Quick and Easy Fresh Peach Pie with Whipped Coconut Cream

Several years ago my sister-in-law made this pie for a family gathering.  I've since seen it lots of other places, and it is one of my favorites because it's so quick and easy, and delicious, and showcases the amazing peaches that are in season right now!  So when we went peach picking last week I knew I had to make it!

I decided to spice it up a bit by serving it with whipped coconut cream instead of regular whipped cream.  I think it took it from a great pie to an amazing pie.  It was just the right amount of coconut to transport you to another place.  Yum!

I've included directions on how to make the graham cracker crust, but if you prefer to buy a ready-made one, just skip the first three ingredients and the first part of the instructions.

Quick and Easy Fresh Peach Pie with Whipped Coconut Cream
Recipe adapted from Melinda Davis

Ingredients:
1 sleeve graham crackers (10 full crackers)
2 T sugar
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), melted
6-8 large ripe peaches
1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 lemon, juiced
1 can coconut milk (full fat, or it won't whip!)
2 Tbs powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

For the crust, place all the crackers in a food processor and process until they turn into crumbs.  Pour into a medium bowl and mix with 2 T sugar.  Add melted butter and stir.  Press into bottom and sides of a pie pan, using the back of a soup spoon to smooth to an even thickness.  Place in refrigerator until ready to use.

Skin, pit and slice all the peaches into a medium bowl.  Pour sweetened condensed milk and lemon juice over the peaches and stir gently until well-combined.  Pour peaches and milk sauce into pie crust.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours (or more). 

Place can of coconut milk into freezer at least 30 minutes before serving pie.  Just before serving, remove can from freezer.  TURN CAN UPSIDE DOWN and open from bottom.  This is because the fat, which is what you want to whip, rises to the top.  You need to get rid of the coconut water that is at the bottom, so open the can upside down and pour out the coconut milk.  You can keep it for another use or discard it, as you desire.

Once the coconut water is removed, scoop out the coconut cream into a medium bowl.  Add powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes on high.  Unlike regular whipped cream, coconut cream stores well in the refrigerator and won't separate.

Serve a slice of cold pie with the coconut cream on top.  Enjoy!

Makes 1 pie, about 6-8 slices.

Zucchini Lasagne

It's that time of year again -- Zucchini Time!  They are plentiful at the moment, and I'm loving it!  Unfortunately, I'm the only member of my family that loves the zukes, which means I end up having to "hide" them in foods quite often.  I love making Zucchini Bread, as well as Slow-Cooker Thai Chicken, which uses zucchini as well.  But I wanted something new. 

I was talking with my friend Amy and she mentioned that she had made lasagne, substituting zucchini for the noodles.  Her only complaint was that you didn't taste enough of the zucchini.  Perfect! I thought.  My family will love it!  Of course, if you are a big lover of zucchini you can double it, and just put thicker layers of the zucchini between the layers of cheese and meat.

I served this with some amazing cheesy garlic bread that I found on this site.

As a side note, this makes one 8"x8" square pan, enough for 6 servings.  If you want a 9"x13" pan, you can double the recipe.

Zucchini Lasagne
Recipe adapted from Natalie Beal

Ingredients:
1 T olive oil
1/2 lb Italian sausage
1 tsp minced garlic
1 T fresh basil leaves, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1 15-oz can diced tomatoes (or 2 fresh tomatoes, chopped)
1 6-oz can tomato paste
1 large zucchini, very thinly sliced into circles or half-circles (use a Mandolin or food processor if you have one!)
1 1/2 cups cottage cheese
1 egg
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 tsp fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 lb shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 375F.
In a medium skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat.  Add Italian sausage and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned.  Add garlic, basil, salt, tomatoes, and tomato paste and stir to combine.  Cook 5-10 minutes on a low simmer.  Set aside.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine cottage cheese, egg, Parmesan cheese, parsley, pepper and all but 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese.  Set aside the last 1/4 cup of mozzarella to put on top of the lasagne before baking.
Spoon a very small amount of the meat sauce into the bottom of an 8"x8" square pan and spread to thinly cover the bottom.  Layer half the zucchini, with edges of circles slightly overlapping, in rows until the bottom of the pan is covered.  Next spread half the cheese mixture on top of the zucchini, followed by half the meat mixture.  Next layer the remaining zucchini slices, followed by the remainder of the cheese and then the meat sauce.  Top with the 1/4 cup reserved mozzarella cheese.
Bake in the preheated 375F oven for 30 minutes.  Let sit for 10-15 minutes before serving.
Serves 6.

Tomato and Avocado Salad

My tomatoes are ripe!  It's the time I look forward to most during the summer.  Due to the restrictive space of living in a townhouse, as well as all the trees that make the space I do have very shady, last year my husband and I decided to put a garden on our roof.  Luckily our roof is flat, which makes this all possible.  It's been a huge success, and it makes me so happy to see all my little plants creating delicious miracles.

