Peach Crisp

This easy and delicious dessert is bursting with flavors of fresh peaches, topped with a sweet and crunchy crumb topping.  It's sure to please!

One of my favorite things about late summer and early fall is the variety of fruits available.  Two weeks ago, Mike, Summer, and I went to a farm market and petting zoo.  We spent the morning petting and feeding all kinds of animals, watching Summer jump in the bounce house, going on a wagon ride, and enjoying each other's company.  We left with a peck of fresh peaches, and a dozen apple cinnamon donuts ;) Then yesterday, we headed to a local apple orchard to continue our fall tradition with friends and pick apples.  We left with 42 pounds of apples and a half dozen apple cider donuts ;)  (Notice a trend?)  And yes, those 42 pounds of apples will go to good use since I eat at least one a day!

As I looked through my assigned blog for this month's Secret Recipe Club, I kept in mind my abundance of peaches, as well as a few zucchinis I still had hanging around.  Thankfully, Kristen who blogs at Troyer's Loving Life, made it easy for me to find a great recipe.  Kristen is a busy wife and mom to 2 teenage girls.  Her family is busy working on their house, but she still finds time to cook and fill her blog with delicious recipes!

Ultimately, I chose to make Kristen's recipe for Peach Crisp (which she got from the Pioneer Woman's cookbook).  It sounded delicious, and with my abundance of peaches, and peach crisp being my favorite dessert, I knew I'd found a winner.  This recipe certainly didn't disappoint!  The thinner layer of crisp topping really allowed the natural flavors of the peaches to shine though.  I didn't have maple syrup, so I opted to sprinkle my peaches with a little bit of sugar instead, and I skipped the sauce.  Mike thought this dessert would be delicious with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top!

Peach Crisp

Makes 1 9x9" pan, about 9 servings

Ingredients:
5 ripe peaches
1 Tablespoon sugar, optional
1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 ounces (1 stick) butter, cold

1.  Peel and slice peaches and place them in the bottom of an 9x9" pan. Sprinkle with sugar, if desired.

2.  In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.

3.  Cut the butter into small pieces and add to the dry ingredients.  Use a pastry blender or knife to cut the butter into the flour.  Continue until the mixture resembles moist coarse meal.

4.  Sprinkle the flour mixture over the peaches.

5.  Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes, until the topping is crisp and done.

Serve warm, with ice cream or whipped cream if desired.

Source: Troyer's Loving Life

This will be my last month participating in the Secret Recipe Club.  I've been a member since 2011, however with all our life changes I don't feel like I have the necessary time to spend on my blog.  Instead, I'm focusing on raising a toddler, growing a baby, and expanding my personal training and coaching business.  I've really enjoyed participating over the past few years and meeting new friends.  I hope you'll continue to stop by and see what we're up to!

An InLinkz Link-up

Single Serving Clean Eating Peach Crisp

This single serving dessert is the perfect size, plus with clean ingredients and fresh peaches, you can feel good about what you're eating!

Peach Cobbler {Flashback Friday}

This Peach Cobbler is a delicious way to enjoy fresh peaches.

Tips and Tricks: How to Peel Peaches Quickly

A few weeks ago I bought a half peck of peaches at the Farmer's Market. I had great plans for these peaches!  Then I got home and realized how many peaches I had purchased...way too many for one person to eat!  I needed to do something with them so they wouldn't go bad.  I decided to peel them all up and then slice them.  I stored some in the fridge for immediate eating, made a peach cobbler with some, and then put the rest in a freezer bag and froze them for future uses like smoothies.

Here are the steps I used to easily peel my peaches:

Grilled Peaches

Grilling peaches brings out the flavor and juices of the fruit.  These grilled peaches are sure to be a hit at your next cook-out!

I asked on Facebook last night if you would rather see a fruit or a vegetable recipe posted this morning.  Surprisingly, the results were split 50/50.  I really thought there would be a stronger preference for one or the other, but that's okay!  I promise you would love either recipe that I posted.  If you were hoping for the vegetable recipe, don't worry, I have a couple coming your way and the first will be posted next week!

On to these peaches...

