Aaaaah, summer! Isn't it the best when it comes to veggies and fruit? I sure think so!

Summer is my favorite season! I have fond memories of lazy days at the beach, sleeping in and just being oh so carefree. Aaaaah, those were the days!

Do I still do those things? Ha! Not really.

My lazy days at the beach and sleeping in are now replaced with getting up early and being Mommy to my wonderful, ALMOST, 2 year old. And I wouldn't change any bit of it. Well, maybe just some instant ear plugs for my ears when those screaming moments take place. ;)

This weekend, in the states, we're celebrating the 4th of July. I thought, why not show some summer, 4th of July lovin', on my {foodie LOVES friday} post with a summertime favorite of mine....blueberry pie!

I'm actually not a huge blueberry pie lover. Yes, it's yummy, but if you gave me a choice between apple and blueberry, the apple would SO win. It's always been my favorite, thanks to my mother, who I think makes the best apple pie in the world. ;) ;)

While making this blueberry pie, I realized that the last time I made it (which was actually the first time I'd ever made it) was when I was just a few weeks away from having my daughter (almost 2 years ago!).

Oh, the memory! And, what a memory it is!

I thought it came out delicious, but I felt it was a little soupy. That didn't stop my husband and I from eating it, though.

We loved it SO much, that we fought over the last bite. Ha!

If you've been pregnant before (have dealt with Aunt Flo's monthly visit), you might relate to what I'm about to tell you.

You know how cravings and hormones sometimes don't mix well. Well, my husband and I were sharing the last piece, and there was a pretty BIG bite left.

My husband thought I ate more of the pie than him because I was home at the time and he was still working (um, so NOT true! good thing he doesn't read my blog that often...ha!), so when it came to that last bite, he ate it ALL!

He looked right at me, and then put the entire bit in his mouth. And, yeah, that bite was HUGE!

OH man! My hormones went NUTS! I was SO mad because he SO could have split it with me.

I even shed some tears over it (and I'll blame it all on those pregnant hormones, thank you!).

But, thinking back to that moment, while making the pie, I totally laughed and smiled. And, it made me think of all the wonderful joys of pregnancy! :)

I mean, really, Renee, tears over a teeny tiny bite of blueberry pie? LOL!

Oh yeah! Because it's that good! And, you only get seasonal, juicy, local blueberries once a year! LOL!

Isn't it awesome how food is like music. It can take you right back to an awesome, or not so awesome memory in an instant.

Amazing!

Has that ever happened to you? Got a little teary because you didn't get to savor up a teeny tiny last bite of one of your favorite dishes that you don't have too often? :)

In my opinion, blueberry pie is actually a lot easier than apple. Because the apples take longer to prepare.

You just rinse the blueberries and then add some cinnamon, lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar and some flour. Mix it all together and then place in the dish.

I used a store bought pie crust, but I SO want to make my own one day. (I'm waiting until C gets a little older, because right now my time is VERY limited in the kitchen. When I'm in there, I'm usually in and out...in and out...because right now Lil' C is in the "climb on everything" stage.)

Add some butter (yes, I love me some butter!) and then place the second pie crust over it.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes, and then, voila!

Blueberry pie!!

So if you're celebrating this weekend, maybe you'll like to add some blueberry pie flair to your festivities...or, maybe just want to make some blueberry pie flair because it's just so darn good and it's summer...summer...summertime!!

Either way, I know you'll enjoy it! I sure did.

Oh, and it goes GREAT with vanilla ice cream, too! :)

So if you celebrate the 4th of July, I wish you a fun and festive Independence Day with your family and friends.

As for us, we'll be headed to a cookout, and I'm SUPER excited to watch C play with all the little kiddos that will be there, but I'm also not looking forward to my dog being SUPER scared of all the fireworks. He hides in the closet. :(

Happy Friday and Happy 4th of July Weekend!

Until next time...

{food IS delicious}

Summer Lovin' Blueberry Pie

Ingredients
3 to 4 pints of blueberries (depending on how large your pie dish is)
2 whole pie crusts
1/3 cup to 3/4 cup of sugar
3 to 4 tablespoons of flour (less if you want it runny)
1 tablespoon lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 stick of butter (sliced)

Directions:
1. If you used a store bought pie shell, take out of fridge, and let it warm up to room temperature.
2. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
3. Take blueberries out of their pints and remove any stems. Then rinse in colander. I then used a paper towel to pat them dry.
4. Add sugar, flour, lemon juice, lemon zest and cinnamon to blueberries. Mix.
5. Place blueberry mixture into pie dish. Add sliced butter squares around blueberry mixture.
6. Place second pie crust on top. Make four to six slits on the top, in the middle.
7. Place in oven, and let cook for 35-40 minutes. It will bubble when it's done.
8. Let cool.
9. Place on your most lovely serving dish. Turn off all distractions, sit down by yourself or with your family, take a few deep breaths, say how much gratitude you have for your food, your family, your life and dig in, slowly and savor the deliciousness!
10. Oh, and if you really want to add some more yumminess to it, vanilla ice cream will do it! :)