Peach Blueberry Brown Sugar Cobbler with Butter Pecan Ice Cream

So I whipped this up last night. I've actually prepared five cobblers with the fresh peaches we picked last weekend and froze them to enjoy throughout the year. I had enough peaches for one more cobbler and decided to mix things up and make this one different from the rest. I recently purchased some big beautiful blueberries from Costco and figure why not throw some of them in! Peaches and blueberries go together, right? Then I loved the idea of making the flavor richer, so instead of using just plain white sugar, I decided to try using half regular sugar and half brown sugar. Oh my, was that ever good. Layer on a flaky cinnamon crust and we were almost at perfection. Almost. The final addition that took this cobbler from delicious to frickin' fantastic, was butter pecan ice cream. The way the taste of the fresh peaches blended with the fresh blueberries, brown sugar, cinnamon and cold creamy butter pecan was almost too good to be true. Almost :-) 

Peach Blueberry Brown Sugar Cobbler 
with Butter Pecan Ice Cream

8 X 8 X 2 inch square baking pan

Pastry for 1 9-inch pie crust.
4 cups sliced fresh ripe peaches
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 Tablespoons butter.

Crust topping:
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Your favorite butter pecan ice cream

Heat oven to 425 degrees

Prepare pastry.

Toss peeled sliced peaches and blueberries in lemon juice. Stir together sugar, flour, and 1/4 tsp. cinnamon; mix lightly with fruit. Pour into square baking pan. Dot with butter. Cover with your pie crust pasty. Cut a few slits in the top to vent. Flute edges to seal around the edge of the pan. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar crust topping evenly over the top of your pasty. Cover the edges with 2 to 3 inch wide strip of aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning. Bake for 35 min, remove foil and then bake an additional 10 minutes.

Serve warm with butter pecan ice cream.

***This cobbler can be frozen before you add the butter and pastry for up to one year. Then simply take out of the freezer, dot with butter, add a freshly made pastry, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar topping and bake.  I use the disposable square baking pans found on the baking isle at the grocery store for freezing cobblers. You will need to place these disposable pans on a cookie sheet to bake.

Enjoy!

~The Lemonista

Fresh Peach Margarita

It's peach season in Arizona. We went peach picking over the weekend and I've been a peach cooking fool all week.

I love fresh peaches and besides the usual pies, cobblers and jam, I love to come up with new ways to prepare these succulent gems. I got the idea of concocting a fresh peach adult beverage, and since margaritas are my favorite, started with that as my base. What I came up with was cool, sweet, tart, refreshing and utterly peachy! This fresh peach margarita evokes the laid-back feelings of summer. Now all I need is a beach and a boat ;-)

Fresh Peach Margarita
serves 2

2oz Silver tequila
1oz Orange liquor
1oz Agave nectar
1oz Freshly squeezed lime juice
1 whole ripe fresh peach, peeled, pitted and sliced
1 cup mounded with ice cubes

Put all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.
Pour into a glass rimmed with salt or sugar.

Enjoy!

~The Lemonista

Easy Slow Cooker Beef Gyros

I love my slow cooker but I'm kind of picky about slow cooker meals. Since you can never go wrong with a boneless beef chuck pot roast prepared in the good 'ol crock pot, I'm always looking for new ways to change it up.

Every now and then, I get a solid craving for Greek food and Gyros are a favorite of mine, so I figured, why not? These aren't lamb, so they're not a spot on flavor match for the classic Gyro, but they still have that great Greek flavor and make for a really good meal. Oh, and did I mention they're easy!

Here's the photo tutorial. The recipe and instructions to follow:

Slow Cooker Beef Gyros
Yields 8 Gyros

2 lbs boneless beef chuck pot roast
1/2 tsp. onion powder
Light sprinkle of Kosher salt & fresh cracked pepper
1 Tablespoon olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper.
2 whole peperoncinis (optional)

Middle Eastern Flatbread, I used Trader Joe's brand
Crumbled feta cheese
Tzatziki sauce (store bought or make your own)
Fresh tomato, cubed
Red onion, thinly sliced
Shredded lettuce

Prepare Meat:
Rub both sides of your roast with onion powder and lightly sprinkle with kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over med-high heat in a skillet and brown both sides of your roast. Put your roast in the slow cooker.

Prepare sauce:
In a bowl, combine minced garlic, 1/4 cup olive oil, lemon juice, oregano, salt and pepper. Whisk together and pour over roast. I like the flavor of peperoncinis, so I added two whole peperoncinis to the slow cook. If you're not a fan, you can skip this step.

Set your slow cooker on low and cook for 6 hours, or until meat is tender and shreds easily with a fork.

Prepare your Gyros:
On Middle Eastern flatbread, add desired amount of cooked meat, crumbled feta, Tzatziki sauce, cubed tomato, sliced red onion and shredded lettuce. Fold bread together like a taco and dig in!

Enjoy!

~The Lemonista