Ah, it's that time of year...

The rigamaroo comes to an end and summer begins. I have a couple fun ideas to help you start it out with a bang. The first is this gift basket I put together for my daughter's teachers. The card tucked into the pocket of the red gingham apron says "Thanks for helping Adriana's 3rd grade year to really "cook"!" And it has all sorts of baking goodies inside: a cherry printed potholder set, a spatula, and of course, the apron. All found in the dollar aisle at Target, my friends!



I also have this great recipe to share with you. I attended a baby shower last weekend and was asked to bring a fruit pizza. Let me tell you, this is the best recipe I have tasted, and it belongs to my sister-in-law.

Crust ingredients:
1 c softened butter
1 c powdered sugar
1/3 c sugar
1 egg
2 1/2 c flour
2 1/2 t baking soda
2 1/2 t cream of tartar
1/2 t vanilla
1/4 t almond extract

Filling ingredients:
16 oz. softened cream cheese (I bought whipped)
1 c powdered sugar
1 t vanilla
fresh fruit (recommended are peaches, strawberries, kiwi, bananas, mandarin oranges, grapes)

Orange sauce:
1/2 c sugar
1 c orange juice
1/4 c lemon juice
1/4 t grated orange peel
1/4 t grated lemon peel
4 t corn starch

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325. Starting with the crust ingredients: cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add egg, vanilla, almond extract and beat well. Combine dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture. Blend thoroughly. Divide mixture in half. Flour hands and press into lightly greased pizza pans or shallow pie dishes. Bake 12-15 minutes. While that is baking, slice your fruit as desired. On to the sauce: combine ingredients except for peels into a small sauce pan. Heat over medium until thick. Add peels and then let cool. Prepare the filling: whip cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Spread over cooled crusts. Top crusts with fruit, covering well. Pour cooled sauce over the fruit. Enjoy!

Now, I will be on vacation for the next 2 or 3 weeks, whichever strikes my fancy. Lol. So blogging will be minimal (if at all). However, I will be reading and judging entries into Scribbit's Write-away Contest this month. Head on over there and check out this month's topic. I'd love to read what you've got!

Technorati tags: summer,fruit pizza,recipes,teacher gifts