Just Peachy

Right now the peaches are so sweet and good and thankfully, within my budget. I'm finding them for around a dollar a pound. Not too shabby. As a result my desserts over the last two weeks have revolved around this fuzzy, juicy fruit. I wanted to share my favorite peach dessert on here. Unfortunately, I don't have A favorite peach dessert...I have two! So today I bring you my Peach Pudding Cake and Peachy Chiffon. Every summer around this time, without fail, I make these two desserts. I tend to make the peach cake first. Probably because I can throw it together so quickly and it makes less. This way, I don't feel as guilty about eating the whole thing all by myself!



The Peachy Chiffon makes more, so I need an excuse to make it. A cookout...family dinner...any place enough people are gathered to polish this off so that I do not have to eat the whole thing myself. Trust me, it's good enough that you'll want to! If there are no social events on my horizon and I'm really craving the Peachy Chiffon...I simply start inviting people over. My summer just isn't complete without this little taste of Heaven.

This picture really doesn't do it justice. You see, I had company and was too distracted playing hostess to remember to serve this up "all pretty" for a picture.



Now that I've tempted you with the Peachy Chiffon, I want to return to the Peach Cake. Here's what you need to make the most delicious peach cake ever: peaches, flour, sugar, milk, butter, salt, and baking powder.



To begin, slice 3 cups of peaches, stir in 3/4 cup of sugar and set aside.



Now take an 8 X 8 inch square or an 8-9 inch round baking dish and place 1/2 stick of butter in the bottom. That's right, 1/2 stick of butter. This cake is not on your diet. In my defense, the original recipe which I got from my grandma (who remembers that she got it from her sister-in-law), calls for a whole stick. I cut it in half. Place the pan in your pre-heated oven and allow the butter to melt.



While the butter melts, mix up the sugar, salt, flour, baking powder, and milk into a thin batter.




Pour the sliced peaches on top of the melted butter.



Pour the batter on top of the sliced peaches.



Now bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. It comes out looking all golden brown and beautiful. Now the waiting begins....



You have to let it cool for long enough that you don't burn the taste buds right off your lil' ol tongue. Do I sound like I know what I'm talking about? I may have indulged in this cake before it was cool enough. I can't help myself. It's fabulous.



Peach Cake

1) Combine:

3 cups fresh sliced peaches
3/4 cup sugar

Let stand while continuing with other cake preparations.

2) Place 1/2 stick butter in a 8-9 inch baking dish. Melt in oven preheated to 350 degrees.

3) Combine:

1 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk

Stir until smooth.

4) Place sliced peaches on top of melted butter in the baking dish.

5) Pour batter over peaches.

6) Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes


And now for Peachy Chiffon!



Start by mixing together graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and sugar. Press into the bottom of a 9 X13 inch dish.



Make the filling by combining cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, almond extract, and prepared Dream Whip or Cool Whip. I use Dream Whip, because that's the way my mom made it. I'm sure Cool Whip works just fine also.



Carefully spread the filling over the graham cracker crust.



Top with freshly sliced peaches. You can sweeten them a with a little sugar if you like. I only top as much of the dessert with peaches as I think will be eaten. If the dessert starts to disappear, I just slice a few more peaches over the top. This way you avoid browning of the peaches and if you have leftovers, the chiffon stores beautifully separate from the "peachy".



Peachy Chiffon

Crust:

1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup sugar

Mix together and press into a 9 X 13 inch dish.

Filling:

8 oz. cream cheese
1 tub Cool Whip or 1 envelope Dream Whip, prepared
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Blend cream cheese with sugar and extracts. Fold in whipped topping. Spread over the graham cracker crust. Slice enough peaches to cover, 8-9 peaches.

For a printable copy of this recipe, click here!

Country Style Barbecued Ribs

Parts of this weekend were so beautiful! With guests coming into town, I knew that we'd want to be outside, enjoying the deck and the fine weather. So, I opted for ribs on the grill for our Saturday evening dinner. The actual preparation on Saturday was super easy, I just handed the ribs over to my husband with a basting brush and barbecue sauce and let him take over. However, the preparation for these perfect, fall-off-the-bone ribs began 3 days before the first bite (which was quickly followed by the first MMMMMmmmmm)...occurred. On Wednesday, I thawed my ribs. On Thursday, I applied the rub. On Friday, I braised the ribs for 3 hours, made the bbq sauce, basted the ribs with the bbq sauce, wrapped them in foil, and returned them to the fridge for one more night. Then on serving day, as I said, I just handed them over.

