Peach Cobbler

This year, we have lots and lots of peaches from our tree in the back yard. Even though the tree has been through hail, so the peaches don't all look perfect, they taste delicious! We got three giant bowls of peaches that we have to do something with. We made peach cobbler and peach ice cream so far. More to come!

Here's the original recipe:
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/easy-peach-cobbler

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar, divided
1 tablespoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 cup milk
4 cups fresh peach slices
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a 13- x 9-inch baking dish.
2. Combine flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt; add milk, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour batter over butter (do not stir).
3. Bring remaining 1 cup sugar, peach slices, and lemon juice to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly; pour over batter (do not stir). Sprinkle with cinnamon, if desired.
4. Bake at 375° for 40 to 45 minutes or until golden brown. Serve cobbler warm or cool.
Best served with Vanilla Ice Cream!

What we liked:

Quick, easy, great use of our peaches!

What we didn't like:

Nothing, it was good. Tastes different than most cobblers. 

What Kaspian thought about it:

He loved it, especially with ice cream. Astrid however, keeps eating just the ice cream for some reason....

Next time:

No changes 

Horeseradish Sauce

We have ben making this sauce this summer and it has been great on everything and is quick and easy to make.It is great on steaks, fish, mashed potatoes.

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons horseradish.
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayonaise
2 tablespoons lemon juice
salt to taste
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together and let sit for 20 minutes.

What we liked:

the sauce!!!

What we didn't like:

nothing

What Kaspian thought about it:

not his thing

Next time:

no changes

Creamy Chicken Gnocchi Soup

We used rotisserie chicken and gnocchi from Costco for this soup. It turned out sooo Good! Way better than olive garden's version of it. This soup is great with a french bread to dip into it! It would be really good with a bread bowl.

Original reicpe: https://therecipecritic.com/creamy-chicken-gnocchi-soup-olive-garden-copycat/

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup onion, diced
½ cup celery diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 cups half-and-half
2 14 ounce can chicken broth
1 Tablespoon fresh thyme
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup fresh spinach leaves, chopped
1 cup diced cooked chicken (rotisserie)
1 16 ounce package potato gnocchi (fridge ones)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a large pot add butter and olive oil.
2. Over medium high heat sauté onion, celery and garlic until tender. Add the flour to create a roux and cook for another minute.
3.Slowly add the half and half and chicken broth and stir until it starts to thicken. Add the thyme, carrots, spinach, chicken and gnocchi.
4. Simmer for about 5 minutes or until gnocchi is cooked and soup is thickened.
5. Salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

What we liked:

Delicious soup!

What we didn't like:

nothing. it was great!

What Kaspian thought about it:

He loved the bread...

Next time:

try a bread bowl

Bailey's Chocolate Poke Cake

We have been in some weird chocolate deficit state. This was an attempt to alleviate that. Overall it was good. Better than most cakes you buy, even a Whole Foods cake. We got a chocolate mousse whole foods cake shortly after making this and we must say, that this is way better. It is relatively easy to make and tastes way better than any store bought one! We didn't have mini chocolate chips so we just used a Trader Joe's dark chocolate bar we had and used the shavings off of it instead. It might have even turned out better than with chocolate chips! :) 

Here's the original recipe:  https://www.lifeloveandsugar.com/2018/02/26/baileys-chocolate-poke-cake/

Ingredients:

Cake:
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup Baileys Irish Cream, divided
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup boiling water
1 cup sweetened condensed milk
3/4 cup chocolate chips

Frosting:
2 cups heavy whipping cream, cold
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 tbsp Baileys Irish Cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300°F. Spray a 9×13 inch cake pan with cooking spray.
2. Combine all dry ingredients in a Kitchanaid mixer bowl.
3. Add eggs, milk, vegetable oil, 1/2 cup of Irish cream and vanilla to the dry ingredients and mix well.
4. Slowly pour the water into the batter, mixing well.
5. Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for about 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs.
6. Remove the cake from the oven and poke holes all over.
7. While the cake is still warm, add the chocolate chips to a medium sized bowl. Set aside.
8. Add the sweetened condensed milk and remaining 1/2 cup of Irish cream to a microwave safe measuring cup. Heat heat the milk and cream until they begin to boil, then pour over the chocolate chips.
9. Whisk the chocolate until smooth, then immediately pour over the cake, spreading it into the holes. Don’t let the mixture sit before pouring it over the cake or it’ll start to thicken and not soak in the holes as well.
10. Set the cake in the fridge to cool and soak.
11. When the cake has cooled, add the ingredients for the whipped cream topping to a large mixer bowl. Whip on high speed until stiff peaks form.
12. Spread the whipped cream evenly over the cake. Top the cake with mini chocolate chips and a drizzle of chocolate sauce, if desired. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

What we liked:

It was really fun to make and try!

What we didn't like:

It is better on day 2, after it's had time to soak and cool rather than right after making it. 

What Kaspian thought about it:

He was a little suspicious.

Next time:

Make in advance. 

Update

Well, it's been a while since we were last here. We have slowed down a little in cooking and trying new recipes since we have had a new baby boy in early May! But, we're starting to get back into things.
Our green house is doing good - more of an update on that later - we got Tobacco Hornworms, totally gross, and they decimated our tomatoes in just a matter of two days it seems like.
We are in the process of raising new chickens. We ordered day olds from a hatchery online and these cute little day old chicks came in the mail. We got 18 and lost three of them, but now at almost three weeks (on Wednesday) we still have 15. They are starting to get their feathers in and we really need to work on getting the coop completed so they can go out when they are ready!

almost 3 weeks old

tobacco hornworms

Tobacco Hornworm aftermath - day 2!