I love grilling food, but grilling fruit is a relatively new idea to me.  I've grilled peaches a few times now and each time I am so impressed with the flavor.  Using a grill imparts a little bit of smokiness to the fruit, but it also enhances the fruit's natural flavors and draws out the delicious juices.  You only want to grill peaches for a few minutes, just long enough to warm them up and add some pretty grill marks.

After the peaches are grilled you can enjoy them plain, drizzled with a bit of honey, sprinkled with cinnamon, or with a scoop of ice-cream on top.  It's a delicious and healthy way to enjoy fruit, and I'd say it's good enough to count as dessert!

Grilled Peaches

Serves 4

Ingredients:
4 peaches
honey, optional
cinnamon, optional
vanilla ice-cream, optional

1.  Cut peaches in half and remove the pit.

2.  Lay peaches flesh side down on a hot grill.

3.  Grill for approximately 5 minutes, until the fruit is warmed and softened.

4.  Remove from grill and drizzle with honey, sprinkle with cinnamon, or top with ice-cream.  Serve warm.

Peach Lemonade

I am so excited!  Do you know why?  It's because I have a four day weekend, starting tomorrow!  But that's not the only reason I'm excited.  The best part is, Mike also has a four day weekend!  His work has been so busy for the past 6 months that it's rare he has more than just Sunday off.  So both of us having four consecutive days off together is something to celebrate!

We plan to spend Thursday in my hometown celebrating the 4th of July.  Then Friday, we've declared a "relax" day.  There are a few movies out that we want to see, so we'll probably hit up a movie and then spend the rest of our day doing whatever sounds fun.  Saturday, I have a baby shower (so excited!) and then Sunday we'll stick with our typical routine of church and dinner with my parents.  I'm so looking forward to spending some much needed quality time with my husband!

We've both been hit with the realization that our time together as a family of 2 is limited.  At my doctor appointment earlier this week, the doctor said our baby is ready to come, so now it's just a matter of time.  Mike and I plan to enjoy every minute together in these last few weeks or days before our baby arrives.

That being said, I hope that you'll understand when I don't post a new recipe this Friday.  I'll be spending the day with Mike!  And who knows, I might be able to spend a few minutes in the kitchen working on some new recipes.  I'm trying to stock pile some posts for when the baby is here and I'm too tired to think about blogging.  If you're interested in submitting a guest post to help me out during that time, I'd love to hear from you, just shoot me an email!

Now, on to this Peach Lemonade recipe.  I've loved peach nectar ever since my first trip to Romania, almost 8 years ago now.  On the plane we were served peach nectar and it was so unbelievably delicious!  Since then, any time I see peach nectar as an option at a restaurant (very rare in the states) or on the shelf at the store, I have to have it!  It's so sweet and tastes like you're biting into a juicy peach, minus the juice running down your chin.  When I saw a recipe combining lemonade and peach nectar, I knew it would be a winner.  I served this drink with dinner when we had our small group over a couple weeks ago.  It was a hit with everyone who tried it.  I know this will be another summer drink staple in our house!

Peach Lemonade

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:
1 quart lemonade
1 cup peach nectar

Combine the lemonade and peach nectar.  Chill before serving.

Source: Shaken Together

Here's another delicious lemonade recipe that would be great for your 4th of July celebration:

Sparkling Strawberry Lemonade

Blueberry Peach Cobbler

It's incredible how much stuff babies require!  Mike and I started our baby registry on Saturday.  We had fun selecting the items for our registry.  Can I just tell you how much it makes my heart melt to see my husband awww-ing over adorable Easter dresses?  So precious!

I didn't realize how many decisions we would have to make for seemingly simple things.  Like bottles...who knew that you have to choose different shapes and certain flow style based on the age of your baby?  I certainly didn't!  We felt pretty accomplished as we left the store.  Then, I got home and pulled out a registry check-list.  Apparently we missed quite a few items on that list.  Thankfully I was able to add our missed items online, but goodness, I had no idea it could be so complicated!  Don't get me wrong, I'm loving every minute, but at times it sure gets overwhelming for us first time parents!

