from the kitchen of...

Good grief. It's eleven days into February and no posts. Where have I been? Checked out of the blogosphere to put it simply. Last week was hectic with work being done to the house, both underneath and in. And the usual busyness and sickness of everyday life with small children has set blogging on the back burner.

But, here I am now, and I want to share two recipes I've made recently. My mom delivered a bag full of ripe and wonderfully-smelling Meyer lemons from her tree. I had to do something with them, so I made these for dinner with friends:

 Strawberry Lemon Bars. Delicious. {The photo is beautiful, but not mine.}

And then I made these for a going away party for a girlfriend:

Mascarpone Chocolate Toffee Bars. Heaven on a plate. {You might remember way back when I first blogged about these here.}

I am trying to get in the kitchen more. I've made or assisted with dinner more in the last month than I have in the last year. Not really... But I want to give my husband a night off occasionally. And there are so many dinners and desserts that I've seen in magazines or "pinned" that I want to try. Usually, I just tear out a recipe (or DVR a Food Network show) and put it on the honey-do list. But this year, I'm turning over a new leaf; I want to help my honey - whether he wants me in the kitchen or not!