Southern Peach Cobbler

This is the best recipe for cobbler that I have been able to find. With fresh Georgia peaches and vanilla ice cream it is so delightful!

Peach Cobbler
 

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar, divided

1 tablespoon baking powder

Pinch of salt

1 cup milk

4 cups fresh peach slices

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Ground cinnamon or nutmeg (optional)

Preparation

Melt butter in a 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Combine flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt; add milk, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour batter over butter (do not stir). Bring remaining 1 cup sugar, peach slices, and lemon juice to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly; pour over batter (do not stir). Sprinkle with cinnamon, if desired.

Bake at 375° for 40 to 45 minutes or until golden brown. Serve cobbler warm or cool.

From Southern Living

Adam's Favorite Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookies

Adam can't get enough of these cookies. He LOVES them. Even though his favorite thing is the combination of peanut butter and chocolate, these are absolutely wonderful cookies and dangerous to have around the house if you are watching what you eat. Just one is never enough!

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 ¼ cup flour
¾ tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
¼ salt
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup peanut butter
¾ cup sugar
½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup peanut butter chips
½ cup chocolate chips
Sugar in a bowl for dipping

Preheat oven 350 degrees

In a large bowl, combine the flour, the baking soda, and the baking powder, and the salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the butter and the peanut butter together until fluffy. Add the sugars and beat until smooth. Add the egg and mix well. Add the milk and the vanilla. Add the flour mixture and beat thoroughly. Stir in the peanut butter chips and chocolate chips. Drop Tbsp size rounded cookie dough into bowl of sugar to coat. Place on ungreased cookie sheet leaving several inches between for expansion. Slightly flatten cookies with back of spatula. Bake for 10-12 minutes. The cookies will look underdone. Cool for 1 minute on pan then remove to a rack to cool completely.

Recipe from thesisterscafe.com

Growing Green Onions

I saw a woman online who grew her own green onions in a mason jar and she never had to buy them again. So I tried it out and came to find that it works! All you have to do is take some green onions that you buy from the store and place them in a jar with some water. I only had one green onion on hand when I did this, and I wish I would have taken a before and after picture because it has changed quite a bit. My green onion only had one shoot coming out of it when I started and now it has four, plus I have snipped and used two others in my cooking. It's just an easy way to save some money, and I now always have fresh green onion.  I just have to change out the water every once in a while.

And that's my basil plant next to it. Mmmm.. I love basil!

Crock Pot Hot and Sour Soup

 

Crock Pot Hot and Sour Soup

2 cans chicken broth

1 cup chopped cooked pork

4 oz fresh mushroom caps, thinly sliced

1/2 cup sliced bamboo shoots, cut into thin strips

3 tbsp rice wine vinegar

2 tbsp soy sauce

1/4- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

4 oz firm tofu, well drained and cut into 1/2 in pieces

2 tsp sesame oil

2 tbsp cornstarch

2 tbsp cold water

Chopped cilantro or sliced green onions

1. Combine broth, pork, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, vinegar, soy sauce and chili paste in Crock-Pot slow cooker. Cover; cook on LOW 3 to 4 hours or on HIGH 2 to 3 hours, or until done. 

2. Stir in tofu and sesame oil. Combine cornstarch with water; mix well. Add to soup and mix in well. Cover; cook on HIGH 10 minutes or until soup has thickened. To serve, sprinkle cilantro or green onions.

Halloween Mud Float

Halloween is my favorite holiday and Adam got me a Betty Crocker Halloween cook book. I tried my first recipe from it, and this was it. To my surprise, it was really yummy!

Mud Float

Servings: 8

4 cups chocolate milk
4 cups root beer
1 pint chocolate ice cream
Gummy worms (optional)

Directions:

1. In a class, pour 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 cup root beer and stir. 

2. Add a scoop of ice cream on top like a root beer float. Add gummy worms for fun!

Hot and Sour Soup

Thanks for the recipe Amber. It was delicious!

Hot and Sour Soup

sliced mushrooms (as many as you like)

2 tablespoons canola oil

1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated

1/2 tsp cayenne

1/2 cup canned bamboo shoots, sliced

1/4 pound barbecued pork, shredded

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground white pepper

1 tbsp sugar

2 quarts Chicken Stock

1 square firm tofu, drained and sliced in 1/4-inch strips

3 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup water

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Chopped green onions, for garnish

Directions:

Heat the oil in a wok or large pot over medium-high flame. Add the ginger, cayenne, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and pork; cook and stir for 1 minute to infuse the flavor. Combine the soy sauce, vinegar, salt, pepper, and sugar in a small bowl, pour it into the wok and toss everything together - it should smell really fragrant. Pour in the Chicken Stock, bring the soup to a boil, and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the tofu and cook for 3 minutes.

Dissolve the cornstarch in the water and stir until smooth. Mix the slurry into the soup and continue to simmer until the soup thickens. Remove the soup from the heat and stir in 1 direction to get a current going, then stop stirring. Slowly pour in the beaten eggs in a steady stream and watch it spin around and feather in the broth (it should be cooked almost immediately.) Garnish the hot and sour soup with chopped green onions before serving.

Coconut Shrimp with Curried Apricot Sauce

This was my first time making shrimp. Adam hates shrimp with a passion and refuses to be around it, so I had to make this for lunch while he was at work so he wouldn't have to smell it. Oh silly husband. But I still love him! That curry apricot sauce is oh so yummy!

Coconut Shrimp with Curried Apricot Sauce

6 servings

24 fresh or frozen shrimp
1 cup mayonnaise
3 tbsp apricot preserves
1 tsp curry powder
2 tbsp cooking oil
1 1/2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut, toasted (I toasted mine on the stove, but you can do it in the oven too)
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3 egg whites, slightly beaten

1. Thaw shrimp, if frozen. Peel and devain, leaving tails intact. Rinse shrimp; pat dry with paper towels. Set aside.

2. For sauce, in a small bowl stir together mayonnaise, apricot preserves, and curry powder. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

3. Spread oil on bottom of a 15x10x1 inch baking sheet. Set pan aside. In a shallow dish combine coconut, cornstarch, sugar, and salt. Place the egg whites in a small shallow dish. Dip shrimp into the egg whites; coat shrimp with coconut mixture, pressing the mixture firmly onto the shrimp. Arrange shrimp in the prepared pan. Bake in a 400 degree F oven about 10 minutes or until shrimp is opaque and coconut is golden, turning once. Serve with sauce.

Lawn Mower Cupcakes

For Adam's 26th birthday, I made him lawn mower cupcakes.

Treasures chocolates
M&Ms
String licorice

Easy Crock-Pot Honey Whole-Grain Bread

This recipe is perfect if you are in a hurry and don't want to have to wait around the house to let bread dough rise and re-rise. And it was so delicious! Way easy!

Crock-Pot Honey Whole-Grain Bread

3 cups whole-wheat breat flour, divided
2 cups warm whole milk
3/4 to 1 cup all-purpose flour, divided
1/4 cup honey
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 pkg active dry yeast
3/4 tsp salt

1. Line crock pot with foil and spray with cooking spray.

2. Combine 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour,milk, 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, honey, oil, yeast and salt in large bowl. Beat with electric mixer at medium speed 2 minutes. Add remaining 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour and 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup all-purpose flour until dough is no longer sticky. (You can mix with wooden spoon.) Transfer to prepared crock-pot.

3. Cover; cook on HIGH 3 hours or unti edges are browned.

4. Take out and let cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Watermelon Frosty

We had a bunch of watermelon at our house and needed to use it up before it went bad, so I looked up a recipe for watermelon on pinterest and found this awesome recipe for a watermelon frosty. We've had this a couple days in a row. You can put a small watermelon wedge at the top to make it more pretty.

Watermelon Frosty

2 1/4 cups frozen watermelon cubes
1/2 cup + water
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 large lemon, squeezed (or 2 limes)
1 banana

Throw all the ingredients in a blender and mix up till smooth!
 
 

Bombay House Chicken Tikka Masala

This is the best Tikka Masala recipe that I have been able to find and it is definitely comparable to Bombay House's dish in Provo. I was so excited to find something that satisfies my craving for good Indian food since there doesn't seem to be any good restaurants in Georgia of Tennessee.

Chicken Tikka Masala

MARINADE:

1 cup yogurt

Tbsp lemon juice

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp freshly ground pepper

1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger

1 tsp salt

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

4 long skewers (I used our griddle)

SAUCE:

1 Tbsp butter

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp salt

1 8oz. can tomato sauce

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions

In a large bowl, combine yogurt, lemon juice, 2 tsp cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, pepper, ginger, and 1 tsp salt. Stir in chicken, cover, refrigerate 1 hour. Preheat a grill for high heat. Lightly oil the grill grate. Thread chicken onto skewers and discard marinade. Grill 5 min. on each side. (I just cooked the chicken on a griddle.)

