Peach and Gorgonzola Salad with Maple Pecans and Honey-Lemon Vinaigrette

I'm gonna keep this short and sweet {just like this recipe} ... this salad rocks. Like, seriously rocks. And, besides being totally delicious, it can be whipped up in a matter of minutes. {I timed myself the last go-round that I made this and it took all of twelve minutes.} It's so ideal for hot summer days when we just want something light, refreshing and quick for lunch or dinner - without having to heat up the house or fret too much.

With peach season kickin' right now, this salad really is a celebration of my favorite summer fruit. {Fresh strawberries, sliced apples or sliced pears could be swapped in if peaches aren't in season as you read this post.}

All it takes to whip this up is spending four minutes making the maple pecans, then allowing them to cool while the quick dressing is assembled and the salad is put together. {The only real knife work required is the slicing of one peach and a red onion.}

If you wanted to invest the time, topping with some sliced, grilled chicken would make this a more-hearty salad if desired.

This recipe yields two servings, but you could easily adapt the recipe to make several servings or even make one large salad for sharing.

Yields 2 servings.

BLT Naan Flatbread Pizza

If you're a lover of BLT Sandwiches, this is a recipe that you're going to want to try. The ingredient list is a short one and making these little pizzas is a breeze. Bacon, lettuce, tomato, cheese, green onion and mayonnaise meet up atop pillow-y, soft naan flatbread. I utilize naan bread to make a variety of pizzas. {My favorite is my Cheesy BBQ Flatbread with Grilled Vegetables.} Using naan as a starting point for a quick, easy dinner is a no-brainer. It can easily be found in the bakery section of most grocery stores these days {I like these} or you can search online for recipes to make your own at home {something I plan to try very soon}.

Our eighteen-year old daughter works at a pizza restaurant that serves an amazing BLT Pizza. I based the development of this recipe upon their concept. But, since we love naan for pizza, I decided to swap it in to take the place of traditional dough. Worked like a charm.

The pizza is assembled by melting a little shredded cheese on top of the naan, then piling on cooked bacon and the vegetables. Drizzle on some mayo before service for the perfect dinner, lunch or snack.

Yields 2 servings.

Cool and Creamy Vegetable "Pizza" Crescent Cups

These Cool and Creamy Vegetable "Pizza" Cups are fun twist on the traditional version of veggie pizza that many of us know and love. They are perfect appetizers for summertime parties or you can even enjoy them as a light meal. They are easily customizable - use whatever fresh vegetables that you love or have on hand - and they seem to always be one of the first things to be devoured at parties.

For the recipe, you'll, basically, need a couple of tubes of refrigerated crescent seamless dough sheets, a few simple ingredients to make a cream cheese/sour cream filling and some fresh vegetables. After a short bit of oven time and a few minutes of cooling, the crescent cups get a dollop of cool and creamy filling before being topped off with your chopped veggies of choice.

From my experience, these can be made up to six hours {or so} in advance. While I do enjoy them just fine the next day {if there are leftovers}, they are best when freshly-made the day of service.

NOTE: VEGETABLES SHOULD BE CUT INTO SMALL PIECES AND BE OF UNIFORM SIZE. THE AMOUNT OF VEGETABLES NEEDED TO MAKE A SINGLE BATCH OF THESE IS VERY MINIMAL. ROUGHLY ONLY 2 - 3 TABLESPOONS OF EACH CHOPPED/SLICED VEGETABLE IS NEEDED. HOWEVER, THE AMOUNT, OBVIOUSLY, WILL VARY DEPENDING ON THE NUMBER OF VEGETABLES USED AND THE TYPE/VARIETY OF VEGETABLES CHOSEN. THEREFORE, I AM NOT PROVIDING EXACT MEASUREMENTS IN THE VEGETABLE SECTION OF THE INGREDIENT LIST BELOW.

Also, note that the recipe yields sixteen "cups," but is easily doubled or tripled for large crowds. And, to clarify, the cups are made in muffins tins with regular-sized wells - not mini muffin tins.

Yields 16 cups.