Easy Peach Cobbler

My parents came and visited a few days ago, and along with the usual gifts that consist mostly of Mexican candy, they brought me a bag with a few extremely ripe peaches in it. They have about 3 or 4 peach trees in their back yard (along with many other fruit trees) and they always bring me some of whatever is in season. This time it was peaches, which by the looks of them had been laying on their counter for several days after being picked, because they were so ripe.
I thought I really wasn't going to eat them since too-ripe fruits gross me out a little, but I didn't want to be wasteful, so I made them into a peach cobbler instead. (Thanks, Pinterest.)
Here's what I used:
Filling: 

• 10 small peaches, peeled and sliced (about 2.5 cups)
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup white sugar

Crust:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup melted butter (1 stick)

Very ripe peaches, thanks mom.

Directions: 

1. Pour melted butter into 9 X 13 baking dish
2. Mix all dry ingredients for crust , then add milk and stir until it is well blended
3. Pour crust mixture on top of butter, and do not mix 
   
4. In a saucepan, combine all filling ingredients and bring to a boil, stirring constantly
   
5. Pour peach mixture on top of crust mixture, but do not mix together (leave layered)
   
6. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, or until crust is golden brown
   
7. Suggestion: serve with vanilla ice cream

I know these images aren't so great... I kinda suck at taking pictures, especially when I'm trying not to get my phone smeared with sticky cooking stuff, but the end result was deliciously gooey, just like it should be. This was by far the easiest "from scratch" dessert I have made in a very long time. Yum!

Soup Du Jour: Chicken Orzo Soup

I made a goal this week to find time in my homework-filled schedule to do something that "charges my batteries". I really wanted to cook something out of Pinterest, and after some deliberation I decided on a simple Chicken Orzo Soup. It was great! A deliciously thick, chunky, tasty, hearty meal to enjoy as I watched whatever was on TV that night. 

 Ingredients:

• 2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
• 2 cups cooked orzo
• 2 diced carrots
• 3 diced green onions
• 2.5 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• 1 tablespoon butter

Instructions: 

1. melt butter in medium to large pan. add carrots, onions, and garlic. saute until carrots are soft. (notice the orzo cooking in the back. don't forget to stir!.)
   
2. add chicken broth and bring to simmer. add whipping cream. simmer uncovered for 5 - 10 minutes. 
   
3. add shredded chicken. salt & pepper to taste. cook, stirring occasionally, for another 5 minutes. 
   
4. mix in bowl with cooked orzo. add parsley if desired. Enjoy!
   

This was a pretty tasty meal overall. It was quick (15-20 min prep time), simple to make, and inexpensive. Cant wait to go home for leftovers! 

Kit Kats Cake

Today is my hubby's birthday and since Mondays are lame and not the greatest for celebrating, we decided to do fun stuff the whole weekend instead. On Sunday we had friends and family over for birthday cake and I finally got to try my hand at the famous Kit Kat Cake which Tabby introduced me to a couple of years ago.

Ingredients: 
1 box of vanilla cake mix
1 box of chocolate cake mix
Chocolate frosting
M&M's
9 Kit Kats (Yes, you read correctly. NINE.)

I decided to make a marbled cake because it turns out there IS such a thing as too much chocolate, but a plain vanilla cake wouldn't go well with the chocolate frosting (personal opinion). Here's how I did it:

1. Prepare bot mixes following the directions on the box. 

2. Using two 9-inch cake pans, scoop alternating layers of chocolate and vanilla mixes; do not swirl. All you need to do is drop about half a cup of batter at a time right in the center, and gravity will take care of the rest. The circles DO NOT have to be perfect, as you can see. 

3. Bake following the instructions on the box. When they are done, chill in the freezer for an hour or two, stacked if possible. 

4. After the cakes have been chilled, it's time to frost it. Pay close attention to the sides, as this icing will be your "glue" for the Kit Kats. 

5. Break off all your Kit Kats before starting. I used the first knife handy, which happened to be a cheese knife. It actually did a good job on chocolate. 

