Blueberry Bacon Peach Cobbler. Gluten free, Dairy free

I created a throw together peach cobbler while on family vakay in Hilton Head Island, SC. Because who doesn't eat peaches in the south in August?!

It was really good, so I decided to try again about a month later, but wanted to up the ante with blueberries and bacon- when has adding bacon ever been a detriment to a food item?! It turned out amazing.
Since I don't ever measure anything when cooking, here's the best guesses I have for instructions to re-create it yourself! ENJOY

ps butter doesn't categorize as "dairy". Please use organic, hormone free, UNsalted butter!

Insides:
big bowl. peel and chop 8-9 ripe peaches into bite size. Add as many blueberries as you want - well, within reason. Squeeze in 3/4 of a juicy large lemon. (ok to use whole lemon, but you might notice the citrus flavor a bit more) Stir in about 3/4 cup of raspberry jam (organic, sugar free, sugar full, homemade, smuckers, whatever you want). Few good liberal dashes of cinnamon powder. Stir well. Cover with ceran wrap and leave on counter. Let sit for at least 30 mins, can leave up to an hour or so. Stir occasionally. 

If adding bacon... Cook 4-5 long strips in frying pan until just starting to crisp - you don't want bacon bits crisp, but you don't want a mouthful of chewy fat either, or maybe YOU do! (Handy to do this while you're peeling peaches - endlessly peeling peaches) Cut cooked bacon into small pieces and stir into fruit bowl. Can drizzle in some bacon grease too if wanted! Yum!!
ps nitrite hormone free bacon is best. smoked flavor bacon will taste smoky in the cobbler and peppered bacon prob isn't a winner here. 

'Crust':
Pamelas white cake mix (gf/df). It really is the best.I cannot vouch for any other gf white cake mixes. 

combine the cake powder with: liberal dashes of cinnamon powder, 3 eggs, and 1/2 cup butter instead of oil. Start mixing with fork and slowly add tiny amounts of water as needed. You want batter to be thick and sticky (not runny like cake batter). I don't think I even used 1/4 cup water.

Set aside approx 1/3 of batter for later, in a small bowl.

9 X 13 glass pan.
Melt 1/2 stick of butter and coat the bottom of pan. Put in the sticky glob of cake batter and grease the tips of your fingers, then tap/mold/spread the batter to cover the bottom as best as you can, try to leave it as thick as possible. It's ok if it doesn't reach into the corners - it will expand as it bakes.

Bake at 350' for 11 mins.
if you bake it for 10 or 12 mins, the whole thing is ruined. kidding

Prepare topping :
The batter you set aside needs to be mixed with granola of choice. I like Bear Naked and Kind brands, just make sure you pick a gluten free one if that's your enemy, whatever 'flavor' you want to enhance your cobbler.
Use liberal amounts of granola to make as crumbly a mixture as you can. (but it won't get literal crumbly).

Remove pan from oven. (after the 11 mins) Batter should withstand a gentle tap from your finger tip.
Stir your fruit bowl one last time. Gently pour the bowl of fruit and all the juice that magically appeared onto the cake, gently so that you don't rip through the thin cooked layer. 

Grease finger tips again and pull apart very small chunks of topping (1/2in x 1/2in), and place on top of the fruit, evenly covering.
Use leftover granola to lightly sprinkle in the gaps of your topping chunks so entire fruit surface is covered.

Continue baking at 350' until top is getting golden brown and the edges are good-n-bubbly.

Serve with ice cream and/or whipped topping of choice.
(I suggest cashew milk - salted caramel chocolate chunk or dark chocolate chunk, because I hate coconut taste and the rice milk flavors all have a weird aftertaste and all soy products are of the devil.)

