Triple Citrus Bars - #foodbloggers4fl

It's hard to believe all the damage that has been occurring in the past couple weeks. From Hurricane Harvey, to the wild fires out west, to Hurricane Irma. I'm sure many people are now having a watchful eye on Hurricane Maria. 

I have several online friends in Florida, and reading about their preparation for Irma was absolutely nerve wracking. Thankfully, they all came through with minimal damage. My family and friends in South Carolina, are all safe as well. 

The group of bloggers I met up with to show our support for Hurricane Harvey, is meeting up again in support of those impacted by Hurricane Irma.  Sharing food is what we do, so this time sharing a recipe inspired by the Southeastern part of the U.S. or the Caribbean.  Please be sure to scroll all the way to the links after the recipe to see what everyone else is sharing!

With Florida being in the news so much, I immediately thought "Citrus". And, while these bars are very close to a traditional lemon bar, the variety of citrus flavor coming from Limes, Oranges and Lemons, makes these so much brighter in flavor, and the perfect bar to take on a summer picnic or to a potluck. Or maybe even pack some up in a lunch which is what we are doing this week!

For your consideration, here are some reputable charities: 

Volunteer Florida
Miami Diaper Bank

Harry Chapin Food Bank of Southwest Florida
South Florida Wildlife Center 

Heart of Florida United Way
All Faiths Food Bank 

Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida

Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency

Fondos Unidos 

Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands

St. John Community Foundation
Anguilla Beaches

Triple Citrus Bars

Crust
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon lemon zest, divided
1 teaspoon lime zest, divided

1 teaspoon orange zest, divided

Filling
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tablespoons orange juice, fresh squeezed
2 tablespoons lemon juice, fresh squeezed
2 tablespoons lime juice, fresh squeezed

Glaze
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons citrus juice (lemon, lime, or orange)
Zest, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper.  In medium bowl, mix melted butter, 1 cup flour, 1/4 cup powdered sugar, salt, and 1/2 teaspoon each of lime, lemon, and orange zest.  Once combined, press into prepared baking pan. With fork, poke holes throughout crust. Bake for 20 minutes.

In large bowl, combine eggs, sugar, flour, and baking powder. Once well combined, add remaining zest, and 2 tablespoons each of lime, lemon, and orange zest. Mix well.

When crust is done. Remove from oven. Pour filling over baked crust. Bake for 20 minutes, or until set.

Once bars have cooled to room temperature, stir together powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon citrus juice (use whatever juice you have on hand). Add remaining juice as necessary until desired consistency is reached.  Pour glaze over cooled bars, let set for 30 minutes before cutting.

Store covered in refrigerator.

Adapted from: Real Food Girl:Unmodified

Sharing this at:
Weekend Potluck

An InLinkz Link-up

Daily Goodie Box

September is here, and so is another Daily Goodie Box! So many fun and tasty things to try. Our friends have been here both times our box has shown up. They are so jealous, they signed up to get their own! We did share some of the Trolli Sour Bite Crawlers with them :)

Trolli - Sour Bite Crawlers

http://www.weirdlyawesome.com/

These were quite a hit! Boy, are they sour!

Nellie’s - Baby Laundry Soda

https://www.nelliesallnatural.com/shop/nellies-baby-laundry-soda/#.WUmTGSN95FR

With Oxygen Boosters!

Crown Maple  - Maple Sugar 

https://www.crownmaple.com/crown-maple-shop/crown-maple-sugar

This is wonderful on a bowl of oatmeal. Mmmm.

ButterFields - Hard Candy

https://www.butterfieldscandies.com/

Love peaches? Try these!

Lovebug Probiotics - Here’s The Skinny

https://www.lovebugprobiotics.com/pages/general-health-probiotics

Even improves energy levels, Yeay!

Paleo Powder - Seasoning

https://www.paleopowderseasoning.com/

With Himalayan Pink Salt, my favorite salt!

GinnyBakes - Chocolate Chip Cookies

https://www.ginnybakes.com/shop/mini-cookies/chocolate-chip-love-mini/

Seriously, go get these! Truckin' Man gave them a thumbs up too!

GURU - Organic Energy Drinks

https://www.guruenergy.com/en/13-products

Need a energy boost? Try this!

Rufus Teague - Made Some Sauce

https://rufusteague.com/

They had me at Whiskey Maple :)

Want to get a Daily Goodie Box? Goodie Boxes that are not only 100% free, but they also cover the shipping costs too!  No credit card or any type of payment. Goodie Boxes are absolutely 100% free to you.  

