Spiced Peach Preserves

I'd like to introduce you to my new best friend.

I purchased it last fall on clearance. You can purchase your's at the Fresh Preserving Store. This little device is amazing if you detest standing around over a hot pot stirring for 30-45 minutes straight. 

It is peach season in my kitchen. So I'm a month behind the rest of the south but there is a logical explanation for that. My peaches came from my dad's peach trees in Ohio and I'm cheap. His peaches are free to me. Plus, homegrown just tastes better.

Today's creation is Spiced Peach Jam. Spiced just enough to add to the ripe, juicy flavor of the tree ripened peaches.

I used my wonderful jam maker. However I have included directions for the old-fashioned method for those are not opposed to the hand stirring.

Three Cheese Tortellini with Fresh Tomato Sauce

Summer is slowly drawing to a close. The sun is beginning to set just a bit earlier. The days are becoming shorter. It is time to make the most of these last few glorious days of bright sunshine and beautiful weather.

It is also time to make the best of the last few garden goodies. I spent last weekend raiding my parents' garden to get all the beautiful, juicy red tomatoes I could find. The result was over 10 gallons on tomato puree waiting patiently in the freezer for me to process into ketchup, spaghetti sauce, and chili sauce.

The few less than perfectly red tomatoes have been waiting patiently on my counter, getting redder each day, slowly reaching perfection.

Today I needed some comfort food. The good Italian kind that blends all the traditional Italian herbs, garlic, and tomatoes. And of course cheese. Italian food is never complete without some aged parmesan or some mozzarella.

Cinnamon-Raisin Noodle Pudding

Whenever I go to visit my parents, my mother always has a stack magazines that she's been saving for me to look at. She reads the articles, I only care about the recipes. Some of them sound horrible and some of the pictures look even more disgusting.

I often think that some magazines are out of ideas for good. One recipe combined spaghetti squash, spaghetti noodles, marinara, green olives, and raisins. Green olives and raisins aren't a flavor combination that I care to experiment with. The picture was even less appetizing.

I did find a few recipes I'm looking forward to trying out. My breakfast this morning was one of those recipes. Cinnamon-Raisin Noodle Pudding. My mom turned her nose up at the name of the recipe. It is not the normal combination of ingredients but definitely worth a try!

This could easily be breakfast or dessert. I chose to make it for breakfast. It was delicious.

Spicy Black Bean and Corn Enchiladas

I love enchiladas on a week night. They are quick to throw together and bake up quickly in the oven.

Last weekend I stumbled upon a recipe for black bean and sour cream enchiladas from Keep It Simple Foods. I'd also seen a picture on Pinterest for a black bean and corn salsa. It looked delicious as well. So I combined the two ideas for my mid-week dinner. It turned out extraordinarily well.

I found a recipe for enchilada sauce and then set about throwing together this perfect week night dinner.

Enchilada Sauce

Enchiladas are one of my favorite Mexican dishes. I love how easy they are to make on a busy night.

I am guilty of buying the box kits because I prefer the "bag of sauce" over buying the metallic-tasting canned sauce. I never put a lot of thought into making my own enchilada sauce. I always figured it would be too time consuming, especially for my busy weeknights.

Boy was I wrong!

Raspberry Oven Pancake with Lemon Sugar

I am a morning person. I get up at 6am on my days off. People tell me this is not normal. Oh well. I love starting the day off with a good breakfast, especially on days that I have to work.

I need the energy and happy feelings that a home-cooked breakfast bring into my world.

I love sitting down to eat breakfast with a hot cup of tea and a book and forgetting about the fact that I have to leave the comfort of my kitchen in the near future. Unfortunately I'm good at forgetting. I always lose track of time and end up running 5 minutes late. Oh well.

Crepes with Cranberry-Apple Compote

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. My whole day feels wrong if I can't start the day with a good homemade breakfast.

This morning I woke up an hour and a half early. I blame this stupid time change. But at least it gave me time to make a good breakfast.