Monday, August 22, 2011

Peaches, Ninja Turtles and Chaos-Oh My!


     While I don't always love living in Illinois, I do love our summer fruits and vegetables. Saturday we made a trip to Alma, IL to the Mazanek family orchard for peaches. We had our grandsons for the weekend and they really love seeing how things grow. The apples were already heavy on the trees and we were told that it was going to be a great fall apple crop this year.


     We also stopped at a small market in St. Peter, IL. It is a community of Old Order Mennonites. The store had handcrafted wooden items including the playhouse in the above picture from my phone. The boys loved it and said, "grandpa, why don't you get a job so you can buy this for your backyard"! I guess maybe we need to take them to where my husband works so they will see that he does have a job! It was an interesting store full of bulk items, cheeses and on Saturdays they make homemade pretzels and serve lunch. There were several people waiting for pretzels, so of course we ordered some. They were the best I've ever tasted, yeasty and pale. They looked nothing like those sold at ballgames. Glazed with butter and melt in your mouth perfect. I would definitely make the trip to St. Peter just for pretzels. The boys loved seeing the horse and buggies and the farm animals.


     The other thing they really loved this visit, was the tub we pulled out of the basement storage room. Their dad is 29 and he was obsessed with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles when he was a kid. He had every piece you can imagine and we saved them all. Well, they are back in style and the boys love them. So, we brought up the tub and didn't tell them what was inside. I only wish I could capture the sounds they made when that lid came off. They had the best time with daddy's old toys! This is where the chaos came in...my poor living room! Look, even the lampshade isn't straight!


     You can't have fresh peaches and not make something yummy, so after the boys left I decided it was time to make my husband a treat. I didn't have a recipe, so I did some searching and combined a few recipes to come up with my version of a peach crumb pie. It turned out perfectly. I will make this again. 

Ingredients:
1 unbaked pie crust (I buy Pillsbury in the dairy case-or you can make your own)

Approx. 9 fresh peaches, peeled and sliced
2 heaping Tablespoons of brown sugar
2 rounded Tablespoons of flour

1/3 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts or no nuts)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup quick oats
1/3 cup flour
6-8 T. of butter (I used unsalted because that was what I had-salted would be fine)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Put piecrust into pie pan (I like to use a deep dish pan)


Add 2 T. flour and 2 T. brown sugar to peaches and mix well.


Put peach mixture into prepared crust.


Mix 1/3 cups of flour, brown sugar, nuts, oats and butter with
your fingers until a crumbly mixture forms. Sprinkly over top of peaches.


Place pie on cookie sheet to catch any bubbling over.


Bake 1 hour until nicely browned.
Serve with whipped cream of vanilla ice cream.
So good!


I am joining Yvonne @ Stone Gable for
On the Menu Monday.
Please stop to visit her today!

18 comments:

Kim @ Savvy Southern Style said...

Sue, what fun with the boys. That is great that you saved their daddy's toys. I bet they did get so excited. That is funny saying Grandpa needs to get a job.

La said...

My dad would love this pie. It sounds like a wonderful time with your grandsons. The weather has been beautiful, hasn't it?

Lynn said...

Your pie looks great Sue! Sounds like you had a very nice visit, I'm sure the kids were thrilled with the toys. Now to just find them all before you step on them:@)

Glenda/MidSouth said...

Out of the mouths of babes. :D That pie looks yummy - thanks for sharing your recipe.

Barbara F. said...

Delicious pie, Sue. Those peaches looked perfect. Your grandsons are the cutest! xo,

mountain mama said...

oh gosh, i'm hungry now between the peaches and pretzels! :)

Jenny said...

Sue...although the peach pie looks scrumptious, the description of those pretzels made my mouth water.

Yeasty and pale dripping in butter.

Accckkk.

Excuse me while I gnaw on my arm!

What a lovely outing.

Linda said...

Yummy! My boys were crazy over the Ninja Turtles too! Your grandsons remind me of when my boys were young...they are so cute!

Brenda said...

What cute Grandsons! I can't wait to have Grandhildren!

Thanks for sharing the wonderful recipes!
Have a great week!
Love, Brenda

Patrice said...

You always make my mouth water!

Nellie's Cozy Place said...

HI Sue,
First of all, Your grandchildren are adorable, and know you had a great time with them.
and now those peaches they look absolutely scrumptious, I adore fresh peaches, but any kind will do.............lol
That cobbler looks to die for too, can you email me some over please!! lol

Come over for a visit tomorrow afternoon I have a nice surprise for you.

blessings, Nellie

Blondie's Journal said...

You must be the favorite grandmother!! You would have won me over this weekend for sure!!

I love small towns and the good old fashion things they have to offer. Michigan is good for that and there is nothing I like better than a weekend of exploring. Can I borrow your grandkids??!

XO,
Jane

Nellie's Cozy Place said...

Sue,
also meant to tell you to check the very end of my post because I am having a drawing and want you to be able to get in on it if you desire.
So check it out if you get a chance, I am putting a blurb about it at the bottom of my post daily till Sept. 1st.
thanks, Nellie

Maria said...

Hi Sue!
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Oh my mouth is watering with this peach pie! I thought with a big basket full of peaches, I could make a pie...but my husband LOVES them and has been going through them fast!
Maybe a little tart will be all I have left LOL
*Have a wonderful week, Sue ~
Maria

Nellie's Cozy Place said...

Hi Sue,
You are so right... you are in the hat already!!

Sorry about that!! I'm not too forgetful!! lol
Have a great day tomorrow.
Blessings, Nellie

LindyLouMac said...

You certainly cannot beat fresh fruit and vegetables, but it is sad you are not happy living in Illinois.

bj said...

awww, don't worry about that living room being messed up...now that all my grands are grown, I would LOVE for my lamp shade to get all one-sided. :))

I saved a lot of my kids toys, too, and grands did the same thing. All of my daughter's dolls have made her two girls mighty happy when they were little bitty. :)

That is one of my favorite pies..I LUV crumb topping. yummmm

Monica h said...

Our neighbors have peach trees, but this year we are in a drought, thus have water restrictions, and their trees didn't produce this year. I was majorly bummed by this because I've been craving peach crisps and cobblers. We've lucked out with a few store bought peaches, but nothing beats having them right off the tree.

Your peach crumb pie looks delicious!