Freezing Peaches Part 2

Hey, everyone! I hope you're all staying well.

A couple of weeks ago when I got the huge box of peaches at the traveling farmer's market, I asked for suggestions on how to freeze them. I thought I'd share what I ended up doing!

First, I blanched the peaches so the skin would peel off easily. It was like magic!

I scored the bottom of each peach in a criss-cross pattern. Then I dipped the peaches several at a time into boiling water and allowed them to stay there for 15 seconds.

Tada!! You can see that the peach on the top right (above) is just begging to be peeled. :) You can see the ones below that have already slipped right out of the fuzzy skin (which, personally, I don't like!).

Once peeled, I cut them into wedges. Then I tossed them with freshly-squeezed lemon juice. I used the juice of one lemon for every 10 peaches.

For one batch, I put them directly on a baking sheet in a single layer and froze them so they'd stay separate in the freezer bag. We're taking these out of the bag by the handful and using them for cereal and smoothies and oatmeal.

For the rest of them, I added a little sugar to help pull some of the juice out. Once they'd sat for just a bit and gotten juicy, I put them in freezer bags and laid the bags flat until they were totally frozen. When we use these, we'll have to thaw the whole bag and use all at once.

I'm glad to have used both methods! We should be able to have fresh peaches for the next few months.

And just for fun... Around the time I froze the peaches, we were babysitting the grand dog, who had an injured ear (he tangled with a cat that got in his yard!). Here he was dressed up for the 4th of July. :)

I hope you all have a great weekend.

www.missytippens.com

Mindy's Peach Cobbler and Happy 4th!

Missy Tippens


Since I shared that I'd bought a large box of peaches last week, I thought I'd also share what I did with them.

First, I made Mindy's peach cobbler! She has shared two recipes in the past, but this is the one I used: click here.

It turned out so good and was a big hit!

One thing I really liked about this recipe is that you cook the peaches with sugar first. This was perfect since my peaches weren't really ripe yet. It made them sweet and flavorful!

Another thing I really liked was melting the butter in the oven, then pouring the batter over it. I love this method for making the perfect buttery crust/cakey part.

When we pulled this out of the oven, we almost drooled. I even took a video of the bubbling goodness (turn the sound up!).  LOL

Here's the finished product, hot from the oven.

While I was at it, I made use of the hot oven and baked bread at the same time. One of my favorites is a mix made by Tastefully Simple, Beer Bread. Our family loves it!

My husband and I took our goodies to our first non-family social outing since March. Some friends had us over for an outside, socially-distanced dinner. They have been working on their back yard during the pandemic, and it was beautiful!

They had cleared and leveled the area near the creek at the back of their property. So peaceful! And they'd strung lights and sat out quite a few tiki lamps and bottles with citronella oil.

We had a wonderful evening with their family at one end of the table and us at the other. :) Lots of good food, talking, and playing cornhole.

They loved Mindy's cobbler and asked for the recipe. I'll be sure to send them here to the Cafe. :)

I hope you all have a wonderful, safe 4th of July celebration!


www.missytippens.com

Peach Cobbler

I cannot believe I have gone all summer and not posted a peach cobbler recipe. I mean, peach cobbler is a staple of summer. A must-have or the season is not complete. And now that we're into August, well, it's time correct this.

Now we've had many discussions over the years as to what cobbler really is. Up north, cobbler tends to be more cakey while here in Texas people prefer theirs more crust-like. The first time I had cobbler in Texas I called it pie without a bottom crust and I was not a fan.

Since I'm married to a Texas, I spent years trying to come up with a happy medium. Then a friend gave me this recipe and I knew I'd finally found the one. 

Here's what you'll need:

• 4 cups peaches, peeled and sliced (frozen peaches are a great shortcut for this one, since the peaches are cooked a bit before baking)
• 2 cups of sugar, divided
• 1/2 cup water
• 8 tablespoons (one stick) unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• Ground cinnamon to taste

Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees.

Now combine your peaches (no need to thaw if using frozen), water and 1 cup of sugar in a medium sauce pan and mix well.

