Peach Cobbler

Let me start first by saying that this recipe is probably one of the best I have ever made.  Amazing.

There's nothing that takes me back to summer at my grandma's house faster than the smell of fresh peaches.  Thinking back, I'm not sure how often she actually cooked with peaches (I was a picky eater and never ate them), but it must have been relatively often.  There's just something about the smell of a fresh, ripe peach that puts me at her kitchen table with a warm breeze blowing in through the sheer curtains on the windows.  It provides a feeling of comfort and peacefulness.

I only recently started eating peaches; I'm not really sure why I would never try them, because they're wonderful.  I guess that just means that I have a lot of catching up to do!

I wanted to try a cobbler recipe.  Again, because I was a picky eater, I never tried cobbler and didn't have a cobbler recipe.  After some searching, I found one on All Recipes.  (If I haven't mentioned it before, this is my go-to place for recipes.  I love that there are reviews, suggestions, nutritional info, and apps for my phone & iPad.  I get 90% of all of my recipes from this site.)  This cobbler sounded relatively easy to make and over 1400 people can't be wrong, so I decided to try it.  You should too!  The original recipe location can be found here.

Southern Peach Cobbler
Ingredients:
 8 fresh peaches - peeled, pitted, and sliced into thin wedges
1/4 C white sugar
1/4 C brown sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

2 tsp cornstarch

1 C all-purpose flour

1/4 C white sugar

1/4 C brown sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

6 Tbsp unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces

1/4 C boiling water

MIX TOGETHER:

3 Tbsp white sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions:  

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). 

2. In a large bowl, combine peaches, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, and cornstarch. Toss to coat evenly, and pour into a 2 quart baking dish. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. 

3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine flour, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Blend in butter with your fingertips, or a pastry blender, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in water until just combined. 

4. Remove peaches from oven, and drop spoonfuls of topping over them. Sprinkle entire cobbler with the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Bake until topping is golden, about 30 minutes.

 Alright, now you need to go make some.  You know you want to! :)

Happy Weekend!

Anniversary Weekend

We went to DC this past weekend for our anniversary.  It was Memorial Day weekend, so there were many presentations, performances, and other events that occurred throughout the few days we were there.  We have both been to DC numerous times, but it had been a while since I visited the downtown Mall area.  We made a list and planned to hit most of the highlights without overloading ourselves with information and museums.

It was pretty late when we arrived in Vienna on Friday, so we decided to grab dinner, head back to the hotel, and call it a night so we'd be refreshed and ready to go the next morning.  Our plans for a quick meal from some fast food joint completely flipped upside down when we drove past a Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. I'd never eaten at one of these restaurants before, but Derek raved about it after visiting one in Nashville.  I'm also not a fan of steak; I would go for a chicken breast or hamburger over steak any day.  Upon viewing the menu, realizing they essentially only serve steak (yes, I know it's a steakhouse), and seeing the astronomical prices, I decided that I would learn to like steak. 

I know it's really blurry, but this is the  only one I managed to get from Ruth's Chris.

At Ruth's Chris, side dishes are served family-style, meaning an order of sweet potato casserole is enough for 2-3 people at your table.  We ordered our steaks, decided upon mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli as our sides, and waited to see what would be laid in front of us.  Probably 15 minutes later, our food was delivered. Now although I wasn't a steak fan upon entering Ruth's Chris, I definitely left as one.  This was the most delicious, tender, melt-in-your-mouth meat that I have ever eaten.  I strongly recommend trying Ruth's Chris (unless you are on a tight budget).

The rest of the weekend was mostly spent exploring downtown.  On Saturday we toured the Library of Congress, Natural History Museum, and had dinner at Union Station.  We spent the day doing some shopping, visiting Georgetown Cupcakes in Bethesda, and touring Arlington on Sunday.  Monday consisted of visiting the Archives where we saw the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and Bill of Rights.  We also walked to the Capitol, Washington Monument, WWII Memorial, & saw the Lincoln Memorial before heading home.  Overall it was a really nice weekend.  I wish we would've been able to visit the Holocaust Museum and American History Museum, but I suppose those will be saved for future trips.

Here are some pictures we captured throughout the weekend.

Library of Congress

Newseum: Front page of newspapers from every state for that particular day.

Union Station

Georgetown Cupcakes.  Good, but honestly not even remotely as good as Amanda's.

Arlington

So proud to think that Grandpa had the honor of marching here.

WWII Memorial

So thankful for all of those who served.

Thank you to all the Service men and women who serve and have served.

1st Anniversary!

It's so hard to believe that just over a year ago (May 26), I was walking up the aisle at church preparing to marry my best friend.  During the year and a half that we were engaged, we planned and created what we'd hope would be a pleasurable day for everyone.  Because both of us are more family-oriented and country than fancy, the day consisted of cowboy boots, mason jars, old pictures, and homemade comfort food.  Everything was perfect until about ten minutes into the ceremony when we realized that the church's air conditioner hadn't been fixed and we quickly became drenched in sweat from the 90 degree weather.

Thanks to so many amazing friends and family members, the rest of the day was extraordinary.  I know we didn't have what many people would think is a spectacular wedding day, but the fact that we were able to spend it surrounded by so many loving people absolutely made it perfect.

I have learned so much about both Derek and myself over the past year.  I've finally gotten him to make the bed in the morning if I'm not around, and we've come to what I think is a compromise when it comes to buying Lego sets. (In case you didn't know, the plural for Lego is Lego..not "Legos."  I was unaware...)  I know that we'll continue to learn new things about each other as the years pass, and I'm so glad I get to spend those years with him.

Thank you for being so patient, understanding, hilarious, and loving, Derek.  Happy (1 week late) Anniversary! xoxo