Easy Creamy Fresh Fruit Pie

I'm not much of a fruit pie fan, (am I crazy?) and I think that some of it has to do with the fact that I like most fruits fresh, not cooked. This is a pie that my mom made a few times as I was growing up, and I've always really enjoyed it. I got a great deal on peaches last week, and decided that I NEEDED this for Sunday dessert. It really hit the spot...nice and fresh! (and did I mention easy??) I personally think that a home made crust tastes best, but you could use a store-bought crust as well.

This would be so cute with sliced strawberries and blueberries for the 4th! Enjoy!

Easy Creamy Fresh Fruit Pie

8 inch graham cracker crust:
½ package of graham crackers, crushed
2 Tbs. Butter, melted
1 Tbs. Brown Sugar

Filling:
1 8 oz package cream cheese (I used lite cream cheese, and it worked great!) at room temp.
1 8 oz package frozen whipped topping (cool whip), thawed
2-3 Tbs. Sugar

Fresh Fruit of your choice: Peaches, Nectarines, Strawberries, Blueberries, Mix 'em...whatever!

Prepare graham cracker crust by mixing the crushed crackers, sugar and butter. Press into an 8 inch pie plate. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes. Let crust cool completely.

With an electric mixer, whip cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add sugar and cool whip and whip just until incorporated. Spread mixture carefully into cooled crust and chill for 4 hours or overnight.

Top with fresh fruit. You can sweeten the fruit to desired sweetness, or purchase a fruit glaze in the produce section of the grocery store. I just added a little sugar to my peaches and topped the pie as I served it so that the crust didn't get soggy. If you want a nice presentation, I would gently mix the fruit with a glaze and lay it out nicely on the pie.

Sloppy BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

Sorry for being such a slacker. I'm not doing very well at posting on this blog! I'm going to give you two easy recipes today, both of which would be super yummy to make for the upcoming 4th of July holiday!

My mother-in-law made these sandwiches a few weeks ago for Sunday dinner, and I really enjoyed them. So, I put them on the menu the next week. They were really easy to make, and we enjoyed them. I don't know where this whole putting Cole Slaw on your sandwich thing comes from, but I'm definitely a fan!

Sloppy BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or this would be fab with pork too!)
1/2 bottle of BBQ Sauce

1/2 onion, sliced
1/2 package Cole Slaw mix (just the kind with shredded cabbage and carrot)
Cole Slaw Dressing
2 green onions (optional)
Buns

Place chicken, onion and BBQ Sauce in a slow cooker and cook on low for 3-4 hours, or until chicken is tender enough to shred. Shred chicken and return to sauces for about another 1/2 hour on low. When you're just about ready to eat, chop up the green onions and stir them into the cole slaw mix with enough dressing to make the cole slaw look creamy (do this to taste...how your family likes cole slaw). When you're ready to serve, place shredded chicken on a bun and top with a spoon full of cole slaw. Serve immediately. Makes about 4-5 large sandwiches

Lemon Berry Pie

I saw this dessert made on "Good Things Utah", but to be honest they made a complete mess of the pie. The flavors sounded so good, I decided to just try it (modified a little), and it turned out so YUMMY!

I am not a big pie maker, and I only own a small 8 inch pie plate, which is completely worthless (never buy one). So, since I was making this for a big group, I decided to just make it in a 9x13 pan. I think that it would fit well into 2 small pre-packaged pie crusts, or you could just half it and make it in an 8x8 square pan. Either way, this was super easy and great for summer!

Lemon Berry Pie

6 ounces cream cheese, softened (lite worked great)
1 Tablespoon milk
2 Tablespoon sugar
2 ½ teaspoons grated lemon zest (about the peel of one lemon)
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 tub (8 ounces) whipped topping (or more for serving)
1 pound (16 oz) strawberries, hulled and halved or sliced (I like things less chunky, so I sliced them)
2 cups cold milk (I used 1%)
2 packages (4-serving size) lemon flavor instant pudding and pie filling
2 (6 oz) prepared graham cracker crusts

OR make your own:

1 pkg graham crackers, crushed (crush them in a food processor...really easy!)
4 Tbs. Butter, melted
2 Tbs. Brown Sugar
Mix all crust ingredients together, and press mixture (Hint: use the bottom of a flat cup or measuring cup to press a crust into a pan, it makes it nice and compact!) into a 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes. Cool completely before adding other layers.

With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, 1 tablespoon milk and sugar in medium bowl for 1-2 minutes until smooth and fluffy. Stir in lemon peel and juice, then gently stir in half of the whipped topping. Spread evenly over the crust. Layer half of the sliced strawberry on top of the cream cheese layer.

Pour 2 cups milk into large bowl, and add pudding mixes. Beat mixture with a wire whisk about 1 minute, or until the pudding is completely dissolved. The pudding will thicken quickly. Once the pudding is thick, gently stir in the remainder of the whipped topping. At this point, you can add another layer of strawberries, or reserve the strawberries to spoon over the pie as you serve it.

Refrigerate 4 hours or until set. Serve with additional whipped topping or whipped cream if desired. Makes 12-15 servings.