Summer has such an abundance of wonderful produce!  What's your favorite summertime fruit or vegetable? 



I'm not sure if it's a favorite, but blueberries are near the top of my list, and we are blessed to have family willing to share some of their crop with us.  I think we've been given at least a gallon or two of blueberries this year! 



I like to try new things each year, and this year I opted to make pie.  It was a good decision!  I took this to my church small group meeting one day and everyone said they loved it.  Drew wanted seconds...as in a second pie. 



This particular recipe is incredibly simple but so delicious.  It really showcases the fruit.  It's perfectly sweetened, and so bubbly coming out of the oven.  The deliciousness can't be contained inside a mere crust!  It comes from the book, Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan.  I highly recommend that cookbook for your baking delight! 

Double Crusted Blueberry Pie
from Dorie Greenspan

Pie crust to make a double crusted, 9 inch pie
1/4 cup plain dry breadcrumbs
2 1/2 pints blueberries
1 cup sugar, or a little more, to taste, plus more for dusting
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
Coarsely grated zest of 1/2 lemon
Squirt of lemon juice, or a little more, to taste
 1 large egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon water, for egg wash
Sugar, for dusting

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Put the berries in a large bowl and gently stir in the sugar, flour, salt, zest and juice; let sit for about 5 minutes. Taste the filling and add more sugar and/or lemon juice, if you want.

Sprinkle an even layer of bread crumbs over the bottom crust (this help keep the bottom crust from getting soggy).

Give the filling a last stir and turn it into the crust.

Using your fingertips, moisten the rim of the bottom crust with a little cold water. Center the top crust over the filling and gently press it against the bottom. Seal, trim and either flute or press the edges of the crusts together.  Using a small knife, cut 4 slits in the top crust and cut a circle out of the center.

Put the pie plate on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat – it will be your drip-catcher. (If you have time, refrigerate the pie for about 30 minutes. The pie can also be wrapped airtight and frozen for up to 2 months. Glaze and sugar it before you put it in the oven and add at least 15 minutes to the baking time.)

Brush the top crust with the egg wash then sprinkle the crust with a little sugar – just to give it sparkle.

Bake the pie for 30 minutes.  Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees F, and bake the pie for another 30 minutes or so (total baking time is about 1 hour), or until the crust is a beautiful golden brown and the filling is bubbling up through the slits. If the crust seems to be browning too quickly, make a loose foil tent for the pie.

Transfer the pie to a rack and let it cool – and settle – for at least 30 minutes before serving.


Baker's Notes

• I completely forgot the bread crumb step, and my crust was a little "soggy."  Not enough to take away from the pie, but learn from my mistakes and don't forget this step.
• SO IMPORTANT to put the pie on a baking sheet- there will be a bubble over! 

What did we do before Pinterest?  Oh, yes, we wasted time on Facebook, or, perish the thought, searched different food blogs before recipes and ideas were conveniently able to be stored in one place.  Thanks to a friend from church, the recipe I'm posting about today made it into my pinning world because she tried it first and gave it a good review. 



This chicken recipe makes itself in the slow cooker and could literally be assembled by a child, which is great for busy people, or really anyone not wanting to turn on the stove/oven.  I shredded my chicken and used it as a burrito filling, and it was so tasty!  It also just fell apart beautifully, and was still moist, even after I cooked it 11 hours.  It makes enough for a good, hungry crowd of 6+ people.



I modified the original recipe a bit, so I'll be posting what I did.  I will link to the original recipe. 

Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken
Adapted from this recipe

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken (use breasts or thighs- whatever suits you)
1- 16 oz bag frozen corn
1- 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can Ro-Tel (or comparable off brand)
6 oz cream cheese
1/4 tsp salt
1 packet taco seasoning, or blend of similar spices (forego salt if you use taco seasoning)

Assemble all in slow cooker.  Cook on high four four hours or low for at least 6-8 hours. 

Food doesn't have to be sophisticated to be good, and often the best foods are the ones we remember loving as children, hence the comfort food craze we began to experience a few years back.  I loved sloppy joes as a kid, and as an adult, they still hold a special place in food memories. 

What was one of your favorite kid foods?



Growing up, we made sloppy joes from Manwich or some other seasoning packet, and they were good.  I can't complain, but somewhere I decided I wanted to make more things from scratch so I could know what was supposed to be in them.  I saw this recipe on Food Network years ago, and it was one of the first dishes I could confidently cook.  We break it out from time to time, and this one's taste exceeds the memory of those first sloppy joes. 



If you have kids, this is a devious way to sneak more vegetables into their diets.  No cook's notes on this one, because I feel it's pretty perfect as is.  If you don't have and don't want to purchase the seasoning blend, just know it's a combo of salt, pepper, garlic, and I think onion. 

Super Sloppy Joes
from Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Meals

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan

1 1/4 pounds ground beef sirloin

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon steak seasoning blend, such as McCormick brand Montreal Seasoning

1 medium onion, chopped

1 small red bell pepper, chopped

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 cups tomato sauce

2 tablespoons tomato paste

4 crusty rolls, split, toasted, and lightly buttered

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add oil and meat to the pan. Spread the meat around the pan and begin to break it up. Combine brown sugar and steak seasoning. Add sugar and spice mixture to the skillet and combine. When the meat has browned, add onion and red peppers to the skillet. Reduce heat to medium and cook onions, peppers, red wine vinegar and Worcestershire sauce with meat for 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce and paste to pan. Stir to combine. Reduce heat to simmer and cook Sloppy Joe mixture 5 minutes longer. Using a large spoon or ice cream scoop, pile sloppy meat onto toasted, buttered bun bottoms and cover with bun tops.

