Six Ingredient No-Bake Cherry Cheese Pie

I don't always have time for an elaborate recipe, especially in summer when I don't want the oven on and the frozen pina coladas are beckoning. ;) This would be perfect for the upcoming Labor Day... though I made this for July 4 and am just now blogging while at the beach. :)

This is a simple, no-fail recipe for a delicious pie. Sure, you can make it a little bit more homemade by making a graham cracker crust or a regular crust, but why bother if you don't have to bake the rest? This recipe is just from a simple online search. The cheese part isn't quite like cheesecake, but a slightly tangy cream cheese. Enjoy!

Six Ingredient No-Bake Cherry Cheese Pie
Store-bought graham cracker crust (reduced-fat or regular)
8 oz. cream cheese (I use reduced-fat Neufchatel)
14 oz. sweetened condensed milk (I use fat-free)
1/3 c. lemon juice (sure, fresh would be great, but RealLemon is my friend)
1 t. vanilla extract
21 oz. store-bought cherry pie filling (or blueberry, or...)

Using a hand-held or stand mixer, beat cream cheese until fluffy then add sweetened condensed milk until well combined. Mix in lemon juice and vanilla. Pour into graham cracker crust. Chill for at least 3 hours, or until set, in the fridge.

After the 3 hours, take out of the fridge and top with the cherry pie filling. I like to leave a little edge of white so you can see the different colors, especially at July 4th! I also don't use all the cherry syrup, but rather, focus on getting all the cherries and whatever syrup comes with them so that the pie doesn't get too runny. Keep in the fridge until ready to serve.

Not Chocolate: Patriotic Blueberry Cornmeal Pancakes

Browsing through one of my favorite blogs, bakerella recently featured a recipe from the June 2009 Martha Stewart Living magazine. Oh my. I had to make these pancakes.

Full of sweet blueberries (purchased at a stand on the way home from Harper's Ferry), crunchy cornmeal, and tangy buttermilk, these were such a hit!

And, it was fun to make them extra patriotic... by making a star shape out of the blueberries as you drop them onto each pancake, when you flip them, the star is cooked in on the back side. :) Adorable! That was a nice surprise.

Patriotic Blueberry Cornmeal Pancakes
from Martha Stewart Living, June 2009

1 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. cornmeal
1/4 c. sugar, plus 2 t. for blueberries
1 1/4 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
1/2 t. baking soda
1 1/2 c. buttermilk
1/4 c. milk
3 T. butter, melted and cooled
1 egg lightly beaten
2 c. blueberries
Extra butter for coating griddle
Maple syrup

Whisk together dry ingredients in a large bowl. Set aside.

Whisk together buttermilk, milk, melted butter, and egg in medium bowl.

Add milk mixture to dry ingredients and whisk together just until combined. (Lumps are ok!)

Toss blueberries in a bowl with 2 t. sugar.

Heat a griddle over medium heat. Melt butter over surface of griddle. (Repeat as necessary throughout the process.) Drop batter on griddle using a 1/4 c. measure each time. Add sugared blueberries to each pancake, in a star shape if you like! Cook for about 3–4 minutes then carefully flip and cook for another 2–3 minutes.

To keep pancakes warm, I put a piece of foil in a 225 degree oven and pile the cooked pancakes on the foil as I make the next batch on the griddle.

Now that's a pancake.