Here are the ribs right off the grill, just before the hungry mob attacked. Unfortunately, I didn't get a pretty picture of these ribs that illustrates just how tender and delicious they were. In truth, I couldn't wait to dig in, so I snapped this quick pic and filled my plate! Oink, oink, Krista!



I went with a Kansas City style rub. I like a little sweet to my ribs. The rub ingredients: brown sugar, paprika, black pepper, kosher salt, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper.



Some people are squeamish about meat with bones. Not me. I'm a gnaw on the bone kinda girl and ribs offer the perfect, messy, gnaw-on-the-bone experience! The ribs that I used weren't even really ribs. They were country style or Western style ribs, which aren't ribs at all, rather they are a cut from the shoulder region sliced into a rib size (or actually a little larger) strip. And they were cheap! $1.00/lb, I got them at our Super Kmart. Classy, huh? When I lived in a town with a Kroger, I loved the 10 for $10 deals. With no Kroger store in sight, I've resorted to the local Kmart to get my 10 for $10 on! Believe it or not, I look forward to this occasional bargain shopping trip. My girlfriend, Staycie, alerts me of the 10 for $10 sale when she gets the ad. We hover over the flyer making our lists together. Then we enlist our husbands or parents to watch the kiddos and we carpool. We make it a girl's day (or night) out. It's a great opportunity to catch up. Sometimes we grab a bite to eat before we shop. And then we "cruise" Kmart. I know, I know... we're SO cool. I have to say the Kmart where I live is much nicer than the one in my hometown. I was relaying my Kmart bargains over the phone to my youngest sister the other day and she was like, "Really? Kmart? When I have to go into Kmart here I actually feel a little dirty after the experience." She's right. I've been inside of my hometown Kmart. It's nothing to brag about. But the Super Kmart in my area here has the best 10 for $10 sales, so any disillusionment that I had with Kmart in my formative years is blinded by the glow of such great bargains!

Okay, enough on Kmart and back to the ribs. Here are my rubbed-down ribs. I wrapped these up and put them back into the refrigerator overnight.



It's been a few years since I prepared ribs for the grill. Of course, I wanted them to fall-off-the-bone (who doesn't?), so I did some research. In the past, to achieve tenderness, I boiled the ribs before grilling or I slow-cooked them in the Crock Pot. This time I wanted to try braising them in the oven and then grilling. I wrapped the ribs into 2 foil packets and placed them on a baking sheet. They baked in a 250 degree oven for 3 to 3-1/2 hours. Although a couple of recipes recommended using a braising liquid, I didn't. The juices that were created by the ribs as they cooked was sufficient for braising. I have to say, mission accomplished! There weren't many bones in the country style ribs for the meat to fall off of...but meat was very tender.



While the ribs braised, I made my barbecue sauce. I love this tangy barbecue sauce with a hint of orange. I have no idea where I got this recipe, I copied it into "my favorite recipes" notebook years ago. Here are the ingredients: olive oil, ketchup, chili sauce, brown sugar, orange juice, cider vinegar, and garlic. I added a little orange peel, also, but I forgot to put it in the picture. For me, the sauce needs a little more heat, so next time I'll also add some red pepper flakes.



I saute the garlic in the olive oil and then stir in the other ingredients and bring it all to a boil. Then turn the heat down to a simmer and cover. Stir frequently for the next 20 minutes or so.



Brush both sides of the ribs with barbecue sauce and then put em' back into the fridge for one more night. Reserve the remaining sauce to baste the ribs while grilling and to serve alongside the ribs.



Grill the ribs for 15-20 minutes, basting with sauce and turning occasionally to prevent burning. Now grab your rib bib and wet wipes and dig in!



Country Style Barbecued Ribs


5-6 lbs. Country style, Western style, or pork shoulder ribs (whatever you wanna call em')

Rub:

1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons Kosher salt
1 tablespoon pepper
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Combine ingredients and rub into the rib meat. Cover and refrigerate over night.