You might be thinking that this cobbler looks awfully familiar.  Yes, it probably does, because I posted a similar recipe for Blackberry Peach Cobbler in February.  The major difference (other than using blueberries instead of blackberries) is that this recipe is simplified.  I used Bisquick baking mix to cut down on the steps for this recipe.  I think that will be the theme for my life for the next few months years...simple is better!

Blueberry Peach Cobbler

Serves 5-6

Ingredients:

2 cups Bisquick baking mix
3 Tablespoons sugar
3 Tablespoons butter, melted
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup peach jam
1 cup blueberries, frozen or fresh
3 Tablespoons butter, melted
1 Tablespoon sugar

1.  In a mixing bowl, combine the baking mix, sugar, melted butter, and milk to form a dough.

2.  Place the dough on a floured surface and roll out to a rectangle about 8x10".

3.  Spread the peach jam over the dough and sprinkle the blueberries on top of the jam.

4.  Roll the dough up, jelly-roll style, and press the seams to seal it shut.

5.  Cut the dough into 1" slices and place in a greased round cake pan.

6.  Drizzle the melted butter on top of the dough and sprinkle it with the sugar.

7.  Bake at 475 for 10-12 minutes, until the top is lightly browned.

Cool slightly before serving.

Peach Cinnamon Rolls

We're still able to get fresh peaches at our farmer's market and I plan to make the most of the fresh summer fruit...especially because it feels like fall today.  One of my favorite things about where I live is the local farmer's market.  It's open on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and while I haven't been able to go as much as I'd like this year, it's still fun to go.  I enjoy seeing what all the different vendors have to offer.  There are booths full of fresh fruits and veggies, fresh baked goods, doggy bagels, donuts, coffee, flavored honey sticks, flowers, and (my favorite) fresh hot tamales!  Usually the center aisle is lined with various street performers, and it's fun to watch and listen to them while shopping.

You know how much I enjoy taking a loved recipe and adding a little something to make it special.  Last week, I offered to bring cinnamon rolls for our youth leader's retreat breakfast.  I made some regular cinnamon rolls, but I decided to add some fruity flair to others by putting diced peaches into the cinnamon rolls.  I loved the addition of the fruit and the cinnamon rolls were a hit with the other leaders.

The cinnamon rolls were fantastic on their own, but I decided to top a few with my dad's homemade peach jam to bring out the peach flavor.  It was delicious!

 

Peach Cinnamon Rolls

Makes 20 rolls

You will need:
Dough:
1 cup warm milk, 110 degrees
2-1/2 teaspoons yeast
1/2 cup sugar, divided
2 eggs
1/3 cup margarine, melted
4-1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt

Filling:
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2-1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/3 cup margarine, softened
2 large ripe peaches, peeled and diced

Icing:
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup margarine, softened
1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt


Peach Jam, if desired


1.  Pour warm milk and 1 Tablespoon sugar into the bowl of your mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top of it.  Let it sit for 5-10 minutes, until frothy. 

2.  Stir in eggs and margarine until well mixed.

3.  Add in the flour, salt, and remaining sugar and knead for 5 minutes.

4.  Cover the dough with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let it rise for 1 hour, or until double. 

5.  When the dough has risen, punch it down and let it sit on a floured surface for 10 minutes.

6.  Roll dough out into a 16x21" rectangle and spread softened margarine on top of it.

7.  Combine brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over dough.  Sprinkle peaches over dough.

8.  Roll the dough up length-wise and cut rolls into approximately 1" slices.

9.  Place rolls in a greased 9x13" pan.  Cover and let them rise for 30 minutes. 

10.  Bake at 350 for 15 minutes--be careful not to over-bake!  (But also be sure they are baked all the way through, I've found the rolls in the center of my pan may still be doughy after 15 minutes.)

11.  While rolls are baking, combine icing ingredients.  Spread over warm rolls.

Store cinnamon rolls in an airtight container.

Blueberry Peach Cobbler

We're in the midst of peach season here and the local farmer's market is bursting with the scent of fresh peaches.  I love to use fruit that is currently in season because it is much more flavorful.

