Gingered Peach Cobbler

Our fabulous local orchard is picking peaches.  I love the peaches from Bryant Orchard.  You NEVER get peaches like this in the local markets.  I was going to make some peach cobbler or a peach crisp for my guests this weekend, but they are eating low carb.  That means no peaches and no cobbler for them.

And that it one of the reasons I am not eating low carb this summer.  Fresh fruit.  Yum.

Well, darn.  That means I have to eat the peaches.  So I decided to make up a slightly different recipe than the usual peach cobbler and invited a friend.  That way, I don't have to eat the whole thing by myself.  Not that I can't, but , you know. 



Gingered Peach Cobbler

 4 or 5 large peaches, peeled and sliced
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons chopped, candied ginger

1 1/2 cups Heart Smart Bisquick
1/3 cup milk
2 Tablespoons sugar
1Tablesppon chopped, candied ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 Tablespoon chopped, candied ginger for sprinkling

 

Heat the oven to 375°.  Spray a 8X8 baking dish with Pam and set aside.

 

Peel and slice the peaches.  Place them in a medium bowl and stir in some lemon juice to keep them from turning brown. 

 

Add the cornstarch, sugar, ground ginger, cinnamon, candied ginger and vanilla.  Mix and set aside.

 

In a medium bowl place the Bisquick. milk, sugar, candied ginger, and cinnamon. 

 

Mix just until combined.  If you can let this sit a bit, it is a good thing.

 

Place the peach mixture in the prepared dish.  Drop spoonsful of the Bisquick mixture on top in mounds. 

 

Try to cover the top evenly , but leave spaces between each drop of Bisquick.  Sprinkle the last of the chopped candied ginger on top.

 

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes.  Let cool and serve.

 

Serve with ice cream.  And Cool Whip.  And good friends.

This had a mild taste of ginger and it was delicious.  I may try more of the candied ginger next time.  I like the bite of ginger and it was perfect with the sweetness of the peaches.

Bisquick Coffee Cake

I know, I KNOW.  I'm supposed to start my diet and lose the weight I gained over the holidays.  But I can't face it just yet.  And then I was reading a book and they mentioned a Bisquick coffee cake.  I like coffee cake.  Lee REALLY likes coffee cake.  I have Bisquick.....you can see where I'm going here, can't you?

It seems that not only am I susceptible to advertising I am susceptible to subliminal messages via novels.  I hope I read a book about a really cool car, because mine has a funny odor due to leaking something that then burns on the engine.  But it still runs and is comfortable.  And I'm cheap.  So instead I will go eat some coffee cake.  Hey, I used the Heart Smart version, so I am sort of not as bad as I could be!

I changed the recipe a bit.  I doubled the amount for the streusel topping so I could put a swirl in the middle.  And I added vanilla, because I like vanilla..  If you want the original recipe make half the amount of topping and put it all on top of the batter.  And leave out the vanilla.

 

Bisquick Coffee Cake

Streusel Topping and Swirl

2/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup Bisquick
1 teaspoon cinnamon
4 Tablespoons butter, cut up


Cake Batter

2 cups Bisquick
2 Tablespoons sugar
2/3 cup milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla, optional

 

Heat the oven to 375°. 

 

Spray a 9 inch round cake pan with Pam and set aside.

 

Place all the ingredients for the streusel in a medium bowl. 

 

Use a pastry blender, or two knives or your very clean fingers to work the butter into the other ingredients.  Keep going until the butter chunks are smaller than a pea.  Set aside.

 

Place all the cake ingredients in large bowl. I used a whisk to mix it up until smooth.  Put a little less than half the cake batter in the prepared pan.

 

Take half the streusel topping and cover the batter.

 

 Scrape the rest of the batter on top.  I used a spatula to try to cover everything but I didn't try to get it to the edges.  It does puff up almost double.

Layer the last of the streusel over the last of the batter and place the cake pan in the preheated oven.

So easy, right?  No wonder your mom (or grandmother) used this a s a stand by for a last minute treat for guests.

