Cookin' With the Deens - Peach Cobbler

The recipe for this week for Cookin' With the Deens was picked by Michele.  I was eyeing this one, too!  It was very easy to make and very good.  My grandson helped with the fruit part.  I will definitely make this one again.  I used frozen peaches.  Very yummy!

Peach Cobbler

5 c sliced fresh or frozen peaches.  Unpeeled.  Thawed and drained if frozen

3 T plus 1/3 c packed light brown sugar

1 T plus 1 c all purpose flour

2 tsp fresh lemon juice

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

5 T cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Toss together peaches, 3 T brown sugar, 1 T flour, lemon juice and cinnamon.  Spoon into 2 quart dish and bake 10 minutes

Meanwhile, whisk together remaining flour, baking powder and salt.  Cut in butter until resembles coarse meal.  Stir in 1/4 c boiling water just until dough comes together.

Spoon dollops of dough over baked peaches.  Bake 25 minutes until bubbling and golden brown.  Cool slightly before serving.

Delicious ala mode!

Food Around the World - Fried Mozzarella

This month's theme is Italy for the Food Around the World club.  Who doesn't love Italian food?!  We love it in my house.  I was really excited when Kelly picked this theme!

Last weekend we had a big meal at my house.  I decided to make these for dinner.  My daughter, Kelly, and my son, Jimmy, helped out.  We did not let them sit in the freezer long enough.  Therefore, when Jimmy friend them, they came out more like fried mozzarella blogs instead of sticks!  But, they were still deliciouso!

Fried Mozzarella

16 pieces String Cheese, Removed From Wrappers
½ cups All-purpose Flour
2 whole Eggs
3 Tablespoons Milk
1 Tablespoon Dried Parsley Flakes
Canola Oil, For Frying
Marinara Sauce, For Dipping
2 cups Panko Bread Crumbs

Slice string cheese pieces in half, for a total of 32 pieces.

Place flour in a small bowl.

In a separate bowl, whisk eggs and milk.

In another separate bowl, combine panko bread crumbs with parsley flakes.

TO ASSEMBLE: One by one, roll mozzarella sticks in flour, then dunk in egg/milk mixture, then place in panko crumbs. Use your hand to sweep crumbs all over the mozzarella stick. Gently remove and place on a tray or cookie sheet. Repeat until all mozzarella sticks are coated.

***Place tray in freezer for 20 to 30 minutes to flash freeze.***

TO COOK: Heat 1 1/2 inches canola oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When hot, add mozzarella sticks 8 at a time. Watch closely and turn over to evenly brown, cooking less than 2 minutes. Do not allow cheese to bubble and leak.

Remove to a paper towel-lined plate.

Serve immediately with warm marinara sauce.

My son, Jimmy, frying the mozzarella and my son-in-law, Steve, helping to prepare rest of dinner.

Cheesy Muffins

I found this recipe in the most recent Paula Deen Magazine.  The recipe seemed easy and it had cheese in it. Yum!  I made these to go with our Sunday dinner.  My granddaughter Samantha helped me.  They were delicious and the grandkids could not stay out of them!

Sorry the picture isn't very good.  I forgot to take a finished picture so this is a cropped picture.  These are real delicious with honey, too.  I probably should have filled the muffin pans up more.  I made about 2 3/4 dozen.

Cheddar Muffins

2 cups self-rising flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
3 T sugar
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray 24 miniature muffin cups with non stick baking spray with flour.

2.  In a medium bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, and sugar.  Add buttermilk and eggs, stirring just until combined (mixture will be lumpy).  Stir in cheese.

3.  Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, and bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Let muffins cool in pan for 5 minutes.  Serve warm.

Peanut Butter Do-si-do Chocolate Chip Cookies

Being a Girl Scout Leader I was very excited to see this recipe on Picky Palate's site.

These cookies were DELICIOUS!  My son must have ate about a third of the baked cookies!

You can find the recipe here:  http://picky-palate.com/2013/03/25/peanut-butter-do-si-do-chocolate-chip-cookies/#more-26971.  The recipe is very easy and results were so good!

Enjoy!

Cookin' With the Deens - 1st post

This is a new cooking club - Cookin' With the Deens.  The cookbook we are cooking out of is From Mama's Table to Mine by Bobby Deen.  Bobby lightens up his mom's recipes to be 350 calories or less.

Our first two recipes are Cajun Sliders and Twice Baked Cheddar Potatoes.

Both recipes were really good, but I'm not my favorite.  We tweaked the potato recipe so it's not so "lightened up."  By we, I mean my daughter, Kelly and I.  These were good, tho.

The burgers I made some with the spices and hot sauce and some leaving out these items.  I wasn't sure if my grandkids would like them.

I double the recipe so we could each have 2.

Cajun Sliders

6 oz 93% lean ground turkey
6 oz 95% lean ground beef
1 T ketsup
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning, plus extra for the vegetables
1/4 tsp hot sauce
1/2 red bell peppers, cut lengthwise into 8 strips
4 round onion slices from 1 small onion
1 T, plus 1 tsp fat free mayo, or low-fat (used regular since it's what I had)
2 tsp spice brown mustard
4 small sandwich buns

1.  Preheat the broiler.  Spray a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.

2.  In a medium bowl, combine the turkey, beef, ketsup, Worcestershire sauce, Cajun season and the hot sauce.  Form the mixture in 4 fat patties (a little wider than the buns).

3.  Spray a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and place over medium heat.  Cook the patties, covered, turning once until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F on an instant read thermometer, 8 to 10 minutes total.

4.  Meanwhile, place the bell pepper strips and onion slices on the prepared baking sheet.  Season with a pinch of the extra Cajun seasoning and lightly spray with cooking spray.  Broil, without turning, until browned along the edges, 3-5 minutes.

5.  In a small bowl, stir together the mayo and mustard and spread on the inside of each bun.  Put a patty on the bottom of each bun, top with an onion slice and 2 strips of bell pepper crossed over each other, and cover with the top bun.

Twice Baked Cheddar Potatoes

4 medium russet potatoes

1 cup grated low-fat Cheddar cheese (I used regular)

1/2 cup fat free, or low fat, Greek yogurt (used cream cheese)

1/3 cup skim milk (1%)

3/4 tsp salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste

paprika to taste

3 scallion (white and light green parts only) thinly sliced (skipped)

1.  Preheat the  oven to 350 degrees.

2.  Cut a slit in the top of each potato and lightly spray the skin all with cooking spray.  Arrange the potatoes on an ungreased rimmed baking sheet and bake until tender, about 1 hour.

3.  Slice off the top third of each potato.  Scoop out the insides into a medium bowl and mash with the cheese, yogurt, milk, salt and pepper.   Return the potato shells to the baking sheet.  Scrape the mixture back into the potato shells.  Sprinkle with paprika and bake until golden, 20-30 minutes.  Toop with scallions and serve. (I added more cheddar to top).