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Saturday, January 9, 2010

When life throws you a lemon, make....

I am all about trying to bring sunshine and warmth in my life during this horrid winter we are having here in the Midwest.  It keeps my mind off all the mounds of white stuff on the ground and the fact that the temperature here is colder then the North Pole and can cause frostbite in only 10 minutes.  Ahhhhh!!!!!!

In my search for a new recipe this week, I happened across a fabulously fun site called The Pioneer Woman.  After ooohing and aaahing over many of her amazing recipes that have step by step pictures and instructions to guide even the most bumbling, fumbling chef in the kitchen, I found one that had me thinking of summer and sitting on my back deck, the sun's rays enveloping me in a blanket of warmth, sipping on nice cool and refreshing freshly squeezed lemonade!  There is just something about lemons, the taste and that oh so tart smell that evokes happy thoughts of spring cleaning and summertime.   This was definitely the perfect recipe to inspire me in my kitchen this week.

Baked Lemon Pasta adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:
1 pound Spaghetti
4 Tablespoons Salted Butter
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 cloves Garlic, Minced
1 whole Lemon, Juiced And Zested
2 cups Sour Cream

½ teaspoons Sea Salt
Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
Italian Flat-leaf Parsley, Chopped
Extra Lemon Juice

Directions:
1. Cook the spaghetti in a large pot until al dente.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Melt the butter with olive oil over low heat in a skillet and then add the minced garlic.
3. Squeeze lemon juice into the skillet and then turn off the heat.
4. Add the sour cream and mix.
5. Add the lemon zest and salt, to taste
6. Pour this mixture over your spaghetti noodles, stir and then pour everything into a baking dish..
7. Cover with foil and bake, covered, for 15 minutes.  Remove the foil and bake an additional 7 to 10 minutes.
8. After removing it from the oven, squeeze some more lemon juice over the top and add the Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley.

This recipe was a rousing success!  I thoroughly enjoyed the tartness of the lemon mixed in with creaminess of the white sauce.  My husband enjoyed it, although admittedly, he did add red spaghetti sauce to his portion.  Spaghetti just isn't spaghetti without his red sauce, lol!!!  We rounded off our meal with steamed broccoli and a crusty french baguette.

After such a deeply satisfying meal, I am now hunkering for something sweet....I think a dessert will be in order for next time!

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