Bring mixture to boil over medium-high heat.

Once boiling, turn heat to low and simmer for ten minutes.

Remove pan from heat.

Put butter in a 9X13 baking dish and place in preheated oven to melt.

Meanwhile, mix together your flour and remaining cup of sugar.

Right about the time the butter has completely melted, add the milk to the dry mixture and stir until combined. You can use a whisk, if you like, to insure there are no clumps.

Remove melted butter from oven.

And pour batter over the hot butter, but DO NOT STIR.

Next, using a slotted spoon, place the peaches on top of the batter.

Then gently spoon the syrup over that.

Sprinkle with cinnamon. You can be as light or heavy-handed as you like.

And bake for 40-45 minutes until crust is golden.

By now, your kitchen, if not your whole house, should smell absolutely wonderful. The sweetness of the peaches, the fragrant cinnamon...

Serve warm with your favorite ice cream.

Or au naturel.

This is probably one of the easiest peach cobbler recipes ever. Especially if you use frozen peaches. Something that means you can enjoy this amazing treat all year round. 

Since we're on the topic of fruit and it is still summer, what is your favorite fruit dessert? The one that really says summer to you? One that, perhaps, brings back fond memories, or is just so delicious you can't wait for summer so you can dig into it again.

Three time Carol Award finalist Mindy Obenhaus lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, the youngest of her five children and two dogs. She passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. When she's not writing, she enjoys cooking and spending time with her grandchildren. Learn more a mindyobenhaus.com.

Potluck Love

I love potlucks. I mean, why limit yourself to just one entrée/side/dessert when you can sample a dozen different ones?

Last weekend we attended two potluck meals. So aside from getting to sample the dishes others brought, it gave me an opportunity to prepare some of my favorite recipes. You know, the ones you don't dare make unless you've got plenty of people to share them with, otherwise you're stuffing your face with those delicious leftovers for the rest of the week. And while that is enjoyable, things come to an abrupt end when you can no longer fasten your pants.

Our first potluck was a dinner. A farewell party for some good friends. And I knew I had to bring a pan of Chocolate Lasagna.

All that chocolatey goodness simply has to be shared.

This easy and oh, so tasty recipe can be found here.

I wanted something savory too take, as well. Something that was more of a party food. So I opted for Hot Hawaiian Beef Sandwiches. I saw the Pioneer Woman make these a long time ago. Now, I always make them for our Christmas lunch when I have lots of growing boys to feed. Don't be put off by the pepper jack cheese and small amount of hot sauce. Between the sweet rolls and cheese, any spice is more about flavor than heat. That recipe is available right here.

For our second potluck, which was after church, I knew I had to bring my favorite broccoli salad. 

This stuff is so addicting. And while it's not unhealthy, it does make a pretty good sized batch. Find out how to make it here.

Of course, no church potluck in Texas is complete without peach cobbler.

It's a quintessential favorite. And this recipe is my personal fave. You can find it here.

Yep, all that good eating made for one really good weekend.

Now it's your turn. What are some of your favorite potluck recipes?

Three-time Carol Award finalist, Mindy Obenhaus lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, the youngest of her five children and two dogs. She's passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. When she’s not writing, she enjoys cooking and spending time with her grandchildren. Learn more at www.MindyObenhaus.com 

Peach Cobbler for the Win!

Mindy here. So we've had this discussion before regarding peach cobbler. Up north, the cobbler tends to be more cakey while here in Texas people prefer theirs more crust-like. I've even shared my recipe that I found to be somewhat of a happy medium (recipe here).

But recently a friend of mine served a peach cobbler that I instantly fell in love with and have been dying to make. So guess what?

For the first time since the big move, I actually baked. And despite the broiling temperatures outside, it was worth it.

So here's what you'll need:

4 cups peaches, peeled and sliced (frozen peaches are a great shortcut for this one, since the peaches are cooked a bit before baking)
2 cups of sugar, divided
1/2 cup water
8 tablespoons (one stick) unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 1/2 cups milk
Ground cinnamon to taste

Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees.

