August 2019 Better Homes & Gardens Recipes

By Sheena Chihak
July 12, 2019
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Credit: Brie Passano
When August arrives you can count on an abundance of in-season produce. Peaches, apricots, plums, shelling beans, corn, tomatoes, zucchini, the list just keeps going. Our August 2019 Better Homes & Gardens® issue is here to share 16 ways to cook with all of these seasonal eats so you can try new ideas every week.
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Peach Crumble Bars

Credit: Jason Donnelly
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When peak peach season (July and August) is upon us, you must make these peach dessert bars. A traditional crust and a fresh peach filling are irresistibly topped with a crumble that includes two unexpected nuts—hazelnuts and coconut. Our taste panel gushed over the bright peach flavor and buttery, caramelly notes in the crust and crumble.

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Apricot Skillet Pie

Credit: Brie Passano
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With a bubbly fruit filling and golden flaky crust, this stone fruit dessert has all the elements of a freshly baked pie. Unlike most pies, this one takes only 20 minutes to prep when made in a cast iron skillet and using purchased puff pastry instead of homemade piecrust.

Buy It: Bayou Classic 10-inch Cast Iron Skillet, $19.99, Bed Bath & Beyond

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Smashed Peach and Poblano Grilled Cheese

Credit: Jason Donnelly
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With the scrumptious additions of smashed peaches, poblano pepper, and bacon you may classify this sandwich as a melt instead of grilled cheese, but there’s no debate that it’s delicious. Sourdough bread and melty sharp cheddar hold all the flavorful components together for the ultimate grown-up grilled cheese (or melt).

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Upside-Down Almond-Plum Cake

Credit: Jason Donnelly
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Upside down cakes aren’t limited to pineapple only. This one stars plums—we used both purple and yellow varieties— for a stone fruit twist on the classic cake. A gently simmered caramel sauce gets poured into the pan first to give plum slices and toasted almonds a sticky-sweet coating to cling to before you add the cake batter. It also gives the completed and cooled cake that golden glisten.

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Apricot-Thyme-Glazed Chicken

Credit: Brie Passano
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For your next summer grill-out turn to a glazed chicken recipe instead of fried chicken. A glaze made from fresh apricots, butter, shallot, garlic, and honey amp up the summer flavors of grilled chicken. Add a few apricot and shallot halves on the grill, too and you’ll discover your new favorite summer supper.

Buy It: Weber Spirit II Gas Grill, $349.00, Amazon

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Plum-Pork Noodle Bowl

Credit: Jason Donnelly
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Give your noodle bowl recipe a seriously punch of plum when you add two pounds of them to this healthy dinner idea. Get a head start on dinner when you marinate the meat and stir together the plum salsa up to a day ahead.

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Pick-a-Flavor No-Churn Ice Cream

Credit: Carson Downing
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Need some ice cream flavor inspiration? Here are TWELVE ideas for you! Each idea is a no-churn one, so there’s no need to get the ice cream maker out of storage (or to go buy one). Simply beat some heavy cream with a mixer, pour everything in a loaf pan, and freeze.

Buy It: Wilton Non-Stick Loaf Pan, $5.97, Walmart

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Easy Fudge Sauce

Credit: Carson Downing
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After tasting this rich fudge sauce, you will never again buy chocolate syrup to top your ice cream recipe. Calling for only five ingredients that are likely already in your kitchen and about 10 minutes of time there’s no excuse not to DIY this ice cream topper.

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Roasted Strawberry Sauce

Credit: Carson Downing
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Add concentrated strawberry flavor to your next bowl of ice cream by roasting the berries with honey and orange zest (yes, those are the only three ingredients you need) to make a thick strawberry syrup. Just how concentrated is the flavor? You start with a full pound of fresh strawberries and all that flavor reduces down to about 1 cup of sauce.

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Salted Bourbon Caramel Sauce

Credit: Carson Downing
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Make a grown-ups only ice cream topper when you combine sugar, cream, butter, and a decent splash of bourbon to make a creamy caramel sauce. Sure, we intended it for ice cream, but we fully understand if you start adding it to all your brownies, cakes, and other baked goods.

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Stuffed Waffles

Credit: Blaine Moats
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What? You were expecting a mound of whipped cream when you saw the word ‘waffles’ in the recipe name, weren’t you? Not this time. We sandwiched tomatoes, cheddar cheese, and bacon between layers of a pretty traditional waffle batter to give breakfast a nudge in the savory direction.

Buy It: Cuisinart Classic Waffle Maker, $22.90, Amazon

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Sun-Dried Tomato Deviled Eggs

Credit: Carson Downing
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If you think you know everything there is to know about how to make deviled eggs, blogger Jessica Merchant would like to a new lesson with this potluck-mandatory recipe. For her take, Jessica whirls sun-dried tomatoes and Greek yogurt into the filling and tops with an assortment of herbs, not just the usual paprika.

Buy It: Leoyoubei Ceramic Egg Plate, $18.55, Amazon

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Blueberry Bundt Cake

Credit: Carson Downing
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Add this stunning dessert to your list of best bundt cake recipes. Blogger Yossy Arefi shares her travel-friendly version with us in this blueberry-studded cake. “This cake is sturdy and travels well. Because I live in New York, it has got to be able to withstand a subway transfer and a few blocks’ walk, Arefi says.” Tote the blueberry glaze in a separate container to add just before serving.

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Zucchini-Chorizo Sweet Corn Bake

Credit: Carson Downing
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If you can’t get enough of zucchini recipes in the summer, give this casserole from bloggers Matt and Naomi Robinson a try. It serves 12 so it’s perfect for potlucks, where Naomi says, “Your dish shouldn’t be too fussy or require any last-minute prep. This dish checks all those boxes.” One bite and you’ll agree.

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Mediterranean Three-Bean Salad

Credit: Carson Downing
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A classic three-bean salad is a potluck staple, but this is not your usual bean salad. This recipe calls for fresh wax or green beans and a couple cups of assorted fresh shelling beans. We used freshly harvested ‘Old Time Hickler Stick’ and ‘Auntie Wilder’ beans, but any variety of shelling beans you’ve grown or discovered at a farmers market will work great.

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Summer Bean Soup

Credit: Carson Downing
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You can use up all kinds of produce when you make a summer soup recipe. This bean soup is a perfect example. It’s loaded with so much summer goodness from fresh beans, zucchini and/or yellow squash, and juicy tomatoes. Swiss chard and lemon are also added for even more produce punch, even if they’re not necessarily summer foods.

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By Sheena Chihak