Recipe of the Week; SUMMER PIE, OH MY!

If you subscribe to Taste of Home magazine as I do, you may notice that I've completely ripped of their "Pie, oh my!" headline from their featured pie recipes in the August/September issue.

You may further notice that I'm going to post a recipe that I ripped off from The Food Network's Semi-Homemade Sandra Lee- something I don't normally do because I find her recipes are typically Semi-repulsive.

I guess the heat is depleting my creativity. I promise to be a little more original in my next recipe post. But, I'm bringing two pie recipes to you this week- so cut me a little slack!

By now you must know that I bake so very little, if at all, during the summer. Who wants to bother with a hot stove, anyway? I like both of these recipes for the simple reason that they require little effort- little or no baking, and they make very refreshing summertime desserts!

I caught about 15 minutes of a recently aired episode of Semi-Homemade this past weekend, and I will confess this pie actually looked like something worth making. It helped that she was using a recipe that was given to her by someone else, so it wasn't classic Sandra Lee Semi-homemade slop in a pot.

I'm also going to rewrite it a little, as she started her recipe by saying "In large bowl combine all the ingredients except the topping and the crust." Really, Sandra?

PEANUT BUTTER PIE INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 8-oz package cream cheese, softened

1 8-oz tub whipped topping

Chocolate Magic Shell ice cream topping

Oreo cookie pie crust

chopped peanuts*

In a large bowl, blend peanut butter, sugar, milk, extract, and cream cheese with a hand mixer. By hand, gently fold in the whipped topping.

*I sprinkled some chopped peanuts on mine at this point, although the original recipe didn't call for it.

Pour in to crust and freeze for 2 hours. Once frozen, drizzle with ice cream topping and refreeze for 20 minutes. Thaw slightly before serving.

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My next pie recipe is a very basic Key Lime Pie recipe. I've been making this for a long time- and upon researching Key lime pie recipes, I found that Paula Deen has a very similar recipe she calls "Bubba's Key Lime Pie." Another recipe rip-off from the Food Network, how fitting for today's post! But please don't ask me who Bubba is- I don't even want to know.

KEY LIME PIE INGREDIENTS

1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup Key lime juice*

1 teaspoons grated lime zest

2 eggs, separated

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/4 cup sugar

graham cracker pie crust**

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake pie crust for 5 minutes, allow to cool completely.

Combine milk, lime juice, and lime zest; blend in the egg yolks. Pour filling into pie crust.

Beat egg whites with the cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the sugar until the mixture is stiff. Spread the meringue over the entire surface of the pie. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the meringue is golden brown.

*I've used regular limes in place of actual key limes, as they are not a common find here in western PA. The results were still delicious.

I DO NOT recommend the use of the bottled lime concentrate. We'll save that idea for the semi-homemade crowd.

**I've also done this pie using the mini crusts, making little individual pies. They're quaint, and they help prevent overindulging.