6. Start gluing your Kit Kats all around the cake. I wanted to experiment with a Kit Kat/ M&M mixture on the sides, but burned my fingers pretty badly earlier in the day and decided to stick with the simpler plan. 

7. Add the M&M's! Most people sprinkle them all over the top, but I decided to be difficult/artsy and make a rainbow pattern instead. Since I had pre-sorted the M&M's a day before, this didn't take longer than 10 minutes or so. 

There was sooo much chocolaty stuff going on with this cake, and by the end only this piece remained. Here's to show you how the marbling comes out in the middle. 

This was a pretty fun cake to make, but quite a bit more expensive than your average one. I spent about $25 total because of all the extra chocolate, but everyone loved it and the sugar high was totally worth it. So what do you think?

Easy Chicken and Veggies

We had company over for dinner last night, and since we have lived at our new apartment for 4 days, we have yet to go grocery shopping. I had NO IDEA what to make for dinner, so of course I went with the 'make it up as you go along' plan.
This was an extremely easy dish with a preparation time of 15 minutes and a cook time of "stick it in the oven and forget about it until everyone is hungry". But really, it was about 1.5 hours.

Ingredients: 

Olive Oil
Mustard
Chopped garlic
Parsley
Rosemary
Salt 
Pepper
Butter
Chicken thighs 
Potatoes
Baby carrots


The amounts you'll need really depend on the quantity you'd like to cook. I used a 9x13x4 pan and it was enough to bake 7 chicken thighs, half a bag of baby carrots, and an entire bag of small round potatoes. I hardly ever measure anything I cook, so I couldn't even begin to tell you measurements, sorry!

Steps:

1. Lay out chicken thighs on pan
2. Cover with quartered potatoes and baby carrots
3. Mix all remaining ingredients in a bowl
(melt the butter first, then add the rest)
4. Spoon mixture onto chicken, and use the remaining to drizzle over the potatoes and carrots. 
5. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 for 1.5 hours.

6. If you wish, uncover and bake for 15 more minutes to add an extra crisp to the potatoes. 

It was a great meal, and very inexpensive. It fed 5 people (plus leftovers) on less than $20 worth of groceries. Definitely a quick fix to add to my dinner list :)

Therapeutical Baking

Philip has been in San Antonio for 7 days now, and without my other half present, I have been doing a lot of nothing at home. Nothing involves maniac housekeeping (since thing actually stay clean now), watching too many TV show reruns, re-reading old novels, and lots and lots of sleeping. I decided that today should be different than all other days, so I dug around my pantry and made some cupcakes.
I noticed a quick improvement in my mood and in the amount of energy I suddenly had, and the reason was apparent; baking is therapeutic... at least for me. These are the reasons I could think of as to why:

1. Offers Direction and Purpose. Even the simplest "out of a box" cupcakes require careful attention to the steps written on the back of the box. Unless you are an accomplished baker, you can't just "make it up as you go along" and end with a delicious dessert. (It differs from cooking, I think). The simple instructions calm me because they map out exactly what should happen with each step, and tell me what the ending result will be. This offers a break from the many daily tasks of problem-solving and figuring things out as they come at me, so it's a nice way to forget about the worries of the world. 
2. Requires all 5 Senses. In the middle of making a batch of cupcakes, all senses are required. I see the dry and wet ingredients combining into a gooey mush of splattered batter, I feel the firm vibrations of the blender as I mix everything together, I smell the sweet scents of warming sugar and vanilla, I hear my inside voice thinking of the next step, and best of all I taste the cool, soft remains on the spoon as I watch the cupcakes rise in the oven. I can think of no other task which offers simultaneous stimulation of all 5 senses and is also enjoyable. With sight, touch, scent, hearing, and tasting all going on at the same time, it's obvious that I won't think about any other issues but the ones at hand. 
3. Sharing and Enjoying. Such few tasks these days offer a tangible product once finished, so it is nice to be able to eat the darn thing and know I did a good job. Personally, I never bake with the intent of eating the end result. The most enjoyable part of making anything yummy is when I get to share it with others, so this entire batch will most likely go to friends or coworkers. This is one of the primary ways I use to show I care, so even if the process of baking wasn't rewarding enough, I also feel the gratitude of others as we all enjoy a soft, fluffy, semi-messy cupcake together. 

