Lemon Cookies

Today, it is dreary, cold, wet and snowing. Just a little over a week ago we had a taste of spring with a beautiful sunny weekend. That is when I made these cookies. They were like a taste of spring, too.



LEMON COOKIES

1 (18.25 oz) package lemon cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
grated zest from 1 lemon
powdered sugar for decoration

Pour cake mix into a large bowl. Stir in eggs, oil, lemon juice & lemon zest until well blended. Refrigerate at least 15 minutes, and up to overnight to make the dough easier to handle. Roll teaspoonfuls of dough into balls and then drop into a small bowl of powdered sugar. Roll around until lightly or heavily covered, depending on how much you want. Once sugared, place on an ungreased or parchment-lined cookie sheet.

Bake at 375 degrees for 7 to 10 minutes. The bottoms will be light brown, and the insides chewy.

Yield: 5 dozen

Note: I plan to use more lemon juice next time to increase the lemonyness (that's a word, isn't it?).

Lemon Chicken Pasta

Wine and heavy cream in the same dish.... Yum!



This recipe was from Publix Apron's Simple Meals.

LEMON CHICKEN PASTA

8 ounces penne pasta
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1 pound boneless chicken tenders, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons capers
2 teaspoons chicken base (I use Better than Boullion brand)
1 lemon
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, place flour and seasoned salt in a large zip-top bag. Add chicken pieces to bag and shake to coat. Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan, swirling to coat. Add chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken is no longer pink. Stir capers and chicken base into chicken, cook for 2 minutes. Squeeze juice of one lemon into chicken. Stir in wine and cream. Reduce heat to low, cook 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until heated through. Drain pasta when done and stir into chicken mixture.

Yield: 4 servings

Okay, so I cheat and use lemon juice from one of those little plastic lemon-shaped bottles.

The Better Than Boullion chicken base is a little expensive, but you only need a little each time you use it. I promise, you'll find other uses for it, too. You can use it any time you need to make a dish more chicken-y. I use it in Chicken and Dumplings and a couple of soups that I make.