Slow Cooker: Peach Cobbler

There's nothing like fresh peaches in the summer time. There's nothing quite like peach cobbler. Yum! I found a recipe for slow cooker apple crisp/cobbler online and thought I would adapt it into Peach Cobbler instead (who's complaining right?). It turned out so moist and yummy! I will have to make it again to get a picture of it because it was gone before I found my camera! The only change I would make to it now is add more peaches... there wasn't quite enough for my liking...

{ingredients}
canned, sliced peaches (I used 1 29 oz can. but next time I will use more.- though the moisture of one can was just about right.)
1 dry yellow cake mix
6 Tbsp butter - melted
ground cinnamon to taste.

{directions}
1. In a 4-5 quart slow cooker add your peaches. (just dump it in. juices and all!)
2. next you add the cake mix on top. (do not mix it in.)
3. evenly poor (or spoon on) butter over the cake mix. (again, no stirring!)
4. sprinkle some cinnamon on top of the pile**
5. Cover and cook on High for 4 hours. (Do not mess with it. Don't even lift the lid for a sniff. It lengthens the cooking time. And don't worry, after 4 hours it will look like its supposed to. Even at 3 1/2 hours it might look like it needs something. Just trust the cooker to do its job!)

Side note: you want your slow cooker to be at least 1/2 full or just over. Too much or too little will result in less-than-desired results...

**you could also stir in some cinnamon to the dry cake mix before putting the cake mix in if you want it spread through out the cake a little more evenly. But if you spread it out evenly on top, you still get the cinnamon goodness!

Now enjoy! Yum!

Rice Cooker: Swedish Meatballs & Rice

My dear friend gave us a rice cooker for our wedding (love her!). It comes with a steaming tray and serving ladle. Up until now, I have used it to cook... rice. and we have steamed broccoli in it once or twice... But after a little bit of "research" I found there is a lot more you can do with this seemingly humble appliance.

Here it is, my first (of many) no-heat meal. I must admit, this "no-heat" thing is quite an exciting challenge for me. It is stretching me and my creativity to new heights. It is rather exciting. Tonight was a total shot in the dark, but I gave it a try and it didn't turn out too bad... not amazing, but not bad...

Swedish Meatballs & Rice:

White rice went into the main cooker part. I added the required water and started it up. When there was about 10 minutes left on the rice time I added some frozen Swedish meat balls (we picked up a bag while we were at IKEA) to the steaming tray.

The sauce was made up of cream of mushroom soup, some dried chopped onions, and a little water to thin it a bit. We added a few fresh herbs as a garnish (we gave rosemary a shot, and it was pretty good...)

Not the most amazing meal I've ever made, but it was a good first try. More (hopefully better) recipes to come!

Cooking Creativley

July was a blur this year. We found out at the end of June that we would need to move by the end of our lease (Jul 31) so we found ourselves frantically searching for a new place, packing, moving, and everything else that comes with moving... Now we are in our new place. The boxes are being unpacked and we are starting to get settled. The kitchen is unpacked (for the most part) and I can resume cooking again soon...

The only problem? No air conditioning. I have made spaghetti since moving in, but it heated our house to an uncomfortable heat. So I have realized that I need to be a little more creative in my dinners for the rest of the hot weather... Its a challenge to come up meals that do not require stove or oven... but I have been brainstorming and I believe I have a few ideas.

1. Crock pot is the obvious choice. I am not very practiced at slow cooking (I am told it is easy... how hard is it to turn on you ask? It might be better to skip that question...)

2. Microwave is the second most obvious choice. Again, I am not skilled at cooking with a microwave beyond heating up leftovers... and I don't think my husband will go for a month of Easy Mac...

3. Grill. My favorite option as my husband likes to do the cooking on the grill. I am more than okay with that.

4. Electric Griddle. Eggs, grilled cheese... pancakes... anything else I can cook on this?

5. I have a rice cooker that also steams veggies! What a brilliant idea I have just had!

6. Salads are cool and yummy. Hopefully I get enough in my Bountiful Basket this week to work something out...

7. Smoothies are great for cooling off on a hot summer day/evening. All it takes is a blender.

I could use any ideas or suggestions or recipes anyone has. I am trying to stay positive, but lets face it, I'm spoiled and I miss my AC (even if it was a swamp cooler before... yep... spoiled...).  More to come on these adventures as new discoveries are made!