Broccoli Bacon Salad

These are the dog days of summer, when I dread heating up my house by turning on the stove.  This time of year, the only thing I love more than a recipe that doesn’t have to be cooked or heated is perhaps one that comes together in a matter of minutes.  This salad fits both those bills.  image courtesy:  Lea & Jay

Mini no-bake key lime cheesecakes

 

These are easy make ahead desserts for a party.

Also a good treat to have in the freezer for when you just need something sweet!

If making gluten free, these Kinnikinnick graham crumbs work great!

Measurements

Do you ever double or half a recipe?

I do, but I can’t always remember how many tablespoons are in a cup or teaspoons in a tablespoon.

I love having this on my fridge so I can easily, without using my brain, change a recipe. 

Hamburgers

It’s hamburger season!  Photo courtesy The Jones Way

If you don’t have a hamburger press, invest in one!  It’s one of my favorite kitchen gadgets, and I’d hate to have to make burgers without one!

Black Bean Soup

 

I don’t know what it is about this soup but we LOVE it!

It is pretty cheap, extremely easy and supper yummy!

It is one of the meals that I make for my sweet husband every week for him to take on the road.

It uses Bush’s seasoned Black Beans. I have found it in Wal-mart and Smith’s, not every store carries it.  One day I’m going to try and recreate it but for now $.89a can at Wal-mart isn’t that bad.

I like to serve this with the oven-baked brown rice.

Buttery, Flaky Pie Crust

My grandma used to make the best pies in the world.  We are talking flaky perfection every time.  I helped her several times when I was a kid (nine? ten? years old)  but the whole process just seemed so insufferable at the time.  I have wished a million times since becoming an adult that I’d paid more attention back then, because I’ve never been able to make a decent pie crust on my own, and Grandma doesn’t have what it takes to make them anymore.  I have tried several recipes, all with meh results, until this one came along.  I have to admit, I’m really not sure whether it’s the recipe itself, or more the emphasis on attention to technique (cold, COLD, COLD!), but whatever the reason, this crust turned out PERFECT!  I will venture to say maybe even better than Grandma’s because she used to swear by using shortening in hers, and this one uses 100% yummy butter!  Can’t beat that buttery taste!

image and recipe courtesy Smells Like Home

Why was the process less insufferable this time?  Why was it finally worth paying attention to the technique?  Because somebody finally explained the science to me.  If you, too, need the science in order to go through the extra time/effort, read this Smitten Kitchen recipe (it’s the same recipe, but my scientific brain very much appreciated the extra explanation).

It bothered me that the recipe didn’t include baking instructions, but I had decided to make an apple pie with it, so I just decided to follow the baking instructions here (it’s basically the America’s Test Kitchen recipe for classic apple pie):

“Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat rimmed baking sheet and oven to 500°F. Remove one piece of dough from refrigerator (if refrigerated longer than 1 hour, let stand at room temperature until malleable).

[prepare filling]

Place pie on baking sheet and lower oven temperature to 425°F. Bake until top crust is golden, about 25 minutes. Rotate pie and reduce oven temperature to 375°F; continue baking until juices bubble and crust is deep golden brown, 30-35 minutes longer.

Transfer pie to wire rack; cool to room temperature, at least 4 hours.”

My crust needed less baking time (10 minutes less would have been perfect) but my oven bakes quickly in general.  I loved that the preheated baking sheet helped that bottom crust to be just as perfectly baked and flaky as the top one.  But I will have to experiment with baking times for single crust pies. 

I can’t wait to make a chicken pot pie this fall using this crust recipe!