Ginger Peach Baked Oatmeal (SRC)

I eat oatmeal at least 4 times a week.  It fills me up, gives me the energy to start my day and it's delicious.  I often put dry fruit in it as it cooks and bubbles away on the stove top.  The dried fruit sweetens the oatmeal naturally so that all I need is a drizzle of real maple syrup on top and my breakfast is complete. 

As I browsed through, A Taste of Madness, my July assignment for the Secret Recipe Club, I immediately became smitten with Cathleen's recipe for Ginger Nectarine Baked Oatmeal.  As stated above, oatmeal is truly my go to meal for breakfast, so the idea of baking up a whole pan of oatmeal packed with yummy flavors of ginger and fruit definitely appealed to me.  I was not disappointed.  The recipe was simple, quick and super yummy.  I made a few small changes to the recipe - I used peaches instead of nectarines, maple syrup in place of brown sugar and lastly half almond milk and half 2% milk instead of all milk.  I will definitely be making this recipe again and I highly recommend it too all my oatmeal eating and loving readers to do the same.

Another recommendation I am encouraging you all to do is to take some time to browse through all the recipes on A Taste of Madness.  Cathleen has a fantastic collection of recipes!  I adore the fact that there is a large number of recipes for ice cream and for donuts too.  I have gathered ingredients together to make Blueberry Pudding Ice Cream along with the Salt and Vinegar Roasted Chickpeas.  Both recipes make my mouth water!

I thank you, Dear Cathleen,  for such a wonderful baked oatmeal recipe.  My family and I enjoyed every bite!

Ginger Peach Baked Oatmeal

(recipe slightly altered from A Taste of Madness)

Ingredients:

3 cups rolled oats

2/3 cup real maple syrup (or brown sugar)

1/2 cup whole wheat flour (1/3 cup if you use brown sugar)

1 tsp ground ginger

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 cup almond milk

1 cup milk (any combination of milk is fine as long as you have 2 cups of "milk" in all)

1/4 cup canola oil

1 tsp vanilla

2 ripe peaches (or nectarines), diced

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a 9x13 pan and set aside.

In a large bowl combine all dry ingredients and then add in wet ingredients.  Stir to combine well.  Gently mix in diced peaches.  Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until middle is set.  Cool slightly, serve and enjoy!

Happy Ginger Peach Baked Oatmeal Baking!

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Peach and Blueberry Breakfast Quinoa

I have always loved to travel.  It's exciting to discover new places in the world and learn how so many others live and move about in their every day  lives.  This month for my Secret Recipe Club assignment I was given the opportunity to travel (virtually) to New Zealand!  What fun!  I got to visit a lovely lady named, Sue who blogs at Couscous and Consciousness. 
Sue has created and put vast amounts of care into an abundance of healthy, delicious and beautiful dishes.  She offers recipes ranging from decadent desserts such as, Lemony Peach Cake and  Double Chocolate Raspberry Brownies. Or if you are looking for a savory dish how about a recipe for Italian Sausage with Gnocchi and Red Peppers or even better an appetizer of Fig & Blue Cheese Wontons. 

As much as I wanted to make the Espresso Caramel Bars I chose to stay on the healthy side of my taste buds and make a lovely dish of Peach & Blueberry Breakfast Quinoa. A fantastic, nutritious and oh-so-delicious warm cereal - it can be served cold too if you wish.

I was fascinated to discover a recipe that called for fruit along side the grain of quinoa. It was a dish of simplicity and fantastic flavor. Ground cinnamon, a splash of real maple syrup, some vanilla almond milk,  fresh fruit and cooked quinoa all come together to make a delicious warm cereal. Move over oatmeal there is a new warm cereal in town that starts with a Q and ends with an A.  Yum!

Peach & Blueberry Breakfast Quinoa

             (recipe from Couscous and Consciousness)

                      2 small servings or 1 large serving

Ingredients:

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup almond milk (I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk)

1/2 cup dry quinoa, rinsed thoroughly (original recipe calls for red quinoa, I used white quinoa)

1 cup fresh blueberries

2 peaches, sliced

1/4 cup chopped nuts, optional 

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp maple syrup (honey or agave nectar can also be used)

Directions:

1. Cook quinoa - place water, almond milk and quinoa in medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to low.  Cook for 15- 20 minutes or until all liquid has been absorbed. Remove from heat and allow to stand with cover remaining on for 5-10 minutes.

2. Stir in cinnamon and fruit.  Pour into serving bowls and drizzle sweetener and sprinkle chopped nuts over cereal.  Enjoy! 

 Happy Peach & Blueberry Break Quinoa Making!

