Brandon Muncy

Last week I featured recipes from the Kern River Valley Historical Society cookbook, 'Kern River Cookin'. Let me begin sending my apologizes to Mr. John Bardos. I completely butchered his 'Lemon Bars' recipe, and readers have let me know. So, I'll begin this week by running Mr. Bardos recipe in it's entirety.

LEMON BARS by John Bardos

¾ Tbs Butter

1/3 C Sugar

1 ½ C Flour

Preheat oven to 350°. Mix all ingredients in food processor, pat down in a 9x16 inch pan. Bake 20 minutes.

TOPPING

1 ½ C Sugar

3 Eggs

1/4-1/3 C Fresh Lemon Juice

3 Tbs Flour

1 tsp Grated Lemon Zest

Confectioner's Sugar

Combine sugar and eggs. Then add lemon juice, flour, and lemon zest. You can also first combine some of the sugar with the lemon zest. Pour immediately into crust and put back in oven. Bake 20 more minutes. Sift confectioner's sugar over the finished lemon bars.

And now, I've a couple wonderful recipes from Betty Rothert, author of Betty's Kitchen. Thanks again for the recipes Betty, I hope to see more soon!

CHOCOLATE CHERRY CAKE

1 pkg Betty Crocker® German Chocolate Cake Mix

21 oz can Cherry Pie Filling

2 Eggs - beaten

1/3 C Oil

Beat all ingredients well to get cherries broken up. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease & flour 9 x 13 pan. Bake 25 or 30 minutes. Pick you test with might have some moisture on it from the cherries.

FROSTING

1 C Sugar

5 Tbs Butter

1/3 C Milk

6 oz Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips

Combine sugar, butter & milk. Boil constantly for 1 minute. Remove from heat - stir in chips and beat till smooth. Pour over partially cooled cake. When not much frosting is wanted, use this: 1 cup sugar, 1/3 stick butter, 2 Tablespoons cocoa, 1/4 cup milk. Boil 1 minute only and then beat until it looks like it might be ready to set up. Pour over cake.

AU GRATIN HASH BROWNS

1 bag, 24-25 oz. frozen O'Brien potatoes, thawed

1/3 cup melted butter

2 cups half & half

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1cup grated cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Place hash browns in lightly greased 9 x 13 pan and set aside. In a sauce pan, warm butter and half & half over med. low heat until butter is completely melted. Stir in salt & pepper

Pour over hash browns. Sprinkle cheese over top. Cover with foil and bake 60-70 minutes till brown around the edges. “A very good different dish for a potluck or family,” says Betty.

Be sure to read next week as I pair up with the Kern Valley High School FFA program and give you a few great recipes as well.