Too-Hot-To-Cook Veggie Pizza

This recipe has been around for a while, but it's still an easy favorite for me and my daughter to make together. We first tasted this when a dear friend brought it to a potluck as an appetizer and shared the recipe all around. When Jessie moved into her first apartment and asked for recipes for her favorite foods, I bought her a cookbook and hand-wrote the recipes she loved best, including this one. We recently made this pizza together in her kitchen.

This is an easy dinner to make when it's too hot to cook, because it only requires a few minutes in the oven and then it cools in the fridge.

Cool Veggie Pizza

Ingredients

1 tube of crescent rolls
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1 package Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup red pepper, chopped
1 cup broccoli, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cucumber, chopped
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup black olives, sliced
(add any other chopped vegetables that you like)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

Unroll the cresecent roll dough and flatten into a greased 9x11 pan, pressing the dough up the sides of the pan and sealing the pre-cut seams between each roll. Bake the dough according to the package directions until golden brown. Allow to cool.

Mix together the cream cheese, mayo, and ranch seasoning. Spread on top of the crust in the pan.  Sprinkle with all the veggies and top with the shredded cheese. Refrigerate before serving.

Serves 4-6

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Poblano Corn Chowder

Sweet corn and peppers are in season right now, and this summer chowder brings them together in creamy goodness. If you don't find poblano peppers, or don't like a little heat, try green or red bell peppers in this chowder.

Ingredients

3 medium poblano peppers
3 ears of corn
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pint cremini (baby portabella) mushrooms, sliced
4 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup sour cream (we like Mexican crema best)
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup shredded chihuahua or colby jack cheese
2 tbsp chopped cilantro for garnish (optional)

Directions

Heat a grill to medium temperature. Remove the husks from the corn and lay the cobs on the grill with the poblano peppers. Grill the corn until barely tender and slightly browned, then remove and let cool. Turn up the heat and char the poblano skins on all sides. Place in a paper bag and allow to steam for 30-60 minutes. 

Remove the core and seeds from the peppers and scrape off all the blackened skin, then coarsely chop the poblanos. Cut the kernels off the corn cobs.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and then saute the onion, garlic, and mushrooms until just tender. Add the corn, poblanos, and chicken stock, and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in the sour cream, salt and pepper, and cheese, and heat on low until the cheese is melted and the soup is heated through, about 5 minutes. Serve topped with cilantro, if desired.  We like corn muffins or corn bread with sweet green chiles with this soup.

Serves 4.

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Triple Berry/Cream Shortcake Bars

Even better than strawberry shortcake!

When we took a cooking course in Tuscany, we learned how to make a traditional apricot tart with the super-fresh and aromatic apricots the villa owners grew on their Agriturismo farm. I still have to write and post that delectable recipe, but I've used the basic shortbread crust for a lot of tarts and dessert bars since then.

The beginning of June is prime strawberry season here in Chicago. When I was growing up in the country, my birthday always had fresh strawberries in it - usually ones I'd picked that morning. The smell of a perfectly ripe strawberry brings me back to those dewy mornings walking barefoot out to the strawberry patch...and my mom brewing fresh jam in the afternoon. Lovely.

Ingredients

For the Crust

1 cup butter
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour 

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp lemon zest

For the Bars

12 oz. light cream cheese
1 tbsp vanilla
1 tbsp vanilla
1 cup sliced strawberries
1 cup blueberries (or blackberries, or both!)
1 cup raspberries

1/3 cup Triple Sec liqueur

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Stir together the flour and baking powder. Slowly add it to the butter mixture while mixing. 

Grease a 9x11 baking pan and spread the dough on the bottom of the pan. Bake for 18-25 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool 15 minutes.

Whip the cream cheese, vanilla, and sugar together. Spread over the crust, then top with rows of berries. Drizzle the orange liqueur over the berries. Cut into squares and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Makes 15-18 bars.

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