Fresh Zucchini Pie Recipe

Fresh Zucchini Pie Recipe

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time:  65 minutes

Difficulty:  Easy

Serves 8

Is zucchini growing out of your ears this Summer? Our garden has abundantly provided us with a plethora of zucchini this summer. As mentioned in my recent post, aside from stir-fries, sauteeing, fritters, zucchini bread (more on that in another post), or even giving to neighbors, I needed another recipe to share with you to use up our bounty. Introducing our Fresh Zucchini Pie Recipe!

This garden-fresh recipe features, you guessed it, ZUCCHINI, mushrooms, eggs, cheese, Cherchies® Lem ‘N Dill and Cherchies® Garlic Seasonings, and an unusual hash brown pie crust. We have tried other recipes without using Cherchies® Seasonings, and the result is not the same.

This easy recipe would be perfect for brunch, “Meatless Monday,” dinner, or any time you have a hankering for fresh veggies, cheese, and potatoes. Serve this zucchini pie with our Cranberry Spinach Salad for a complete meal.

Thank you for stopping by! Comment below if you have tried this tasty recipe. Come back again for more family-tested recipes, entertaining ideas, and cooking tips using all our favorite Cherchies® gourmet products. Family and picky husband approved;)

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Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 3 cups frozen loose-pack hash brown potatoes, thawed (*You can also make your own hash browns. See Note below).

• 1 beaten egg

• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion

• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

• 1 Tablespoon (Tbsp.) Cherchies® Lem’n Dill Seasoning

• 2 cups thinly sliced zucchini

• 1/2 cup thinly sliced mushrooms

• 1 TBSP. margarine or butter

• 3 beaten eggs

• 3/4 cup shredded Swiss or cheddar cheese

• 1⁄2 cup milk

• 1/2 teaspoon (tsp.) Cherchies® Garlic Seasoning

• 2 teaspoons (tsp.) snipped fresh oregano

• 1/4 teaspoon (tsp.) salt

• 1/4 teaspoon (tsp.) pepper

• cooking spray

*Note: This time, we made our own hash browns with gold potatoes that we had on hand and our food processor’s shredding attachment for this picture. Before we assembled this pie, we soaked the potatoes in cold water to avoid turning brown and then drained them on a clean dish towel.

Preparation

Combine one egg, onion, and Parmesan cheese in a large mixing bowl. Stir in potatoes. Transfer the potato mixture to a 9-inch pie plate or a 10-inch quiche dish. Pat the mixture in the bottom and up the sides of the dish. Bake uncovered in a 400° oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden. (I accidentally cooked my crust too long for the photo).

Cool slightly on a wire rack. Reduce oven temperature to 350°. In a large skillet, sauté zucchini and mushrooms in butter until crisp-tender. Cool slightly. Arrange the zucchini mixture atop the crust.

In a small mixing bowl, combine the remaining three eggs, cheese, milk, Cherchies® Lem’N Dill and Garlic Seasonings, oregano, salt, and pepper. Pour the zucchini mixture into the hash brown crust. Bake in the oven at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes until the filling is set. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Fresh Zucchini Pie. Enjoy!

Amazing Strawberry Shortcake Recipe

Amazing Strawberry Shortcake Recipe

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Serves: 6

Summer is almost upon us, and do you know what that means? Fresh vegetables and fruits will soon be abundant, especially strawberries. Even though strawberries are found year-round at grocery stores, their peak juiciness season here in the United States is between April and June. Summer strawberries are special. Since nothing screams summer more than juicy ripe strawberries, making a classic dessert such as strawberry shortcake is the perfect confection to welcome Summer's arrival.

This delicious recipe features a moist, flavorful almond cake and sweet strawberries tinged with Cherchies® Strawberry Butter Spread.

I remember growing up and having strawberry shortcakes often, but instead of homemade cakes or sweetened biscuits, my mom used the pre-made sponge cakes found at the grocery store and whipped cream from a can. Boy, have things changed. Although I fondly remember those little cakes, making things from scratch is much better. This almond cake is naturally gluten-free and can also be dairy free, with some tweaks in the whipped cream (*see note), so it is ideal for those with specific food allergies. And, what shortcake would not be complete without a cloud of homemade sweet whipped cream (so much better than store-bought cans of “whipped cream”)?

So, celebrate Summer's arrival and make this decadently refreshing dessert. This quick and easy recipe will become one of your family's favorites and is perfect for Mother's Day, brunch, July 4th, summer BBQs, or anytime you crave sweet strawberries and creamy, dreamy whipped cream.

Thanks for stopping by:) Comment below if you have made this delicious recipe. Come back again for more family-tested recipes, entertaining ideas, and cooking tips using all our favorite Cherchies® gourmet products.

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*Note: This recipe is gluten-free. Some dairy-free whipped topping products are available at your local grocery store. There are recipes on the internet for homemade whipped cream (dairy-free) using coconut milk, but I have yet to try them.

Cake Ingredients

• 4 eggs (room temperature)- separate yolks and egg whites into two different bowls

• 1 teaspoon (tsp) orange zest

• 1 1/2 cups almond flour

• 1/2 cup sugar

Strawberry Filling Ingredients (adjust portions according to guests)

• 1 pint of strawberries, washed and sliced (reserve 3 strawberries, cut in half with stem for garnish (optional)).

• 1/2 jar Cherchies® Strawberry Butter Spread

Homemade Whipped Cream Ingredients

• 1 cup cold heavy cream or cold heavy whipping cream

• 2 Tablespoons (Tbsp) confectioner’s sugar (powdered sugar)

• 1 teaspoon (tsp) good vanilla extract

Cake Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9” cake pan with parchment paper, cut to the size of the pan, and spray with cooking spray.

Separate egg yolks from egg whites into two separate medium bowls. Add the sugar to the yolk bowl, and beat on high with a hand mixer for 3-4 minutes. Add the almond flour and orange zest. Mix to combine. Set aside.

Beat the egg whites for about 2 minutes on high until soft peaks (or little white mountains when beaters are lifted up) form. “Room-temperature egg whites whip faster than cold egg whites, and room-temperature egg whites whip into a greater volume than cold egg whites. So make sure your egg whites are at room temperature before starting”.- Sally’s Baking Addiction.

Carefully fold the egg whites into the batter and mix until just combined. Add batter to a lined and greased baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees or until the toothpick comes out clean when inserted. Cool the cake completely. Prepare the strawberries as directed below.

While the cake is cooling, place the bowl and beaters you plan on using for the whipped cream in the freezer for 15 minutes or in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. The colder the cream, bowl, and utensils, the more successful your homemade whipped cream will be.

Strawberry Filling Preparation

Mix the strawberries and Cherchies® Strawberry Butter Spread in a medium bowl and set aside.

Whipped Cream Preparation

As mentioned, begin with cold everything, cream, bowl, and utensils (beaters). The bowl and the beaters are an added step, but I find that doing so makes the lightest, airiest whipped cream.

This recipe comes together in minutes, so if you are using your stand mixer, do not be tempted to walk away. The result could be an overwhipped cream. Whip the heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla in your cold bowl on medium-high speed until it is soft and billowy rather than curdled and grainy. If you are nervous about over-whipping, don’t be. Feel free to check on it often. You are looking for medium cream peaks, which means when you lift the beaters out of the bowl, they should look like little white mountains that hold their shape.

Assembling the strawberry shortcake

Now comes the fun part, eating! Cut the cake into individual portions. Add the strawberry mixture to each portion, and dollop with a generous amount of the whipped cream. Garnish each with the reserved strawberry slices for a pretty presentation. From this…

To this! Enjoy!

Baked Apple Cider Donuts Recipe

Baked Apple Cider Donuts Recipe

Prep time: 30 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Difficulty: Easy

One of the fondest memories I remember growing up was Apple Cider Donuts from our local orchard. It was always a special treat when my parents would bring home a bag full of them for my sister and me to enjoy. The ones from the orchard were deep-fried and dredged in cinnamon sugar, so the outside was crisp and sweet, yet the inside was fluffy and moist. Yummy!

Fall is notorious for everything apples, apple cider, applesauce, apple butter, and so much more. We will not even touch on pumpkin spice (that’s for another blog post). I am always looking for new recipes for Cherchies® Apple Butter Spread, and I ran across this recipe for Baked Apple Cider Donuts, which I adapted from littlespicejar.com. Even though most foods deep-fried are incredibly decadent, I prefer the baked version, and these melt-in-your-mouth donuts will not disappoint. The donuts were nicely crispy on the outside and fluffy in the middle, with the perfect cinnamon/sugar richness to round out your taste buds, just like I remember, sans all the calories.

So the next time you have a craving for the flavors of Fall, whip up these Baked Apple Cider Donuts for your family but grab some for yourself because they will disappear right before your eyes.

Comment below and let us know if you made this tasty recipe.

