warm peach butter sauce & fresh peach pancake topping

warm peach butter sauce
an original recipe by rachelle

1 pint or large can of peaches
1/4 cup sugar
3 Tablespoons butter
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

melt butter in a small saucepan. blend peaches in blender and add into butter. add sugar and salt. stir and bring to a boil. simmer until sauce thickens. stir in vanilla. serve warm with whipped cream over german peach pancakes.

fresh peach pancake topping

1 pint peaches, with syrup
1/4 cup sugar
1 dash salt

combine peaches, sugar and a dash salt in the blender. blend until smooth and serve over food storage whole wheat pancakes.

cinnamon sugar breadsticks with vanilla cream frosting dip

these don’t last but a few minutes hot from the oven.   they are amazing. just you wait!

cinnamon sugar breadsticks
an original recipe by rachelle

4 1/2 teaspoons yeast
1/2 cup sugar, divided
2 cups warm water, divided
3 tablespoons oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
4 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup butter, softened
cinnamon sugar: 3 Tablespoons sugar mixed with 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

in a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in 1 cup warm water. add the oil, egg, salt, 2 cups flour, and remaining sugar and water. beat until smooth. stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. knead in machine until smooth and elastic, about 6 minutes. place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top of dough. cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 40 minutes.
punch the dough down. turn onto a floured surface; roll into a rectangle, about 15 x 8. cut rectangle using a pizza cutter into 12 strips. roll each strip between your palms like a snake. hang the snake over your forefinger and twist the dough together. place 2 inches apart on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 25 minutes. (they are big!) preheat oven after 10 mins waiting. bake at 400 degrees F for 10 minutes or until golden brown. melt butter and brush it all on the hot breadsticks. hear the yummy sizzle of butter on the hot pan. dust cinnamon sugar over hot buttered breadsticks. dip in the vanilla cream frosting dip. oh.

vanilla cream frosting dip
an original recipe by rachelle

4 ounces cream cheese (a half package.)
1 cup powdered sugar, plus a couple Tbsp, to taste
2 Tablespoons cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 dash salt

soften cream cheese. mix all together until fluffy and smooth. this shouldn't be as set as a normal frosting, a thinner consistency makes the dipping that much better. oh, the dipping. oh.

perfect sunday roast

this roast is so easy, you will kick yourself if you haven't tried it already. it makes its own gravy! it requires just two things: a will and a crock pot. i gave this recipe and my mom's advice about the chuck (see below) to my best friend when she got married and didn't know how to boil water. she is now famous for her roast, what can i say? let me walk you through how to make a perfect sunday roast. make someone happy this sunday.

perfect sunday roast

recipe from the fix-it-and-forget-it cookbook

3-4 pound CHUCK beef roast, remember the CHUCK. very important.

1/2 envelope dry onion soup mix

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can water

salt and pepper

onion, potatoes, carrots

dump the onion soup mix, cream of mushroom and water in the crock pot. use a whisk cause that soup really doesn't like to break down. take your aggression out. whisk it good. carefully plop your roast in the middle of the soupy mixture. generously salt and pepper the roast. put the lid on your crock pot. cook it at least 10 hours on low. after about 8 hours, i flip the roast over and add in a quartered onion, some big chunks of carrot, and some quartered potatoes. you can use baby carrots too. i omit this step if i'm making mashed potatoes later. strain the gravy as best you can and serve as is or thicken it up. if it is too salty for you, try a low salt mushroom soup or less onion mix next time.

*you can even put the roast in frozen! cook it 12 hours on low. (not ideal for tenderness.)

sorry but i won't allow a roast cooked on high. if you forget in the morning, make something else!

i buy a pack of roasts at costco. i cut the two huge roasts in half and ziplock and freeze all four little gems for later. (or cube one for stew.) i'm always ready for a roast.

the chuck roast always cooks up just perfectly. as a newlywed, i forgot that this is what my mother had told me, and i tried some other cut which turned out tough. i called her and she told me to remember the chuck. the chuck. the chuck, it's always good.

mint chocolate chip ice cream

the perfect refreshing summer dessert!

mint chocolate chip ice cream

3 cups heavy cream

1 cup milk

1 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 teaspoons peppermint extract

5 drops green food coloring

1 cup mini chocolate chips

stir together cream, milk, sugar, salt, vanilla and peppermint extract in a bowl. stir until sugar is dissolved. add food coloring. pour into ice cream freezer and process. add in chocolate chips after about 13 minutes. after ice cream processes and is semi-set (about 20-25 minutes,) put in a tupperware in freezer. freeze at least a couple of hours.

*i didn't have any mini chips. i put regular chocolate chips in my food processor and pulsed a few times for small chips. 1 cup of half and half can substitute for a cup of cream. mix up the milk cream combos, but if you decrease the cream, at least try to use whole milk. careful that your mix uses enough cream/butterfat to avoid icy ice cream.

lazy whole wheat pizza dough

pizza. i loooove it. but every time i think of making pizza for dinner, it is the last minute. this is the recipe i turn to for a quick, healthy crust. i call it lazy because it doesn't need to rise and it mixes up easily in a machine. a bosch or strong mixer is requisite here, sorry folks, unless you're kneading by hand, which would make this very hard work and definitely not lazy. mix, top and bake. no rising. no waiting. this is my favorite easy wheat pizza dough. this recipe makes enough for three large pizzas, or two pizzas and a batch of breadsticks. you can double this recipe, but i would only trust a bosch with that much dough.

lazy whole wheat pizza dough
recipe from the bosch store

3 cups warm water
2 Tablespoons sugar or honey
7-8 cups whole wheat flour
1 Tablespoon yeast
1 Tablespoon salt

combine water, sugar and 3 cups flour in mixing bowl. mix to a paste. add in yeast and salt. add flour, one cup at a time, until dough pulls away from the side of the bowl. knead 10 minutes. (if you have dough enhancer, knead 8 minutes, add 1 Tablespoon enhancer, knead 2 minutes more.
preheat oven to 500 degrees.
oil or flour a big flat surface. divide dough into thirds. roll out 16-inch-ish rounds, top with sauce, toppings and cheese. bake at 500 degrees for 7 minutes.

