Apple and Brie Crescent Rolls

Ingredients:

1 pkg refrigerated crescent rolls (8 count)

8 slices of Brie cheese

8 slices of green apple

Pecans

Honey

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place crescent dough triangles on parchment paper lined sheet. Place a slice of Brie and apple on each triangle. Top with 1-2 pecans and drizzle each triangle with honey. Tuck the skinny end of the triangle underneath or you could also make a bundle to prevent the Brie from oozing out.

Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Summer Corn Cakes with Chopped Tomato and Avocado Salsa

Ingredients for the cakes:

3 ears of corn, shucked, and kernels cut off the cob

1 cup flour

1/2 cup cornmeal

1/4 cup diced red onion

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

Salt and pepper to taste

2 eggs

2 TBSP buttermilk

2 TBSP melted butter

Instructions:

Place the corn, flour, cornmeal, onion, basil, powder, soda salt and pepper in a mixing bowl and stir to combine. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs slightly, mix with butter and buttermilk. Combine the dry ingredients with the wet, stirring only to combine, do not over stir.

In a large skillet, put enough canola oil in, just to cover the bottom. When it is hot, start to use your batter just like pancakes,  it the batter is thick, so you'll need to spread it out with the back of your spoon. Cook each side until golden brown.

Serve hot with the salsa on top. Recipe follows.

Chopped Tomato and Avocado Salsa:

Ingredients:

1 large tomato, cord and chopped

1 green onion, sliced 

1/2 jalapeño pepper, chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped

Juice of 1/2 lime

1 TBSP chopped fresh cilantro

1 TBSP chopped fresh basil

1 1/2 tsp olive oil

1 1/2 tsp white vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

1 avocado, sliced into chunks

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients, except avocado and chill for at least an hour. Before serving, carefully stir in avocado.

Slow Cooker Chicken Caesar Sandwiches

---After trying this, Dee and I decided that next time we'll toast our sandwich buns with a little garlic butter---

Ingredients:

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 cup of your favorite Caesar salad dressing

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley

1/4 tsp ground pepper

Romaine lettuce

Sandwich rolls or hamburger buns

Instructions:

Place chicken in slow cooker (crock pot) with 1-2 cups of water (or for added flavor chicken broth) and let cook for 4- hours on low heat.

Remove cooked chicken from pot and shred. (We found it super fast to add to the kitchen aid and let the beater do the hard work. Drain liquid from pot and add chicken back in. Mix in dressing, cheese, parsley, and pepper. Let cook on high for 30 minutes to become hot. (We did add a bit more dressing to help it be moist). Serve on buns with lettuce and additional cheese.

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.