Crustless Cranberry Walnut Pie

I love anything with cranberries. I found this pie recipe and was excited to try it since it’s crustless and had walnuts. So yummy and light with a little tartness, perfect for summer!

I did tweak the original recipe that I found. I added only 1/4 of butter and included vanilla extract along with the almond. I also used canned cranberry sauce since we didn’t have fresh, but I am definitely going to make this again using fresh cranberries, which I think will add a bit more deliciousness.

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups cranberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
1 teaspoon almond extract

Pour mixture in a 9 inch pie plate.
Bake in a 350 deg. oven for 40 minutes.

Enjoy!

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Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

Chicken Taco Friday in the Red Kitchen tonight! The fresh smoky taste of Roasted Tomatillo Salsa is the perfect companion.

Ingredients:
2 lbs Tomatillos
1 Green Pepper
2 Medium Onions (red, white or yellow)
8 Cloves Garlic
1 Tbsp. Lime Juice
1 Tbsp Vinegar (apple cider or white)
1 Tsp. Kosher Salt

Grill all veggies over medium-high direct heat until slightly charred. The tomatillos will become soft and start dripping. This is when you want to take them off the grill so you don’t lose too much of the liquid.

Transfer the tomatillos and onions to a bowl to cool. Set the garlic cloves aside until cool enough to peel the papery skin off. Allow this to sit for 20 minutes.

Once cool enough to handle, place the onions, pepper and garlic in a food processor. Pulse until the onions and pepper are fairly well chopped but not pureed. Transfer the garlic/pepper/onion mixture to a bowl. Add tomatillos and pulse until slightly chunky. Add to bowl. Stir in the lime juice, vinegar and salt.

Refrigerate for ~1 hour to allow flavors to blend. Typically we would add 1-2 jalapeno peppers (roasting them along with everything else), but the munchkin will be eating this too. This makes ~2 quarts which seems like alot, but it freezes very well in tupperware or freezer bags.

Enjoy!

Summer Berry Cheesecake Cookies

It was finally cool enough to consider heating up the oven. With a freezer full of this seasons berry picking adventures, these cookies seemed appropriate.

Inspired by: http://hotpolkadot.com/2011/08/18/its-12am-do-you-know-where-your-cookies-are/

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1 egg
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen) *
1/4 cup strawberries (fresh or frozen) *
3 oz. cream cheese, cut into 1 tsp cubes **

Preheat oven 350 F.

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and lemon juice. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Slowly fold in berries. Chill dough for 20 minutes.

To shape cookies, shape 2 tbsp of dough into a ball, making a small indentation to insert the cream cheese. This dough can get messy and the berries will break-down, but don’t worry they’ll turn out fine ;-). Space cookies ~2″ apart on parchment paper lined baking sheet, bake for 12-15 minutes, then cool on a wire rack.

* If using fresh berries, chop strawberries into 1/2″ pieces combine with blueberries and place in freezer for ~30 minutes prior to mixing dough. If using frozen berries, chop strawberries combine with blueberries and keep in freezer while mixing dough. This will prevent the berries from becoming too mushy when folding into dough.

** Keep cream cheese cubes on parchment paper in the freezer while mixing dough.

Enjoy!

No-Bake Cheesecake

This is our go-to recipe for no-bake cheesecake, the perfect summer treat when it’s too hot to turn on the oven.

Ingredients:
4 Tbsp Butter, melted
2 Cups Graham Crackers/Animal cookies crushed
8oz. Softened Cream Cheese
1 Cup Heavy Cream
1/4 Cup sugar
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

For the cookie crust:
Microwave the butter in the 9×9 pan until melted. Crush the cookies in a food processor or use a mallet and plastic bag. Combine with crushed cookies. Press into pan.

For the filling:
Combine cream cheese and sugar.

Beat until fluffy. Add vanilla, mix until combined.

In a separate bowl, beat heavy cream until stiff peaks form.

Gently fold whipped cream into cream cheese mixture.

Spread evenly over cookie crust.

Drizzle with chocolate syrup and swirl, zig or zag.

Should be chilled for at least a few hours, if you can wait that long!

Enjoy!