Peach Cobbler

 I got this Peach Cobbler recipe from my Mother in Law many years ago.  Its a classic to be sure, and I think its one of the best peach cobblers I've ever had.  My own addition to this recipe, is that I make it in a cast iron skillet, which for some reason just seems to cook it up perfect.  I have never tried to make a healthier version of this; I tell myself "somethings are best left alone";  but I have often thought of substituting the sugars for sucanat or another healthier sugar; the white flour for whole grain... just haven't ever gotten around to trying it.   It is made with pure, simple,  ingredients and love,  so it nourishes the emotionals in a way that only true comfort food can do... so there you go; its "health food"... ha ha.  It is also a very quick and easy dessert, so I love to cook it up for a special occasion or for company.  I am almost to the end of my home-canned peaches and before long, it will be time for another round of peach picking and canning.  This is a great peach recipe to suit that season.  I hope you enjoy it.

Pre-heat oven to 375.  Place 1 cube of butter in a  10-12 inch cast iron skillet and put into oven for

 2 or 3 minutes or until butter melts.

Measure out 4 cups fresh or canned peaches; skins removed.  Set to the side for a moment.

In a medium mixing bowl mix together 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 Tb brown sugar, 1 tsp salt, and 3 tsp baking powder.  

Pour in 1 cup milk and 2 tsp lemon juice, and whisk until well mixed.

Pour half of batter onto melted butter in skillet.

 Top with peaches.

 Pour remaining batter over peaches.

Spread batter and peaches evenly over pan.

 Bake for 45 minutes.

Mmmmm

Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

Peach Cobbler

Ingredients:

1 Cube Butter

1 Cup Flour

1 Cup Sugar

1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar

1 teaspoon Salt

3 teaspoons Baking Powder

1 Cup Milk

2 teaspoons Lemon Juice
4 Cups fresh or canned peaches

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit.  Place the butter in a 10 to 12 inch cast iron skillet ( I have used a 9x9 inch square casserole pan and a 9x13... you can of course use these with a slightly different result... still yummy) Put into oven for two or three minutes until the butter is melted.   While that is melting, measure out your peaches and set aside.  Stir together all the dry ingredients in a medium sized mixing bowl.  Add milk and lemon juice whisk/mix together until well mixed.  Remove pan from oven and make sure the butter evenly coats entire pan.  Add half of the batter to the pan.  Add peaches on top.  Pour remaining batter over peaches (this batter will all rise to the top when cooking).  Bake for 45  minutes.  Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Garden Notes

This year in the garden, we decided to downsize.  Luke is in Oregon now, and with Steve's surgeries this winter and spring, we decided to go a little easier.  But life seems blank without growing something in the summer months doesn't it?  So we have planted in the 3 small beds up near our house.   It is nice to have them, but the battle rages  here in Colorado.  Grasshoppers, draught, scorching wind and fire have waged war. We have wells on our property that are a part of our business, and you would think with "that" being so, we would have plenty of water for our gardens.  But those wells are not close at hand for our use.  Our house and garden are connected to a shallow hand dug well, that, while it provides ample for our household, does not have quite enough to suffice for lawn and gardening projects when there is a drought.   Even in good wet years, we cannot manage the lawn from our well (yet in those wetter years the lawn is well watered by the Lord).   It is a little bit of  "The cobbler's children have no shoes" scenarios.  so,  our garden and yard struggles when we have drought.  The drought is very bad right now and fires are everywhere; it feels like the State is on fire.   This evening when we were driving home, there was so much haze and smoke covering the sky, that it seemed as if we were on another planet in a science fiction movie.  It has been very sad and sobering to think of how many people have lost their homes in Colorado Springs (over 500 at this point), and fires still going all over the State.  Such strange and sad days.  Gardening helps generate life, not only in the ground but in ourselves, and is always my way of  regenerating every summer... even if it is  a strain and a struggle.

Colorado soil is not the easiest soil to garden in, so we have been trying to improve and add to it in some way every year.  This year we took some of our soil to an "expert" in Colorado Springs, and he gave us some tips for how to improve our soil and we followed them.. I will do a recap at end of summer and let you know what I think, but so far; I am loving the items he told us to get.

