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Peach Week Wrap Up

By KariV on October 30, 2013 in Peaches, Recipes

If you missed any of the great peach recipes, here’s a quick wrap-up! Mmmmm….I LOVE all these peach treats!

Fresh Peach Cobbler

Peach Mango Salsa (for salad or chicken or tacos!)

Fresh Peach Muffins (with Brown Sugar Streusel)

Homemade Peach Jam

Peach Freezing Tips

Grilled Peach Salad

I loved having Peach Week! I think we’ll do this again next year….do you have some peach recipes you’d share?

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Tricks to freezing peaches

By KariV on October 23, 2013 in Peaches, Recipes

We are ending the week full of peaches, but I have some tips for freezing peaches!

When you have lots of extra peaches, it’s great to freeze them and then use them for smoothies or even peach syrup. Cut them in half, remove the pit, and cut the halves in half. Don’t take the skin off. I know what you’re saying “But I don’t want those fuzzy peach skins!”

I know, but wait…here’s an awesome trick I learned from my grandma!

Before we get to the trick, put your cut peaches on a baking sheet, and freeze them this way.

Once frozen, remove them from the tray and put them in a freezer baggie. If you freeze them on the cookie sheet first, they won’t stick together in the bag.

Now here’s the trick: when you are ready to use them, take a peach piece and RUN IT UNDER WATER….the fuzzy peach skin will slide right off!!

Awesome, huh?! I know, I wasn’t sure if I should believe my grandma, but we tried it and it works! Only the skins slide off, so you use more of the peach, which is fantastic. (this is my husband’s hand…demonstrating the trick for you)

Simple. And ready for a smoothie. 🙂 So try this trick and let me know what you think!

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Peach Jam (Halloween Style)

By KariV on October 19, 2013 in Peaches, Recipes

Homemade Peach jam is one of life’s best! And it lends itself well to this time of year…with that beautiful orange/peach color! In honor of Peach Week and Halloween…how about some Peach Jam Halloween Style?!

I’ve made a lot of peach jam in my life. And the BEST jam that always turns out is the one using SureJell. My recipe I share today is the one I love the most using that pectin, which can be found at most grocery stores.

Start out getting all your ingredients together:

4 cups Diced peaches (I used about 5 large peaches), 2 T. lemon juice, 5 1/2 c. sugar, 1 box Sure Jell pectin (not pictured).

I like to dice my peaches in a large dice…I find that the peaches cook down enough to make delicious jam, but still leave a few fresh peach bits in the jam. That’s the way I like it. But you can cut your peaches smaller if you prefer a smoother jam.

Have your jars ready to go. I sterilized mine the day before in the dishwasher…here they are clean and dry and ready to go.

Also get your lids ready by boiling some water, then put the lids in and turn the heat to warm. Keep them warm while you are making the jam.

See that magnet that I’m getting the lid out of the hot water with? That little tool is SO valuable and I got it years ago in a canning kit. It makes getting those lids out so much easier!

Now, let’s get that jam cooking! Put the diced peaches, lemon juice, and Sure Jell pectin in a large pan. Stir continually until it comes to a full rolling boil (it still bubbles even when you are stirring). This will take a few minutes. You will see that the peaches start breaking down during this process.

After it reaches that full boil, add the sugar quickly and stir. Cook until it comes to a full boil again…then cook at this boil for a full minute. I set the timer to make sure it’s fully cooked.

Now it’s ready to jar! Spoon it into your jars using a wide-mouth funnel. Fill the jars up all the way to the top (leaving about 1/8″). Get a lid out from the hot water, dry it off and place it on the filled jar. Add the bands. And process them according to the instructions in the pectin box. (This depends upon your altitude, etc.)

Isn’t it beautiful?!

There’s nothing better than homemade peach jam served on homemade bread! And wrapping them up with some orange ribbon and Halloween spiderweb fabric (from JoAnn’s) is the perfect neighbor/friend gift! Have you ever made homemade peach jam before?

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Fresh Peach Spiced Muffins with Brown Sugar Streusel

By KariV on October 18, 2013 in Brunch, Dessert, Peaches, Recipes

We’re talking peaches during Peach Week at Sunshine In My Pocket. I couldn’t leave out these Peach Spiced Muffins with Brown Sugar Streusel…they are delicious for breakfast and lunch, but they also make a fabulous dessert!

I love these muffins because they have cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg in them (that’s the spiced part), and they are not TOO sweet…and with that brown sugar topping, they have the feel of a breakfast coffee cake. But the BEST part are those fresh bits of peaches inside the muffins! It’s like little gold mines with each peachy bite. Ok, that might be dramatic, but if you like fresh peaches…these muffins will hit the spot!

Start with the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk them all together.

Then add the wet ingredients, stir it up, and dice the peaches right on top. Slowly and carefully mix those peaches in the batter.

Then divide it up into your muffin tins. I love this recipe because it makes A LOT! Not only will it make up 24 muffins, but also 3 mini loaves of peach bread. Perfect for gifting.

Sprinkle a little brown sugar on your mini bread loaves and your muffins and pop them into the oven.

Your kitchen will smell FANTASTIC…and the baked goods should look like this.

Just look at those juicy peach bites in there! Fabulous. The batter is a bit darker from the brown sugar, allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg. I almost believe these are *good* for you. I’m going to try them with freshly ground soft white wheat flour to attempt a “healthier” muffin and I’ll let you know!

Here’s the recipe!

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Peach Mango Salsa (for Salad or chicken!)

By KariV on October 17, 2013 in Cooking Light, Peaches, Recipes

Today I am sharing my favorite Peach Mango Salsa recipe. It is delicious with chicken or on salad…and I serve it a lot with a simple grilled chicken over a bed of greens. It is so easy to make and adds a big flavor punch!

I don’t know what it is about this salsa that makes me want to break out into a latin dance every time I make it! Ha! But really, doesn’t this picture just make you happy?!

I use a special tool to cut all the pieces into the perfect little dice, and it makes this job SO FAST. It’s called a food chopper, and I got mine for such a deal at Bed, Bath & Beyond. (I don’t get paid to tell you this…I am only telling you because I LOVE this tool so much, and I use it for this peach mango salsa, fresh bruschetta, and my garden salsa ALL the time!)

Here’s the beautiful ingredients that go into the Peach Mango Salsa. First, chop up the onion and pepper using the small grid:

See how small and perfect each little piece is? That would take FOREVER if you did it by hand…unless, of course, you are a super-fast knife chopping sous chef, maybe. You can see a picture of the chopper there…it’s formal name is “Vidalia food chopper.”

Then, chop up the tomatoes, peach, and mango using the large grid:

I usually also add something green like a green pepper or a jalapeno from the garden. The jalapeno gives it a little kick, which is fun sometimes. Today I used a small green pepper. I cut them into half…or just small enough to fit on the chopper and then let the tool do the rest of the work.

Next, squeeze the lime over the salsa. Here’s another tool that I love:

Have you ever used one of these juicers? You put the cut side down over those holes, then squeeze the handles together. Pretty easy. Now, sometimes if the fruit is a bit too tart, I will add a teaspoon or so of sugar over the salsa and mix it all up. Today I didn’t add any sugar. Those Utah peaches are divine!

Here’s the complete recipe:

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