Now combine your peaches (no need to thaw if using frozen), water and 1 cup of sugar in a medium sauce pan and mix well.

Bring mixture to boil over medium-high heat.

Once boiling, turn heat to low and simmer for ten minutes.

Remove pan from heat.

Put butter in a 9X13 baking dish and place in oven to melt.

Meanwhile, mix together your flour and remaining cup of sugar.

Then add the milk, stirring until combined. You can use a whisk, if you like, to insure there are no clumps.

Remove melted butter from oven.

And pour batter over the hot butter, but DO NOT STIR.

Next, using a slotted spoon, place the peaches on top of the batter.

Then gently spoon the syrup over that.

Sprinkle with cinnamon.

And bake for 40-45 minutes.

My, oh my, this smells absolutely wonderful.

Serve warm with your favorite ice cream.

Or au naturel.

It's pretty good cold, too.

Yep, I think we've found a new fave. Because there's nothing I like better than a good peach cobbler.

Things are still clicking along here at the ranch, though renovations at the house are a little slower this week.

I couldn't help taking this picture of Maddie. I wondered why she was perched atop that roll of carpet, sitting perfectly still. Then I looked out the window and saw the cow.

Needless to say, once the door was opened, Maddie was no longer still.

Oh, and look who's offering up real smiles now.

Yeah, there's nothing like gratuitous puppy and baby pix to make your day.

Now it's your turn.

What's your favorite fruity, summer dessert?

Mindy Obenhaus lives in Texas with her husband and the last of her five children. She's passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. When she’s not writing, she enjoys cooking and spending time with her grandchildren. Learn more at www.MindyObenhaus.com 

Farewell to summer.

My daughter reminded me that technically summer has two more weeks, but for teachers, summer ends when that first school bells rings.

So, since while you're reading this, I'll be meeting my new class for the first time, I thought I'd do a bit of a farewell to summer post.


Blueberries
This was the summer of blueberries. Honestly, I'm surprised I didn't turn blue. But they're so healthy and so delicious.

I froze some and roasted them with some peaches for an end-of-summer treat.

Peaches
Discovery of the summer - roasted peaches in salad. You've heard alot about them in my various salads so I won't belabor it except to say this was the best salad yet - shredded honey mustard pork in a salad with roasted peaches and toasted sunflower seeds. I could eat nothing else for the rest of my life and be happy

Salads

I rediscovered my love of salad, mostly due to this little package. I gave them a try one day and WOW! It's such an interesting mix and even though I wash them, the pre-washed ones save so much on my least favorite part of salad-making - washing all the greens.



Writing
Oh, this has been the best summer I've ever had of writing. I didn't go anywhere, just stayed home and wrote every day. #sheer bliss No pictures of that. LOL

Nature

You all are always sharing such gorgeous pictures from where you live. I don't often have the chance to reciprocate given that I live in the city. But I've been noticing all the trouble people in my neighborhood have gone to in order to bring some of nature's pretty into a bleak cityscape. I've been photographing so I can share.

A few splashes of color.

It's hard to see, but most of these are succulents and they are thriving!

 

 

 These pictures fascinate me. The "garden" is outside the local bank. The day before I took these photos, I had a conversation with a woman who was picking the herbs to use them. There's basil, mint, rosemary, thyme. And something else that I couldn't identify.

I'd be a little wary of eating them since it's right in the middle of a street of parked cars and I know it was a favorite "watering spot" for local dogs before the plants arrived!

These corn plants come back each year - and yes, they actually grow ears of corn (though the raccoons and squirrels usually eat them).

These two are part of a program the city has created to prevent flooding from rain. The flowers are much bigger now than when I took this photo.

This garden of peppers tickles me. There is a man who sits outside our supermarket begging every day, all day. He pretty much camps out and chats with everyone. Apparently he also has a green thumb because he grew this garden of peppers in the tree pit outside the supermarket. He also had an amazing pit full of tomato plants, but someone tore them all out. :(



I always enjoy this song, so here's a sendoff.

Farewell summer of 2016. It's been fun! Summer of '69