Happy 4th of July, everyone!  This is such a fun and special holiday.  Thanks to all you who are currently in service, are vets, or who are family of those who are serving/have served.

I'll post a new recipe later this week, but wanted to review a few posts for things that might be fun for your 4th cookout:

1.  Buttermilk Brined Grilled Chicken

2.  Cauliflower Cocktail

3.  Greek Turkey Burgers  (is that unpatriotic to make Greek turkey burgers on our Independence Day?)

4.  Grilled Honey Mustard Chicken and Onions

5.  Peach Crumble Pie

6.  Tomato Peach Salsa

7.  Pepper Salad

8.  Squash Croquettes

9.  Classic Burgers

Ok, sorry I went list crazy, but here's a good start for ideas on grilling, sides, and dessert- enjoy! 

What are your plans for the 4th?

Happy Summer, and welcome back to the blog! 

This weekend I knocked out not one, but two new recipes.  Yay!  Here's one of them.



It's been said before on the blog, but we love to grill in summer, but grilled chicken doesn't always excite us, because if you make sure it's done, it's often overdone and a little dry.  This particular recipe utlizies a sort of combination of brining and marinating the chicken for flavor and moisture infusion, and boy is the end result tasty.  A full 24 hours of prep time is required, so planning ahead is essential.  Everything does, however, come together easily.  Depending on the appetites in your household, you can get 4-6 adult servings off one bird.  I made the recipe as is and will post it below.  You can also click the link below to see professional pics and the original webpage for the recipe.  Definitely put this in your summer grilling repertoire.

We served it with a salad and baked sweet potato, but any of the summer sides would work great.



Buttermilk Brined Grilled Chicken
from June 2012 Southern Living

1 whole chicken, cut into individual pieces (breast, leg, thigh, wing) or the equivalent of a whole chicken already in pieces
2 cups buttermilk
2 cups water
1/4  c. packed brown sugar
1/4 c. hot sauce
3 Tb. Kosher salt
1 Tb. pepper, freshly ground preferred
1 small sweet onion, thinly sliced
1 lemon, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, halved

In a bowl (or even the bag you'll marinate in), combine the buttermilk, water, sugar, hot sauce, salt and pepper and stir.  At this point make sure it's in a resealable bag or container for brining.  Add the lemon and onion and then the chicken.  Place in refrigerator and let sit 24 hours. 

When ready to grill, prepare your grill for indirect grilling and heat to medium high (300-350).  Remove chicken from brine and pat dry with paper towels.

Place chicken on unlit portion of grill and grill, skin side up, covered, for 40-50 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest portion of meat regoisters 165.  Flip the chicken over and place over lit portion of grill and grill for 5 minutes more or until skin is crispy. 

Remove from grill and let the meat rest, loosely covered with aluminum foil, for approx. 5-10 minutes before serving. 

I have largely refrained from posting lettuce or greens based salads on here because I kind of scoff at the idea of recipes for these sorts of things.  I mean, you just layer a bunch of fresh ingredients over a bed of lettuce or other greens, and you have the dish.  Where's the need for instructions in that? 

So, why, you ask, do I post this one?  It's just so pretty!  I made this up a couple weeks ago because Drew brought home a whole gallon of strawberries from Strawberry Hill USA after taking his grandparents there and we wanted to start eating them immediately, and I saw a salad recipe that used tomatoes and avocado and somehow thought the strawberry and avocado would play together.  I was right! Oh, and bonus!  The salad is made from romaine lettuce that grew on its own from a renegade seed in our garden. 

So, it's simple.  I'll post the "recipe" below but really, just go with what you love.  Please note that because I tend to just throw salads together until I think they look pretty, measurements are anything but exact.

Strawberry Avocado Salad
serves 2 an entree sized salad

1 head romaine lettuce (or 2 cups baby greens), washed and roughly chopped
1 shallot or 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
1 cup strawberries, sliced
1 avocado, diced
1/4 cup sunflower seeds or sliced almonds
2 tb. olive oil
2 tsp red wine vinegar
salt and pepper, to taste

In a large bowl, place lettuce.  Top with shallot, strawberries, avocado, and seeds or almonds.  In a small bowl, stir together the oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper.  Drizzle over salad.  Divide between two large plates or bowls and serve. 

*for added protein, feel free to add cooked and shredded or diced chicken- maybe even steak or tuna or white kidney beans/tofu. 

I have always had a sweet tooth.  My sweet tooth lines up very well with today's fudge on a proper breakfast.  Look on any breakfast aisle in a grocery store, and you will find anything from cereals to instant grains to granola bars and now cookies.  Cookies for breakfast?!  Yes, please! 



I found this recipe in the January 2012 issue of Bon Appetit and market it for trial.  They passed the test!  Easy to make, tasty, lightly sweet, and semi-healthy thanks to the quinoa, they're a great breakfast or even mid-morning snack. 

Changes I made to the include the use of dried cherries rather than cranberries and a mix of whole wheat and white flour. 

You can find this one through epicurious.com, but I'll post here as well.  The recipe title is the link to the page on epicurious.com. 



Almond-Cranberry Quinoa Cookies
from January 2012 Bon Appetit

1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour





Enjoy!