Whole Wheat Peach Cobbler

I love peach cobbler.  I could eat it all day.  Its a dessert and breakfast.  I make and eat a lot of cobbler during the summer so I try to make it as healthy as possible.  This cobbler has a lot of fruit and not a lot of sugar.  The biscuits are made of whole wheat flour.  Yummy, easy, and healthy.  What more could you ask for?  I used a mix or white and yellow peaches this time.  I've used just white, just yellow, even mixed in blackberries before.  Its always great.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
4 cups sliced peaches
1 cup whole wheat flour
3 tablespoons softened butter
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk

Mix 1/2 cup sugar and cornstarch in a pot.  Mix in half of the peeled and sliced peaches and heat on medium, stirring frequently.  Boil and stir for 1 minute.  Remove from heat.  Stir in remaining peaches and pour into pan.  (I used a 9x13 but many sizes will work)

Meanwhile, mix flour, baking powder, salt, and 1 tablespoon sugar.  Cut butter into flour mixture.  Stir in milk.  Drop large spoonfuls onto the peach mixture.

Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes until the biscuits are lightly browned.  Serve warm or room temperature.  Its great with vanilla ice cream!

Linked at http://frugallysustainable.com/ and http://www.jillshomeremedies.blogspot.com/ and http://gnowfglins.com/

Baked Rigatoni

I love casseroles and I love pasta.  This is both.  It is delicious and creamy.  There is melty cheese.  Oh, and I didn't have to bake it in the oven.  That is important right now.

I like rigatoni in this recipe.  It is big enough to get sauce inside and it also get a little bit smushed in the casserole.  Yum.

Note:  I didn't actually measure any of these ingredients.  If you want a little more or a little less of something, go for it!

Ingredients
1/2 pound Italian sausage
24 oz pasta sauce
1/4 cup sour cream
8 oz shredded mozzarella
1/2 pound rigatoni

Boil your pasta.  Meanwhile, cook your Italian sausage, breaking it up into smallish pieces.  Mix cooked Italian sausage, pasta sauce, sour cream, and most of the mozzarella in a microwave and oven safe casserole dish.  Stir in the cooked rigatoni.

Microwave for about 5 minutes with the lid on until it is heated through.  Toss the remaining mozzarella on top and broil in the oven for about 5 more minutes with the lid off until the cheese is melted and golden.

Easy Chocolate Ganache

We had a killer night and it has been a long day.  Little started crying at around 3:30 am and would only sleep in my arms with me sitting up from that point on.  This morning I had a pounding headache and very achy neck and shoulders.

By the time the afternoon rolled around, I was worn out.  Little refused to nap so we cleaned the kitchen.  Once the kitchen was looking cleaner, I thought, why not make some cupcakes?  That was clearly an idea inspired by exhaustion.

Well, the cupcakes came out of the oven and Little finally went down for a nap.  I frosted the cupcakes, cleaned the kitchen up again, and decided to make some ganache to make my cupcakes extra special.  (Note: this was my first time piping on the frosting.  I don't make cupcakes often at all and I normally just spread the frosting on with a knife.  Delicious but not nearly as nice looking.)  Ganache can be used for all sorts of things but I love the way it looks on cupcakes and cakes.  So fancy!

Notice Little supervising from her high chair?

Chocolate Ganache

Ingredients

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Bring cream to a boil.  Pour over chocolate and let sit for 2 minutes.  Whisk until smooth.  Let cool stirring frequently.  Use immediately.

Linked at http://www.iheartnaptime.net/

Marion Berry Hand Pies

I went berry picking the other day and I wasn't very successful.  The heat wave we had a couple of days ago must have killed all of the flowers.  Husband loves berry pies and I was hoping to get enough to make one for him.  Well, I didn't get very many and they were small berries at that.  I decided that the tiny berries I picked would be great in hand pies.  Hand pies have been a fascination of mine  What better time than now to try making some?

Husband loved them.  He got home when they were hot out of the oven and very quickly there were only two left.  I thought I would get more pictures of these beauties but they disappeared before I got a chance!

Ingredients
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons corn starch
2 1/2 cups marion berries
1/2 cup butter
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons cold water

Mix sugar and corn starch.  Mix in berries and heat on medium, stirring frequently until mixture thickens and boils.  Boil and stir for one minute.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool as you make the crusts.

I made my own very simple butter crust.  If pie crust seems to difficult you could buy pre-made crust.  (Remember, "easy as pie" makes sense because pie is so easy compared to other baked goods!)  To make my crust, mix the flour and salt together.  Cut in your softened butter into your flour mixture.  You should end up with bits of dough the size of small peas.  Mix in the water a little bit at a time until it all sticks together.

Divide your dough into four pieces.  Roll one piece out into a circle.  Place it on a cookie sheet.  Spoon some berry filling into the center and quickly fold the dough over.

Use a fork to press down on the edges to seal your pie.  Repeat for the remaining pies.  I didn't make perfect circles so I trimmed the edges of my pies with a knife.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until your crusts are golden brown.  Yum!

Linked at http://www.littlenaturalcottage.com/

Simple Granola

I make granola several times every week.  I eat it for breakfast and Husband eats it as a snack.  I love that I know everything that is in it.  Store bought cereals are very processed.  Almost every cereal you could buy contains some processed corn product.  I love that my granola is made out of whole foods.  I love that maple syrup is a low glycemic index food so I get the sweet flavor without spiking my blood sugar.  This is a delicious, crunchy-sweet whole food breakfast or snack!

Ingredients:

2 cups walnuts, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup real maple syrup
1/2 cup canola oil
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons cinnamon
5 cups old fashioned oats

Heat the oven to 325 degrees.  I accidentally did it hotter once and it was a disaster.  Make sure it is 325.
Chop walnuts coarsely.

Mix everything except the oats and walnuts.

Stir in the oats and walnuts.  Toss until everything is well coated.

Pour your granola onto a parchment lined baking sheet.  Press down hard to pack the granola down.

Bake for 40-45 minutes until the granola is golden brown.  Turn halfway through baking.  Do not stir.

Let cool for at least one hour.  When cool, break your granola into chunks.  Enjoy!

Quick Frittata

Frittata has become a go to meal for us when time is tight.  You can use just about anything that is in the refrigerator and it really doesn't take very much time to make.  We used sausage and summer squash this time but just about any vegetable and cooked meat would work.  Or just meat or just vegetables.  Its a flexible recipe.

Ingredients:
8-10 eggs
1.5 cups chopped vegetables
1 cup chopped cooked meat (chicken, sausage, ham)
1/2 cup grated cheese (cheddar, jack, mozzarella, swiss)
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper

Directions:

Heat oil in a cast iron skillet on medium.  Add the vegetables and saute until the vegetables are tender.

Add meat and toss to combine.

Beat the eggs and mix with salt and pepper.  Pour in the well beaten eggs.  Lift the egg around the edge of the pan to allow the raw egg to run underneath the cooked layers.  Continue this until only the top is soft.

Sprinkle the cheese on top and place in the oven to broil until the egg on top is set.