For the sauce: Melt butter in a large skillet. Saute garlic for 1 minute. Season with 2 tsp cumin, paprika and 1 tsp salt. (For a little more spice, you can add some cayenne pepper here too.) Stir in tomato sauce and cream. Simmer on low heat until sauce thickens, about 20 minutes. Add grilled chicken, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Transfer to a serving platter and sprinkle with fresh chopped cilantro. Serve over rice.

We ate it with the Naan Bread recipe.

Memorial Day Truffles

We had a family get together with the Sink's yesterday and Adam and I were in charge of dessert and we thought oreo truffles sounded good. I found a picture on pinterest of a lady who did this American flag with cake balls, so I decided to do it with our oreo truffles instead.

The blue truffles are made with mint oreo, the red withh regular oreos, and the white with golden oreos. Surprisingly the golden and mint oreo truffles were the favorite.

Here's a link to the Oreo Truffles recipe.

Georgia Peach Chicken

My favorite recipes are the easy ones that call for ingredients that I already have on hand. And this one is way yummy and a great dish for summer time. I made this twice last week because it was so good.
Georgia Peach Chicken

½ cup Hidden Valley® Original Ranch® Spicy Ranch Dressing
½ cup light brown sugar
1 can (15-ounce) sliced peaches, drained and cut into chunks
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons prepared Dijon mustard
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
salt and pepper

Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper.

In a large skillet, over medium heat add the olive oil and heat until shimmering. Add the chicken and cook for 5 to 7 minutes on each side or until golden and juices run clear.

Remove the chicken to a plate.

Reduce the heat and add the butter, melt the butter together with the brown sugar, stirring until smooth.

Stir in both the dressing and mustard, stirring until bubbly.

Return the chicken to the pan, add the peaches and cook until heated through.

Serve Immediately

(I cut the chicken up into chunks and served it on white or brown rice.)

Homemade Oreo Cookies

This is one of our family favorites and several people have asked me for the recipe, so here it is!

Oreo Cookies

1  cake mix + 1 T. flour   (any flavor you want. I like cherry chip cake mix or chocolate cake mix)

½  C. oil
2  eggs                          

Mix ingredients together  - drop 1 teaspoon size balls on cookie sheet

Bake 350 for 8 minutes   Cool

Filling

½  C butter

1  8 oz. cream cheese
½ t. vanilla  (I use almond flavoring)
3  C powder sugar

Place filling between 2 cookies

Filling does 2-3 cake mixes

And I like to refrigerate my cookies. I think they are better cold, but Adam likes them fresh, so I guess it's personal prefrence.

Hamburger Stroganoff

I got this recipe from a Relief Society cookbook for a ward I used to live in. It is really easy and reallly really yummy. Adam is a big fan and often requests that I make this for dinner.

Hamburger Stroganoff

serves: 5-6

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic
1 lb ground beef
6 oz can mushrooms and juice (I sometimes just like to use fresh mushrooms)
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 can undiluted condensed consomme (I use beef broth and that seems to work just fine)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 lb (2 cups) medium noodles
1 cup sour cream
2 tbsp parsley

Saute onion and garlic in butter until lightly browned. Add ground beef and cook until browned. Stir in mushrooms, lemon juice, consomme, salt and pepper about 5 minutes. Stir in noodles and cook, covered, 10 to 12 minutes or until noodles are tender. Stir in sour cream. Garnish with parsley and serve.

Move, Job, and Morning Sickness

So Adam and I moved from Rexburg in April to Salt Lake City and I really wasn't cooking or making anything then while trying to get settled. Then I got a job with Seagull book and I had to work pretty much every night and have not been able to cook because of that. And then in July I became pregnant and went through bad morning sickness for three months and I am finally feeling good in my second trimester and I am ready to start cooking again! I really missed food for a while. So that is why there is the big gap between my recipes I am posting now and the ones from a couple months before. I have some really good ones that I've done recently too that I am excited about!

The Perfect Waffle

This is my favorite recipe that I have found so far for my Belgian waffle maker. It is really yummy with the strawberry syrup too.

