Peachy Memories

When my kids were small, there was a restaurant close by called Po' Folks.  Most of them have closed, but the few that are left are now called Folks.  When you ordered your food at the Po' Folks restaurant, you had a choice of biscuits, corn muffins, or peach muffins.  YES!  PEACH. MUFFINS.  They were so good!  They would bring a basket full of muffins for the table to share.  Each bite was like a little visit to heaven on Earth. 

 I have some great neighbors.  Today one of them brought us a dozen fresh peaches!  Hubby brings them in and asks if I'm going to make a peach cobbler.  I told him that peach muffins come first.  There are plenty of peaches left to make a cobbler ... tomorrow.  As I type this, I am waiting for the first dozen to come out of the oven. I can't wait to eat one (or two).  I hope mine are as good as the ones in my memory.  I'll let you know in a few minutes.

Update:  These are really good, but they don't have the sticky sweetness on the outside that Po' Folks had.  Hmmm.  Maybe I should sprinkle the tops with sugar when they come out of the oven.  I'll try that on the next batch that comes out.  Next time, I might mash the peaches instead of dicing them.

Peach Muffins

2 eggs

1/2 cup melted butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup sour cream

1 tsp vanilla

*2 cups flour / gluten free flour is another option

*1 tsp baking powder

*1/2 tsp baking soda

*1/2 tsp salt

2 cups fresh diced peaches (about 3 peaches)

1 Tb. sugar

Dice peaches and sprinkle 1 tablespoon of sugar over them.  Set aside.  Mix eggs, butter, sugar, vanilla, and sour cream. Sift dry ingredients and add peaches. Fold together until blended. Spoon in lined muffin pan. Bake @ 400 for 25-30 minutes. Sprinkle tops with sugar, if desired.  This recipe made 20 muffins.

*You can use 2 cups of self-rising flour, but if you do, leave out the baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Hubby Had A Birthday!!

Yes, Hubby had a birthday yesterday!  Poor thing got a little overlooked on his day.  My 88 year old aunt was taken to the hospital with a BP of 42/18.  She is not well.  I stayed with my mom and cousin at the hospital for a good portion of the day.  I sat in on the details for arranging hospice care, shared stories, tears, and lots of love.  In the meantime, hubby was at home doing the finishing touches for rebuilding our deck.  It looks beautiful!  The original deck had some problems with rot, but not any more.  Mr. Fix-It took care of it and it's better than what the builder did.  Yep, Hubby can fix anything!  But with everything we had going on yesterday, he didn't get a cake, or a pie, or anything for his birthday.  :(   So today I made him something special.  He is enjoying the heck out of it too!  Here's the recipe so you can enjoy it as well!

Brownie Ice Cream Cake

1 brownie mix (prepared according to directions) 
1 carton of ice cream, softened (I used vanilla)
4 Heath Bars (or candy of your choice)
Caramel or chocolate topping

Prepare the brownie mix according to the directions on the box.  I baked mine in a 9x13 dish.  Bake and let cool completely.  With a plastic knife, cut the brownies into squares.  The plastic knife keeps the brownies from tearing up.  Spread the softened ice cream over the top of the brownies.  Crush the candy bars into tiny pieces.  I used my little food processor for this job.  Spread candy bar crumbles over the top of the ice cream, then drizzle caramel or chocolate syrup/topping on the top.  Cover and place in the freezer for a couple of hours.  Since you pre-cut the brownies, serving this will be a breeze.

Food Frenzy

Today I have been a wild woman in the kitchen.  I have cooked sweet potatoes, butter peas, roasted cauliflower and asparagus, cooked fresh green beans with red potatoes, and sauteed squash and zucchini.  I still need to boil some cabbage. I went to Sprouts Thursday night and came home with tons of stuff.  The squash and zucchini dish is my husband's current favorite veggie so I'm going to share that with you today.  We'll be eating good this week!

Sauteed Yellow Squash and Zucchini

3 yellow squash, sliced
3 zucchini, sliced
1 onion, sliced
1 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
olive oil
Salt & Pepper, to taste 
a little water

Put oil in a pan over medium heat.  Add onions and garlic.  Cover and cook until onions are tender.  Add in zucchini and squash.  Sprinkle salt and pepper on top.  Add a little water to help steam veggies.  Cook until tender.

Muy Bueno!