Sign up at:  https://dailygoodiebox.com/

Texas Style Mexican Rice #foodbloggers4tx

Texas has always been special to me. That's where I remember our first family vacations, sitting on the beach, sand in my toes, friends that lived in houses on stilts, family that lived in the massive cities. I can remember walking the River Walk in San Antonio, and falling in love with the smell of corn tortillas.  Later in life, my grandparents spent many many years being snowbirds in Mission, Texas. 

With my love of Texas, I was excited when Carlee shared about this great group of bloggers coming together to show our support for those affected by Hurricane Harvey.  How are we doing that?  We are sharing tons of delicious Texas style recipes, so scroll down and check them all out!  Also, we have some reputable charities for your consideration, if you feel inclined to donate.

For this occasion, I was talking to my mom, and she knew the recipe I needed. She said it was in the cookbook Gram and her Mission neighbors put together.  I've never seen this cookbook before or heard of this cookbook before! I will be reading through this very carefully and see what other little gems I've been missing out on!

(Just for fun, a couple family photo's taken in San Antonio back in the 70's!)

Gram's Texas Style Mexican Rice was a delight. It comes together so fast, and easy. I spent more time chopping the onion and pepper, than I did anything else. I was worried that my husband wouldn't like the little bit of heat with the chiles, but he liked it! I think we are making progress :) 

For your consideration, here are some reputable charities:

Houston Food Bank

Salvation Army - Houston

Samaritan’s Purse

American Red Cross

Houston Humane Society

Texas Style Mexican Rice

1/4 cup onion, chopped
1/4 cup green bell pepper, chopped
3 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup long grain rice (uncooked)
1/2 cup tomatoes, chopped
2 tablespoon canned diced chiles
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon tumeric
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon cilantro, chopped
2 cup chicken broth
Cilantro for garnish, optional

In large pan, saute onion and green bell pepper over medium heat for 4-5 minutes.  Add rice, stirring to coat rice. Stir often until rice turns opaque.  Add tomatoes, chiles, and spices. Stir until all are mixed through.  Add chicken broth, and bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered for about 20 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat. Let set for 5 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

Sharing this at:
Weekend Potluck
Meal Plan Monday

An InLinkz Link-up

Gardening in 2017

It's certainly been a strange year for our garden, and definitely not one of our better years. While nothing specific has gone wrong, it's been a hard year. 

On the positive side, our ornamental crops are doing outstanding.

Broom corn appears to be growing well. We don't know much about it yet, and this is our first year so we really are just winging it on this one.

Gourds are going to be bountiful. Everywhere you look is a gourd.

The ornamental corn has the most colorful tassels and ears, lets just hope it continues on the path of being colorful :)

Apparently I missed getting a photo of our pumpkins. They are doing really well. Not as numerous as past years, but they appear to be a very nice size.

We tried Blue Hubbard Squash for the first time.

Another first. Vermont Cranberry Beans. This is a dry shelling bean, so we have some time left yet before we can try this one. Excited to see how it turns out.

 The tomatoes. Our tomato trellis ended up working better than we expected, and we will improve on this design next year. As far as the harvest, we would be doing good if they would turn red. Green tomatoes everywhere you look.

My first year for Poblano Peppers. I didn't think they were going to make it, but here they come. 

While I was out, I noticed the berries on the asparagus. I thought it was pretty.

Things I didn't take a picture of were the onions and bell peppers. I normally freeze many pounds of both. We had a complete loss on the bell peppers. The second planting of the onions, went better, but they just don't grow. So, salad onions they are.

Carrots, Swiss Chard, Lettuce, all did nicely. Green Beans were looking sketchy, but they are finally producing nicely. 

The "Fooled Ya" Jalapenos will be up for review soon. I picked some, and they are soooo mild, I wouldn't even know they are related to a jalapeno if it weren't for the shape. So, I am going to make Jalapeno Poppers this coming week, and my husband will have them for the first time. That will be the true test!

How is your garden? Bountiful harvest or 

What Grabbed My Attention This Week

As Hurricane Harvey was approaching the State of Texas, I was watching the news to keep up with it's movement.  I was also watching the status and well being of friends on facebook. I have some distant family, old classmates, and some foodie friends all in Texas.

Only three of them were in an area to be immediately concerned. Two of them turned out just fine, with just some heavy rain. The other though, was not so fortunate. Right in the heart of it all was Adam and his family. I know Adam only from facebook and his blog Unorthdox Epicure, but this is a good man, and his updates were very concerning. The pictures he shared, were what nightmares were made of.

Yet, through all this, he is posting some of the most heart warming blog posts about what they are going through, and the good they are experiencing.  The good in people.

Go on take a peak.

http://unorthodoxepicure.com/confession-no-142-the-human-condition-is-alive-and-well/