Peach Pie Bars

Peach pie is a big treat around here and it's peach season so I picked up a huge box full of peaches to freeze for winter to put in my shake or use for recipes. 

We are leaving for camping tonight and though I have been busy slicing and freezing peaches for the last few days I still have a half box to use up before we go! 

I made a peach crumble the other day which only had a small amount of coconut palm sugar in the crumble so I've felt pretty ok about enjoying that as a nice evening snack. But I'm still wanting that peach pie! 

I just don't have the time to make one before we go with packing for camping. So I decided to try a peach pie bar instead.

It totally satisfied that peach pie craving because the base crust tastes like pie crust.  BUT it's pretty quick to throw together and much less work than an actual pie!

Ingredients

Crust:

• 1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
• ½ cup Cold Butter
• ½ teaspoon Sea Salt
• 1 Tablespoon Cold Water

Filling:

• 4-6 cups FRESH PEACHES, peeled, pitted and sliced
• 1/3 cup Honey
• 3 Tablespoons CORNSTARCH
• 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Streusel Topping:

• ¾ cup Whole Wheat Flour
• ¼ cup Coconut Palm Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon or Cardamon 
• ¼ teaspoon Sea Salt
• 1/4 cup melted Butter

• Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a 8x8 baking pan.
  2. In a food processor, pulse together crust ingredients to form a dough. Press into the bottom of prepared pan.
  3. In a medium bowl, stir together peach slices, honey, cornstarch, lemon juice and vanilla. Pour peaches on top of crust.
  4. In a small bowl, combine streusel ingredients. Sprinkle on top of peaches.
  5. Bake for 50-55 minutes until the filling is bubbling and the streusel is golden. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Homemade Chicken and Vegetable stock

Beautiful golden homemade chicken stock.

Almost every time we roast a chicken I pull out our crock pot after the meal, plunk the carcass into the pot and fill it with water. 

I usually throw in some spices, garlic and onion or even some left over veggies. But this time it was simply the chicken and a large bay leaf. 

I don't recommend the bay leaf pieces because you'll never fish them all out of you soup or sock. Instead use a whole bay leaf and whatever other spices you like. 

Let it simmer on high overnight and into the next day.

So easy to do! 

But how do you store all that stock once it's made? 

I personally like to freeze my stock into mason jars. Above is a photo of my freezer door shelf. I'm a little low right now as stock making in the summer isn't too appealing but today is a rainy day (through humid). 

I simply ladle the stock into jars, let cool, seal with lids and label. Then freeze. Be sure to leave a little room at the top for expansion. 

I can take one out of the freezer ahead of time if I am prepared and know I need if or it's easy to defrost in a sink full of hot water. 

Another option is to freeze the stock into ice cube trays so you can just pop out a few stock cubes as you need them. Just make sure you carefully mark them. My father in law once almost used some turkey stock cubes in his drink when he was over watching the kids!! 

Vegetable Stock

I also make vegetable stock which is practically free to make.  All you have to do is fill your crock pot full of water and while your cooking dinner throw your vegetable scraps into the pot. You can do this over the course of a few days. 

How do you know when it's ready? 

I let it simmer over night but after that, when your ready it's ready, no rush the more scraps that go in there the better! 

This is great if your on a budget. Vegetable and chicken stock purchased in the store is easily $3 for about 2 cups but you can make your own using items that you would throw out anyways! 

Stay tuned for homemade beef stock! I'm going to attempt making beef stock from the bones we got from the butcher when we purchased a half grassfed cow! 

Picnic Planning Guide

I so enjoy picnic's and this time of year is picnic time so before summer is over I thought I would do a post dedicated to picnic food and picnic planning!

A picnic is a moveable feast, and being able to leave the table, television and fast food drive-through in your rearview mirror is one thing that makes an al fresco meal so special. If you're planning a walk to the park, afternoon on the beach or scenic drive, take along a few classic picnic foods or a few new spins on the classic picnic foods that will satisfy your palate while celebrating the luxury of eating in the open air.

Top 10 Classic Picnic Foods:

1. Potato Salad
2. Fried Chicken - Or you could pick up a free range Roasted Chicken from the market!
3. Watermelon OR if you are tight on space you could take some dehydrated Watermelon!
4. Pasta Salad
5. Pinwheel Sandwiches
6. Bread, Cheese and sliced meats - A French baguette, Italian bread or a Kaiser roll makes a delicious foundation for your favourite sliced meat and aged cheese. 
7. Deviled eggs
8. Ready to Grill items - A hot picnic entree like classic grilled burgers, brats or chicken adds a new dimension to a simple basket meal.
9. Lemonaide
10. Fruit Salad

A few Picnic ideas I like:

• Croissant Sandwich (check out Free People blog for a recipe)

Salad in a cup (as shown from 24/7 low carb diner blog)

Cheese Cake Jars (photo below from the My Bakingaddiction blog)

Veggie Skewers (use cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers)

Fruit Skewers (strawberries, blueberries, watermelon, raspberries, grapes etc.)

