AROUND THE KITCHEN

Hello food friends, and welcome back to Lee's Cooking Page.

You might have wondered where we have been the past two months.

Well, June 9, I had a complete Knee Replacement. Since the Doctor wanted me to lose a few pounds before the surgery, I spent a month doing LOW CARB.

before and after

Needless to say, that put a hitch in my cooking endeavors.

But I am almost back to semi normal, and had this URGE to get back into the kitchen.

Penny and I got a huge box of peaches from the peach truck.

So I had to find a recipe to try. After spending most of Saturday checking out YOU TUBE recipes, here is what I ended up trying. It's a combination of 4 - 5 recipes I found.

PEACH COBBLER POUND CAKE

So let's grab an adult beverage, pet the poochie and get started.

FULL DISCLOSER: We had friends coming to dinner and one of our guests HATES Cinnamon.

So I left it out of my version.

I know, someone who does not LOVE Cinnamon, doesn't love his GOD, their COUNTRY or SEC FOOTBALL.

But I took the high road and left it out. (See what I do for friends???)

Here is what you will need !!!!

¾ Cup Milk

PEACHES (28 oz.)

You CAN use CANED Peaches. We had several jars of home made PEACHES, SO WE USED THEM.

3 Cups - Sifted Bread Flour

Yes, I still used the old fashioned SIFTER....

3 Sticks - Unsalted Butter (Room Temp)

You can use Salted Butter, BUT leave out the ½ tsp Salt down below)

6 Eggs – (Room Temp)

3 Cups – Sugar

Brown Sugar

Cinnamon

2 tsp – Baking Powder

½ tsp- Salt (Leave this out of you used Salted Butter)

2 TSP – Vanilla Extract

In a BOWL, place your Cake Flour, 3 Cups of Sugar, Salt (if needed), Baking Powder, and WHISK. Set aside

In your MIXING BOWL, place the Butter, Vanilla, Eggs and your Milk.

Mix on slow for 5-6 min. You can increase your speed as you mix.

I ended up using medium.

You can also use an electric hand mixer as well.

Looks like hell, doesn't it?? Don't PANIC !!!! Keep mixing

Add your flour mix, ONE CUP at a time, mixing each cup.

Keep Mixing !!!!

Take 15 slices of Peaches and chop fine.

Using a Spatula, FOLD the crushed peaches into the batter.

Add a “splash” of PEACH SCHNOPPS. (Penny's idea)

Set batter aside

Pre Heat your OVEN to 340 degrees

Spray the bottom and sides of the BUNT PAN with Baking Spray.

Or you can use Regular spray then sprinkle FLOUR on top of the sprayed areas.

Add your peaches to the bottom of the pan.

Add about 1/8 CUP of PEACH JUICE

Sprinkle CINNAMON and Brown Sugar on top of PEACHES

SPOON the BATTER into the Bunt Pan. Do NOT pour the batter into the pan. BE gentle.

Leave space at the top of the pan for EXPANSION.

Place the Pan on the mid level rack of your oven

Bake for 20 minutes, then rotate the pan.

Note: Baking times are approximate. Your time may vary based on your oven. Keep your eye on things and adjust accordingly

Add FOIL on top and BAKE for 20 more minutes

Bake for 20 more minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool.

When cool, place your serving dish on top of the Bunt Pan (UPSIDE DOWN)

Take the plate and the pan and FLIP OVER.

Tap the top all the way around, then remove the bunt pan.

There you go.

Now lets make the TOPPING.

Sprinkle some BROWN SUGAR and CINNEMON on top.

In a small bowl combine PEACH JUICE and some CONFECTIONARY SUGAR. (SIFTED)

Stir to get the right texture.

POUR over the top, letting the topping drizzle down the sides.

I then placed the cake in the fridge until dinner time.

So, how did it work out ????

FANTASTIC !!!

This cake was SO MOIST and TASTY !!! Pound cake can be a bit 'HEAVY' but the moistness takes this cake above any Pound Cake I have ever had.

IF I HAD TO DO IT OVER, WHAT WOULD I DO DIFFERENT ??

Maybe I would use cream in the drizzle topping so it stayed WHITE.

On second thought, this is PERFECT.

And our guests loved it. (I gave us 'normal' folks some Cinnamon-Sugar to sprinkle on their cake.)

This is a great GO TO desert if you are having friends over.

Give it a try. You can thank me later.

That's all the time we have for todays episode. I am still going through files and do have some ideas on what to do next.

SEE YOU NEXT TIME !!!!

Live Long & Prosper

Grover Cleveland says "Good Night."

Hello fellow foodies. Welcome to National "Men make DINNER DAY"..

I am not sure who came up with this one, but I can make an educated guess.

Anyway, today the boss is out with one of her friends, so I am on my own for dinner.

Usually when she is out, I make some sort of casserole. They are quick and easy.

As many of you know, I am a HUGE fan of Cooks Country.

It's my favorite magazine, and you should be getting it as well.

SUBSCRIBE HERE !!!!!

You just subscribed ?" RIGHT ??

OK, Now we can move on.

I got my current issue a awhile back and have been waiting for a chance to try this one out.

It's a take off on the old Hamburger Helper that many kids have grown up on. And in many cases all that some people can make. (Insert ex-wife joke here)

So let's give Cook's Country's version a try.

It's CHEESEBURGER MAC & CHEESE....

Here are the ingredients

1 ½ TBL Water

1 ½ CUPS Water

1 tsp Salt (divided ½ & ½)

1 tsp Pepper

½ tsp Baking Soda

1 lb. Ground Beef (I used Chuck)

1 TBL Veg Oil (EVOO)

2 Cups of Elbow Macaroni

1 Cup MILK

1 Can MUSHROOMS (My addition)

2 Cups GRATED American Cheese (divided 1 Cup / 1 Cup)

2 Cups GRATED Sharp Cheddar Cheese (divided 1 Cup / 1 Cup)

½ Cup Finely Chopped Onion. (Plus some extra for serving)

¼ Cup Finely Chopped DILL Pickles (Plus some extra for serving)

2 TBL Catsup

2 TBL Yellow Mustard

1 TBL Worcestershire Sauce

Stir 1 ½ TBL water, ½ tsp salt, pepper and Baking Soda in a large bowl.

Stir until dissolved. Add Beef and mix until combined.

Let sit for15 minutes.

Heat Oil in oven safe pan until just smoking. Add beef and cook, breaking up any large pieces with a wooden spoon. Cook until well browned. (6 to 8 min)