Sauce:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3/4 cup each of ketchup and chili sauce
1/4 cup each of brown sugar, orange juice, and cider vinegar
1-2 teaspoons fresh grated orange peel
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Heat oil in a skillet. Saute garlic for a couple of minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients. Heat to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring frequently.

Cooking instructions:

The day before or the morning of the day that you plan to serve the ribs, wrap them in foil, making two packets of ribs. Place on a baking sheet. Braise in a 250 degree oven for 3 hours. Remove from oven, let cool slightly. Brush with sauce, wrap in foil again and refrigerate until grilling.

To grill:

Grill the ribs for 15-20 minutes, basting with sauce and turning occasionally to prevent burning.

For a printable copy of this recipe, click here!

Aaron McCargo Jr's Classic Potato Salad

After working in a deli, scooping potato and pasta salad out of plastic tubs during my college years, I really like the idea of making my very own potato salad with fresh ingredients. Hey, those deli salads are okay...but this is so much better! I actually made a few salads to serve over the weekend and this potato salad turned out to be my favorite. We grilled out both Friday and Saturday night, so on the second night, I just pulled out the leftover salads and served them with a different main dish and dessert (Banana Pound Cake and ice cream the first night, Peachy Chiffon...coming soon...the second night).

I found this recipe from Aaron McCargo Jr. in a recent issue of Food Network magazine. I seem to remember that he was dueling with Paula Deen for best potato salad. Hers was more vinegar-based. I have made the "German" variety of potato salad before. This time I was shooting for the creamy, traditional version, so Aaron's potato salad caught my interest. Ha! I say his name like I know him. Aaron. In reality, when I stumbled across this recipe I'd never even heard of him. Confession #1: I don't watch that much Food Network or other cooking programming for that matter. If I'm watching television it's one of the t.v. dramas that I'm already hooked on, the news, or a brain sucking reality show like The Bachelor. Reality t.v. is a sad little guilty pleasure for me. Think what you want, but that's the point...I don't have to think much when I watch it AND I can judge those people and laugh at them. Horrible, I know. It's how my little mean streak manifests itself. Otherwise, I'm a very sweet person (most of the time). Confession #2 (and a tip for my fellow penny pinchers): I don't actually subscribe to Food Network magazine. I pick up cookbooks and the current issues of my favorite food magazines at my local library. I check out the cookbooks and then I let my kids play in the kiddie section while I peruse Food Network Magazine, Taste of Home, Cooking Light, and others. I keep my notebook handy and when I see a recipe I like, I write it down and then look it up online when I get home and print it out. That is just how I obtained this delicious potato salad recipe.

Here's what you need for the dressing: sweet relish, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, mayonnaise (Hellmann's is my fave), and salt and pepper.



Stir together the dressing ingredients with 1/2 cup each of diced onion and celery.



Add in 1-1/4 pound of cooked Yukon Gold potatoes cut into 1-inch cubes, 3 chopped hard boiled eggs, and green onions.



Stir it up and chill until serving. Pretty darn easy. I don't know why I don't make my own potato salad more often. So worth it!




Classic Potato Salad

Recipe courtesy Aaron McCargo, Jr. for Food Network Magazine
Prep Time: 10 min Cook Time: 27 min Level: Easy Serves: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

3 large Yukon gold potatoes (about 1 1/4 pounds), peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
3 large eggs
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced celery
2 tablespoons sweet relish
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon hot sauce
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup mayonnaise
2 scallions, thinly sliced

Directions
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the potatoes and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes and spread out on a sheet pan to cool. Meanwhile, bring a separate pot of water to a boil. Carefully add the eggs; cook for 12 minutes, then remove to a bowl of ice water to cool completely. Peel the eggs under cold running water, then roughly chop.

In a large bowl, combine the onion, celery, relish, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon pepper and the mayonnaise. Fold in the potatoes, eggs and scallions. Adjust the seasoning to taste.

For a printable copy of this recipe, just click here!

Banana Pound Cake

I made this banana pound cake for my weekend guests. It was lovely paired up with some good, creamy vanilla ice cream sprinkled with a dusting of cinnamon.