Tomatoes are in full swing at the moment, and I've been picking a handful of cherry tomatoes and one big tomato every other day or so.  Now don't get me wrong, I love them dearly, but you do need to come up with something to do with all this produce when it hits.  I have made my favorite Tomato Basil Tart, and tomato sandwiches, and eaten them fresh with just a sprinkling of salt and pepper.  But otherwise I'm mostly putting my delicious tomatoes in salads.

Of course, I'm out of lettuce at the moment (and the lettuce that is still growing in my garden has gotten bitter and yucky due to the 90-degree weather we've been enjoying), so I had to come up with something else.  I often make a tomato-cucumber salad, but tonight I wanted something a little different.  Fresh, and flavorful, and just a tad creamy.  And ta-da!  This salad was born.

I combined the cherry tomatoes with a regular-sized tomato because I love the contrasting colors, but you could of course use all of one type.  And if you're in a big hurry you can just toss on a little vinegarette dressing and call it good, but I think this is better because it doesn't overwhelm the flavor of the tomatoes.

If you were feeling gutsy, you could also add a little bit of feta, goat cheese, or fresh mozzarella.

This salad was so delicious and light and just perfect on a hot summer day.  Enjoy!

Tomato and Avocado Salad

Ingredients:
1 large tomato
8-10 cherry tomatoes (I used the Sungold variety)
6 large basil leaves
1 avocado
2 Tbs olive oil
2 tsp red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp garlic powder

Toss all ingredients in a bowl.  Let sit for 10-15 minutes to marinate, then serve at room temperature.

Makes 2 side dish servings or one main dish serving.

Juicy and Delicious Italian-Style Meatloaf

A few days ago I was planning out my menu for the week when my husband came over to see what I was doing.  For some reason he was thinking about meatloaf.  Now I've never made meatloaf, because it just didn't seem like the type of thing he would like.  He hates casseroles, and I guess I thought meatloaf seemed too casserole-ish (yes I made that word up).  But he told me about a meatloaf he had eaten years and years ago, before we were married, that was moist and delicious and had big chunks of tomatoes inside.  Normally, he said, he hates meatloaf.  But he loved that meatloaf, and maybe I could try to recreate it.

Since he's such a low-maintenance guy and never asks for anything (except occasionally cycling gear and power tools), I decided I couldn't let him down.  And anyway, I like a challenge.  So I began my search for the perfect meatloaf recipe.

The first thing I discovered is that there are a million and one ways to make meatloaf.  The second thing I discovered is that if you type "meatloaf" into Google or Pinterest, you get equal amounts of recipes and pictures of the singer Meatloaf.  Who, by the way, is not appetizing.

After reading at least twenty different recipes I had decided on a few things I wanted to do with mine.  I wanted fresh herbs.  I wanted to soak Panko breadcrumbs in buttermilk before mixing them into the meat.  I wanted something tangier than plain ketchup on top.  I wanted to include Parmesan cheese.  And I wanted to add some chunks of tomatoes (which, by the way, I never found a recipe that had them!).  There were tons of recipes that had one or two of these, but I didn't find a recipe that combined all of them.  Also, so many recipes used two or even three pounds of meat.  I only wanted to use one pound of ground beef, in case it was a total flop or none of my kids would eat it.  Finally I came up with a recipe.

I mixed it all together, put it in a loaf pan, and baked it.  I wasn't sure which temperature to cook it at, or how long it would take to cook, so I started with 30 minutes at 425F and checked it every few minutes after that.  I was a little nervous when it finally was done.  What if it was terrible?  What if I just wasted all those ingredients? I sat down at the table with the family.  The kids all looked at the meatloaf and stated emphatically that they hated this and were not eating it.  But since that's what they do any time they see a new food, I ignored them.  I sliced the meatloaf, and it oozed juices.  It smelled fantastic.  I cut up one slice and distributed it among my children.  My 7-year-old son was the first to taste it.  He smiled.  He quickly ate it all and asked for more.  He ended up eating four whole slices.  The rest took courage from his reaction and tasted it.  They all loved it.

I had to agree.  It was the best meatloaf I had ever tasted. The flavors were well-balanced.  It was moist and delicious.  It had just the right amount of the tomatoes my husband had specifically requested.  It was fantastic!  But would he like it?

Yes.  Yes he did.  He heaped praises on me and said it was the best meatloaf he'd ever had, and that I was the best wife ever.  It was great.  He took a huge slab of it to work for lunch today.

So now I'm sharing with you my best ever meatloaf recipe.  I hope you enjoy it!

Juicy and Delicious Italian-Style Meatloaf
Recipe by Holly

Ingredients:
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 lb ground beef
1 medium onion, minced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs fresh parsley, chopped
2 Tbs fresh basil, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, but into bite-size chunks
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 eggs
1/2 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup steak sauce (I love A1!)

Preheat oven to 425-degrees Fahrenheit. In a small bowl, combine bread crumbs and buttermilk.  Let sit for a few minutes.  In a large bowl, place ground beef, onion, garlic, parsley, basil, salt, pepper, eggs, and Parmesan cheese.  Using your hands, mix it until all the ingredients are evenly distributed.  Add in the breadcrumb mixture and the tomatoes and mix again until evenly distributed.  Place the meat mixture into a 9-inch loaf pan and smooth the top.
In a separate small bowl, combine ketchup and steak sauce.  Use half of the sauce to spread across the top of the meatloaf.  Reserve remaining sauce for serving.
Bake meatloaf at 425F for 45-60 minutes (mine took 55), or until a meat thermometer inserted into the middle of the loaf reads 165-degrees F.  Let sit for a minute, then drain off any excess grease.  Using two spatulas, carefully remove meatloaf from pan and put on serving dish.  Serve hot, with the remaining sauce on the side.
Serves 4-6.

