Peach Crisp

I picked up some peaches on sale today with hopes to just slice them up and enjoy with my breakfast or lunch. Well as I waiting on my husband to get home so I could start dinner, I was checking out the What's Cooking board. Of course someone had to ask for a peach cobbler recipe which got me thinking :)

I searched around allrecipes.com for something I had all the ingredients for and was super simple.

This recipe gave me all of that. I put this whole thing together and had it all cleaned up in about 15 minutes. That is my kind of dessert recipe!

Peach Crisp

Source: allrecipes.com

6 peaches- peeled,pitted and sliced

1/4 tsp almond extract (I was out so I just used vanilla)

1/2 cup AP flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 tbs brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp salt

1/4 cup butter

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and grease an 8 inch square baking pan.

Place the peaches in the bottom of the baking dish and sprinkle with the almondy extract.

In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Cut the butter into the flour using a pastry cutter until the mixture resmbles crumbs.

Sprinkle the flour mixture in an even layer over the top of the peaches and bake in the pre-heated oven for 45 minutes, until the peaches are bubbling and the top is browned.

Grilled Honey Balsamic Chicken

I left school today with absolutely no energy. I really wanted to push this dinner to another night and instead just grab some fast food. On my way home I had to convince myself to stick with dinner and get it done. Alas, I stuck with it and also whipped up a dessert! What???

I am so happy I didn't give in and was able to try something new. This chicken is delicious. It received compliments from my husband which is always a plus! I served this with mashed potatoes and corn. (It was supposed to be corn on the cob but the grocery had not a single good looking cob!)

Enoy such a simple and delicious meal!



Grilled Honey Balsamic Chicken
Source: Delish

1 1/2 lbs. chicken breast
2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp garlic salt
salt and pepper to taste

Pound chicken to even thickness. Approximately 1/2inch to 3/4 inch thickness. Season both sides with salt and pepper. In large dish (or ziploc bag) combine oil, balsamic vinegar, honey and garlic salt. Add chicken and allow to marinate 2-3 hours or overnight. Grill until cooked through. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Pizza Baked Spaghetti

I took dinner to some friends last night that just had a baby. This meal was one of the easiest meals I've put together! I made pizza baked spaghetti, corn on the cob, garlic bread and dessert.

Pizza Baked Spaghetti
Source: The Burton's Block

Ingredients:
Spaghetti (I used an entire box which made a large casserole pan)
Jar of spaghetti sauce
1 Bag of mozzarella cheese
Pepperonis

Cook the spaghetti then layer ingredients in a greased pan.
Noodles, sauce, cheese pepperoni
Bake at 375 for 10 minutes.
Enjoy!

Parmesan Orzo

I am always on the search for side dishes besides our usual corn or green beans.

This orzo was simple and delicious which made it perfect to add to out list of sides.

Source:

Loves to Eat

3 tbs butter

1-1/2 cups uncooked orzo pasta

1-1/2 cans (14.5 ounce) chicken broth

3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cup and 2 tablesoons chopped fresh basil

salt and pepper to taste

3 tbs chopped fresh basil

Directions:

Melt butter in heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in orzo and saute until lightly browned.

Stir in chicken stock and bring to boil. Cover. Reduce heat and simmer until orzo is tender and liquid is absorbed, about 15-20 minutes.

Mix in parmesan cheese and basil. Season with salt and pepper. Transfew to shallow bowl. Garnish with basil sprigs.

Strawberrry Jam

A few weeks ago some friends and I got together to make jam! My friend Liz had made it in the past and was willing to show us how it's done. I am so excited I now know how to do this. I feel like it's something I can now cross off my cooking to-do list!

I'll admit before we made this jam I didn't actually really eat much jam or jelly. I mean I kept a jar of grape jelly in the fridge to use at times but that's about it. Well let me tell you in the 3 weeks since we've made this I am almost through my first jar. I have been looking for ideas on how to use it besides pb&j and toast.

