Simple Yet Gourmet

Easy is the correct name for this pie dough recipe.  It takes 10 minutes from start to finish to make it. I love this dough recipe because it stays together so well after all the handling. You ask why is that?, well the secret ingredient is cream cheese. I make this crust in a food processor because it's easy and reliable. If you don't have a food processor, you can certainly still make this crust by hand or in a mixer. The pie dough is tender rather than flaky, but I find I like the texture and taste better than just the butter recipe. This week I made Mini Peach Pies and Raspberry Lemon Tarts with this recipe and both turned out wonderful. Even after all the rolling out the dough still remained tender and just plain yummy.

So I think we need a little breakfast recipe today! I have made this a few times already and loved them  each time we have them.  Breakfast food is my favorite thing to eat as well as make.  I try to make something different each morning of the week so my kids don't get bored.  During the school year I am limited by time to what I can make, so during the summer we try a lot of different recipes because who cares if we eat at 11:00! This recipe is quick and easy and a wonderful way to use up all those yummy raspberries.  We always end up with extras and they warm up nicely the next morning.  Yummy!

It's no secret that we LOVE Mexican food, OK so I love it more than Mike. But since I'm the chef, Mike has to eat a lot of Mexican. Before we were married Mike's idea of Mexican food was Taco Bell, poor boy! I have since opened his eyes to all kinds of Mexican food, and he actually likes it. We love to make breakfast burritos, Cafe Rio Salads and Honey Lime Enchiladas, but something was always missing. I would always serve diced tomatoes, but Mike always asked for some homemade Pico. Well, I found a recipe that I love and so does the rest of the family. I served this with a new soup recipe that I made, which was to die for, and they ended up eating the whole bowl of Pico with tortilla chips along with their soup. It works well as a garnish as well as a side with any Mexican dish you serve. With the garden tomatoes just about ready, what more could you ask for that homemade Pico de Gallo. Our family is not much into spicy things so I omitted the jalapeno and Tabasco sauce a

Looking for a fun treat to help cool off this hot summer?   From the picture you can see this is nothing  fancy, but they are really good.  All the kids were able to help out and had a great time doing it.  We made this in the afternoon and had them for our after dinner treat.  I had Maddie slice the bananas, Tyler and Jeremy added the smudge of peanut butter and I dipped them in the melted chocolate chips.  Super easy and a lot of fun to do with the kids!  These lasted over a week in the freeze so it was nice to have a quick treat whenever we felt like it!

So even though I love baking and making treats, I do try and eat a balanced diet.  I've started keeping this granola on hand to get us off to a great start in the mornings.  I love this granola because it is sweet, but not too sweet, crunchy, nutty, and satisfying.  To make it even healthier I like to top it with fresh or dried fruit.  The options are endless.  Just use what you have!

These are pretty much the easiest cookies ever!  While they are not the first homemade Oreo's I've ever had,  they are my favorite version of them.  Cream cheese frosting sandwiched by chewy chocolate cookies is a match made in Heaven.  These are so tempting to eat right off the bat, but if you can exercise a little self restraint and stick them in the fridge an hour or so, they are even better!  If you've never had them before, you need to try them. As a side note, they are fun to do with kids too.  Brynlee loved helping me sandwich the cookies!

If you need a quick meal this summer, give this a try! Mike was out of town last week so the kids and I get to eat  light and hassle free.  I came across this one afternoon and made it for dinner that night.  I bought the dressing she suggested which was divine, but I would like to give the recipe a try and compare the two.  Each one of my kids ate two big bowls of salad along with some fresh watermelon and grapes that night, so you know it was a hit  I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. P.S. If you have a meat eater like I do, grill up a chicken breast, sliced it and add it to the top of the salad!