 

Bake for 18 to 22 minutes.  Mine took the whole 22 minutes.  Test it with a toothpick.  Let it rest for about 15 minutes and serve warm.

 

I even had a piece for breakfast this morning.   I warmed it up for 15 seconds in the microwave.  I love a recipe that is still good the next day.

Unbaked Fruit Cobbler

   

I wanted to make a dessert with fruit.  I like the idea of cobblers, but I decided I didn't want to bake the fruit.  But I wanted a cobbleresque topping.  Why not bake some cobbler rounds and then put them on top of the fruit?  No reason as far as I can see.

Unbaked Fruit Cobbler

1 large mango
3 large peacharines (or peaches)
1 1/2 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon lemon juice

1 cup Bisquick  I used the Heart Smart Bisquick
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup milk  I used 1 %
1 /2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 Tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Cut up 4 or 5 different fruits.  I had just been to the Fresh market and saw some Peacharines..This is a hybrid of peach and nectarine.  Why not try something new and untested on company, I always say?  Well, not always, but I did this time.  And mangoes are always good.

   

I peeled and diced the fruit.  Because it would have to sit for a bit, I sprinkled a Tablespoon of lemon juice on top and mixed it around.  This keeps it from turning that yucky brown.  Then add 1 1/2 Tablespoon of sugar and let it sit.  I had some time before the guests would arrive so I put it in the fridge.

Now to bake the topping.  Pre-heat the oven to 425.  Grease a cookie sheet, use a Silpat or sheet of parchment paper.

  

I used the recipe for the shortcake on the box.  Mix the Bisquick, sugar and milk.  Add in the cinnamon and let it rest for a few minutes.  While you have the sugar and cinnamon out put the smaller amounts in a little dish and set aside.

Spoon the dough onto the cookie sheet.  This should make 6 or 7 large cobbler tops.  You could easily get 8 if needed.  Sprinkle the reserved sugar/cinnamon mixture on top just before baking.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until golden brown.  Let cool on a wire rack.

 

Place the chilled fruit in a clear bowl or goblet.  Place the cap of cobbler on top.  Add vanilla ice cream or Cool Whip.  Or do like I did and add BOTH.  It made for a nice, not too sweet ,refreshing dessert.

My pictures for this post are getting sort of fuzzy.  I think my camera is slowly dying.  I hope to keep it going until Christmas, when I will beg for a new one.  If the horses sell and after the daughter-in -England-wedding, finances may loosen up a bit.

Zucchini Squares

The best thing about cooking is that I am inside with air conditioning and I am still being productive.  I an even watch TV while working.  The second best thing is eating what I made, assuming it is edible.  I do like to experiment with recipes

After finding some great zucchini and basil in the garden, I decided to use them for dinner.  I just bought a Bisquick All-Time Best Recipe book at the grocery store.  I have a rule of thumb for purchasing those small paper cover/magazine recipe books at the grocery check out.  If I can find at least five things I want to make, then I get it.  This one had more than that, so now it is mine.

                      
Notice all the paper strips that indicate a recipe I want to try.

As usual, I don't have or want to use everything in the recipe, so I change it to suit me.  Accordingly I renamed it to fit my rendition.

Zucchini Squares.

1 medium sized zucchini, about 1 1/2 cups thinly sliced
1/2 cup Heart Smart Bisquick
1/2 onion cup onion, diced
1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
2 Tablespoons basil,  thinly sliced
2 eggs
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1/4 teaspoon Fines Herbes or use Italian Seasonings
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
salt and pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 350.  Use Pam to spray a 2 quart casserole dish.  Set aside.

I got a mandoline slicer for Christmas, so I had to use it to slice the zucchini.  Feel free to just thinly slice it by hand.

                            

Place the onions and the zucchini in a medium bowl.  I added the eggs whole on one side and then whipped them around with a fork in the same dish. 

                          

There is a technique called chiffonade for cutting up herbs.  First wash the basil and dry it with a paper towel.  Gently tear off the leaves and stack them up, one on top of the other.  Roll the stack into a long tube, like a cigarette.  Then thinly slice across the tube.  This is chiffonade and will give you thin slices of the herb you need.  In this case, the basil.