We had some friends from Romania over for dinner last week.  I made pulled pork sandwiches, which was fun because they hadn't had those before!  I wanted to top off our dinner with a fresh dessert.  The peaches were fresh and flavorful and I used the plump blueberries I had picked a couple weeks ago.  I topped each piece of cobbler with a dollop of whipped cream and it was a perfect summer dessert!

Blueberry Peach Cobbler

Serves 10-12

Ingredients:
8 peaches, pitted and sliced (nectarines can be substituted if desired)
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup sugar, divided
3/8 tsp salt, divided
3/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons flour, divided
2 cups fresh blueberries
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup buttermilk


1.  In a large bowl, gently combine the peaches, lemon juice, 3/4 cup sugar, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 2 Tablespoons flour.

2.  Pour into a greased 9x13" baking dish and arrange peaches in an even layer.  Sprinkle with blueberries.

3.  In a small bowl, combine 3/4 cup flour, baking powder, and remaining salt.

4.  Place the butter and remaining sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer.  Using the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

5.  Add the eggs in one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

6.  Mix in the vanilla extract.

7.  Add the flour mixture and buttermilk, alternating between the two. 

8.  Pour the batter over the fruit and spread evenly.

9.  Bake at 350 for 1 hour, until the filling is bubbling and the topping is golden brown.

Serve warm.  Cover and store any leftovers in the fridge.

Source: Eats Well With Others

Strawberry Peach Frozen Yogurt

In case you haven't noticed, it's hot outside.  Like 100 degrees hot.  In Michigan.  I love summer and warm temperatures but this is a little crazy!  In the past month, 26 days have been around or above 90 degrees.  Our normal average high is 82 degrees.  We are not used to this kind of heat! 
As you can imagine, with the temperatures this high, I have been trying to not use my oven.  We have central air conditioning, but why make it work harder than it has to?

That's where this month's Secret Recipe Club recipe comes into play.  I was assigned to Christine's Kitchen Chronicles.  Christine learned how to cook because she had no choice (eat or die, right?), and she learned to love cooking.  She has so many fantastic looking recipes on her blog--perfect recipes for an everyday cook.  I browsed through Christine's site looking for recipes that didn't require turning my oven on.

I came across quite a few delicious looking foods before settling on her fabulous looking Strawberry Peach Frozen Yogurt.  I love frozen yogurt but it's so expensive to buy at a fro-yo shop.  For less than it would cost for Mike and I to go out for fro-yo, I made my very own at home. 

This frozen yogurt was delicious!  The flavors of the strawberries and peaches really shined through. I loved the thick and creamy texture of the fro-yo after it had melted a little bit.  I served this with some cake for a friend's birthday last week and it was a huge hit.  Thanks for a great recipe, Christine!

Strawberry Peach Frozen Yogurt

Makes 1 quart

3 cups vanilla Greek yogurt
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups fresh strawberries, diced
2 medium peaches, pitted and diced
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoon vodka
2 teaspoons lemon juice

1.  In a small mixing bowl, combine the Greek yogurt, sugar, and vanilla extract.

2.  Stir until the sugar is dissolved.  Refrigerate for 1 hour.

3.  In a separate bowl, combine the diced strawberries, diced peaches, sugar, vodka, and lemon juice.  Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

4.  Place the yogurt mixture in the bowl of your ice cream maker and churn according the the manufacturer's directions.

5.  After 15 minutes, add in the fruit mixture and churn until completely combined.

Serve immediately for soft-serve frozen yogurt. 

If desired, pour the churned mixture into an air-tight container and freeze until ready to serve.  This will yield a hard-serve yogurt.  I recommend letting it sit on the counter at least 15 minutes before attempting to scoop it!

*The vodka can be eliminated if desired.  Its purpose is to prevent the frozen yogurt from freezing rock solid, but I found it did not really help.  My yogurt was still incredibly hard after being frozen.

Source:  Christine's Kitchen Chronicles

What is your favorite frozen treat?

Peach Buckle

I think some of the neatest things that can be passed on from generation to generation are recipes.  When Mike's grandpa passed away a couple years ago, we helped to clean out his condo.  His parents allowed us to take some things that we wanted.  Mike chose a few items that had sentimental meaning to him, and I chose some cookbooks.  I was recently looking for a recipe using peaches and I decided to look in a cookbook from his grandpa.

