Blueberry Pie

I can't believe it has taken me this long to blog about my blueberries. I feel like I've deprived people of blueberry deliciousness. Sorry! So a while back, mid-July to be exact, I decided to plan a blueberry picking expedition. That expedition resulted in a bucket full of big, ripe blueberries. Once I got home, one of my friends asked what I planned to do with all of them? As if just planning to stuff myself full wasn't a viable option. Eventually I came to terms with the fact that I realistically couldn't eat a whole bucket of blueberries before they went bad and decided to try my hand at making a blueberry pie. After scouting the internet for recipes, I came across this one and I have to say I was surprised at how easy it was. I always thought fruit pies were more complicated. Well not blueberry pies. They're about as easy as it gets. No peeling, no chopping, just mix all the ingredients, pour into a crust, cover, bake and you're done!

Blueberry Pie
3/4 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 cups fresh blueberries
1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
1 tablespoon butter

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. Mix sugar, cornstarch, salt, and cinnamon, and sprinkle over blueberries.
3. Line pie dish with one pie crust. Pour berry mixture into the crust, and dot with butter. Cut remaining pastry into 1/2 - 3/4 inch wide strips, and make lattice top. Crimp and flute edges.
4. Bake pie on lower shelf of oven for about 50 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.

Original Recipe Link: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/blueberry-pie/detail.aspx

Peanut Butter Temptation Cookies

Two of my coworkers had birthdays this week, and seeing how I'm the resident baker, I had to whip up some goodies. I had tested out this recipe last year during my annual cocktail and cookie exchange party and it got rave reviews. I like it because it's really easy to throw together, it's aesthetically pleasing and delicious! The only downside is having to unwrap all the miniature peanut butter cups.

Peanut Butter Temptation
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
36 miniature chocolate covered peanut butter cups, unwrapped

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the brown sugar, white sugar and butter. Stir in the peanut butter, then the egg and vanilla. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt, stir into the peanut butter mixture until the dough comes together. Shape into 1 inch balls and press them into the cups of an unprepared mini muffin pan.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, press a mini chocolate covered peanut butter cup down into the center of each cookie until only the top is showing. Allow the cookies to cool completely before removing from their pans.

Original Recipe Link: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/peanut-butter-temptations-ii/detail.aspx

Mint Oreo Truffles

Mint Oreo Truffles are my go-to dessert. It’s also a go-to dessert for all my friends, meaning when I bring these over they go straight for the container and don’t back away until every single truffle has been consumed. Although it looks complicated, it is a relatively easy recipe that requires only 3 ingredients. I’ve made these many times and have tried using regular Oreos, milk chocolate and white chocolate but found the combination of mint Oreos and semi-sweet chocolate to be the best!

Mint Oreo Truffles
1 package of Mint Creme Oreos
1 package of creme cheese
2 cups of bittersweet chocolate chips

1. Grind the Oreos into a powder. Food processor works best for this step.
2. Mix in the cream cheese. Mix well until you can’t see white anymore.
3. Roll the “dough” into small balls, place on a paper lined cookie sheet and refrigerate or freeze for about an hour.
4. Melt the chocolate chips in a microwave.
5. Dip the balls into the chocolate and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Homemade Home Fries

On weekdays, I like to sleep in as late as possible. That doesn't usually leave me much time to get ready for work and make breakfast. Weekday breakfasts for me usually consist of bagels, cereal or toast. On the weekends, however, I like big breakfasts. Eggs, toast, sausage, home fries...the whole nine yards. I used to buy frozen hash browns, but then decided it couldn't be that hard to make my own. It wasn't. I expedite the process by microwaving the potatoes first, before I brown them in a skillet with some garlic and onions. This is one of the few times I've actually made up  my own recipe and I really like the result and hope that you do too!

Homemade Home Fries
1 medium Russet or Golden potato, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 clove of garlic, minced
1/4 onion, thinly sliced
1 tbs vegetable oil
salt & pepper to tast
1 tbsp parsley to garnish (optional)

1. Spread the potato slices on a microwavable plate and microwave for about 3 minutes.
2. Heat the oil in a pan over medium high heat.
3. Add garlic and onions to the pan and saute for 1-2 minutes.
4. Add the potatoes to the pan and mix with the garlic and onions.
5. Season potatoes with salt and pepper, then cook until nicely browned.

I live alone so this is a one to one and half serving recipe. Feel free to adjust as needed.

Summer Sangria

Nothing says summer like a glass of delicious sangria. I don't even like wine but I also don't consider sangria to be wine. It's more like a delicious, chilled, summery drink with a wine base. Yes, we'll just go with that description. I also like to combine my sangria with board games and periodically hold a Sangria & Sangria Night at my apartment. Last Sunday, was one of those nights. I made both red and wine sangria and my friends finished off both. I don't have a specific type of wine I use, I just go with whatever I pull out of my wine rack. However, if you're using a really sweet wine such as Muscat, I would suggest cutting out the sugar.

Summer Sangria
1 (750 milliliter) bottle of  red or white wine
1/4 cup brandy
1/4 cup white sugar
1 lime sliced
1 lemon sliced
1 orange sliced
1 apple chopped into small cubes
1 can of ginger ale

1. Combine all the ingredients, except for ginger ale, and chill, preferably overnight.
2. Stir in ginger ale prior to serving.

Award Winning Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

The weather this weekend was perfect. Sunny, but not too hot. Saturday, I attended the Bruins Parade, but Sunday, I got in some time at the beach. My friends and I went to Singing Beach, in Manchester-by-the-Sea, about 45 minutes north of Boston. It was beautiful and the weather couldn't have been better! Since I am the baker, I decided some chocolate chip cookies were in order for our trip. I found this recipe a while ago, and it has become my standard go-to chocolate chip recipe. The key ingredient to these cookies are the vanilla pudding packs. The pudding mix keeps these cookies soft forever, not that they usually last that long!


Award Winning Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 (3.4 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 cups chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift together the flour and baking soda, set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Beat in the instant pudding mix until blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips and nuts. Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto un-greased cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Edges should be golden brown.

Recipe Link: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/award-winning-soft-chocolate-chip-cookies/detail.aspx 

Magic Cookie Bars

My sweet tooth really got the best of me last night. I was craving something sweet. A dozen chocolate chips would have probably satisfied me, but then I found this recipe on the side of a can of condensed milk and it all went downhill from there. It's very easy to make. Once you have the crust, the rest of the ingredients just have to be sprinkled on top. The recipe suggests substituting 1 cup of semisweet chocolate morsels with either butterscotch flavored chips, white chocolate chips or peanut butter flavored chips. I didn't have any in my cupboard, so I just stuck with semisweet chocolate chips and used walnuts as my choice of nut. I couldn't wait to try them. Waiting for them to cool before cutting was painful. They're addicting, especially with a glass of milk.

 Magic Cookie Bars
    1/2 cup butter, melted
    1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
    1 (14 ounce) can EAGLE BRAND® Sweetened Condensed Milk
    2 cups semisweet chocolate morsels
    1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
    1 cup chopped nuts

1.  Heat oven to 350 degrees F (325 degrees for glass dish). Coat 13x9-inch baking pan with no-stick cooking spray.
2. Combine graham cracker crumbs and butter. Press into bottom of prepared pan. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumb mixture. Layer evenly with chocolate chips, coconut and nuts. Press down firmly with a fork.
3. Bake 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool. Cut into bars or diamonds. Store covered at room temperature.