Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Peach cobbler-pie

July 30, 2011 by Hannah

Peach cobbler in a bowl

It’s not quite a pie, but it’s not quite a cobbler either. What is it? Delicious.

My mom has an amazing Poor Man’s Cobbler recipe with a slightly more cake-like topping, which I’ll post some other time. But this is not Poor Man’s Cobbler. This recipe is a combination of cobbler and pie (like I know the exact difference, haha).

Peaches are in season, and I can’t get enough of the big, juicy stone fruits. In season means cheap, and Sprouts had peaches for $0.47/lb.! Oh, the things that make me happy these days.

Ingredients

The crust on this beauty is more flavorful than your average pie crust, but it’s still sturdy like a regular crust. And it’s really easy to work with!

For the Crust

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup sugar (I used brown sugar because I was out of white)
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 Tbs vanilla
  • 3 Tbs milk
  • For topping: 1 Tbs milk, a sprinkling of sugar, and a sprinkling of cinnamon

For the Filling

  • 8 medium peaches (the number of peaches is flexible)
  • 1 cup brown sugar (you can use 1/2 cup white and 1/2 cup brown sugar if you want)
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg (or just sprinkle it on)
  • 1 tsp lemon juice

Of course, none of these measurements is set in stone. Feel free to experiment as you wish. 🙂

Side note: I think a stray nectarine may have made its way into the cobbler while I was trying to use up my fruit. The world did not end.

Directions

This is a very low-maintenance crust, along with a superbly easy filling. I love low-maintenance things. I AM low-maintenance.

  1. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt for the crust. Cut in the butter with a fork or a pastry blender until crumbly. In another bowl, gently beat the eggs and vanilla and add it to the flour mixture. Add the milk and stir until it becomes a ball.
  2. Split the dough into 2 pieces. Press 1 piece down onto the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan as the bottom layer. Refrigerate the remaining piece of dough.
  3. Pit the peaches and slice them thinly (don’t worry about making them perfect). You can peel them if you don’t want to bite into the occasional skin, but if you don’t care about eating the skins, and peeling them is not worth it to you, then don’t do it. I sure didn’t.
  4. Stir all the filling ingredients together in a large bowl and pour into the pan over the bottom layer of crust.
  5. Roll out the remaining piece of dough into a long rectangle to cover the filling in the pan. If you’re fancy, use “a rolling pin on a floured surface.” If you’re me, use an olive oil bottle and roll it between 2 sheets of waxed paper. Place the dough on top of the filling in the pan.
  6. Poke it several times with a fork. Brush the top with the remaining Tablespoon of milk and sprinkle it with a little cinnamon and sugar. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes.
  7. Plop a dollop of Bluebell “homemade vanilla” ice cream on top of a serving in your bowl. Consume with glee.
It refrigerates nicely, it doesn’t get soggy, and it doesn’t ooze out all over the place when you try to cut into it. By all that I mean to say, it’s great to bring to parties or serve to guests!
Pan of peach cobbler from the side
Peach cobbler in a bowl with whipped cream and a spoon

Posted in Recipes | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments »

A little more flavor

July 26, 2011 by Hannah

At the top of the Flatirons in Boulder, CO

I have come to a realization.

Dramatic pause.

If I only post recipes, I will rarely post. I cook almost every day, but I just don’t have the time to take pictures, type up the recipe, and format it for the blog as often as I would like. I would loooooove to post more frequently, but at the moment I’m just too busy to post more than once or twice a week. (But stay with me! I’ll still be posting lots of recipes! There will just be other things thrown in there too.)

So.

From here on out, I will be posting about random other things besides just food, to add a little more “flavor.” I know. It’s lame. But I need to get back into the habit of posting more frequently.

Baby steps.

So here I am. We went to Colorado on vacation last week with my family.

After climbing a mountain in Colorado (no, seriously – we lost the trail, so then we just started going “up“- path or no path):

On top of one of the Flatirons

Me and my wonderful husband after horseback riding through the Rocky Mountains:

Stephen and I after horseback riding

So there you have it. A glimpse of me in the wilderness. Now it’s back to Texas humidity and triple-digit temperatures.

Stay tuned.

Posted in Everything else | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Guacamole – The dip you can eat with a spoon

July 19, 2011 by Hannah

Bowl of fresh guacamole

So, I’m from Texas. If you set out a bowl of fresh guacamole and some chips, it will be gone before you can say “I love being next to Mexico.” If you don’t have chips, a few spoons will suffice. I could live on avocados.

It never occurred to me until recently that someone might not know how easy it is to make guacamole. Listen up, world: IT’S EASY! Can’t boil water? That’s ok. Go grab some avocados. Do you know why it’s so easy? Because it pretty much doesn’t matter what you put in it. I have never once looked at a guac recipe, nor have I ever made it the exact same way twice. Measurements? Are you kidding? This is definitely a taste-as-you-go dish.

It’s done when it tastes perfect. And “perfect” is entirely up to you.

Side note: I’m on vacation in Colorado right now, so these are old pictures. I’m sorry that hiking in the wilderness and riding horses through the mountains is keeping me from giving you better pictures. But not really.

Ingredients

Whatever you want, as long as it starts with avocados! But here’s what I used that time. I’m only giving ingredients, not measurements, so when it says “onion” for example, it doesn’t mean you need a whole onion!

  • Avocados
  • Roma tomatoes, diced
  • Onion, diced
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Garlic powder
  • Cilantro (I can’t remember if I used cilantro that day, but I LOVE cilantro in guacamole, so I’m including it here)
  • A splash of orange juice (you can use orange, lemon, or lime, but it needs some citrus for freshness)

You can use whatever you want, though.

Directions

It’s almost pointless to write instructions.

