Apparently, I’m a sucker for any dessert that fits in a 8″ square pan and includes fruit (exhibits A and B).  But nothing says summer like a cobbler, right? After a crazy, pregnant “I need peach cobbler right now!” moment, I scoured the web for an easy recipe, but nothing seemed easy enough.  Until this one!  One warning, in case you are particular about cobblers: this recipe makes a more cakey version.  I happen to love it that way, but you may have a different opinion. 

Ingredients:
8 fresh peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced into thin wedges (I used six, didn’t peel and cut into small chunks instead.  I’m a rebel.) 
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons cornstarch (I didn’t have any, so omitted.  Still tasted great)
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Topping: 1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar

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Mix together: 3 tablespoons sugar & 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon


1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, combine peaches, 1/4 cup  sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, and cornstarch. Toss to coat evenly, and pour into a 2 quart baking dish. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.               
3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine flour, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Blend in butter with a pastry blender (or just your fingers), until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in water until just combined.

4. Remove peaches from oven, and drop spoonfuls of topping over them. Sprinkle entire cobbler with the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Bake until topping is golden, about 30 minutes. (It may just be my oven, but my cobbler was golden brown in half the time, about 13-15 minutes.) 

Original recipe found here. 

Talk about impulse.  While I probably should have been attacking that never-ending laundry pile, I instead made a dash to the kitchen to make Blueberry Banana Bread.  Word to the wise: don’t casually peruse cookbooks unless you’re ready to bake. Right.This.Instant!  I have no control when it comes to delicious quick breads.  The recipe comes from this book, which was actually an anniversary gift to my husband.  Enjoy.

Blueberry Banana Bread
from Ruhlman’s Twenty

2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Salt
3 large eggs
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 bananas, mashed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest (I omitted this because I didn’t have any lemons at home)
1 cup blueberries, tossed with 1 Tablespoon flour

Preheat the oven to 350.  Butter a loaf pan. 
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and 1 teaspoon salt.  In a large bowl, combine the eggs, buttermilk, sugar, melted butter, bananas, vanilla, and lemon zest and mix well.  Add the flour mixture and whisk just to combine.  Stir in the blueberries.
Pour batter into pan.  Bake until a toothpick inserted into the bread comes out clean, about 1 hour.  Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes.

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Oh, and Mammas: need some encouragement this winter or know someone who does?  Be sure to check back Monday for an exciting announcement! 

Ready for a long-winded background story about a recipe?  Here we go!  First off, you need to know two things:
1. I just finished reading my first book of 2012, Kisses from Katie.  (I’ll have my review of the book up tomorrow.)
2. I hate wasting food.  And after reading all about the little ones Katie cares for on a daily basis, I am even more committed! 

So I was in quite the predicament when I had three-quarters of an uneaten loaf of homemade bread the other day.  My kids love bread straight from the bread machine, but the next day….well, not so much.  I was determined not to waste (and not have to eat it by myself!) so I put on my thinking cap (aka Google) and found an awesome recipe I just had to share!

I put the recipe together in the afternoon with the intention of serving it for breakfast the next day, but quickly turned it into a “breakfast for dinner” meal.  It only sat in the fridge a few hours, but was still delicious.  I imagine it only gets better if it sits overnight!  Enjoy.

4 Tablespoons butter, melted
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 loaf brioche or challah (I used regular white bread and it was still good)
8 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup whole milk
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger (optional – I didn’t have any and it still tasted great!)
1/2 cup pecans, measured then chopped (also optional – we have many non-nut eaters in our house)
1/8 teaspoon salt
maple syrup and/or powdered sugar for topping

In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and melted butter and pour on the bottom of a 9×13″ baking dish.  Arrange slices of bread in the baking dish, overlapping if necessary.  Combine milk, eggs, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, and ginger in a bowl and pour evenly over bread slices. If desired, sprinkle chopped pecans over bread slices. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 4-12 hours. In the morning, take the casserole out of the fridge for at least 10 minutes while you are preheating your oven to 350 degrees. Bake casserole for 30-35 minutes. If top starts browning too quickly place a foil loosely over the top of the casserole for the last 10 minutes or so. You want it to cook long enough to make sure the bottom part is cooked but don’t dry it out completely. Remove casserole from oven and let it cool slightly before serving. Serve with a dusting of powdered sugar and a drizzle of maple syrup.

Yesterday was yucky and rainy.  We called off school, declared it “Pajama Day” and just lounged around and played all day.  It was relaxing and uneventful…just what I needed and bonus: the boys thought I was the coolest Mamma ever! 

Anyway, I wanted to share what we had for dinner: a super easy, but definitely hits the spot, recipe and perfect for a rainy day.  Add a salad and a loaf of crusty bread (I had neither, but it sounds yummy, doesn’t it?) and you’re good to go.  I think this would be a great freezer recipe or even to send over to a new mamma.  The possibilities are endless!

Baked Ravioli
1 bag of frozen ravioli
1 26oz. jar of marinara sauce (I used Amato’s Pasta Sauce…yum!  Thanks Aunt Rie!)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Parmesean cheese

Heat oven to 400.  Spray the bottom and side of a 9×13″ pan with cooking spray.  Spread 3/4 up of the pasta sauce in first.  Arrange half of the frozen ravioli in a single layer over the sauce.  Top with half of the remaining sauce, then half of the mozzarella.  Repeat layers, starting with the ravioli.  Sprinkle with Parmesean cheese.

Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.  Remove foil and bake uncovered for another 10-15 minutes or until bubbly.  Enjoy!

And for dessert, we made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.  It was a good day. 

Cooking with my kids isn’t just cooking, it’s definitely an experience.  After the apple cake day, I should have learned my lesson, but oh no!  Wild and crazy Mamma did it again!

But I’m getting ahead of myself.  Last weekend, when my dad came over, I made him No Bake Vanilla Cake Batter Chocolate Truffles for his “Sweet Treat of the Month”.  (That was my birthday gift this year to the man who has everything…I make him a special sweet every month, package nicely and send it his way.  It’s been a great way to try out some new recipes!) 

M was dying to help, but I ended up waiting until after he went to bed to make them and he was pretty disappointed.  So, in another one of my “Hey!  Let’s change things up and be spontaneous!” moods, I surprised him with a second round of chocolate truffles.  To say they were excited would be an understatement! 

And OH. MY. WORD.  Another cooking experience for the books.  I couldn’t help but laugh and take pictures of this craziness. 

Look at that concentration!



 M was in chocolate dipping heaven, while D (who hates all things messy) sat there and immediately ate his hard work.  They weren’t pretty, but they tasted pretty good!  

Here’s the original post with a much prettier picture:

  

Spicy Garden Veggie Sloppy Joes

1 lb. lean ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup zucchini, chopped
1 cup yellow summer squash, chopped
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
3/4 cup chopped green pepper
1 16oz. jar salsa
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon parsley flakes
6-8 kaiser rolls or hamburger buns

In a skillet, cook beef, onion and garlic over medium heat until meat it brown and the onion is tender.  Drain off the fat.  Add zucchini, squash, mushrooms, and green pepper.  Cover and cook over low heat for 5-7 minutes.  Stir in salsa, basil and parsley.  Simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated.  Serve on rolls or buns!

(This meal is easily freezable.  You can make a double batch at one time – eat half for dinner and save the other for a busy day!)

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon all-spice
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 cups canned pumpkin
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup chocolate chips

(NOTE: I did not have cloves, ginger or all-spice on hand, so I omitted them all from the recipe and just added a little more cinnamon, maybe a little over 2 teaspoons?  It was still delicious!)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Mix together the first nine (dry) ingredients and set aside.
3. Beat eggs in the large bowl of an electric mixer until foamy.  Add pumpkin and oil and mix well.  Add the flour mixture, stirring only until combined.  Stir in chocolate chips.
4. Spoon evenly in greased muffin tins (or use paper liners).
5. Bake for 22-24 minutes.  Let cool and enjoy!