P.S. I suppose point number 4 can be "and then I get to blog all about it in extreme detail!" I suppose this information is best tucked away in a blog rather than posted on facebook for the annoyance of all. I'm finding blogging quite therapeutic as well... mostly because I enjoy the clicks of this particular keyboard, so I use more words than normal. Ok, now I'm just rambling. Over and out! 

Double the Fun

Today's little delight: a basket of chocolates was being passed around during church today. Although I wanted to take two, I knew I should only have one. I reached for a Snickers and was pleasantly surprised to see the packaging was glued to a second snickers bar. It was fate. I was meant to have two chocolate bars today. Nom nom nom. 

Cheez-Its Chicken

So I think I've almost perfected my Cheez-Its Chicken recipe. I saw an idea of it on Pinterest long ago but I only browsed through the pictures and didn't really read the ingredients list. That's nothing new, this is the same method I use for everything I cook. It's like art. To me, following a step-by-step recipe is much like a color-by-numbers activity... someone else's creation and not your own. Making dinner last week I finally decided to record what I do since I was sure it would turn out delicious. I was not disappointed.

Ingredients: 5 boneless chicken breasts, 1 egg, cayenne pepper, 2 cups of Cheez-Its, 1 package of cream cheese, 1 bag of shredded cheese (any kind you'd like).

Does this chicken look a little strange? That's because I had it marinating in a lime juice and cayenne pepper mixture for an entire day beforehand. Yum. I highly recommend it. 

Step Fun. I mean, Step One: Take your two cups of cheez-its, put them in a zip-lock bag, and crush them to a powder. Finer = better. 

Step Two: Beat egg and add Cayenne pepper to the mix if desired. I like my spices :)

Step Three: Microwave the cream cheese to soften it. Do it in increments of 30 seconds. 

Step Four: Once cream cheese is soft and malleable, add in the shredded cheese and mix it up. It will turn into a thick, doughy ball of stickiness. If this is too challenging, add a small quantity of melted butter or olive oil to soften, or microwave for another 30 seconds. 

Step Five: Take chicken breasts and split open about 3/4 of the way. It helps to press down with flat hand and come down to eye level with the chicken, that way you make sure to cut it correctly. 

It should look something like this. Like open wings. 

Ready for the messy part? 

Step Six: Dip chicken into egg mixture. Make sure its completely coated all around. 

Step Seven: Coat thoroughly with Cheez-It crumbs on both sides. You will get it all over your fingers, its inevitable. 

This is a messy job. 

Step Eight: Be Prepared. Take a baking sheet, cover with aluminum foil, and spray with cooking spray. 

Step Nine: Spoon cream cheese mixture into chicken. I was a little too generous with mine and it oozed out while baking, so maybe use about a good sized spoon-full. Fold it well into the chicken. 

Step Ten: I use two toothpicks per chicken breast to keep the folds in place and the insides from spilling out during the baking time. It's easy to pull them out afterwards. Arrange (hopefully neater than I did) onto baking sheet. Cook in oven at 350 deg F for about 45 minutes. 

I should have mentioned... this makes for twice the amount of cream cheese stuff than what you need. I always spoon my leftovers into a zip lock and use them next time... this is a weekly meal at our house so it never lasts longer than that.

Regretfully, we were too excited/famished by the time I finished this meal to stop and photograph our food before we ate it. I can attest that it is delicious, simple to make, and goes with pretty much any side you can think of. Hope you like it!
Hubby's Quote: Why are you giving recipe secrets to everyone out there? We are going to open a restaurant with this! (he says that every time... its that good)