Fruit Pizza and Strawberry Cream Pie

This is the Fruit Pizza I am taking to New York!

Every Summer I get in a panic because it is strawberry season and I don't remember where I put our favorite strawberry recipes. So I decided to go ahead and post this on my blog so next summer I can look it up on my own blog.

Fruit Pizza

1 package refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1 (8-oz) package cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract or other flavoring (almond, orange, or lemon)
Fresh fruit (your choice) well drained
1/2 cup orange, peach or apricot preserves

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Line an ungreased 14 inch pizza pan with cookie dough. Bake 12 minutes or until light brown; remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla extract, spread over cool cookie crust. Arrange fruit over cream cheese layer in any design you want.

In a small saucepan over very low heat, make a glaze by heating preserves and water. Brush glaze over fruit, making sure to cover the fruit that will turn dark. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

This is the low calorie fresh Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie I'm taking.

Single graham cracker crust
8 oz reduced calorie cream cheese at room temperature
1/2 cup egg substitute
3 Tbs of Honey
1 tsp of vanilla
3 1/2 cups of sliced strawberries
1 Tbs corn starch
1/2 cup cold water
1/2 cup reduced sugar Strawberry jam

Mix cream cheese, egg substitute, honey, and vanilla together till smooth. Pour into graham cracker crust and bake 15 to 18 minutes. Cool until room temperature.

Arrange strawberries on top of cream cheese filling.

Mix Corn Starch, and water until smooth. Stir in preserves and bring to a boil. Continue to cook and stir for 2 minutes until mixture is thick. Spoon over berries and and chill for 2 hours.

Monday Memories....Strawberry Fields Forever!

I drove by the Strawberry Fields today and saw lots of little white blossoms on the plants that one day soon will be red delicious strawberries. There is something wonderful about eating field ripen strawberries, is there anything sweeter?

Our Canadians enjoy coming to see us during berry picking time. We tease our daughter and tell her she must have been a migrant worker in another life. She can certainly pick a lot of berries in a very short time. Not to mention that she makes wonderful shortcakes, muffins, and pies. Excuse me while I drool!


When Boy Wonder was 4 he and I went with a friend to pick strawberries from the field. They weighed the containers before you went out in the field and then weighed them after you finished picking. They should have weighed Andy before and after too. I do believe he ate more than he picked. By the time we checked out he had ruby red lips and red stains all down his shirt.


The farmer looked sternly over at him and asked him directly, "Son, did you eat any of my strawberries?"

Andy suddenly got very scared and became shy and guilty-looking but looked up at the farmer and shook his head while saying, "No Sir!"

The farmer looked at his red-stained hands and winked at him and said with a smile...."Looks like you've been caught red-handed to me! Say, how old are you anyway?" He asked.

Looking miserable at having been caught in a lie, Andy held up 4 fingers and grabbed my leg to hide behind me.

"Well, "said the farmer, " Too bad you didn't eat any of my berries because I always let 4-year-old boys eat all the berries they want." " Here," he said, handing Andy a huge ripe strawberry "Try this one."

Moral of the story: Always tell the truth, especially when you are caught with red hands, red lips, and strawberry stains down your shirt.