It's that season again where peaches are just beginning to crop up in the fruit and vegetable aisle.  Soon, at your local farmer's market you'll be able to by large quantaties of overly ripe peaches.  When you can, grab a large box of these for just peanuts and cut off those bruised sections.  Then make this unforgettable treat for those you love.

5 cups of sliced peaches, peeled (dip in boiling water for a minute)
1 9-inch pastry shell
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Gently place peaches in pie shell.  In a small bowl combine butter, sugar, flour, and egg.  Pour over peaches.  Bake for approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes. 

Yesterday I opened my freezer to be greeted by an over abundance of cut to portion size frozen bread from my food pantry.  Most of the time, when you get this stuff, it is semi-fresh and must be prepared immediately or set in the freezer with clear freezer bags.  Unfortunately, there some days it just seems to keep piling up and that delicious garlic bread recipe gets too much of a workout. 

But there is a better way.  I'm sure you've noticed there is always lunch meat on sale whether in the deli or the refrigerated aisle.  Why not pick up a few when they are on sale and plop them in your freezer for an upcoming easy-to-please soon to be favorite?  All you need is some defrosted bread; any type will do including subs, sandwich rolls, or thick sliced.  Cut the bread, fill each family members with their favorite meats, cheeses, and toppings; then just grill on the ol' Forman.  Comes out delicious! 

Bread
Lunch Meat
Cheese
Topping of your choice: mushrooms, onions, peppers, pickles, etc.
Salad dressing
butter or margarine

Take bread and slice to open if needed.  Slab on your favorite salad dressing.  Top with lunch meat.  Fill with your favorite toppings.  Top with a few slices of cheese.  Lightly butter the outside of the bread.  Place in your Foreman Grill and put top down.  If the top seems to be too far ajar, place your teapot or a pan filled with water on the top for a weight.  This will get it the perfect texture.  Peek to see after 3-4 minutes if your bread has the lovely lines in place then slice in half and enjoy!

Today's the big day!  Your starter has been sitting patiently for three days now fermenting, bubbling into such nutritional value; you'll want to make this bread a couple of times a week!  All you need to do is replenish your Sourdough Starter with 1 1/2 cups flour and 1 cup of warm water and let it sit eight hours on the counter covered,  then store in the refrigerator for future use.  If you have a breadmaker, this bread can be made feasibly several times a week with only a flick of the button set on the dough setting.  Then just take out loaves and let them rise!

1 1/2 cups sourdough starter
3/4 cup milk
2 tbsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. softened butter
1 package active yeast
1/2 cup warm water
4-5 cups of flour

Add everything but flour to bread machine.   Set on "dough".  Add 3 cups of flour and allow blades to whirl until smooth.  Add another cup.  Then add the final cup in increments allowing the bread dough to be soft, slightly sticky, and not dry.  A lovely ball should be rotating at the bottom that is soft.  You can mix this by hand, knead slightly, and let rise an hour in the bowl covered.

Take out bread dough and make three equal size portions.  Shape into a ball and slit at the top crisscross.  Cover with towel and let rise an hour or until double.  Bake at 400 degrees on greased baking sheet for 25 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve immediately with butter! 

One bread that is a must  have in your recipe archive is a good sourdough starter.  It is important that your food be nutrient dense to offer optimal health benefits.  Sourdough bread boasts numerous qualities that normal bread just can't hold a candle to.  It has pre-digesting starches, making the bread more easily digestible.  There is a lowering insulin response which improves glucose tolerance.  It protects Vitamin B1 from the damage of the heat in baking.   The recipe breaks down gluten, which may result in  bread that gluten-sensitive people 
can eat.  It activates phytase to hydrolyze (dissolve) the phytates, thus freeing up minerals such as: zinc, copper, magnesium, iron, and phosphorous.

Legend has it that prospectors who went to Alaska in the 1890's to seek their fortune in gold took sourdough starters with them in the knapsacks.  These miners ate so much of the bread they came to be known as sourdoughs, a term now associated with backwoodsmen in general.

3 1/2 cups flour
1 tab. sugar
1 package of yeast
2 cups warm water

Combine flour, sugar, and undissolved yeast in a large glass or ceramic bowl.  Add warm water slowly and begin stirring until smooth.  Top with plastic wrap and let sit three days.  Open plastic wrap to allow air flow when top bubbles then readjust.

Take amount needed for recipe and replenish starter by adding 1 1/2 cups flour and 1 cup of water to remaining starter.  Beat until smooth and let stand in a warm place until mixture bubbles well, at least eight hours.  Store loosely covered, in the refrigerator and use again once ever two weeks.

There's an upcoming holiday again soon to be bestowed upon our feet, and as always I offer you a less practical recipe to make the day a bit more fun.   There are days you just need to spend that extra dollar on something special to make a memory.  These are a family favorite treat and will be a joy to add to your Valentine's Day fare.  Deliciously moist, you won't be able to stop with one, and I'd be pleasantly surprised if you had any left the following day.

When making this special treat I frequent Save a Lot and Aldi.  Canned milk and semi sweet chips can be found for a little over a dollar.  Some stores offer their own variety of Bits 'O Brickle (Toffee Bits) at reduced rates, too.

2 1/3 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 sticks of butter or margarine
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
1 cup coarsely chopped nuts (optional)
1 can 14 oz. sweetened condensed milk
1 1/3 cups Heath Bits 'O Brickle, Toffee Bits, Divided

Heat oven to 350 and grease a 13 x 9 inch pan. Combine flour and sugar in bowl and cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add egg and mix well. Stir in 1 1/2 chocolate chips and nuts if using. Set aside 1 1/2
cups of this mixture.

