Life Goal

I have the sweetest mother-in-law. She is the most on-top-of-it person I know when it comes to encouraging people and being thoughtful. Case in point:

A sweet card to encourage me during my board exam and ortho inteviews

So, life goal: become better at doing the same thing for other people one day :) Thanks Mrs. Jerre!

Homemade Pita Chips

All study and no play makes Erin a dull girl :( That's right...I take my National Board Exam II this coming Friday and Saturday, so I've been pinned up all weekend studying. I can't wait to get it over with!! Meanwhile, here's a super easy recipe I'll share.

I make a lot of dips during football season, and pita chips are excellent dippers. However, those dang bags of pita chips are so expensive at the grocery! Jonathan got me a cookbook that I had been really wanting for my birthday, so this was the first recipe I made:

4 whole wheat pitas
1 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. kosher salt
Seasonings, if desired

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with foil and set aside. Use a pizza cutter to cut pitas into 8 triangles. Put into a bowl and pour olive oil over them, and use your fingers to coat each pita. Arrange on baking sheet, and sprinkle with salt. For extra fun, add Italian seasoning, or cumin. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until crispy.

Ready to go in the oven

The finished product
Source: Our Best Bites Cookbook

Creamy Lemon Bars

Not much new going on around here...I've been studying for part II of my national boards (I take it Sept. 30 and Oct. 1) and watching college football (War Eagle!). Here's a recipe I'll share with you guys.

This is a recipe I made for my friend whose mom passed. I love lemon squares, and when I saw this recipe that was essentially lemon cheesecake bars, I knew it was going to be a winner. Seriously, try these.

20 Nilla Wafers, finely crushed
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) cold real butter
1 pkg. (8 oz.) light cream cheese
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, at room temp (just place eggs in a bowl of warm water for about 10 min.)
2 Tbsp. flour
3 Tbsp. grated lemon peel, divided
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp. baking powder
powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line 8-inch square baking pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of pan. Spray lightly with non-stick spray and set aside.

In a bowl, combine Nilla Wafer crumbs, 1/2 cup flour and the brown sugar. Chop butter into small pieces and then cut into crumb mixture with a pastry blender.If you don’t have a pastry blender, just use 2 knives, or even your fingers to break up the butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press crumb mixture firmly onto bottom of prepared pan. Bake 15 min.

While crust is cooking, beat cream cheese and granulated sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, 2 Tbsp. flour, and baking powder; mix well. Blend in 1 Tbsp. lemon zest, and lemon juice and then pour mixture over crust.

Bake 25 to 30 min. or until center is set. Cool completely. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and remaining 2 Tbsp. grated lemon peel just before cutting into squares to serve. Store leftover squares in refrigerator.

Source: Our Best Bites

Ahh...fall

Now that the weather has cooled off a little (no more high 90's, yay!), I can indulge in a few favorite treats. Pumpkin spice latte equals happy Erin :)