I am a geranium nut.  Even though we can't grow geraniums year around here,  I do love to have them in pots around our patio area.  We set up our carport/patio area every spring with tables and chair and  flowers, to have a nice outdoor family room.  We like to eat breakfast and dinner out there quite often, as well as visit with friends.

This is our toad.  We have had many toads as  I am sure many of you have toads, but this toad really likes us and insists on being near us all the time.  He can be found on our patio day or  night.  We had company coming to dinner the other day, so we kept putting him back in various places in the garden so that he wouldn't be underfoot and scare the company (some people aren't as fond of toads as I am).  We must have moved him 10 times... (a good deal away from the patio) but 5 minutes later he was back on the patio.  I didn't know toads knew their directions; this one does.

When he sleeps, he burrows in the soft garden soil, or a flowerpot on the patio.  At night he is a great bug exterminator... one of the things I like about him.

Last year our neighbor Brett  hired our son Eddie and our neighbor and friend Jonathan to haul the horse manure out of his corral.  We provided a place for Brett to haul it to; next to our garden.  It has been composting all year and is there as we need it.

This spring, the "expert" from Colorado Springs recommend two things to build our soil; on top of the wonderful manure that we had been composting all year. They are the following:

 Composted Cotton Burr  and

This Dry Molasses.  They are both very good additions to our soil; be sure to click the links on them,  if you are needing to improve your soil.

We also bought this 4 lb bag of worm castings, and have added it along with the other items everywhere we have planted.

Worm castings.

Can you see the grasshopper on the left side of the picture?  You might have to really look... its like one of those pictures "can you find Waldo"... haha.  He has just finished off the newly sprouted leaves of my zucchini squash.  He and his cousins are in the process of taking out our garden.  I have planted seed twice ... always hopeful that this time.... but everything that comes up they eat.  So far they have not started in on the strawberries and tomatoes and haven't been too hard on the onions.  We are trying to figure out what to do.  A hoop house is something we would like to do; but it isn't do-able right now.

I have left oat grass to grow for the most  part; hoping to aid in protecting the plants  from the grasshoppers and heat.  That has helped somewhat.   You can see how dry every thing is. All the dirt you see around the beds used to be grass; you can see where the garden beds have blank spots...  the grasshopper moving from the outside in.

But to quote Irma Bombeck...

"The grass is always greener over the septic tank".  Yes, she is right.

My mint is hanging on (gotta have my ice tea with mint) and several flowers and herbs in this little bed are hopeful.

I had potato seed  galore... but didn't want to put them in the big beds this year as I stated earlier... so I put them in a planter we saved from a tree;  by the house.  I just packed them in there with dirt, straw, manure, compost and so on.   This was last weeks growth;

...and this weeks growth.   Perhaps they will do good this way.

I  planted flower, herb and basil seeds from last years plants.  I  love to have lots of fresh basil.

I let some carrots go to seed last year.. and now they are popping up all over the place; I like that.  I am not sure what has taken them so long to sprout... we had a late winter, into a scorching summer;  not much spring to speak of perhaps that is what it is.  So far the grasshoppers don't seem to like them. Hurray...  

My garlic is doing really well;  I planted it last fall; So far the grasshoppers haven't touched it either. The onions are coming along nicely. 

Geraniums all in a row.

 Our patio is a little rustic,

... but cozy.

And this tub contains a special gift that was given to Steve for Father's Day and Birthday from his girls.

It contains livestock.  Steve has been bragging about the fact that he now owns 2000 head and his kids all own more than that.

Ha Ha...Little Red Wigglers;  they are on the "little"  side yet, but they  will produce a crop of wonderful compost and worm castings.... yes we are back in the farming business.

John 4:14

".....but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Have a great weekend and may all your gardens be green.