Rustic Peach Tart with Crumble Topping

Although I am on the verge of all things apple and pumpkin in my baking world I want to continue celebrating Summer by offering a perfect PEACH of a recipe.  Easy, beautiful, completely delicious and packed with peaches!

 

 

You start with a lovely crust made in a food processor (or a pastry cutter - either one is fine). And then keep in mind the word, "COLD".  The butter you use should be COLD and then the prepared pastry should be kept COLD in the refrigerator while you make the crumble topping.  A perfect crust comes from all things COLD.

 

 

Beautiful peaches are sprinkled with a crumbled topping allowing for the perfect sweetness to top off the tart. Ahhhh, the magic of peaches.  Grab a hold of the last couple moments that Summer still suggests and make this rustic tart.  It will be well worth it.  I promise.  

 

Rustic Peach Crumble Tart

             (recipe from Farm Flavor)

 

Pastry Ingredients:

 

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp kosher salt

2 sticks unsalted butter, COLD and diced

1/4 cup ice water

 

 

Filling and Crumble Ingredients:

 

4 cups sliced and peeled FRESH peaches

1/4 cup sugar (white or brown is fine)

2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp tapioca (flour will work fine if you don't have tapioca)

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

4 Tbsp unsalted butter, COLD and diced

 

1. Make pastry by placing DRY pastry ingredients into food processor fitted with a steel blade.  Pulse a couple of times to combine together. 

 

2. Add in COLD diced butter and pulse 12-15 times or until butter is the size of peas.  Add in iced water through the feed tube as the food processor is on.  Pulse several times - stop just before dough comes together.

 

3. Turn dough onto a well-floured surface and shape into a disk.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at lease 1 hour.

 

4. Make crumble topping by adding 1/4 sugar, flour, tapioca, salt and cinnamon into bowl of food processor.  Pulse a couple of times to combine ingredients.

 

5. Add in COLD butter and pulse until mixture is crumbly.  Keep crumble topping in refrigerator until needed to sprinkle over peaches.

 

6. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.  Roll out COLD pastry dough into approximately an 11-inch circle onto a lightly floured piece of parchment paper.  Transfer onto cookie sheet.

 

7.  Cover dough with peaches, leaving about a 1 1/2 -inch border.Sprinkle crumbled topping over peaches.  Gently fold the pastry border over the peaches, pleating to make a circle. 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                 



Bake for 25 minutes, or until crust is lightly browned and peaches are tender.   Cool for at least 20 minutes before serving.

 

Enjoy!

 



 

 

 

Happy Rustic Peach Tart with Crumble Topping Baking! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mini Carrot Peach Loaves

Sometimes it is fun to drop off a special treat to a friend....for no reason at all other than a gesture to show that we care and that we were thinking of them. Not only do I enjoy bringing a special smile to someone's face over an unexpected treat but it also helps me NOT eat so much of the baked goodies that I seem to produce quite often - yes, I admit I have a serious problem...I LOVE to bake!!!  Shhhhh....don't tell anyone, that doesn't already know. ;-)

 Recently after making a batch of Mini Carrot Peach Loaves my oldest daughter and I piled into the car and delivered the treats to a couple of special people in our lives. 

We tied cute and colorful ribbons around the mini breads (another problem of mine...I just ADORE anything mini...and ribbon too!-I have a special place in my heart for ribbon.) and away we went.  The breads were a hit!  The flavors of carrot and peach matched well with one another that was accented with just a touch of cinnamon.  The texture and taste of the sweet bread was perfectly moist and with just enough sweetness to allow it to be eaten for breakfast, snack or even dessert.  Warmed with a layer of butter was also reported to cause great happiness to our friend's taste buds.  Can you blame them?!  Butter = YUM!

Because of my love for anything mini I choose to make this recipe into 4 mini loaves....

....but of course you can just as easily just pour the batter into 1 regular size 9x5 bread loaf pan and be just as successful with this recipe. 

Mini Carrot Peach Loaves

(recipe is from Ryan Bakes - Ryan has super yummy recipes on her blog!)

Ingredients:

3/4 cup pecans, chopped (optional)

2 1/2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

1 1/2 cups peeled and chopped fresh, ripe peaches

3/4 cup freshly grated carrots

2/3 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup milk

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 4 mini loaf pans or 1 regular loaf pan.  If you choose to use pecans place nuts in a single layer in a shallow pan and bake for 8-10 minutes or until toasted and fragrant.  Stir halfway through baking.  Cool nuts 15 minutes before adding to the recipe.

2. In a large bowl stir together flour, sugar, spices, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Add in peaches, carrots, oil, milk, beaten eggs, vanilla extract and toasted pecans.  Stir just until dry ingredients are moistened - do NOT overmix as bread will become tough if overmixed. 

