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Father's Day Dessert

This part of Texas is known for it's fantastic peaches. Here's a recipe that shows off their deliciousness!

Peach Blueberry Coconut Crisp

1/2 cup sugar
3 Tbsp cornstarch
3 tsp ground cinnamon, divided
1/2 tsp nutmeg
4 cups peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced
2 cups blueberries
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup oats
3 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp butter or margarine, melted
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
1/2 cup shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a deep dish pie pan. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix sugar, cornstarch, 2 tsp cinnamon and nutmeg. Add peaches and blueberries; toss until evenly coated. Place in pie pan; set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix brown sugar, oats, flour, and remaining 1 tsp cinnamon. Stir in butter until evenly moistened. Stir in pecans and coconut. Spoon over fruit.

Bake 45 minutes or until bubbly. Cool 10 minutes before serving. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.



Original recipe can be found here.

Summer Goodness

I made this recipe for my hubby's birthday last weekend and it turned out fantastic! The sugar substitute can be replaced with real sugar, of course, but seriously you will feel less guilty eating this version! No pictures, but if you have a good imagination, it will be easy to follow...


Almost Sugar-Free Mango Coconut Cheesecake

Serves 12

CRUST:
2 cups quick oats
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut, toasted or not
1/2 cup butter or margarine

FILLING:
4 (8 oz) pkg. cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar substitute (i.e. Splenda, Truvia, or my favorite: Ideal)
3 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
15 oz cream of coconut, canned (Coco Lopez brand)
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

TOPPING:
2-4 large, fresh mangoes
2 Tbsp Ideal or other sugar substitute (to taste)
juice and zest of a lime or two


FOR CRUST: Mix oats and coconut in medium bowl. Add butter and blend with pastry cutter or two knives until mixture resembles coarse and large crumbs. Press mixture into bottom and up sides of pan. Chill while preparing filling.

FOR FILLING: Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Beat cream cheese and 3/4 cup sugar substitute in large bowl until blended. Add eggs,
1 at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in egg yolk. Add cream of coconut, whipping cream and shredded coconut; beat just until blended. Pour into crust.

Bake cheesecake until puffed and golden, about 1 hour 25 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool completely. Refrigerate until well chilled. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and keep refrigerated.)

FOR TOPPING: Pit, peel and slice mangos. Puree mango slices, sugar substitute, and lime juice in blender or food processor until smooth. Add lime zest and pulse until just combined. Transfer to small bowl.

Using small knife, cut around cheesecake to loosen. Remove pan sides. Serve with mango puree and additional mango slices, if desired.

Evil Eyes

So, yesterday my son wakes up with an exploding eye. You know what I'm talking about: red, pustuous, swollen beyond recognition. Gross. I take him to the doctor who promptly prescribes eye drops. This morning his eye is very close to normal. It's a miracle I tell you!


The eye drops still need to be administered daily for the next week, which causes great stress for my guy. This morning I was putting in the drops and trying to explain why I was causing my own flesh and blood pain. Katie was sitting nearby and the conversation went something like this:

Me (to J): Your eye drops will help take the red out of your eyes.
Katie (to me): Whaaaat??? Jacob has RED eyes???? *thinking* Um, is he going to turn evil?
Me: Bwahahahahaha

No. Just me. Welcome to Summer Vacation!

Goals

I've often wondered why we set goals. Most of the time I have grand ideas ("delusions of grandeur" to quote Han Solo). These grand ideas seem perfectly attainable at the time, but somehow the more I live with the idea, the more impossible and laughable it seems. Why do I do this to myself?

Anyway, I attended Time Out for Women about a month ago. The theme of the tour was Choose to Become. I've spent a lot of time thinking about this idea. It's so easy for me to get caught up in the moment and loose sight of the overall picture. As I've focused on Becoming rather than doing, it has helped me keep my focus. Goals are supposed to help track our progress towards whatever we're Becoming. So, I'm trying to change my grandiose goals to more trackable, realistic accomplishments. Right now I'm focusing on reading and writing.

• Goal #1: Write everyday. It can be a letter, email, blog entry, or journal entry. Thoughts must get out of my head and onto paper or computer.
• Goal #2: Read everyday. Scriptures first, good literature second. It doesn't have to be great literature, just something that fills my soul (apart from the spiritual feast the scriptures provide).
• Goal #3: Develop a talk or lesson weekly. I teach RS once a month, so that takes care of one week. Fill the rest of the month with lessons or talks that can be pulled at the last minute.

Goodbye 2010...

Procrastinating

Instead of folding this:

I'm updating y'all on my life. Procrastination...it's a beautiful thing.

Nothing exciting. Life is blissfully boring and uncomplicated. Except that we have one car and live in an apartment. Not that I'm complaining. I'm not. Just wishing for a yard and a little bit bigger car. The problem is those things come with a higher monthly money output. I really don't want the extra bills! It's why my life is boring and uncomplicated. Guess I'd better start folding laundry.