Lemon Meringue Pie:

Lemon.

Just the word itself sounds tasty and refreshing to me!

I have always been crazy about anything Lemon.

Sweet or Savory, it doesn't matter.

However, by far, my very favorite Lemon dish of all time, would have to be

Lemon Meringue Pie.

My brother, Kaleb, is just about the same way, and he asked for it for his birthday this year.

It doesn't look amazing, but it tasted SO good!!

I hope you try it out!!

1 (9-inch) deep-dish Pie Crust (click HERE for my recipe)

Bake pie crust at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until light golden brown.

Set aside to cool.

Meringue:

6 egg whites

1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

1 tsp. vanilla

12 tblsp. sugar

Separate egg whites and place them in a large mixing bowl of an electric mixer. Let them stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Add cream of tartar and vanilla to the egg whites. Begin beating on medium-high speed until soft peaks form.

Turn the mixer on high speed. Add the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until stiff peaks form.

Continue beating until sugar is dissolved and peaks are stiff and glossy.

Tip: you can tell when the sugar is dissolved by rubbing a small amount of the meringue between your fingers. The less "grainy" feel, the better chances of the meringue not weeping later on.

Pudding:

1 (2.9 oz) box Cook&Serve Lemon Pudding mix

1/2 cup sugar

2 egg yolks, beaten

2 & 1/4 cups water, divided

Whisk together pudding mix, sugar, egg yolks, and 1/4 cup water in a medium saucepan; mix until well combined. Add remaining 2 cups water. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.

Pour into pre-baked pie shell. Top immediately with meringue, and spread to edge of crust to seal.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Cool completely before serving. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.

Copycat Chick-fil-A Honey Mustard Sauce:

Chick-fil-A is BY FAR my favorite fast-food restaurant. 

Fortunately, for my health, the nearest one is about 30 minutes away, so I don't get to eat there very often.

I was recently able to go out to New Mexico to visit my brother and sister-in-law, and they introduced me to Chick-fil-A's Honey Mustard Sauce.

I had never even heard of it before, which was strange, seeing how much I love that place!

And it only moved higher up on my list, after having that sauce!

I ate it with the grilled chicken nuggets, and the waffle fries - both were AMAZING, and I was officially addicted!

I didn't think the employees would look too kindly on my request for 100 packages of their sauce, so I decided to take matters in to my own hands.

After a little bit of searching and tweaking, I think I may have actually hit the jack pot!

It is not the actual sauce, but it tastes REALLY close.

Don't let the coloring in the picture fool you - for some reason the flash on my camera made it look darker than it actually was.

I was pretty surprised with the ingredient list, to be honest, but trust me, it all works!

I hope you give it a try!! 

1/4 cup mayonnaise (I used miracle whip)

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon yellow mustard

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon BBQ sauce

Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl. 

Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator!

How to Step-up your boxed cake mix:

I'm not a huge cake eater, but every now and then, a nice, moist slice of cake just sounds good.

There are several gluten-free boxed cake mixes out now, and some of them are good, but others are not so fantastic! 

However, I have learned a few tricks that can kick a boxed cake mix, up to a whole new level!

The Betty Crocker gluten-free cake mixes are definitely my favorite, but these tips can be used with absolutely any brand and size, as well as for a regular non-gluten-free cake mix.

I hope you try it out!

1. When the box says to add water to your cake mix, use milk instead.

2. Always add one extra egg. So, if the box calls for 3 eggs, use 4.

3. If the box calls for oil, use melted butter instead.

4. Adding 1 cup of sour cream, or 1 package of instant pudding mix, is very optional, but will help if you want a pretty rich cake.

Slow Cooker Baby Carrots:

This is such a great recipe!
We are all about the crock-pots in this house, and it doesn't get much easier than this!
I love steamed carrots, but cooked carrots are entirely different. They tend to be so mushy and totally lost when it comes to flavor. But for some reason, the carrots in this recipe stay pretty crisp and the flavor is outstanding!
I hope you give it a try!

1 (16 oz.) bag baby carrots

1/4 tsp. salt

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 & 1/2 tblsp. butter

1/2 tblsp. parsley

Place all ingredients in a 1 - 2 quart crock-pot. Stir to combine.

Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours or until tender.

Serve!

Super Sticky Baked BBQ Chicken:

We love grilled chicken legs in my house! Especially when they've been grilled with BBQ sauce and are nice and sticky! So yummy!

However, we have trouble getting them cooked all the way through, without burning them on the outside.

I was majorly craving some good BBQ, chicken legs, so when I came across this recipe, I decided to give it a try. I was not prepared for how fast, how easy, and how delicious the recipe would be!!

I made them for the 4th of July, and everyone loved them! They actually tasted SO much like grilled chicken legs!

I couldn't get a picture that truly showed how thick and sticky the BBQ sauce was, or how moist and tender and perfectly cooked the chicken was! But trust me, it was good!!!

I hope you try them out!!

8-10 chicken legs or thighs (with the bone-in and skin on)

2 cups BBQ sauce

Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper

Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with foil. Coat the foil with cooking spray.

Rub each piece of chicken with olive oil and place on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; flip chicken and repeat with salt and pepper on the other side. Place chicken skin side down.

Bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes.

Remove chicken from the oven, and raise the temperature to 450 degrees.

Meanwhile, if there are a lot of juices in the pan, drain off, blot off with paper towels, or use a basting bulb to suction out. Pour BBQ sauce in a bowl, and using a pastry brush, coat each piece of chicken (on both sides) with the sauce. Return to the oven for 7 minutes.

Baste the top of the chicken with more sauce; bake for 7 more minutes.

Again, baste with the remaining BBQ sauce, and bake for 7 more minutes.

Let stand for 10-15 minutes before serving!!

Note:

-Sweet Baby Ray's is our favorite BBQ sauce, but you can use any kind you want.

-I also like to make this a "Make-Ahead" dish, by letting it cool completely after baking, and place it all in a crock-pot lined with a slow-cooker bag. The next day, I just pull it out of the fridge, and put it in the crock-pot base on LOW for about 3-4 hours to heat all the way through!