thenextmile

I have exactly one week left at my current job, then I’m happy to announce I will be staying at home and freelancing writing and helping my husband out with some of his projects. 

I feel like I’ve been slacking lately, but work has been crazy, and we’re just getting  ready for the transition of going from full time work to freelance.  It’s exciting and nerve wracking at the same time.  But it will all work out.

So there are plenty of great recipes to come.  I haven’t been cooking much lately due to the busy schedule, but I have a stockpile of great looking things that are just waiting for me in my kitchen.

I can’t believe it’s the end of August already.  Today during my weekly trip to the farm market, I loaded up on corn, peaches, spinach, and tomatoes.  I just pulled a peach-blackberry cobbler out of the oven, although it’s more of a crisp than a cobbler.  Here’s the recipe, I used 5 cups of peaches and 1 cup of blackberries.

Ingredients

6 cups diced peeled peaches (about 2 3/4 pounds)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon peach schnapps (optional)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Topping:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup regular oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter or stick margarine, melted
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.Combine first 7 ingredients in a bowl; spoon into a 10-inch cast-iron skillet.

To prepare the topping, lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup, and level with a knife. Combine flour and remaining ingredients in a small bowl, and toss with a fork until well-blended. Sprinkle topping evenly over peach mixture. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes or until bubbly.

Note: Cobbler can also be made in an 11 x 7-inch baking dish.

In other news, I got up at 5:15 this morning and had a great 8 mile run followed by a mile walk back to my car.  It was a beautiful morning, even though it was a bit chilly at first - just 49 degrees.

Tomorrow, I have to find something to do with a dozen ears of corn.

I’ve had a craving for baked beans lately, so since we had company this weekend I decided to make some to go with burgers and corn on the cob.  They turned out well, despite me changing up the recipe a bit. 

Instead of baking these, I just dumped all the ingredients in a crockpot in the morning.  I used mostly Great Northern Beans, but also used a can of kidney beans and butter beans as well.  I omitted the chipolte since our guests don’t really care for anything spicy.  They were a hit and I’ll make them again.

1/4 pound finely diced bacon slices (raw)
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons finely chopped chipotle chile, canned in adobo sauce
5 (16-ounce) cans navy beans, rinsed and drained
1 (18-ounce) jar low-sodium barbecue sauce
Cooking spray

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings in pan, and set bacon aside. Add onion to drippings in pan; sauté 3 minutes.

Combine bacon, onion, and remaining ingredients except cooking spray in a large bowl; toss well. Spoon the bean mixture into a 13 x 9-inch or 2 1/2-quart baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes.

Yield

21 servings (serving size: 1/2 cup)

My friend Sarah passed this recipe along to me this week.  I think it might also work great with other berries, and maybe even nectarines.  Make sure to press the bottom into the pan really tight so they don’t crumble.  I think they also store better in the fridge.

1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cold butter (2 sticks or 8 ounces)
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
Zest and juice of one lemon
4 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup white sugar
4 teaspoons cornstarch

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9×13 inch pan.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, 3 cups flour, and baking powder. Mix in salt and lemon zest. Use a fork or pastry cutter to blend in the butter and egg. Dough will be crumbly. Pat half of dough into the prepared pan.

3. In another bowl, stir together the sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Gently mix in the blueberries. Sprinkle the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble remaining dough over the berry layer.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. (This took an extra 10 to 15 minutes in my oven.) Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Anyone who knows me well knows that I love Mexican food.  I’ve often times even joked with my friend Delon (who is Mexican) that I’m convinced I am either part Mexican, or was Mexican in another life.  My love of Mexican food means we have salsa in our house at all times, I am always putting some spice in things (cayenne pepper in chocolate cupcakes anyone?) and we have different Mexican entrees for dinner usually once a week.

Tonight was burritos.  I am convinced that burritos are one of the most perfect foods on earth.  And you can make them healthy, here’s how.

Make some rice, preferably brown.  Throw in some tomatoes, you can even used canned.  Toss in some green onions, some spices, and cilantro if you have it on hand.  Then toss in a can of black beans that have been rinsed and drained.  The rice and beans add a healthy dose of fiber, and you get a protein punch from the beans.  Want some more protein?  Add some seasoned chicken breasts, steak, or even ground sirloin.  Tonight I cooked up two chicken breasts with some southwest seasoning in a pan, and then chopped them up.  Next, add some salsa or chopped tomatoes if you don’t have salsa.  Shred a little lettuce, top with some cheese (mmm, calcium!), a little lite sour cream or guacamole, and wrap it all up in a whole grain tortilla.  I love La Tortilla Factory tortillas, they make big burrito sized ones now that are 80 calories and have 12 grams of fiber!

Yum!

This is a keeper!  The best part is that you can let the batter sit while you eat dinner.

German Apple Pancake

Ingredients

Batter:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour (about 2 1/4 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon grated whole nutmeg
1 cup egg substitute
1 cup fat-free milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Apple mixture:
Cooking spray
1/2 cup granulated sugar, divided
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon grated whole nutmeg
1 cup thinly sliced Granny Smith apple

Remaining ingredient:
1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Preparation

1. To prepare batter, lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, salt, and 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Combine egg substitute, milk, butter, and vanilla in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add egg substitute mixture to flour mixture, stirring with a whisk. Let stand 30 minutes.2. Preheat oven to 425°.

3. To prepare apple mixture, coat bottom and sides of a 10-inch ovenproof skillet with cooking spray. Combine 1/4 cup granulated sugar, cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg; sprinkle evenly over bottom and sides of pan. Arrange apple in an even spokelike layer in pan. Sprinkle apple with remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar. Cook over medium heat 8 minutes or until mixture bubbles. Slowly pour batter over apple mixture.

4. Bake at 425° for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375° (do not remove pancake from oven); bake an additional 13 minutes or until center is set. Carefully loosen pancake with a spatula. Gently slide pancake onto a serving platter. Sift powdered sugar over top. Cut into 6 wedges; serve immediately.

Yield

6 servings (serving size: 1 wedge)