Refreshing Recipes with Lemon
Refresh Yourself
I cant think of too many things more refreshing than the flavor of a lemon. Whether its a slice in my glass of water or a hint of flavor in sorbet, lemon-flavored things cant be beat when it comes to making things fresh. Heres a good example: why do you think there are cleaning supplies and furniture polishes on the market that sport this citrus scent? Its clean, light, and gives fresh energy.For reasons unknown to me, my father recently purchased a gigantic bag of lemons, then decided there was no way my parents could use them all. Of course, they passed some on to us, which prompted me to research what I could do with all these lovely, little, yellow fruits. Read on for the best recipes I found for lemonizing yourself!(Image from Microsoft Office's free images)
Lemon Sorbet
This is a great, easy recipe for sorbet, if you have an ice cream maker. If you do have such a machine, then lemon ice cream is a wonderful possibility, as well. But in my opinion, if you are looking for refreshment, a sorbet will go a longer way toward that goal than something containing milk. Both can be a delight, but sorbet is definitely a lighter choice.
- Baking at About.com
Use your ice cream maker to make sorbet.
Here's your Sorbet Machine
Easy Lemony Chicken
Well, I think it's on the more complicated side of easy, but still not too difficult for me. I'm a lazy cook, and not a very good one! I'm one of those wing-it-every-time cooks, so please forgive the lack of measurements in this one.
Ingredients
- chicken breasts
- lemon zest
- lemon juice
- dijon mustard
- chicken broth
- salt
- oregano
- thyme
- olive oil
Instructions
- Rub the chicken breasts down in a mixture of about a tablespoon of each: mustard, lemon zest, oregano, thyme, olive oil. Add salt to the rub, but not a lot - not nearly as much as you added of the other ingredients.Brown the chicken in a pan on the stove, adding a mixture of another tablespoon of zest, about a cup lemon juice, and about a cup of chicken broth. Flip the chicken to the other side as it browns. Then slide the pan into the oven and bake as you would normally cook baked chicken in your oven. Every oven is different, but I like to cook mine at about 380 for half an hour or more. Depends on how big your pieces of chicken are. I don't use a thermometer to check my interior temps, but just cut into the biggest piece of meat to see if it looks done. You might want to lean toward the side of a lower temp (not below 350) for a longer period of time. Too high a temp can burn up all that lovely sauce.
Lemon Bars
In this short video, Howdini and Pillsbury team up to show you how to make the “So Easy Lemon Bars.” They are so easy, indeed! For me, with the gluten intolerance, an alternate crust is required. But for everyone else, these are ridiculously quick and easy. Having made bars like these in the past where I mixed the dough from scratch and pressed it into the pan, the idea of the already-made sugar cookie dough is brilliant.
Oprah's Lemon Zest Pasta
I am gluten intolerant, so would have to use gluten-free pasta for this recipe. I haven’t tried it yet, but if Oprah says it’s good, then it’s a safe bet.
- Oprah's recipe
Oprah's recipe was the result of having nothing but spaghetti noodles and lemons in the house one night.
Lemonade - (Of course)
Okay, so this is an obvious one. I do drink a good bit of lemonade, but I ashamed to say that it is not fresh! I drink Crystal Light, because I find it difficult to drink enough water on some days. When I need a little help, I enlist the Crystal Light lemonade’s help and find it to be delightful. But how do you make real lemonade from scratch?
Ingredients
- 8 -10 lemons
- depending on their size
- 3 cups water
- 2 cups sugar
- crushed ice (to your liking)
- sprigs of mint (for garnish only)
Instructions
- Juice the lemons into a pitcher. Stir in the water and sugar, then add as much crushed ice as you see fit. Add a sprig of mint to each glass. If you don't have mint, you can just add a slice of lemon to the edge of the glass, as seen in the picture. Easy peasy!
Everyday lemonade - Also known as cheating!
This won't help me use up the lemons in my house, but I drink it all the time, nonetheless.
Add slices to your water
This isn't exactly a novel recipe, but it has great benefits. I love to drink water with a slice of lemon. My parents were having a conversation with their friends once about how they don’t drink enough water, and how difficult it is to get your quota for the day. For their generation, all this recent talk about drinking a certain amount of water is new to them. The wife said she liked to have water when she went out to eat in Charleston, when she could have a lemon in it. Her husband replied, “Margaret, we have lemons in Summerville.” We have laughed about that over the years. There’s nothing to stop us from “fancying up” our water at home. It tastes better, and it’s good for us. Some say squeezing the little yellow fruit into your water will help you lose weight. Can that be true?Lemon in your water will help you lose weight? According to FitDay.com, it helps you eliminate waste better and makes you feel more full than plain water, so the answer is yes!
How do you zest a citrus fruit? - Or, what is the zest, anyway?
Many recipes call for lemon zest. What is that exactly? Well, it's little pieces or strips of the colored rind on the outside of a the fruit. Zest can be taken from limes, oranges, or other citrus fruits. You can grate the zest off of the lime by hand, but you have to be careful to only get the colored part and not go all the way down to the white part inside.
- Watch this TLC video for more information.
These ladies are making a marinade for chicken with their zest.
Get Your Zesters Here
Order Your Own
Don't even bother with the seed. You can just order your own tree that is already growing.
Did you know that you can use lemons for cleaning?
Clean your house the green way, with something yellow.
There are tons of ways to use lemons to clean around the house, but here are just a few:Run a slice through your garbage disposal to freshen it. This eliminates odors.Combine the juice with salt until the mixture is like toothpaste. You can clean your kitchen sink with it.Use the inside of one to scrub hard water stains off your shower door.