I was a little nervous about how this recipe would turn out, but it was really good!!  It wasn't hard to make, but it took a little time because the spaghetti squash needed to cook for 45 minutes.  While it cooked, I got everything else cooked, chopped, drained, and ready to go.  I didn't put all the filling in the squash because it would have been way too much for one meal.  We have enough of the filling for another meal or you could put the mixture in individual baking bowls and feed 4 - 5 people.  Another good thing about this meal is that there is not a lot to clean up.  PLUS, it's less calories than tacos!  No tortilla in this meal!  These bonuses actually makes it MUCHO muy bueno!

*If you are doing food prep for the freezer, scrape out the spaghetti squash and mix all the ingredients together at the end.  You can put these in aluminum pans from Dollar Tree and store them in the freezer until you are ready to use them.  This makes for a quick, complete, and easy dinner!

Spaghetti Squash Taco Bowls

1 medium spaghetti squash, halved, seeds removed

Olive oil

Filling:

1 tbsp. olive oil

1medium onion, chopped

1 cloves garlic, minced

3/4 lb. ground beef

½ pkg. taco seasoning mix

Salt, to taste

Black pepper, to taste

1 (15-oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed

2 diced tomatoes

1 can corn, drained

1/2 c. shredded Monterey Jack, plus more for the topping

Sour cream, optional

Shredded lettuce, optional

Preheat oven to 400°. Cut spaghetti squash in half, length wise.  Scrape out stringy stuff and seeds.  Pierce outside of squash with a fork or knife multiple times.  Drizzle cut sides of spaghetti squash with oil. Place cut side down on a large, rimmed baking sheet. Roast until tender, about 45 minutes. Let cool. Using a fork, shred squash into strands.

Filling: Cook ground beef and break into small pieces.  Set aside on paper towels to absorb fat from the meat.  In a skillet over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook for a minute more. Add ground beef and let simmer for a few minutes as you stir it all together.  Stir in taco seasoning, salt, and pepper. Stir in black beans, tomatoes, corn and cheese. Mix in shredded spaghetti squash.

Fill each spaghetti squash shell with the beef mixture.  Top with a little more cheese. Return to oven for 5 minutes to melt the cheese.   Add sour cream and shredded lettuce if desired.

Two Thumbs Up

A Face Book friend posted this recipe from Tried and True today.  I must admit, I tried it and it was truly good.  The hubby told me three times how good it was.  Then he asked me how hard it was to make.  I told him it would be a weekend meal during the school year unless I could do some prep work in advance.  Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if you had all the ingredients on hand, but I didn't so I had to go to the grocery store ... on a Saturday.  I had just bought groceries yesterday.  Now I must admit, I don't mind going to the grocery store during the day if it's during the week, but weekends, well, yuk!  The nice thing about this recipe is that it's a complete meal in one pan. I made a couple of changes to the recipe and the way I prepared it.  Nothing drastic, just making it more to my taste and easier clean up.

 I was also making 3 other items while I was working on this so it's really hard to say how much trouble it was.  It probably wouldn't be bad if you go ahead and clean and slice the chicken before hand and slice up the zucchini in advance.  I also made a crustless spinach quiche (which makes it gluten free), shrimp and avocado salad, and lima beans today too.  If I haven't already posted the quiche and salad, I will.

Anyways, I give this one a 2 thumbs up!

Parmesan Garlic Chicken with Zucchini

·       2 Chicken Breasts, sliced in half

·       8 tablespoons butter, divided

·       ½ cup Italian Bread Crumbs

·       ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan

·       ¼ cup plain flour or gluten free flour

·       3 medium zucchini, sliced

·       2 tsp. minced garlic 

*    water, if needed 

1. In a large pan melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. To make the chicken: Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a shallow dish. In a plastic bag or ziploc bag mix together bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, and flour. Dip the chicken in the butter, put them in the bread crumb mixture, shake to coat, and place in the skillet.  Add left over butter to skillet.
2. Cook on each side for about 3-4 minutes until the outside is crispy and the chicken is cooked throughout. You may need to add a little water if the coating becomes too dark.  Set aside on a  plate.
3. Put zucchini in the bag with remaining bread crumb mixture and shake.
4. Add 2 more tablespoons of butter to the skillet and saute the minced garlic for a minute. Add the zucchini to the skillet, cover, and saute until tender.  You can also add a little water to help steam the zucchini.  Add two tablespoons of Parmesan cheese. Return the chicken back to the skillet on top of the zucchini, cover, and heat for a couple more minutes.