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Donut ingredients: (adapted from littlespicejar.com)

• 2 cups apple cider

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 large egg

• 2 tablespoons salted butter, melted

• 2/3 cup light brown sugar

• 1/2 cup buttermilk (or 1/2 cup half and half, mixed with 1 tablespoon of white vinegar)

• 2 tablespoons Cherchies® Apple Butter Spread

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  For the cinnamon-sugar coating

• 3 tablespoons butter, melted

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

• 1 tablespoon cinnamon

Preparation

1. Begin by simmering the apple cider in a small saucepan over medium heat for 15-20 minutes until it reduces down to about 1/2 cup. Pour the apple cider into a small bowl and refrigerate while you prepare the donut batter.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Position a rack in the center of the oven. Spray a donut pan (we used a silicone donut pan from Wappa) with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, toss together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt, set aside. In a medium bowl, combine the egg, melted butter, and brown sugar, whisk until smooth. Then, add in the apple butter, vanilla, buttermilk, and concentrated apple cider.

4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk until combined.

5. Either pour the batter by the spoonful (about 3/4s of the way full) into the prepared donut pans (We used Wappa silicone donut pans) or add batter to a large ziplock-type bag and snip off the end with a pair of kitchen scissors for a make-shift pastry bag. If you go this route, you will need to squeeze the batter into the donut pan. In either case, make sure to not overfill.

6. Bake donuts for 9-12 minutes or until done. Insert a toothpick into a donut and remove. The toothpick should come out clean.

For the cinnamon sugar coating:

1. In a medium bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon together. Dip the tops of each donut into the melted butter then coat with the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Repeat with all the donuts. For best results, donuts should be eaten the same day but they can be stored for up to 2 days if tightly wrapped and kept at room temperature.

   Enjoy!

Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake Recipe

Cook Time:  30-40 minutes

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

How have you been doing these past few months? Have you learned a new hobby or perfected a craft? Has your family been baking up a storm? Our family has always loved to cook together, especially baking. During these past few months with our young adults safely at home and nowhere to go, our children have been baking A LOT from sourdough bread and endless cookies to their favorite breakfast treat, Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake. 

For those of you with children, how many times during this pandemic did you hear, "I'm bored" or "There's nothing to eat"? When that happened in our home, it was the perfect time for me to interject, "You could make something yummy." That usually seemed to do the trick instead of the usual eye roll. I loved baking with our children when they were younger, but watching them now as young adults tackle recipes on their own is priceless (AND MESSY!). 

Among the many culinary treats our children have baked in the recent months, this delicious Cinnamon Streusel Coffeecake Recipe, laced with Cherchies® sweet apple butter and drizzled with a tangy lemon glaze is one of their favorite creations. If you are looking for the perfect boredom buster and have exhausted family movie or game night, grab a whisk, a couple of bowls, a few simple ingredients, and bake something amazing with your family.  

From our family to yours, we hope you enjoy this easy, tasty coffee cake recipe as much as we do!  

Comment below if you have made this recipe. We love hearing from our friends!

As always, thank you for visiting! Come back again!

Stay safe!

Coffee Cake Ingredients 

• 1 box yellow cake mix with pudding (We used Betty Crocker Super Moist Yellow Cake Mix)- *Note, if you do not have cake mix in your pantry, have no fear, there are many resources online for homemade cake mix. Here are a couple, in particular, I like from I am Baker and Kitchen Nostalgia.

• 2/3 cup Cherchies® Apple Butter Spread

• 1 cup buttermilk (*Substitute 1 cup milk plus 1 Tablespoon white vinegar, stir, and let sit for a minute)

• 4 eggs, room temperature

  Streusel Mix Ingredients

• 1-2 Tablespoons (Tbsp) ground cinnamon

•  2/3 cup brown sugar

  
  Icing Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice

• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
  

 Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray. (Occasionally, we will use this recipe in muffin tins to create muffins. We used jumbo muffin tins from Wilton to make them extra special. See *Note).

In a small bowl, mix the streusel ingredients with a fork. (You will be using half of the streusel mix for the layering effect mentioned shortly and the other half on top before baking).

Mix the coffee cake ingredients in a medium bowl with a hand mixer and beat for two minutes.

So here is the fun part. The goal is to layer half of the batter, followed by a little streusel mix, then add the remaining batter. Pour half of the batter into the baking dish and use a spatula or spoon to smooth the batter. Sprinkle half of the streusel mix evenly over the batter. Pour the remaining batter over.

After carefully layering the batter, take a butter knife and gently run the knife through the batter to make swirls. You will only need a couple of swirls. Finish by sprinkling the remaining streusel mix over the batter. Place the baking pan in the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Depending on your oven (see *Note above), begin checking for doneness at 30 minutes.

While the coffee cake is baking, mix the icing ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. When the coffee cake is finished, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool for about 15 minutes. The coffee cake can be slightly warm but not hot, or it will melt the icing. Drizzle the icing over the coffee cake, and enjoy!

Happy Baking!

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