WFMW - Gazpacho & Strawberry Pie

I have posted these recipes before, but this week's Works For Me Wednesday posts over at We Are THAT Family is about summer recipes.

One of my favorite summer soups is Gazpacho. The first time I ever tried gazpacho I was hesitant because I felt like soup should be hot, not cold. Cold soup made me wanna gag. But a co-worker of mine made this soup and insisted I try it. I was hooked! This recipe makes quite a bit of soup. I think Gazpacho tastes a lot like salsa with all the tomatoes, veggies and a little bit of spice to it.

Gazpacho

INGREDIENTS:

1 c tomatoes, finely chopped

1/2 c green bell pepper, finely chopped

1/2 c celery, finely chopped

1/2 c cucumber, finely chopped

1/4 onion, finely chopped

1 clove minced garlic

3 Tbls red wine vinegar

2 Tbls olive oil

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 c V-8 juice

1 c spicy V-8 juice

1 Tbls ground cumin

1 Tbls beef bouillon crystals

Mix all ingredients together and chill for at least 2 hours. Remove and let sit for about 30 minutes before serving.

Can top with sliced avocado or sour cream or cheese or all three.

One of my favorite summer dessert recipesis a strawberry pie that has a layer of sweetened cream cheese, a layer of chocolate and then topped with strawberries!

Strawberry Chocolate Pie

INGREDIENTS:

2 c strawberries

1 1/3 c sugar

2 tsp vanilla, separated

16 oz cream cheese, softened

milk

7 oz Hershey bar

1 pastry pie crust

Melt Hershey bar with about 3 Tbls milk over very low heat; stirring occasionally until smooth. Stir in 1 tsp vanilla. Pour into baked pie crust and refrigerate until firm. Soften cream cheese and stir in 1/3 c sugar, 1 tsp vanilla and a small amount of milk. Spread cream cheese over top of chocolate layer. Wash and hull berries, set berries onto a papertowel to dry. Dip berries into sugar and set close together on cream cheese layer. Refrigerate 1 hour before serving.

For more great recipes hop over to We Are THAT Family and see all the options!