It will come out soft and gooey (and messy) when hot so use a big wide spatula, much firmer when cold straight outta the fridge the morning after for bfast. 

peppermint stick chocolate cake

once upon a time, about 2 weeks ago, i stumbled upon this blog post and new immediately that i needed to consume this peppermint stick cake. i decided to wait until i was in CO for xmas to make it. i pretty much followed the instructions on the original blog post.

my mom completely smashed to smithereens some mini candy canes while i made the cake. i used devils food chocolate cake mix, betty crocker style, cuz that was what was in the cupboard. i seriously contemplated using red velvet but decided to save that for another day. 

the cooling cake

as usual, i modified it a bit- following the cake recipe on the box exactly, i substituted the oil for applesauce, cuz that was what was in the cupboard, baby food plums would have been preferred. it was chunky applesauce, grimace, but turned out to not matter at all. i baked it in a 9x13 pan, cuz that was what was in the cupboard. anyone sensing a theme here?



while the cake was cooling (for hours) i whipped up the pint of whipping cream. i added a lid full of peppermint extract. i didnt do all that 'keep the bowl cold' bs while whipping. and i forgot how long and annoying it is to whip a pint of whipping cream. just like the directions on the original blog post said, once it started to get a lil firm i added the candy cane smithereens, they dissolved pretty quick and mixed in just fine. i used all the candy canes we had, it was about 1/2 cup but not quite.

the bottom layer

apparently 'hours' were not long enough for the cake to cool cuz it was still warm and sticky when i tried to cut it into layers. but appearance was not my desire, consumption was, so i didnt care about what it would look like. i cut it in half down the middle of the cake pan, and then cut those halves in half thru the middle to create 2 thinner 'layers'. really it ended up being more like chunks of cake due to the not cool enoughness. so now i had 4 layers to work with, i put the worst looking one on the bottom, slathered on the cream, then another, more cream and then the third layer and most attractive layer and then doused the entire thing in all the cream that was left. yes that means the 4th layer aka cake chunks, i had wasnt used.

getting creamed up

slathering all the surfaces

the cake was divine. the cream was not overly-sweet nor heavy nor thick nor rich like frosting ewww i hate frosting it was fresh, minty, light and perfectly complimented the warm extra moist thank you applesauce chocolate cake. i did not add any sugar to the cream, the candycanes were more than enough in the sweet dept.

i ate a bunch right then and put the rest in the fridge. i continued to eat it every day for breakfast and midnight snack. the third day was actually the best. the cake was ridiculously moist and all that wonderful mintyness had completely been absorbed by the cake. yummmmmeeeeee

i repeat, presentation was not of concern! 

definitely making this easy peasy delish cake again. except next time ill do a gluten free one, cuz thats whats in MY cupboard! ;-)

thank you cybele at candy blog for this fabfab idea!!

ooey gooey chocolatey chewy brownie mix- healthy

healthy brownies. really?! yes. because i said so. 

gluten egg wheat dairy nut bean free = healthy!! ;-)

these brownies are made by the cravings place. i get them at the local grocery store, but i live in one of the healthiest eatings places in the universe, portland OR, consult the website to see if you too can obtain this yummyness at your locale.

these are by far my fav brownies in the healthy-for-you-realm, and ive tried a lot of brands. and they are not lying when they say ooey gooey chewy- the batter is so thick you cant really pour it into the pan, at all, you have to scoop and scrape, and the lick the spoon.

 i follow the recipe on the back of the bag, except that i ALWAYS add peppermint extract. however much you desire, i use a lid full, its a tiny lid on a tiny lil extract bottle. stir it in taste it and add more if you want. i always bake in the 9x9 pan.

if i have it on hand, i use applesauce or plums - babyfood style, instead of the oil. i still use some of the oil, just not all, cuz your brain needs the fat from the oil to function properly. serious. i always use olive oil,  cuz its the best for you- dr school hasnt made me biased at all, if you arent used to baking with olive oil it might take some getting used to, it def adds a different flavor. not bad, just different.
**by all means do NOT use vegetable oil, i repeat: DO. NOT. USE. VEGETABLE. OIL.  (ever) it is very very unhealthy for you. very.

the batter all 'smoothed' out

anywhoo back to our brownies. i like to serve them warm and ooey gooey with fresh fruit poured all over, esp raspberry compote, or even better served with a side of  dairy free hemp ice cream, i heart the vanilla and mint chip and choco fudge flavors, muchas. tastes better than real ice cream, imo.

the back of the bag has lots of ideas for modifications.





enjoy your brownies, im going to go enjoy mine now! happy healthy baking!

look at all that ooey gooey yummyness calling your name. yup, thats a melted chocolate chunk staring at you. 

ps im pretty much anti baking from scratch, why bother when theres a bag like this sitting in my cupboard?!

the ingredients of the brownie mix

Sinfully Rich Fudgy Brownies

This is a family favorite of ours. Not sure where we got it. My family has been making it for about 20+ years, so probably from a magazine or cookbook somewhere.