This is one of those recipes that you've gotta love for the fact that it uses ingredients that you probably already have in your kitchen: sugar, butter, eggs, ripe bananas, vanilla, flour, baking soda, sour cream, and not pictured (because I got an idea after I had already made the batter): pecans and brown sugar.



In a large bowl, cream butter and remaining sugar until light and fluffy. I love that "my assistant" (my oldest child) enjoys using the mixer these days so my hands are free to prepare the other ingredients and take pictures.



Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the mashed bananas and vanilla.



Add the dry ingredients...



alternately with the sour cream, beating until just combined.



Grease a 10-in. fluted tube pan. Sprinkle with 3 teaspoons sugar.



Pour half of the batter into the pan and then sprinkle with brown sugar and chopped pecans.



Top with the remaining batter. Pop it into a 325 degree oven for 75-85 minutes.



Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to
cool completely.



Glaze and serve. I have to admit that I was not over-the-moon for this cake. It was good, but maybe I was just craving chocolate? Maybe chocolate chips and a chocolate glaze next time? However my guests and family loved it. They ate it right up and gave rave reviews.



Banana Pound Cake adapted from Taste of Home

3 teaspoons plus 3 cups sugar, divided
1 cup butter, softened
6 eggs
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 medium)
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream

Filling:

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

Glaze:

2 tablespoons butter
1-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk

Grease a 10-in. fluted tube pan. Sprinkle with 3 teaspoons sugar; set aside. In
a large bowl, cream butter and remaining sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs,
one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in bananas and vanilla. Combine flour and baking soda; add to the creamed mixture alternately with sour
cream, beating just until combined. Pour into prepared pan (pan will be full).
Bake at 325° for 75-85 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely. In a skillet or sauce pan, brown the butter. Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk. Whisk until smooth; drizzle over cake. Store in the refrigerator. May be frozen for up to 1 month.

Yield: 12-15 servings.

* I made and froze this a week before serving, then thawed it the day before my guests arrived and glazed.

Meal Plan and Grocery List 8/10-8/17

We had a wonderful time with our weekend company, and now I'm finally getting to the meal plan. I won't be posting about my daily cooking this week for two reasons, 1)because we're getting ready to take an end of summer vacation so I'm not buying many groceries or cooking a lot of food because I don't want leftovers decomposing in my fridge while I'm away and 2)because I have 6 recipes that I've made and photographed that I have not yet written about here. So, I'm using this week to catch up and post about Peach Cake, Banana Pound Cake, Ribs, Potato Salad, Peachy Chiffon, and Bananas Foster Stuffed French Toast. I decided to go ahead and make an abbreviated meal plan for my dear readers that follow the plan...I'd hate to leave you hanging. Below are the links to 5 meals that I've featured on Krista's Kitchen and the grocery list too. I couldn't help but notice as I looked over some of my old posts how much my photography and blogging skills have improved. 7 months at this and I'm finally getting the hang of it!

Monday August 10th

Cheesy Beef and Bean Burritos

Tuesday August 11th

Vegetable Soup and Good Ol' Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Wednesday August 12th

Beef Chow Mein

Thursday August 13th

Grilled Chicken with Black Bean Salsa

Friday August 14th

Tostada Pizza



Grocery List

Produce

3 onions
green pepper
jalapeno pepper
carrot
garlic
green cabbage
green beans
zucchini
celery
mushrooms
red onion
plum tomato
tomato
lettuce
green onions

Meat

8 cups shredded beef
2 lb. lean ground beef
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Dairy

butter
8 oz. cream cheese
24 flour tortillas
7 cups shredded Monterrey Jack and Cheddar cheese
refrigerated pizza dough

Canned Goods

24 oz. beef broth
10 oz. diced tomatoes with green chilies
Hormel chili
24 oz. chicken or vegetable broth
tomato paste
sliced water chestnuts
soy sauce
15 oz. black beans
8 oz. unsweetened crushed pineapple
lime juice
hot pepper sauce
pinto beans
taco sauce
diced green chilies

Dry Goods

flour
cumin
chili powder
basil
oregano
salt
beef bouillon granules
garlic powder
cornstarch
rice
brown sugar
taco seasoning
cornmeal