Shredded Beef Burritos

One of Steve's favorite meals is Shredded Beef Burritos Enchilada Style.  I have been making it for him ever since we were first married.  I used to work for a Mexican Food restaurant where one of their specialties was a Machaca Burro (Burrito), and it was a favorite of ours, so I learned how to make it.  I thought it would be a good recipe for Father's Day, and made it while my Dad was here as a sort of pre- Father's Day meal for him and Steve.  My husband is a beef lover, and this one is a great satisfier for a hungry man that wants some beef.   For a big crowd, or a large family meal, I often serve it together with a Chili Relleno Casserole.

For this recipe, I start with a large beef roast  so that I can make a roast beef meal for dinner one night and with the left overs, I shred the meat and make my burritos; or I make it all into

burritos and freeze a large portion of the burritos for ready to eat meals.  This recipe I am using a roast that weighs about 5-6 pounds.  Of course you can cut all the ingredients in half and still have 1 nice family sized meal.

Shredded Beef  for Burritos

1 large beef roast about  5-6 lbs .  I usually use chuck roast because it shreds so nicely, but any roast will do.

Oil or fat for browning (about 2 Tb)

1 medium onion chopped
2 cloves garlic crushed

2 tsps real salt, sea salt, or Himilayan salt (My favorite is the Himilayan)
1 tsp pepper,
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder or to taste

2 Cups Water

Brown the roast in oil, turning until all sides are nicely browned.  Add onions, and brown them lightly as well.  Transfer to a large crockpot or if you will be cooking your roast in the oven, brown your meat in your roasting pot and add remaining ingredients. Roast at 300 degrees 3-4 hours.  Begin to check them in about 3 hours to see if the meat begins to shred easily when pulled with a fork.

For the crockpot, add the browned roast and onions, the seasoning and water, to the pot.  Set temperature on low and cook 7-9 hours, crockpots are all a little different.  When the meat is falling apart its ready.

Homemade Enchilada Sauce
Note: I always use left over gravy as a base ingredient for the enchilada sauce, because essentially enchilada sauce is nothing but a spicy gravy.  Also, you can season your roast with some of these enchilada sauce seasonings if you don't want to eat it as a roast first.  Doing so will add to the flavor.  I have often cooked the roast with  several teaspoons of chili powder, cumin and oregano added.  Do it the way it suites you.

4 cups of gravy from your roast (use the broth and drippings from the roast),
or 4 cups of broth (chicken or beef are both wonderful; thickened with 2 Tb of Cornstarch or 4 Tb Flour)
1 cup tomato sauce
1/4 cup chili powder
1/4 cup cumin powder
2 tsp dried oregano crushed
salt and pepper to taste

Burritos
Shredded Beef from recipe above.
20-25  Tortilla's  (I like organic white or whole wheat tortillas), amount will vary with each roast.
4-5 cups shredded cheddar  or Montery Jack cheese
2 cups chopped green chills
Enchilada sauce

For the sauce and burritos

 Put into a medium sized sauce pan add seasonings, tomato sauce, gravy (or broth thickened with cornstarch).  Feel free to add more broth or water if you wish to thin the sauce a little.

Heat and stir.

Add a cup or two of the sauce to your shredded beef.  This will vary according to the size of your roast. 

Stir the enchilada sauce into the beef...until it is thoroughly mixed and flavorful.

  

Take a tortilla and lay it flat. It is important to warm your tortillas so that they are pliable.  

Place a few tablespoons of beef on top.

Add a little (or a lot) of the green chili and cheese to each burrito.

Fold your sides in.

Roll the bottom over the top.

Roll completely over.

Place as many as you want to make for dinner into a pan, and then brush with a little olive oil.

Put the rest in a ziplock bag for the freezer.  You can eat them without sauce for lunch, or take them out and put them in a pan and cover with the extra sauce (which can also be frozen and ready for the next meal.   I do this with my left over sauce).

I like to bake mine a little until they get slightly crispy... but you don't have to bake them first... you could sauce them first; I have done it and like it both ways.

Pour enchilada sauce over them.

Cover well with sauce.

Add cheese.

Bake @ 350 degrees until melty and bubbly:approximately  30 minutes.

Dish up and garnish with lettuce and sour cream.

Dig in and enjoy.

Happy Father's Day to all the great Dads out there, and have a great week everyone.