used an 8" nonstick skillet, Frigo shredded parmesan cheese and freshly cracked black pepper.  The key is really to be patient and also be attentive.  This isn't the kind of thing you walk off and do something else or you'll go from melty deliciousness to burnt in the blink of an eye. There was a bit of a learning curve.  The first one I didn't have quite enough cheese, the second one I flipped out onto the ramekin upside down and didn't notice til it had cooled. By the 3rd one I had it down.  This is actually the inside out one. Look how perfectly golden brown it is and oh-so-crispy! I love how you can see the flecks of black pepper, but obviously once you fill it it all gets covered up so make sure you turn them out the right way. You can definitely purchase all the ingredients for the salad separately but I grabbed two Caesar kits and a container o...

 J is for Jam! This year I'm participating in a bi weekly challenge with some blogging friends to post recipes using all of the letters in the alphabet.  It can feature a food that begins with the letter of the week or the recipe name can contain the week's letter. I had so many ingredients earmarked for J that I had a hard time choosing which one to make, jalapenos, jam, Jell-O. In the end, I decided on these Blueberry Jam Palmiers which were inspired by a recipe on Bake From Scratch.  It's really simple, but you do need to be mindful of the defrost/chilling times. All you need are frozen puff pastry sheets, turbinado sugar, cornstarch and of course, jam.  I chose blueberry but it would be fantastic with raspberry, blackberry or even strawberry jalapeno. First you thaw the puff according to the package directions. Lay it out on a pastry mat or cutting board and sprinkle with some turbinado sugar.  Roll it out to a 12" x 12" ish square and then gently flip it...