*i have tried adding other seasonings to the dough but i always prefer it simply, like this, with a kicked up sauce. since i loooove pizza so much, i make it often. i have so many other pizza tips, i am going to make a dedicated post. look forward to more pizza!

coconut cookie oatmeal

before we get any further, let me asssure you that although this is a bowl of oatmeal and not a cookie, it tastes like one. this is not the oatmeal your mom made you eat.

coconut cookie oatmeal
recipe from allrecipes

3 1/2 cups milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups oats
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup raisins
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup coconut
1/3 cup walnuts

combine milk and salt in a saucepan. bring to a boil. add oats, sugar, raisins and cranberries. return to a boil and lower heat to medium. cook 5 minutes. stir in coconut and walnuts. serve in a bowl with a splash of milk.

*i like this with half milk, half vanilla soy milk. also delicious with 1/4 cup maple syrup instead of brown sugar.

sundance salad with candied pecans and vinaigrette

my inspiration for this salad came from the tree room at sundance and the salad i couldn't stop thinking about until i tasted it again. sundance is now a thousand miles away, but my version of their salad and vinaigrette takes me back there in one second. these recipes make enough for a salad for eight.

sundance salad with candied pecans and vinaigrette

an original recipe by rachelle

one recipe sundance vinaigrette

one recipe candied pecans or walnuts

8 cups mesclun mix or mixed salad greens

1 cup fresh raspberries, or apples, or dried cranberries (optional)

sundance vinaigrette

1/2 cup olive oil

2 Tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

1 Tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons honey

1 clove garlic

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

pulse garlic in mini food processor or blender. add oil, vinegar, honey, salt and pepper. pulse until well mixed. dress salad greens just before serving.

*my favorite way to serve this is over mixed greens with dried cranberries and candied pecans (and feta, if you have it. i never do.) the picture shows apples and candied walnuts, which is just what i had that day. you can use whatever. this is also delicious on just greens.

*i make raspberry vinaigrette by substituting raspberry vinegar for apple cider vinegar. throw in a few fresh raspberries too, if you have them. serve with mixed greens, fresh raspberries and candied pecans.

candied pecans

1/2 cup pecans
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

preheat oven to 350 degrees. spread nuts in a single layer over a baking sheet. roast for approximately 8 minutes, or until the nuts start to turn brown and the smell of roasting nuts fills the kitchen. or dry roast in a fry pan.
stir together sugar, cinnamon, salt, and milk in a small saucepan. cook over medium-high heat for 5-8 minutes, or until the mixture reaches the soft ball stage (236 deg.) remove from heat, and stir in vanilla. add nuts to sugar syrup, and stir to coat well. spoon nuts onto waxed paper, and immediately separate nuts with a fork. cool.

*yummy with walnuts too.

blender whole wheat pancakes

if you have whole wheat berries in your pantry for any reason, you must have this recipe! it uses the two bulk components of my food storage, wheat and powdered milk. the beauty of it is that the blender does the grinding for you, you do not need to grind the flour! we love these with homemade peach sauce. who knew food storage could be so delicious?

food storage pancakes
recipe from the set for life cookbook

1 1/4 cups warm water
1 cup whole wheat berries
1/4 cup powdered milk
1 egg
2 Tablespoons oil
1 Tablespoon sugar or honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon baking powder

In blender, mix water, wheat and dry milk on high for 5 minutes. Add egg, oil, honey and salt. Blend 20 seconds. Add baking powder. Pulse 3 times, just to mix. Mixture should foam up and get light. Cook immediately on hot griddle.

*try as jamcakes, my recipe to follow. i use aluminum-free baking powder (Rumford, buy at walmart.) it yields a much better flavor in everything. milk may substitute for water, omit dried milk. or keep it and wha-pow! your kids with calcium. if you have a bosch or vitamix blender, 3 minutes should be just right. i throw a couple Tbsp. flaxseed in the blender when i remember to.

*fabulous topped with fresh peach pancake topping.

coconut cream pie. easy.

 i have two standby recipes for coconut cream pie. one involves the stovetop, constant stirring, and homemade custard. the other involves instant pudding and cool whip. guess what ties for the prize? this pie so easy and so full of coco-nut-i-love-you. try it and see.

coconut cream pie. easy.
1 baked pie shell
1 small (3 oz.) box instant pudding, coconut
1 small (3 oz.) box instant pudding, vanilla
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups coconut
1 (8 oz.) tub whipped topping

In a large bowl, combine pudding mix and milk until it thickens. Fold in one cup of coconut and half the tub of whipped topping into the pudding. Pour into the prepared pie crust. Spread remaining whipped topping on top of pie. Sprinkle with remaining coconut (broil for toasted topping.) Refrigerate and serve chilled.

*sometimes i add 1 teaspoon coconut flavoring. delicious with or without.

*also try banana cream pie. easy.: substitute banana pudding for coconut, and fresh banana pieces for coconut. top with sliced bananas. (and eat quickly, the banana version ain't pretty for more than a day!)