                       

Add the basil and everything else to the mixing bowl and make sure it is fully mixed.  Scrape everything into the prepared casserole and bake for 25 minutes or until it starts to brown.  Cut into squares and serve.

                          

If I had more than just the two of us to feed, I would have used this as a side dish and made a salad or some sort of meat.  Maybe pork chops or chicken breast.  This was just fine for the two of us. 

                            

I did make some fruit to go along with it.  I sliced up strawberries and fresh peaches from the Bryant Orchards, where we buy all our peaches in the summer.  I would have sprinkled lemon juice on the peaches to keep them from browning, but I neglected to buy new lemon juice after our power outage, so I just hoped they wouldn't turn colors.  I like to sprinkle a bit of Splenda on the strawberries on the theory that shipping them from where ever they grow them means they were picked too soon.  They are never as sweet as when they are locally grown, hence the Splenda.

                             

I served the fruit in a glass dish with a bit of Cool Whip, but a dollop of vanilla yogurt would have been great, also.

There are leftovers for tomorrow when I WILL make a salad.

Blueberry Peach Cobbler

When Lee and I go to town we like to stop by the Fresh Market for the best produce.  We had just been to the regular market and didn't really need anything, but like I said, when we are in town we go to see what is there.  We always find something that we "need".

We found peaches and so I bought them.  I had previously bought a small magazine-style recipe book that they place at the checkout counter knowing that I will come through and be hungry.  It was Crisps and Cobblers.  My favorite, fruit AND dessert.  And also potential B&B recipes.  They had some blueberry and peach cobblers and I tweaked and combined two of them to make our dessert.

We still have a bag of frozen blueberries from last year that we picked ourselves.  My goal is to use up the blueberries just before it is time to go pick some more!  So blueberries and peaches and a cobbler.  I am trying to watch my sugar and carbs, so I took that into consideration.

Blueberry Peach Cobbler ( low fat/low sugar version)

Pam
2 cups frozen blueberries
3 to 5 peaches
Splenda divided use, 1/3 cup and 2 Tablespoons
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup Heart Smart Bisquick
1/4 cup milk, I used 1 %
2 Tablespoons REAL sugar, divided use
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon corn starch

Pre-heat the oven to 400.  Spray a small oven proof dish with Pam.  Set aside

Place the frozen blueberries in a saucepan and sprinkle in 1/3 cup Splenda.  Heat on medium, stirring occasionally. 

While the blueberries are heating, peel and slice the peaches.  Place them in a bowl and sprinkle them with 2 Tablespoons Splenda and add in the vanilla.  Stir to coat and set aside.

                          

In a medium bowl,  mix 1 cup Bisquick, 1/4 cup milk and 1 Tablespoon REAL sugar.  Mix until moistened.

By now the blueberries should be cooked enough, but kind of watery.  Use the same 1/4 cup measure (rinse it out first) and use it to put 1/4 cup water in a small glass.  Add the corn starch and stir to dissolve.  Add it to the simmering blueberries and stir.  It should thicken quickly.  Remove from the heat and assemble.

                             

Dump the peaches in the baking dish.  Spread the blueberry sauce over the top.  Then using a large spoon drop the Bisquick in small mounds over everything.  Sprinkle the last of the sugar over the top of the Bisquick mounds.  Bake for 18 minutes or until nicely browne
                             

Serve with Cool Whip.  We had some strawberries and I sliced them and added them on the top.


                             

 I wish I could come up with some patriotic name.  It IS red, white and blue, after all.  It was delicious and you won't miss the sugar or the fat.

                                

(Note:  I writes notes on 3X5 cards when I cook to keep track of what I used and how I did it.  As you can see my handwriting is atrocious, so I am very appreciative of my computer and backspace!  I wonder what happened to the REAL 3X5 cards.  The new ones are so thin and flimsy they could almost be computer paper cut in smaller sizes.)