This cookbook was printed in 1963 and belongs to Mike's grandmother.  As I flipped through the pages, several handwritten recipe cards fell out.  I tucked them away to make someday, knowing they were special recipes.

The pages of the cookbook are yellowed and worn.  Some pages have food stains and tears on them--a sign of a well used cookbook!  I can just picture Mike's grandma flipping through the pages as she decided what to make for her husband after a day of working on the farm.  What about you?  Do you have any cookbooks or recipes that have been passed down through your family?

Peach Buckle

Serves 9

6 peaches, peeled and diced
3/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup margarine
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup + 2 Tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon

1.  Sprinkle peaches with 1/4 cup sugar (use more or less depending on how sweet your peaches are).  Let them sit for about an hour until a sugary syrup forms.  Drain and reserve syrup.

2.  Cream together margarine and 1/2 cup sugar.

3.  Mix in eggs.

4.  Stir in baking powder, salt, and 1 cup flour.  Mix until just combined.

5.  Spread batter in a greased 9x9 pan.

6.  Top batter with peaches.

7.  Combine 2 Tablespoons flour, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and reserved syrup.  Pour over peaches.

8.  Sprinkle with 2 Tablespoons sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon.

9.  Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes.

Peach Pie

Peach Pie

Mike took me out for dinner for Valentine's Day.  I decided that I would make him a nice dinner the next night.  We had steaks and baked potatoes and then his requested peach pie.  It's my take on a pie his Grandma makes.  I really don't know how she makes it and I didn't have a recipe, so I just went by memory and looks.  We both thought it turned out great, and we'll definitely be making it again!

You will need:

1 pie crust (recipe below)
1 box peach jello
3/4 cup boiling water 
4 peaches (I recommend using canned so you have the juice, but you can use fresh instead)
1 cup Peach juice, cold (put the can of peaches in the fridge for an hour before preparing recipe)
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup powdered sugar
8 oz Cool Whip (1 tub)

1.  Drain peach juice, reserving 1 cup.  Dice peaches into small pieces. 

2.  In a mixing bowl, combine peach jello and 3/4 cup boiling water.  Stir until gelatin is dissolved.  Add in cold peach juice.

3.  Place peaches in the bottom of a baked pie crust (use recipe below or store-bought). 

4.  Pour jello mixture over peaches.  Depending on the size of your pie tin, you may or may not need all of the jello to fill the pie.

5.  Refrigerate at least 4 hours, or until set.

6.  Meanwhile, whip together cream cheese, vanilla, and powdered sugar until well combined.  Carefully stir in Cool Whip being careful to keep the fluffiness of the Cool Whip.

7.  When pie is set, top pie with Cool Whip topping.  Refrigerate until you're ready to serve.

Pie Crust:
1-1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup shortening
4 to 5 Tablespoons cold water

1.  Combine flour and salt.  Cut in shortening until crumbly.  Gradually add water and stir until a ball forms.

2.  Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes, until it's easy to handle.

3.  Roll dough on lightly floured surface to fit your 9 or 10 inch pie plate.  Transfer pie to plate and trim pastry.  Flute edge as desired.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, until lightly browned.

Peach Cobbler

Peach Cobbler (9/28/08)

I apologize that I don't have pictures to show you for this recipe....I don't know where my head was today! :)

You will need:
4 peaches
1 cup brown sugar
4 tsp corn starch
2 T water

3 T shortening
1 cup flour
2 T sugar
1.5 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk

1. Peel and slice peaches
2. In a medium sauce pan, combine the brown sugar and corn starch over medium heat. Add in water. Bring to a boil.
3. Add in peaches and coat completely with sugar mixture. Set aside.
4. In a mixing bowl, cut shortening into dry ingredients. Stir in milk.
5. Grease a 8x8 baking pan. Pour in peach mixture.
6. Drop the biscuits on top by the spoonful.
7. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until the biscuits are golden brown.

This is delicious just warm from the oven, with a scoop of vanilla icecream! Enjoy!