To get you started, consider the 5 W’s of picnicking:

1. Who will be attending the picnic?
2. What is the occasion?
3. Where is the location?
4. Why are you having a picnic?
5. When is your picnic taking place?

Think about your company as you plan the menu. Do they have any favorite foods and/or any dietary restrictions? Kids or just adults?

 Is it a special celebration that might require a cake, or is it a spur of the moment cheese and bread kind of picnic? Is this an occasion for a nice wine or a few juice boxes and bottled water?

 A picnic can be had anywhere, really, from the front yard to a roof top, to a nearby park or beach. Perhaps you’ve planned a canoe ride, or a hike to some scenic view? Wherever you decide to go, be sure to consider factors like:

A. Weather: if there’s any chance of rain be sure to bring an umbrella.

B. Distance: How far away is the picnic site? Will you have any perisable items? If so, pack them on ice.

C. Ammenities: are there washrooms nearby? Is there fresh drinking water on site? Consider the general accesibility, particularily if mobility is an issue for older folks.

No matter what the occasion may be, picnics are a relaxing, casual way to be with friends, family and loved ones while enjoying fresh air and a memorable meal.

Remember to keep it simple; it should be easy to transport and require minimal clean-up.

Bon appetite!

Tangy Lemon Bar

I love lemon bars but I'm pretty particular about them.  I sought out yesterday afternoon to play around with creating a Healthy Lemon Bar recipe, figuring that it would take several tries before it tasted any good.

Asher and I got busy making the crust, then the filling and he waited patiently to try the finished product once out of the oven and cooling.  Instead of processed white sugar, we used organic cane sugar for the crust and honey for the filling.  We also used whole wheat flour for the crust.

When I tried it I was truly expecting that I would need to tweak it and try again but I was surprised that it was just right for my personal lemon bar preferences.

Now my Father in Law absolutely loves lemon bars and lemon meringue pie as well, so we took a piece over to him and here is what he had to say via text:

Him "Lemon bar is fantastically lemony"
Me: "lol it's tangy! I like it that way tho!"
Him: "Me too! And great base. Not soggy. Good job!!!"

I'll take that as a win!

This is the recipe we used for our Tangy Lemon Bars.

Lemon Bar Crust

1/2 cup butter
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cane sugar
1 TBSP Corn Starch
Pinch of sea salt

Mix all ingredients with the food processor until it's crumbly and coming together.  Then press into a square 8x8 inch pan with a piece of wax paper.  Or get your little helper to do that job for you!

Bake the crust at 350 for about 15 minutes.

While the crust bakes you can prepare the filling for your lemon bars.

Lemon Bar Filling

4 eggs
1 1/2 cups honey
Zest of one Large Lemon or 2 small lemons
1/2 - 1 cup lemon juice or the zest of two Large or 4 small lemons
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 TBSP Corn Starch

Wisk the honey and the eggs together until you can't feel the honey sticking to the bottom any more.  Then grate your lemon rind into the mixture and add the lemon juice.  Wisk in the Vanilla extract and corn starch making sure you whisk until the corn starch isn't lumpy, you don't want white spots on the top of your lemon bar.

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until the sides of the lemon bar start to turn golden brown and the middle starts to thicken.

Take your lemon bar out of the oven to cool, and sprinkle with a little icing sugar is you like. Once it reaches room temperature you can either eat it at room temperature or chill in the refrigerator.

I preferred them chilled to room temperature.

Frozen Chocolate Covered Banana Bites

In the summer I'm less likely to want to turn on the oven to bake a loaf of banana bread or banana muffins when I have a couple bananas that are ready to go.  But this simple snack uses them up in a yummy way that doesn't require an oven!

Frozen Chocolate Covered Banana Bites

3-4 bananas (depends on how many you want  )
1 bag ENJOY LIFE chocolate chunks-dairy/soy/gluten free
Top with whatever: coconut, almonds, even add in peanut butter if you want.

Cut up the banana's into bite sized pieces, put onto a parchment lined cookie sheet and pop into the freezer for about 30 minutes (optional you can just cover them and then freeze them too).

Melt the chocolate in a bowl. 

Dip each frozen banana in the chocolate and cover completely. Place back on the parchment paper. When all the banana bites are covered and on the parchment paper, put the cookie sheet into the freezer for about an hour. Remove the pieces and place in a freezer safe plastic storage bag if you want to enjoy them over the course of the next week!

Seriously this is the perfect evening sweet treat..for me i don't need a TON to be satisfied...just need 1-2 and I feel like it helps me cure that sweet tooth without the guilt cause I don't know if i'm the only who likes an evening snack 

I would certainly consider making these for an appetizer at a healthy party!