I would encourage you to try this sometime it was so easy!

I don't have a recipe for this. We just followed the directions on the pectin package.

Here is my version of the steps.

Mash your strawberries- We used a potato maser and pastry cutter, it would be much easier to use a food processer just don't puree the strawberries.

Add the pectin to the strawberries.

Boil the strawberries.

Once it reaches a rolling boil add the sugar and stir on the stove for one minute.

Remove from the stove and funnel the jam into jars.

*You will probably want to skim the foam off

Close the jars and place in boiling water for 10 minutes and TA-Da you have jam!

Chewy Chocolate Cookies

Another baby was recently born so I took a meal to the family. For their meal I made stuffed shells, green beans, strawberry salad and these cookies.

I made enough to keep a couple for Chad. I don't care for chocolate but I thought it would be yummy treat for him. To my surprise they were!! He actually commented how much he liked these cookies! They were just as easy as any chocolate chip cookie.

The recipe came from a cookie cookbook my SIL gave me for Christmas. I have many other cookies bookmarked to try!

Chewy Chocolate Cookies
Source: 500 Cookies

6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) sweet butter
1/3 cup AP flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
Pinch of Salt
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups superfine sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
4 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped coarse

Preheat over to 350. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.

Melt the bittersweet chocolate and butter. Allow to cool slightly. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together. In another bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract until thick and pale. Stir in the melted chocolate into the eggs and sugar, followed by the flour and semeisweet chocolate chunks.

Drop tablespoons of mixture onto baking sheets and bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Slide the parchment onto wire racks.

When completely cool, store in an airtight container for 2 to 3 days.

Blueberry Pancakes

This summer has been great so far. I'm not committed to anything and I have just been taking it easy. One thing I did decide to do is preparing myself for next school year. I love to cook and most nights I have no problem making dinner but there are times when I'm stumped on what to have or I'm just too tired to make anything.
We were given a freezer recently so I am doing my best to make meals this summer and freeze them so we can have more wholesome meals on those tiresome nights rather than frozen pizza.

Along with dinner I get sick of deciding what to have for breakfast. I also give myself barely anytime to whip anything up in the mornings. I decided to make these pancakes for breakfast today and then freeze the rest for the school year. All I will have to do in the mornings is pop them in the microwave! My kind of breakfast :)


Blueberry Pancakes
Source: Joelen's Culinary Adventures

2 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 cup frozen or fresh blueberries
1-2 teaspoons vegetable oil


In a medium bowl, combine all the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda). Use a whisk to blend together. In a 4 cup measuring cup or another medium bowl, combine the remaining ingredients except the blueberries and vegetable oil (buttermilk, sour cream, eggs and melted butter) with a whisk. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Stir the wet mixture in gently with the dry ingredients just until it starts to fully combine. The batter will be a bit lumpy. If you see streaks of flour, it's okay, but just don't overmix! Let the lumpy batter sit aside for about 10 minutes before you start cooking.

To prepare for cooking, use a 10- or 12- inch nonstick skillet and heat 1 teaspoon of oil or spray with cooking spray.


Heat a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat and spray with cooking spray enough to coat the bottom. Once the pan gets hot, carefully wipe some off the cooking spray from the pan with a pape towel. I like using a large scoop or even a small soup ladle to measure my pancake batter. You can also use a 1/4 cup measure if you prefer. Take a scoop/ladle or 1/4 cup full of batter and pour into your hot skillet. You should be able to fit 4 small pancakes in a pan, but fit whatever works for you. Top the pancakes with a sprinkle of blueberries once you pour them into the pan.

Cook the pancakes until the edges start to bubble, which means it's starting to set. Take a peek at the bottom of the pancake to see if it's golden brown and that the pancakes start to form bubbles that break on the top of the pancake. At this point, you can flip the pancakes with a spatula. Continue to cook the second side until golden brown.

Serve the pancakes immediately or to keep warm, transfer them onto a wire rack set in a 200 degree oven.