Big and Soft Sugar Cookies

There are so many different styles of sugar cookie.  Some are thin and crisp, some are fat and frosted, some are chewy and some are cakey.  These cookies are most like the type that you buy from the grocery store, that they always have frosted in the colors of whatever holiday is coming next, or if there isn't a holiday around the corner, they're usually pink with sprinkles on top.  They are big and soft and cakey and delicious. The frosting is to die for, especially when it's slathered on thick.  So for the next birthday, holiday, or random day, make these cookies.

Big and Soft Sugar Cookies
Recipe adapted from here

Cookies:
1 cup butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 1/2 cups sour cream
6 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Frosting:
1 1/2 cups butter
1 tsp vanilla
6 cups powdered sugar
2-3 T milk
food coloring, if desired

For the cookies:
Cream the butter and sugar together at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each egg.  Add vanilla, almond extract and sour cream and beat until combined.

Add the dry ingredients and mix on low until combined.  Dough will be very sticky.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 425F.  Remove a quarter of the dough and place on a lightly floured surface.  Place remaining dough back in the refrigerator until ready to use.  Lightly flour the top of the dough before rolling dough to 1/4-inch thick.  Using a 2 1/2 or 3-inch biscuit cutter cut out circles and transfer to a lightly greased baking sheet.  Bake for 7 minutes, then immediately transfer to a cooling rack.  Cookies should not be browned.

Continue to roll, cut, and bake cookies until all dough is used.  While cookies are cooling, make the frosting.

For the frosting:
In a large mixing bowl combine butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar.  Add milk, one tablespoon at a time, until it reaches a spreading consistency.  Add food coloring if desired and beat until well combined.

Once cookies are completely cooled, frost generously and add sprinkles or other toppings if desired.  Store at room temperature in an air-tight container.

Makes about 4-5 dozen cookies.

Quick and Tasty Tomato Soup

We've had a very strange Spring in Virginia this year.  It was a dry winter until March, when we suddenly had more snow than we'd had in the past two years combined.  That set Spring back a bit, and even at the end of April we had days that were 40 degrees.  It's mid-June and I'm still picking sugar snap peas from my garden.  Today is not that cool, but it is raining, as it did two days ago and as it will again tomorrow.  For lunch I wanted something cozy and comforting, and fell to that old favorite, Tomato Soup.

This recipe is great because it's easy, delicious, and quick as a flash!  If you serve it with some homemade bread or garlicky croutons, all the better.

Quick and Tasty Tomato Soup

Ingredients:
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 cup milk (you can use water but it won't have a creamy taste)
3 large leaves of fresh basil, finely chopped (or 1/4 tsp dried basil)
1 tsp fresh parsley, finely chopped (or a dash dried parsley)
A dash of granulated garlic
1 tsp Parmesan cheese

In a small saucepan combine tomato paste, milk, basil, parsley, and garlic.  Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until warm and aromatic, about five minutes.  If desired, puree in blender (though I don't think it's necessary unless you don't like to see your herbs).  Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top and serve.

Makes one serving, but is easily multiplied to feed more.

Glazed Doughnuts

In honor of National Doughnut Day, I thought I'd repost my favorite doughnut recipe!  Here it is!

Glazed Doughnuts

Ingredients:
1 cup milk
2 packets (2 T) yeast
3 cups flour
1/2 cup warm mashed potato (microwave a medium potato on high for 5 minutes, scoop out potato and mash with a fork)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
2 T oil
Vegetable or Canola oil to fry in
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

Microwave 1 cup milk for 1 minute or until warm but not hot. Stir in yeast and let sit 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl combine flour, mashed potato, salt, and sugar. Mix well then add the milk/yeast mixture and oil. Mix until a soft dough forms. Turn onto a floured surface and knead until dough is smooth and not too sticky. Roll into a circle that is 1/2" thick. Using a doughnut cutter or two biscuit cutters, cut into doughnuts. You can either keep the doughnut holes and fry them too (we do) or re-roll them into the dough to cut out more doughnuts. Repeat until dough is used up. Place cut doughnuts on a lightly floured surface to let rise for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the glaze. Put powdered sugar in a small bowl. Add milk, one tablespoon at a time, until glaze is desired consistency. Add vanilla and mix well.

In an electric skillet or frying pan, pour enough oil so that it is 1/2" deep in your pan. Heat until 350F (medium to medium high on a stove). It should take about 5 minutes to heat up. Place doughnuts carefully in oil, cooking each side until browned. Remove to wire rack that has paper towels underneath to catch the oil. After doughnuts have cooled for about 3 minutes, drizzle with glaze.

Makes 12-15 doughnuts and holes.