  1. Dump all the ingredients into a bowl. Stab the avocados A LOT with a fork or knife to break them down, especially if they’re not very soft.
  2. Mash everything together with a fork. Taste. Season some more. Taste.

Cover it with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator, but gently press the plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the guacamole to keep it from getting brown.

What do you put in your guacamole?

Bowl of sliced avocados next to the peel, seeds and knife

Bowl of guacamole next to cutting board, fork and skins

Posted in Recipes | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments »

Greek-style quinoa with avocados

July 14, 2011 by Hannah

Bowl of avocados and quinoa

I love light, filling, refreshing meals in summertime. This dish was exactly that. Stephen thought it was good, but he would’ve preferred something a little meatier. I, however, couldn’t get enough of it! When you’re making it, it looks like it might not taste very good, but that first bite transforms it into a thing of beauty. It’s really quick and easy, and it’s really cheap as well.

Ingredients

I got the recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. I had been wanting to make it for a long time, and I finally got around to it. It’s definitely a keeper!

  • 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa (I got mine from the bulk section in Sprouts.)
  • 1 cup water (I got this from… the faucet. Way less exciting.)
  • 2 roma tomatoes, seeds removed and finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup shredded fresh spinach
  • 1/3 cup finely chopped red onion (I probably used closer to 1/2 cup)
  • 2 Tbs lemon juice
  • 2 Tbs olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 avocados, sliced (and seeded and peeled…). I actually cut mine into bite-size pieces.
  • 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese (ok, by now you should know that I rarely measure cheese. You can wing it on this one.)

The recipe called for 2 avocados, but I would actually go for 3 next time. I love avocados, so I wanted them to have a bigger role in the meal. It’s technically supposed to make 4 servings, but I split the quinoa into 3 servings and used the avocados on only 2 of them; that’s why the photo at the top has so much avocado!

Directions

Quick and easy!

  1. Bring quinoa and water to a boil in a saucepan, then reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes (liquid should be absorbed).
  2. Place cooked quinoa in a bowl and mix in tomato, spinach, and onion.
  3. Whisk lemon juice, olive oil and salt in a separate small bowl. Pour over quinoa mixture and mix.
  4. Add avocado and feta cheese.
  5. Try not to eat the entire bowl in one sitting.

If you’re making this ahead of time, brush the avocado slices with lemon juice to keep them from getting brown.

The remaining serving with no avocados:

Bowl of Greek quinoa mixture

Posted in Recipes | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

July 1, 2011 by Hannah

Slice of chocolate peanut butter pie

Let me introduce you to one of the simplest equations in the universe:

Chocolate + Peanut Butter = BLISS

I’m glad we’ve got that settled. No variables here. Refer to my post on the Chocolate Peanut Butter Shake with No Ice Cream for my feelings on the subject.

So I was making this pie a few weeks ago, and Stephen inquired as to why I hadn’t blogged about it yet, because I was depriving the world of a great treasure. Except he didn’t use those exact words about the treasure. But he was right – I needed to pass it along! (You can thank him later.) It will make your taste buds yodel and do the polka, which is kind of cool since I’m pretty sure I didn’t know how to do the polka. Or yodel, for that matter.

Chocolate and peanut butter. Such a beautiful thing.

Ingredients

The original recipe came from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, but of course I always make a few adaptations.

Crust

  • 1 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (You can buy them pre-crumbled, or just put some whole graham crackers in a large ziploc bag and mash them until they’re crumbs)
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/3 cup melted butter

Filling

  • 1 8-oz package cream cheese, softened (I use Neufchâtel cheese, which is usually right next to the cream cheese and will probably say something like “1/3 less fat than cream cheese” on the package)
  • 3/4 cup peanut butter (I use creamy, but crunchy works)
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 Tbs milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup whipping cream (as in, heavy whipping cream – NOT “whipped cream.” You’ll find it in the store next to the half-and-half)
  • 2 Tbs powdered sugar
  • 3/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate pieces (I have actually never used these. I’ve always just used regular-size and chopped them up, or I’ve used squares of baker’s chocolate and chopped/shaved it really small. But if you get them small it will save you some work and some dishes!)

So I know it looks like a lot of ingredients, but it’s really not. I just apparently talk a lot in my comments after each ingredient.

Directions

This really is embarrassingly easy.

  1. For the crust, mix all 4 ingredients and press the mixture into the bottom and sides of a pie pan. Bake at 350° F for 5-7 minutes. Let it cool while making the filling.
  2. For the filling, beat the cream cheese and peanut butter in a large mixing bowl until smooth. Add the 1 cup powdered sugar, milk and vanilla, beating until combined.
  3. Beat the whipping cream and 2 Tbs powdered sugar in a separate bowl until peaks begin to form and stand by themselves (NOW it’s whipped cream). Gently mix about 1/3 of the whipped cream mixture into the peanut butter mixture, and then mix in the rest, along with the chocolate pieces.
  4. Spoon the mixture into the pie crust and smooth the top. Sprinkle the top with any remaining chocolate. Cover and chill until set, about 2 hours (unless you put it in the freezer because you can’t wait any longer, in which case it takes significantly less time).
I would eat that even without something in it:
Chocolate graham cracker pie crust
The humble beginnings:
Peanut butter and cream cheese in the mixing bowl
It’s coming together:
Blended peanut butter and cream cheese
Whipping cream, post-whip:
Whipping cream in a mixing bowl
Chopped up pieces from a couple of baker’s squares of chocolate:
Chopped-up chocolate
It really is a thing of beauty:
Angled view of chocolate peanut butter pie
P.S. Please excuse the TERRIBLE lighting; I got the urge to make it long after natural light was no longer available…

Posted in Recipes | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »