Hello Again

Oh, hi! You’re still here? Nice to see ya! I’ve dropped off the face of the blog in past (Remember when I was homeless for two months? Or when our house was a 24×7 construction zone?) but never like this. Three posts in the last four months? Yeesh. That’s downright unacceptable!

So! Let’s catch up. The last few months have flown by. I spent a lot of time trying to keep my eyes open past 7pm. I took a lot of naps, nursing a plummeting energy level. I’d rather not even remember the constant, nagging sour tummy, the aversion to all things cooking and food…

You guessed it – we’re having a baby! Eric and I thrilled to be expecting our own little bundle of joy in January. All things blogging are not conducive to early pregnancy what with the sight of everything except grilled cheese turning my stomach and everything. Now that I’m over that hump and the energy level is back (I’m going to clean out my closet! After that I’m going to clean YOUR closet!) I hope to get back in the swing of things here on the old blog (whose 4-year blogiversary slipped by completely unacknowledged back in May, we may need to have a belated celebration for that one!)

When I was down with turning, churning stomach one of the only things that tasted good to me was fruit. Cold, fresh, juicy fruit. Berries, oranges, apples basically sustained me for 10 weeks this spring. As soon as I felt like I could get back into the kitchen, I whipped up this fruit pizza.

What a refreshing summer treat! Straight from the fridge, this cold, creamy concoction really hit the spot. It’s easy to whip up and feeds a crowd, so it’s perfect for your summer gatherings and BBQs. I used a combo of raspberries, strawberries, kiwis and blueberries for the topping and the fruit held up surprisingly well. You could easily make this ahead of time. 🙂

I combined several recipes to come up with one that suited me. For some reason, I decided I was too lazy to make my own cookie crust (I used a sugar cookie mix) but not too lazy to make my own glaze (mainly because I wanted to be able to control the added sweetness it would add). Feel free to make this as homemade or as semi-homemade as you please! 😉 And it’s GREAT to be back!

FRUIT PIZZA (Recipe Source: Pieced together from recipes at Philadelphia and All Recipes)

INGREDIENTS:

Crust:

• 1 (1lb. 1.5 oz) package sugar cookie mix

Toppings:

• 1 8oz. package cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 to 3 cups assorted sliced fruit

Glaze:

• Scant1/2 cup sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon orange zest

DIRECTIONS:

1. Grease a 12-inch pizza pan. Preheat oven and prepare the cookie mix as directed on the package. Press the cookie dough into the pan, forming a lip at the edge. Bake 12 to 15 minutes until lightly browned and set. Set aside on a wire rack to cool completely.
2. With an electric mixer beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until well combined. Spread over the cooled cookie. Arrange the fruit over the top.
3. Make the glaze: Combine all the glaze ingredients except the orange zest in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and add the orange zest. Allow to cool slightly, but do not allow to set completely. Spread over the fruit. Chill the pizza for two hours before serving. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

ENJOY! 🙂