3. Spoon batter into prepared pan(s) and pop into oven.  Bake for 30-40 minutes for mini loaves, 1 hr - 1 hr and 10 minutes for regular size loaf or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool for 5 minutes in pan before removing.

Happy Mini Carrot Peach Loaves Baking!

p.s. This week my oldest daughter entered into Kindergarten.  We are SO proud of her for her happiness, braveness and willingness to learn new and exciting knowledge from school. Below is a picture of her coming off the bus from her first day of school ...

Hello there Kindergartener!!!



Peachy Bundt Cake

Here I am with the second yummy "peach" recipe which I made with the peaches harvested from my parent's peach tree.  The first recipe you may recall was Peach Bars.  So yummy!

  Because I had such an abundance of peaches on my hands I had to be creative fast.  So I took a bundt cake recipe that called for blueberries and vanilla extract and switched it up with cut up peaches and a dash of almond extract.  Yummy-in-my-tummy creativity on my part I have to say! :-)

Peachy Bundt Cake

Ingredients:

1 box Yellow Cake Mix

3 eggs

1 cup milk

1 stick butter, melted

1-2 tsp almond extract (I used 2 tsp but if you'd like a more sutale taste of almond extract only use 1 tsp

1 1/2 cups peaches, diced and peeled - about 4 medium peaches (canned peaches could be used here too if FRESH peaches are not easily available)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease bundt pan well.

2. Mix cake mix, eggs, milk,  melted butter and desired amount of almond extract all together at low speed for 1 minute and then increase speed to medium-high for another 1-2 minutes.  The batter will be thick and have a nice light color.

3. Pour 1/3 of batter into your prepared bundt pan and then layer with 1/2 of the diced and peeled peaches....

....Pour another 1/3 of batter over the peach layer and then the remaining peaches.   Ending with the remaining batter....

4. Place in oven and bake for 50-55 minutes or until cake is a beautiful light brown and a tooth pick stuck in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Cool cake in pan for at least 15 minutes and then invert to serving platter to cool completely before frosting with a simple glaze or your favorite frosting.  I used some remaining Cream Cheese frosting that I had on hand.  If you need a good Cream Cheese frosting recipe try this one that I used on my

Strawberry Shortcake Cake recipe.

Happy Peachy Bundt Cake Baking!

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Mommy's Kitchen - Pot Luck Sunday

Peach Bars

One of the most beautiful things at my parent's house is their peach tree.  Every year it gives off fruit better and better as the tree matures.  Thank you Mr. Peach Tree for all your lovely fruit you offer us!

About 20 minutes before I picked these peaches we witnessed a deer enjoying herself to a couple of these precious ones - which are like candy to her!  The amazing part of this is that my parent's house is literally 3 feet away from this tree.  My parents and sister were inside getting dinner ready having a grand ole time with music playing, laughing and chatting away with the windows wide open and there was the deer just having a delightful little snack unbeknown to those that were inside the house.  Jeff and I were only able to see the deer because we were driving up the driveway as she ate away at the fruit.  Needless to say the deer decided to leave the rest of the peaches for us when she saw our car pull up the driveway.  How nice of her!

This is one of two recipes that I made with the peaches I harvested that evening. The second peach recipe I made will be coming soon to a computer near you. :-)

Peach Bars

(recipe from The Brown Eyed Baker)

Ingredients:

For the Crumb Topping/Dough:

3 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 egg, lightly beaten

For the Filling:

5 cups peaches, diced or sliced and peeled (about 7 peaches)

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1/2 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a 9x13 baking pan.

2. Make the crumb topping/dough.....in a medium bowl whisk together the flour, salt, sugar and baking powder.  Cut up butter into small slices/chunks....

......then with a pastry cutter blend the butter into the flour mixture until crumbly.

3. Lightly beat egg....

...add to the butter/flour mixture...

4. Pour 1/2 of mixture into prepared baking pan and pat down....

Place the pan and the other 1/2 of crumb topping/dough mixture in refrigerator as you prepare the filling.

5. To prepare the filling place the diced/sliced and peeled peaches into a medium bowl..

....sprinkle with lemon juice...

....gently stir to get the lemon juice all over peaches.

6. Whisk together flour, sugar, salt and spices and then add to peach/lemon juice mixture.  Mix gently all together.

7. Pour peaches evenly onto prepared crust....

8. Crumble the remaining crumb topping/dough mixture on top of peach layer...

9. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes or until the top is lightly brown...

Cool completely before cutting into squares and serving.

YUM!

Happy Peach Bars Baking!