Sinfully Rich Fudgy Brownies

4 oz. unsweetened chocolate (we use the baker's brand that comes in the 8 oz. blocks)
1 c. butter
4 eggs
2 c. sugar
1 tblsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1 c. flour
Chocolate Marshmallow Frosting (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 13x9 pan. In a large saucepan combine chocolate and butter. Heat over low heat until melted and smooth, stirring often. Remove from heat. Beat in eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt until thoroughly blended. Stir in flour, blending well. Spread evenly in greased baking pan. Bake 25 to 30 minutes. Brownies should be moist. Do not over bake. Cool in pan. While Brownies are cooling, make the frosting.

Chocolate Marshmallow Frosting

4 oz. Unsweetened Chocolate (this is the remainder of the bar)
2 eggs
1 (1lb.) pkg Powedered sugar (approx. 3 3/4 cups)
4 cups mini marshmallows
1 c. butter
1 tblsp vanilla

In a medium saucepan combine butter and chocolate. Heat over low until melted and smooth, again stirring often. Remove from heat. Add eggs, vanilla and powedered sugar, beating until smooth. Stir in Marshmallows.

Once the Marshmallow mixture is complete and the brownies are cooled top the brownies with frosting. Refrigerate for several hours. Cut chilled brownies into bars. Store in refrigerator. Makes 40 small brownies.

*Tip: If you cut the chocolate into small peices it helps with the melting process. Also, my butter was still hard so I cut that into small pats as well. By cutting both the chocolate and the butter it helps to control the melting process so that the chocolate doesn't burn.

Tootsie Rolls!

Ingredients:
5 T. margarine, melted
4 T. cocoa
1/2 c. Karo syrup
1 t. vanilla
3/4 c. powdered milk
3 c. powdered sugar

Directions:
Wash hands very thoroughly. Mix all ingredients together. It will become a stiff dough that you'll need to mix and mash and knead with your hands. Pull off small pinches of it and roll into tiny logs. Wrap them individually in waxed paper or saran wrap. They are soft and chewy and fun!

Number Of Servings:Enough to share with friends!

Preparation Time:About a half hour

Eclair Cake

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Cubes of margarine or butter
1 1/2 Cups of Water
1 1/2 Cups of flour
6 Eggs
8 oz of Cream Cheese
3 Tbsp Milk
2 Small pkgs instant vanilla pudding
3 Cups Milk
12 oz Cool Whip
Hersheys Chocolate Syrup

Directions: In a large pan bring water and margarine to boiling. Take off of heat and gradually add flour while stirrings. Add eggs one at a time beating with a mixer after each egg. Spread onto a thin pan. Cook for about 15 min on 350. Let that cool. Then mix the cream cheese, milk, pudding and let that set up. Spread on top of cake mixture. Then spread on the cool Whip, Drizzle with chocolate syrup.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 C. Butter flavored shortening
1 C. Brown Sugar
1 C. White Sugar
2 Eggs
2 Tbsp. Water
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla
2 Cups Flour (can substitute all or part for wheat)
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Soda
3 C. of Oatmeal
1 Pkg. Chocolate Chips

Directions: Cream shortening and sugars. Add eggs, water and vanilla. Mix until creamy. Add dry ingredients, then oatmeal. Stir in chocolate chips. Bake at 375 degrees for 12 minutes.

from Lisa Ashton's Kitchen

If you take a recipe--Leave one too

I have had several people ask for some recipes lately and so I decided to create this blog. It will be an open author blog. This way we can all leave recipes for eachother. At the end of 6 months if we've gotten enough I will make a book from all these recipes. There will be tags/labels for each different cattegory:

Main Dish
-chicken
-pork
-beef
-vegetarian
-seafood

Side Dish

Dessert

Drinks

Miscellaneous

So please label them when you are posting so that it will be easier to navigate later on down the road. If you want to get on the author list just let me know!

Hope this works out as well as I hope :)

you can email me birthmothers4adoption@gmail.com with questions or if you want an invite!

BON APETIT!!