Press remaining crumb mixture into bottom of greased pan. Bake 10 minutes. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over top. Set aside 1/4 cup toffee bits. Sprinkle reserved crumb mixture over milk. Add remaining 1/2 cup chocolate chips on top. Bake 25 - 30 minutes or until golden. Top with remaining toffee bits. Cool completely.

It's the weekend and if money is tight.  You may be hearing the constant bantering of, "Mom, what are we going to do this weekend?!" 

At the moment you're in-between pay sources, and you may be wondering yourself,  "Gosh, I don't know myself, but I do know I don't want to be stuck inside without something fun to do."  Why not clear off you counter and open your own crafty bakery with those little darlings?  Here is an easy recipe that reaps rewards when freshly baked from the oven.  Then all you need is a bike or some walking shoes to get outdoors and top off the day.

This recipe comes out of the box with torn corners showing usage and spots from the last 30 years.  Enjoy!

3/4 cup warm water
1 package yeast
1 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. salt
4 1/2 - 5 cups flour
1 egg
1/4 cup coarse salt

Place water into a large bowl.  Sprinkle on yeast and stir until dissolved.  Add sugar, salt, oil, and 3 cups of flour.  Beat until smooth.  Add enough flour to make a stiff dough.  Turn out on floured pastry and knead 8-10 min. until smooth. 

Place in a clean, large, greased bowl.  Turn dough over to grease top.  Let rise for one hour then punch down.  Work with hands to form a ball again.  Cut in half.  Set one half on the side and cover other with towel.  Cut remaining half into eight equal pieces.  Keep others covered.  Roll each out to a rope 20 inches in length.  Keep rolling and stretching the rope while doing so.  Twist to form pretzel.

Place on greased sheet one inch apar.  Beat egg slightly with fork.  Brush egg on pretzel, sprinkle with coarse salt.  Let rise for additional 15-20 minutes until they look puffy.  Bake at 400 degrees 15 - 18 min.  Then begin again!

Here's a delightful treat to end a filling meal at the end of the day.  Luscious folds of whipped topping coupled with coconut and pineapple is sure to send the winter blues away.  A tropical oasis awaits your table for only a few dollars.

1 9-inch graham cracker pie crust
1 can sweetened condensed milk
3 medium lemons juiced
1 small bag coconut
1 (8 oz.) can crushed pineapple, drained
3/4 cup chopped pecans (optional)
1 carton (8 oz. ) frozen whipped topping

In a bowl, combine sweetened milk and lemon juice.  Fold in coconut, pineapple, and nuts.  Blend in topping, stirring gently.  Spoon into pie crust and chill thoroughly.

There may be times you visit your food pantry and realize you've just become inundated with too much bread.  Maybe there is just a bit too much in the freezer just hanging out waiting to be used.  Of course, you hate to waste anything, but that bread is just too hard and dense to put to use in sandwiches.  Here is a recipe you can make on the weekends and freeze leftovers to warm in the microwave during the week.  It's quick, and no need to be hanging over the skittle turning each one. 

This recipe can be doubled if you have a good amount of bread.  Start the night before and just pop in the oven in the morning.

1 egg
dash of salt
2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup milk
bread slices

Beat egg well in mixing bowl.  Add milk and stir well.  Add salt, sugar and cinnamon.  Stir well.  Place bread in baking dish making single layer.  Pour mixture over slices.  Put in refrigerator overnight.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until done.

There is nothing more enticing then the smell of fresh baked bread wafting from your oven.  This is a delicious, moist variety that can be easily concocted on a Saturday, frozen in individual slices, and then used for a healthy breakfast throughout the week.  Slabbed with a bit of peanut butter, you've got a wholesome, quick breakfast for those you love. 

For those worried about the cost of strawberries, Aldi has a good size bag for only $1.99.  You can make at least three recipes on one pag alone.  Think of the cost savings when you decline to buy those cereals and replace them with some of the hearty breakfast ideas here.

3 cups self-rising flour
1 tab. cinnamon
2 cups sugar
4 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups frozen or fresh stawberies, chopped
1/2 cup nuts (optional)
3/4 cup oil

Combine all dry ingredients.   Stir well.  Add eggs, oil, strawberries, and nuts - if desired.  Stir until all ingredients are just moistened.  Spoon batter into two well-greased loaf pans.  Bake at 350 degrees for 60-70 minutes until done.  Cool in pan five minutes. 

Among the most welcomed additions to the American scene are the numerous Middle Eastern restaurants which have brought a new and exciting cuisine to many cities.  A few years ago these restaurants were confined to four to five in our largest cities.  Falafel, which are quickly becoming as popular as hamburgers, can easily be made at home.

I knew you'd be snooping here looking for some healthy recipes to start the New Year.  This one is sure to make a splash!

1/2 pd. dried chick-peas
3 cups water
1 onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic minced
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. cumin
3/4 tsp. baking powder
oil for frying

Place chickpeas in saucepan with water.  Boil for 30 minutes or until soft.  Take off and cover pan and let cool.  In a food processor add drained beans, onion, garlic, parsley, pepper, cumin, salt, and baking powder.  Run at high speed until smooth and no chunks are seen.  Shape into balls and fry in 1-2 inches of oil or slip into deep fryer.  Fry until golden brown and drain on paper towels.  Slip into pita bread with lettuce, tomatoes, and onions.