Garlic Roasted Leg of Lamb

This was an adventure for me. Last week Brian brought home a 4 lb. boneless leg of lamb from Sam's Club. Okay, huh. What do I do with this hunk of meat? I've only had lamb once in my life (I'm not counting the gyro I had last year) and it was when I was young. I remember not liking it, but hey, I was what, ten? So, I looked up some recipes, choose one and roasted the lamb this evening. While it's still not my favorite meat, the kids LOVED it! Ellie had 3 slices, Dalin had 4, even Scott ate more than one bite!! Brian thought it was nice and mild, and he really liked the gravy. It was very tender (even though I overcooked it, I think. I just roasted it until it looked done, and I'm not ready to eat medium rare lamb) and moist. So, if you're feeling adventurous, try out some lamb.

This recipe is from Everyday Foods

1/2 cup olive oil
10 cloves garlic
1 Tbs. salt
1 tsp. pepper
4-7 lb. leg of lamb (boned, rolled, and tied-which I didn't do, I just treated it is a normal roast)

In a blender puree olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper to make a paste. Rub paste all over lamb. Roast at 400 for 2 hours or until desired doneness. *I started it out at 400, but downed it to 350 for the last hour or so.

Pan Sauce:
Drippings from lamb
1 cup water (or red wine)
1 cup chicken broth or stock
salt and pepper

Add all the ingredients to the bottom of the roasting pan, get all the browned bits up and transfer all of it to a sauce pan. Boil and reduce, about 10-15 minutes. Strain and serve with lamb.

Cheesecake Dessert

I haven't made this dessert in YEARS. I got a craving for it the other day and decided to go ahead and make it. I couldn't find the pie dough in tart size, and I was too lazy to make a pie crust, so I just made a graham cracker crust instead and put it in a 8x8 and it turned out just as delicious. It's so simple to make and a tasty alternative to real cheesecake (not to mention less time consuming)!

Cheesecake Dessert

Frozen tart shells

Cherry pie filling or blueberry pie filling

8 oz. cream cheese

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp. Vanilla

8-9 oz. cool whip

Prepare individual prepackaged, frozen tart shells according to package directions, cool, and fill with cream-cheese filling and top with desired fruit. I use either cherry or blueberry pie filling - you just buy it in the can. Filling: Cream together 1 (8 oz.) pkg. softened cream cheese, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Then fold in an 8 or 9 oz. container of Cool Whip.