PEACH COBBLER

Hot, bubbling cobbler!

What can go wrong with a cobbler if you follow the recipe exactly? And you know how I always follow a recipe exactly - not! But I really tried this time. (And the results were amazing!)

Delicious home canned peaches! (But you can use store bought peaches if you don't have these.)

This summer, Dayna and I put up fresh peaches that we purchased from Angie Viebrock and The Farm Wife's Table. Let me tell you, they were worth canning and savoring, even though I wanted to eat the whole bushel at once. These peaches had such great flavor! 

Side story: Angie brought these to my house (special delivery) and I put the box on the stairs as Angie was leaving. I stepped outside to tell her goodbye and when I returned to my house, Tara was eating peaches right out of the box! I told you they were hard to resist! Of course we washed all the peaches and we peeled them as we canned them so there are no doggy germs in this cobbler. 

This was an easy recipe!

OK, back to the recipe! Step one was melting a stick of butter in a 9 x 13 pan in the oven at 350 degrees. As I melted that, I mixed up the other ingredients. I poured the flour mixture into the pan then dumped in my canned peaches with the syrup. 

This recipe seemed too easy and the concoction in the pan seemed a little bit soupy. But I had 40 minutes to wait, and time did tell!

The house was filled with the mouth-watering scent of peaces as it was baking!

And the resulting cobbler was beautiful! Yes, smell was an indicator of the level of deliciousness of this hot, bubbly, mouthwatering concoction!!

A picture is worth a thousand words, but a fork full of peaches is even better!

The real test came at dinner when we tasted it! Don't you wish you could have been here for this?

S'MORES!

My favorite things include the people I love (especially my family members), popcorn, and s’mores - to name just a few things!  If I have an excuse to make something for friends and family, I am all over it! This time, my cousin Martin was coming through town and I got the privilege of bringing dessert (thank you Glenn and Estelle for hosting dinner)!  And, you KNOW how I always follow a recipe exactly – NOT! 

I found this recipe online and you can too!
http://cookiesandcups.com/smores-in-a-jar/
 I loved the photos posted there.

This is the recipe I followed - almost exactly.  I filled a dozen jars, used the large box of instant Jell-O pudding, two (2) 7-ounce containers of marshmallow fluff and I put a large marshmallow on top. Patty you were right, the mini marshmallows would have been better on top.  They would have melted thoroughly inside when toasted under the broiler. Joel thinks I should use CoolWhip instead of marshmallow fluff next time and there will be a next time! 

All the ingredients - before I asked Joel to bring home the second container of marshmallow fluff.

I placed all the filled jars in a 9x13 pan for easy transportation and so I could put them all under the broiler at one time. It only took a couple of minutes to toast the marshmallows and I watched them carefully. I have been known to burn things - like the cheese, right Dayna? When the marshmallows turned a lovely toasty color, I carefully removed them from the oven and then placed one square of a Hershey Chocolate Bar in each. (Since the jars were cold and I placed them under the broiler, I think it is important to point out that I used canning jars which are made to take the heat; not that anything but the marshmallows got warm.)

The marshmallow wasn't quite melted enough to insert the piece of Hershey Bar.
Mini marshmallows would have done the trick!

These are not made for shipping. Let me know when you are coming to visit and I’ll make some for you too! 

(If you are still reading at this point, and you are a member of the Grammar Police, please make any corrections and teach me the errors of my ways!)

RICE PUDDING

Do you find it challenging to cook in smaller quantities?  It seems I often make too much when I’m cooking for two. That can be a good thing if you like left overs. Fortunately, My Shadow and I are easy to please. Sometimes, I cook enough intentionally so we can have two meals. That freezer comes in handy.  But it can be challenging to put those accidental left overs to creative use. 

When I made rice for our dinner, I made extra rice with the thought in mind to make rice pudding.  

Yummy!

Even though I hate to see summer weather depart, the cooler weather puts me in the mood for things like that.  It’s warm, creamy, cinnamon, raisin-filled goodness! Plus, I can choose to eat it for dessert or breakfast.  My mom taught me that!

Here’s the recipe I use to make just enough for two or three servings...for me, myself and I! 

Delicious Microwave Rice Pudding

Use a 4 cup microwave safe bowl.

Mix together:

1 beaten egg

1 cup milk

Heat for 2 minutes.

Using a wire whip, mix in:

1/8 cup corn starch

1/3 cup sugar

Dash of salt

1 tablespoon butter

Cook at 8 power level for 3-4 minutes

Stir in:

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2/3 to 1 cup cooked rice

1/3 cup raisins

Cook 1 minute more at 8 power level. 

Let me know what you think of this tasty treat!

Baking today!

I got inspired to bake something I've not tried before. One recipe I found on the back of the bag of flour and I don't know where I found the other one.  I had to run to the store to get started - of course! I needed two tablespoons of pineapple juice for the carrot cake, and since they are currently just 99 cents I bought a fresh one and just pressed out the juice I needed from a small piece of fresh sliced. Yum! The cherry bread called for maraschino cherries. The recipe didn't say to drain them, but I did.  I also used some of my cinnamon glazed pecans in each recipe and just chopped them up in my food processor for the recipes.  Do you want some of these yummies?  I know how to package and ship and will be happy to do so upon request - accompanied by money works best! Or you can make some yourself using the recipes below. Enjoy!
Special Cherry Pecan Bread

2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted	¾ cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon baking soda	1 10-ounce jar maraschino cherries,
½ teaspoon salt	drained and chopped
¾ cup granulated sugar	1 teaspoon almond extract
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon butter, divided	1 tablespoon water
2 eggs	½ cup powered sugar
1 cup buttermilk

Preheat over to 350° F. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream granulated sugar and ½ cup butter. Add eggs and beat until light and fluffy. Slowly add dry ingredients and buttermilk, alternating until well mixed. Stir in nuts, cherries, and almond extract. Pour batter into a greased loaf pan. Bake 55 - 60 minutes. Turn out onto wire rack to cool. In a small bowl, melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter. Add water, powdered sugar, and 1 drop almond extract. Stir well and spoon over warm bread. Makes 1 loaf.

CARROT CAKE
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
1 ½ cups grated carrot, about 3-4 carrots
2 tablespoons pineapple juice
½ cup chopped nuts
1 ¼ cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. nutmeg
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9x9 inch-baking pan. Beat together eggs and sugar until creamy. Stir in vegetable oil until well combined. Add grated carrots, pineapple juice, and nuts. Mix well. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix well. Add flour mixture to carrot mixture; stir until just combined. Pour into greased and floured baking pan and bake for 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Allow cake to cool, then frost with cream cheese frosting.