The Perfect Waffle

Serves 8-10

1 pkg. active dry yeast
¼ cup warm milk (90 degrees F)
3 egg yolks
2¾ cups warm milk (90 degrees F)
¾ cup butter
½ cup white sugar
1½ tsp. iodized salt
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. Vinegar
3 egg whites

Directions
Dissolve full package of yeast in 1/4 cup warm milk.
In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks, 1/4 cup of the warm milk and the melted butter.
Stir in the yeast mixture, sugar, salt and vanilla.
Stir in the remaining 2 1/2 cups milk alternately with the flour, ending with the flour.
Add vinegar.
Beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks; gently fold into the batter.
Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. I like to put a couple of cups of water in the microwave and heat for two minutes (or until water boils), and place dough in the microwave with hot water.
Preheat the waffle iron. Brush with oil and spoon batter onto center of iron. Close the lid and bake until steam stops coming from the waffle maker and the waffle is a rich brown.
Place waffle on either cooling rack, or in 200 oven directly on oven rack. -you don't want any steam put off by the waffle to make your crust soggy.
Makes 8 - 10 six inch round waffles.

Strawberry Syrup

I made this a few weeks ago and I have been craving it ever since. I don't have a picture because it was in the morning when I made it and I was just hungry and wanted to dig in. I made homemade waffles and put this over it! I wish I would have made more. If you like breakfast or strawberries, you will love this recipe!


Strawberry Syrup

1 cup sugar
1 Tb. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
2 cups thinly sliced and then roughly chopped fresh strawberries

Combine sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon in saucepan; stir in strawberries.  (The strawberry juices will dissolve the sugar and make a wet mixture.)  Bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until slightly thickened.  Remove from heat and cool slightly.

This makes approximately 2 cups of syrup.

(I got this recipe from Sisterscafe.com)

Tres Leches Cake

On special occasions, Adam and I like to go to places like Cafe Rio or Bajios and get their Mexican dessert, Tres Leches. In my All You magazine last month there was a recipe for it, so I made it! And it tasted exactly the same as the one we buy at the restaurants. It called for things that I already have in my cupboards and my fridge which are my favorite recipes. It was very yummy. I think I will make it again soon. You can actually see the moistness running on the plate at the bottom of the cake in the picture. So Good!

Tres Leches Cake

CAKE:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

6 large eggs, separated

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

SOAK:

1 cup whole milk

1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk

1 12-oz. can evaporated milk

TOPPING:

1 1/2 cups whipping cream

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

1. Make cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Mist a 13-by-9-inch baking pan with cooking spray. In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.

2. In a bowl, using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and sugar until light, about 3 minutes. Add yolks, one at a time, beating after each. Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture in three parts to form a stiff batter.

3. Using clean beaters and bowl, beat egg whites until peaks form. Stir 1/3 of whites into batter; fold in remaining whites. Spread batter in pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Use a fork to poke holes on top of cake. Cool to room temperature on a rack.

4. Whisk together whole, condensed and evaporated milks. Pour over cake, cover and chill for at least 4 hours.

5. To serve, whip cream with sugar and vanilla until firm peaks form. Spread over cake and chill 30 minutes to 1 hour. Garnish with fruit, if desired.

Birthday Strawberry Shortcake with Almond Glaze

It was my sister Amber's birthday last week and I wanted to make her a cake. This one looked just really pretty, so my brother, Avram, and I whipped it up for her at his BYU apartment. It was really yummy and rich. It had a great almond flavor through out the cake. It's a great cake to make for special people.

Strawberry Shortcake with Almond Glaze

1 yellow cake mix

1 cup sour cream

4 eggs

1 small vanilla pudding mix

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup water

2 tsp almond extract

Mix all the above ingredients together for a few minutes until well combined.  Pour the batter into 2 round cake pans.  Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 45-50 minutes.  Let cool for a few minutes and then gently remove from pans and allow to cool on a wire rack.

Almond Glaze

2 cups powdered sugar

3 Tb butter, melted

2 tsp almond extract

1-2 Tb milk, if needed

Mix the glaze ingredients together while the cake cools.  Once semi cooled, prick the cake with a large fork or the back of a wooden spoon.  Spoon the glaze over the two round cakes letting it sink in.  Save about 1/3 or so of the glaze and set aside.

1 pint whipping cream

powdered sugar to sweeten

1-2 pounds of fresh strawberries, sliced

Whip cream with 2 Tb powdered sugar, using a mixer.  Wash dry and slice the starwberries and set aside.

Assembly:

Place one of the glazed cake rounds on a cake stand or large plate.  Top with freshly whipped cream and a layer of strawberry slices.  Follow with the second cake, more whipped cream and arrange more fresh sliced strawberries on top in a pretty pattern.  Next drizzle the more of the almond glaze over the top and down the sides.  Store in fridge until ready to serve.  Enjoy!

I got this recipe from Sisterscafe.com