L is for Lemon Lasagna

and Louis Lion, When It Gets Dark I May Start Cryin’

Greetings, readers, as we are nearly halfway through the alphabet and I couldn’t be happier!

Do you realize when we finish this “trek” that you will have 26 new recipes for your cooking war chest?

Hey…I’m a problem solver like that.

Today’s blog post is really going to excite those lemon lovers (like me) out there.

It’s true…I love all things lemon flavored or scented…orange, too.

I’m just a citrus kind of girl.

And a donkey lover, in case you missed that a few days ago.

It’s true, Glindsey, my donkey, is cultivating her own little fan club.

Seriously, like people are sending me emails and texts about her…asking questions, wanting to know her name…how old she is…and asking if they can come and visit.

What am I, chopped liver?

I blog and I write and I cook and I research and no one asks questions about me.

What about me?

My donkey just stands at the fence and brays (kind of like praying but it’s a loud sort of obnoxious noise) for me to come out and feed her Scooby snacks.

You know, like apples and carrots and the occasional banana.

But not lemons.

Speaking of lemons…I’ve never met a lemon I was scared of.

But I am scared of the dark.

Well, not anymore, but I used to be.

Like last week.

It’s true…when Scott travels, I booby trap the doors with all kinds of things like golf bags and dog kennels.

And the couch.

Even though I have an alarm, I feel safer thinking no one can get in the door if a couch is in the way.

Right?

And this character flaw has followed me straight into parenthood.

And for a while there…it plagued my son.

So, I let my little boy start sleeping with us…for several years.

No worries, he’s 22 now and sleeps in his own bed.

Don’t judge readers…if you do I’ll play the grief card and make you feel bad.

Okay, I’m playing it.

After Samuel passed away, Scott and I just wanted Robert Scott closer to us.

Like sleeping with us closer.

And coincidentally our son was scared of the dark…so we let him sleep in our bed.

With us.

Understandable, right?

Yeah…well, until his size 10 men’s shoe at age second grade started waking me up in my nose.

Which is why I started snoring!

Not so fun.

But, our boy didn’t detach so easy.

Let’s just say it took a bit before he could muster the courage to sleep by himself.

I know, I know, I broke all the parenting rules in the Parenting Governing Handbook from the Harvard Research Center on what NOT to do with your children.

I (really WE cause it was Scott’s fault, too!) failed that part of the course.

Like with an “F.”

But, as a result of that story, we now have “Louis Lion, When It Gets Dark I May Start Cryin’.”

You know…in case you have a scare-dy cat at your house.

Or in case you ARE a scare-dy cat (hey, these books aren’t just for kids).

Anybody out there know how to correlate lemon lasagna to being scared of the dark?

Yeah…me neither.

So I’m just going to dive right into the recipe and cut the nonsensical (why, yes, I do love “Pride and Prejudice) rhetoric.

I found this recipe some time back and when I saw it was a lemony dessert with lemon Oreos, I had to try it.

And I loved it.

I mean, how could it NOT be good.

AND it’s a no bake dessert.

Made me love it more.

Let’s start by mixing the lemon Jell-O pudding (I used two-3.4-ounce boxes, I couldn’t find the 6.8 size) with 4 cups of milk.

Whisk this together and put it to the side while it thickens.

Next, we need to crush the lemon Oreos, and I used my food processor to get mine really fine.

After they are finely crushed, add 6 tablespoons of melted unsalted butter.

Give your processor another few whirls and get the butter incorporated into the cookies.

As soon as it’s incorporated, press the mixture into a 9 x 13 Pyrex dish to create a yummy lemony cookie crust.

For the next step I use my hand mixer and blend the cream cheese, butter and powdered sugar. Then fold in one of the containers of Cool-Whip.

The blender gives it the smooth texture it needs so spread it over the cookie crust, so after you fold in your Cool-Whip, spread it over to make the crust for the second layer.

By now, the pudding should be thickened so let’s spread it over the first two layers.

Finally, top the dessert with the Cool-Whip.

You want it to be good and firm, so refrigerate for at least an hour.

And then get ready to enjoy this wonderful, creamy, lemony, delicious, Oreo, summer, no-bake, easy dessert.

I hope they have this in heaven.