Challenge Wednesday #8

Good morning {or afternoon.  or evening.  Guess it just depends on when you are reading. {wink}}

Tracey and I are taking it up a notch this week.  We both did challenges.  Check out her bloggie home for my report on to-do lists {which is not as easy as it sounds, it turns out}, and keep reading here to hear about Tracey's adventures making her young 'ens some sweet treats AND a bonus!  {There is a recipe!  Score!}

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Ooh, double challenge week!  This week I was challenged to make a special treat for my kids.  A fun one, I think.  I would like to say I make them special treats all the time, but the reality is that I easily get caught up in keeping everything whole, real, and slow cooked and sometimes forget to make something simply because it would make my kids happy.  Not to mention the fact that I manage to fill my time with "regular" food and consequently the fun stuff falls by the wayside.

The thing I have to remember is how happy the kids get when I do something special for them, and it's really not much effort to make a treat.  Even better, many of the treats they love can substitute flours and sweeteners for healthy alternatives.  I admit, though, that the only substitution I made was using raw sugar instead of refined.  Baby steps.

One thing I am really trying to do is ask their opinion whenever possible.  And so, even though I was sure their choice would be to make banana muffins with me, I asked them what they wanted.  

They chose lemon bars.  And they didn't want to help.

Ok.  Start over.  As it so happens, lemon bars are one of my favorite treats too.  So I quickly got over myself and pulled out my grandmother's recipe.  

Yummy lemon goodness.  Would you like to make it too?  Here you go:

LEMON BARS

Crust:

1/2 cup butter 

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 cup flour

Filling:

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons lemon juice

grated rind of lemon

Combine flour, powdered sugar, and butter until a soft dough is formed.  Pat into 8" or 9" square pan.  Press sides up about an inch.  Bake 20 minutes @ 350 degrees. 

In the meantime, beat eggs with sugar (don't overbeat).  Add flour, lemon juice, and rind.  Pour mixture into baked crust and bake (another) 20 minutes @ 350 degrees.

Cool.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar and cut into squares. 

This was sooo worth the effort for the expressions on their faces as they tasted their treats.

Another lesson learned for Mama.  Thanks, Jen.

I think Jen had a fabulous idea for next week.  She suggested our challenge be the same:  

Take the week off from challenges.  But lets trade blogs next week, and tell each other {and all of our friends} why we find it is so important to be grateful. 

Excellent idea, Jen.  I am up for the challenge.

Be sure to visit Control the Chaos and see how Jen fared with her organization challenge.  It's a great post, and I can definitely relate to "life happening."  See you soon, friends.