Raspberry Cream Pie

--- This recipe originally called for a regular pastry pie crust. However, it's such a hot summer that I didn't want to turn on the oven, so I substituted a graham crackled crust. I think it would be tasty whichever pie shell you use!

Ingredients:

One 9 inch pie crust

Filling:

1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup sour cream

Dash of salt

1 tsp vanilla

3 cups Cool Whip

Topping:

1 TBSP cornstarch

1/4 cup sugar

1 heaping cup fresh raspberries

1 1/2 tsp water

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 TBSP butter

1 tsp vanilla

Dash of salt

Instructions:

Bake your pie crust according to directions or use pre-made graham crust.

In a medium saucepan, add berries, cornstarch, water, lemon juice, and sugar. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil for a few minutes to let the berries break down and become the consistency of thin pudding. Remove from heat and add butter, vanilla, and salt. Transfer to another bowl to cool.

In a mixing bowl, whip cream cheese until smooth. Then add powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt. Mix to combine. Finally, add cool whip and sour cream and beat until well combined, about two minutes.

Pour in cam mixture to pie shell and smooth out. Top with berry sauce and let refrigerate for at least an hour. Enjoy!

Raspberry Lemon Muffins

This is my favorite summertime muffin recipe

2 c. Flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

2 eggs

2/3 c. Brown sugar

1 c. Milk

6 T. Butter or margarine, melted

Zest of 1 lemon

1 c. Raspberries

Preheat oven to 425. Spray muffin tin. Whisk eggs, brown sugar, milk, butter, and zest. Add dry ingredients. Gently fold in raspberries. Fill muffin pan. Bake 15-18 minutes. 

Note: if I didn't get much zest from my lemon, I'll squeeze a tiny bit of lemon juice in the batter and add a little extra flour to compensate. 

Pistachio and Walnut Baklava

---This recipe is adapted from Cat Cora's version---

Ingredients for the pastry:

8 ounces finely chopped nuts (I prefer pistachio and walnut, but you can combine your favorite)

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 cup white sugar

2 cups butter, melted

1 1/2 pkg of frozen phyllo dough, thawed

1/4 cup whole cloves 

In a large bowl, toss together the nuts, cinnamon, ground cloves, and sugar.

Unroll the thawed pastry dough, cover with a slightly damp towel to prevent drying and cracking. Brush a glass casserole dish with some of the melted butter. Lay one sheet of the pastry in the bottom of the butted dish, and then brush the top of the pastry with butter. Repeat until there are 8 sheets of dough stacked. Sprinkle some of the nut mixture over this layer, then cover with 3 more sheets of pastry, each brushed with butter. Continue this process until the nut mixture is gone. Complete with another eight layers of pastry, each brushed with butter on top. 

Cut the pastry into strips and then into diamond shapes. Each triangle then is studded with a whole clove (to be removed after baking). Pour remaining butter over entire pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until evenly golden.

While the pastry is baking, make the honey syrup as follows:

Ingredients:

2 cups white sugar

2 1/2 cups water

1 cup honey

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cloves

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.

When the pastry comes out of the oven, immediately pour the syrup evenly over the entire pan. Be careful because the hot syrup may boil up and splatter. Allow to cool before serving. It gets better the longer it has to sit.

Nutella gelato

This delightful ice cream from Giada De Laurentiis is not low fat, but it sure is tasty!

2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup Nutella
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Combine whole milk, heavy whipping cream, and 1/2 cup sugar in a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved (5 minutes).

In a mixing bowl, whip egg yolks and 1/4 cup sugar until thick and pale yellow (4 minutes).

Slowly pour half of the heavy cream mixture into the egg yolks, whisking continuously.  Add the mixture back into the saucepan.  Heat over medium low for 7-10 minutes until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.  Remove from heat.  Stir in Nutella and vanilla extract.  Cover the mixture and chill completely before pouring in an ice cream maker (at least a few hours).

Freeze according to the ice cream maker manufacturer's instructions and place in an airtight container to further freeze until ready to serve.

Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

No ice cream maker?  No problem!  This delicious ice-cream is made without one.

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 tsp lemon zest
1 1/2 cups strawberries
15 Golden Oreos, Vanilla wafers, or a few graham crackers

Beat the cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, cream, and lemon zest with mixer on medium speed until well blended.  Set aside.

Put Oreos, vanilla wafers, or graham crackers in large ziplock and break into chunks.  Then dump in the ice cream batter.

Puree or pulse the strawberries until desired consistency.  Then dump in the ice cream batter.  I pureed mine until smooth, but you can certainly leave chunks in it.

Gently stir the filling and crust into the batter.  If you want strawberry swirls, rather than having it incorporated in, only use a few strokes.  Then pour mixture into a resealable container and freeze until firm, about 8 hours or so.

Note:  I tried using an ice cream maker, but the ingredients in this recipe take longer to freeze.  So, I recommend pouring into a freezable container as described above.

Sweet and Sour Sauce

Combine and heat the following:

1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 cup ketchup
2 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 TBSP mustard
1 tsp garlic
Salt and pepper to taste

Spinach Carbonara Pizza

I've made this Pampered Chef recipe a few times and have enjoyed it each time.

1 pkg (13.8 oz) refrigerated pizza crust
6 slices of bacon
6 oz fresh baby spinach leaves (frozen will work too)
2 garlic cloves
1 oz grated Parmesan cheese (about 1/4 cup)
1 cup Alfredo sauce
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Unroll dough over bottom of lightly greased pan.  Gently stretch and press dough to cover bottom of pan.  Bake 10-12 minutes or until crust begins to brown.  Remove pan from oven.

Meanwhile, slice bacon into 1/4 inch pieces, cook in skillet over medium heat 5-6 minutes or until crisp.  Remove from pan, and drain on paper towels.  Then, finely chop half of the bacon.  Place spinach and garlic pressed with garlic press into bowl.  Cover bowl and microwave on high 2-3 minutes or until spinach is wilted.  Carefully remove lid, press spinach to side of bowl and dab excess moisture with paper towels.

Combine Alfredo sauce, pepper, and chopped bacon (save the rest for topping the pizza).  Mix well.  To assemble the pizza, spread sauce to edges of crust.  Top with 1 cup of the mozzarella, spinach mixture, and remaining bacon.  Then, sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.

Bake 7-10 minutes or until cheese is melted.  Cut pizza into squares and serve.