Recipes for the Hot Days of Summer

It's kind of funny because all these "summer" recipes call for oven-time--the last thing one usually wants on a really hot day. But they are all nevertheless delicious and were greatly enjoyed! Here are this week's recipes:

Blueberry Cherry Cheesecake

(Multiple Servings)

1 ½ (8 oz) packages Cream Cheese, softened
3/4 c Sugar
1 ½ Tbsp Flour
2 Eggs
1/3 cup Sour Cream
1 tsp Vanilla

1 tsp Lemon juice

1-2 cups Cherries, Drained
1-2 cups fresh or frozen Blueberries
1 T flour

2 cups Vanilla Cookie crumbs

1/4 cup Sugar

1/2 Stick Butter, melted

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Grind Vanilla Cookies into crumbs in a food processor. Add melted butter. Press into a spring-form pan. Place in oven until lightly browned. Set aside.

Combine cheesecake ingredients. Mix well.

Combine blueberries and flour in small bowl. Coat well. And then fold into batter. Place drained cherries on top of crust and then carefully pour on batter.

Bake for 1 hour. Take out of oven before top begins to brown (under cooking a little bit allows for a less-dense Cheesecake). Let cool before serving.

Cucumber Mint Meatballs over Pasta

(Multiple Servings)

Ground Turkey

Ground Beef Chuck

2 Eggs

1/2 Onion, pulverized in food processor

1/2 cup salt-less Matzo meal

Garlic Powder

Tarragon

Black Pepper

Sauce:

1/2 cup Sour Cream

1/2 Cucumber

3-4 bunches of Mint

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine meatball ingredients in medium bowl. Mix well with hands.

In a food processor, combine sauce ingredients.

Roll meatballs. Oil and heat a skillet. Brown meatballs on two sides, and then place in a greased French Oven. When all meatballs are in the French Oven, pour in sauce and 1 cup water. Cover and place in oven for one hour. Then uncover and continue to cook for half an hour or until meatballs are browned.

Serve alone, or add to a pasta dish, as pictured.

Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes with Butter Cream Frosting

(Multiple Servings)

2 ¼ cups Flour

1 ¼ cups Sugar

1 ½ tsp. Baking Soda

¼ cup Cocoa Powder

3 Eggs

1 ¼ cup Milk

1 ½ sticks Butter

2 tsp. Vanilla

1 cup Zucchini, shredded

2 Tbsp. Butter

1/2-2 cup Chocolate Chips

Frosting:

2 sticks Butter

1 (8oz) brick Cream Cheese

2 cups Powdered Sugar

1 Tbsp. Vanilla

Combine wet ingredients, beat well with electric mixer.  Then add dry ingredients, stirring well.

Melt butter and chocolate chips. Stir into batter with shredded zucchini.

Prepare two muffin tins with cupcake paper cups. Fill each cup 3/4+ with batter.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Allow to cool.

Make frosting. Fit bag with a frosting tip. Pour frosting into the plastic bag and pipe onto cupcakes as desired.

Puffed Pancakes with Strawberry-Nectarine Compote

1/2 cup Milk

3 Eggs

1/2 cup Flour

1 tsp. Vanilla

2 Tsp. Butter

Compote:

Combine chopped fruit in a blender. Add sugar and corn starch. Pour into small pan and boil until mixture thickens.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix together the milk, eggs, flour, and vanilla. Add butter and combine. 

Prepare 18 baking cups with cooking spray. Then fill each with 1/4 cup of batter. 

Bake for 15 minutes, until very puffy and golden on top. 

Remove from the oven and let sit for a few minutes to deflate. Then remove and fill with jam, syrup or fruit filling.