Peach Cobbler Cheesecake

Since I'm in Okinawa, the land of perpetual summer, I started thinking about what I missed about summer time in Oklahoma.  One thing that says summer to me, probably even more so than watermelon, is the peach. 

I grew up with several peach trees which were always loaded with peaches.  I just love a peach, fresh from the tree and still warmed by the hot Oklahoma sunshine.  Our horses loved peaches too and they would stretch their necks as far as they could reach to pick peaches direct from the tree which was just on the other side of the fence.  You could guarntee that there would be no peaches on that side of the tree.  They would chomp those peaches whole with peach juice dripping off their lips and then the seed would fall to the ground as they reached for another juicy sweet fruit.

Summer time in Okinawa is about has hot as Oklahoma, only with more humidity.  However, there are no fresh peaches here.  The only resource I have for peaches is the freezer section of the commissary.  I'm sure those peaches are from South America too!   I purchased some frozen peaches the other day when I was in the commissary.  I had planned to make peach cobbler with them. 

Then last night the thought occured to me that I should make peach cobbler with a cheesecake base.  Now, that would be just over the top!  Oh, and for another twist it has to be gluten free!

So, here it is!

Peach Cobbler Cheesecake

1 box gluten free yellow cake mix

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

2 tsp vanilla divided

3 8 ounce packages cream cheese softened

3 eggs

3 tsp cream of tartar
3/4 cup sugar (or splenda)
peaches diced in about 1/2 dice.  I used 1 bag frozen VIP peaches.  If you're gonna use fresh I would say it's probably 3 good sized peaches. 
1 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup brown sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine cake mix and chlled butter with pastery blender until the cake mix resembles coarse meal.  Add 1 tsp vanilla.  Reserve about 1/2 cup and press the rest of it into a 9 inch spring form pan.  Bake the crust in the oven about 10 minutes to get it to set.  My gluten free cake mix rose up about an inch.  As soon as I took it from the oven it fell.  I wanted it to be like a sugar cookie crust. 

Next, mix the cream cheese, 3 tsp cream of tartar, and 3/4 cup sugar until creamy and no lumps remain.  Then add the 3 eggs and mix until combined.  Pour batter over the partially baked crust.

Combine peaches, brown sugar and remaining 1 tsp cinnamon and then evenly place the peach mixture over the cream cheese mixture in spring form pan.

Sprinkle the remainng crust/butter mixture over the top of the peaches and bake at 350 F for 50 minutes.  At the end of 50 minutes turn the oven off and leave it in there for an hour.  This prevents cracking of the cheesecake.  After the resting time in the oven is complete chill the entire cheesecake in the fridge for at least 6 hours.

Slice and enjoy!

Still Trying To Find My Place On This Rock!

I  have not written in this blog for quite some time.  I’m not sure why.   I enjoy expressing my thoughts in the written word. 

Once, a long time ago, a friend told me that places you have been to before will never be the same once you leave and then return.  That is so true.   In my memory Okinawa was a great place.  We had so much fun here.  We had great friends.  We had the ocean and sunny days.  But, that was then.  This is now.

Now, it just doesn’t seem to hold the same luster it held before.  We still have sunny days and the ocean.  However, I have not found anyone, friend wise, that I click with.  There are probably several reasons for this.  I’m not a 20 something any longer.  Now, I’m in the dreaded 40 something age group.  I don’t have children and nearly everyone I know does.  So, I can’t relate to them in that way and honestly, I don’t want to.

Many people assume that Marc and I don’t like kids and therefore we don’t have any.  That is simply not true.  It never happened for us. There was a point when we thought we would like to have a kid or two.  That point has come and gone for us.  Oh sure, we could adopt.  But, honestly we are not even interested in raising children of our own at this point.  The truth is, we are too spoiled with the way our life is without children.  We can decide on a whim that we want to go scuba diving and not have to worry about finding a sitter.  If we want to travel, we do.  If we want to stay up all night and then sleep all day, we can do that too.  We’re just set in our ways.  We do, however, enjoy other families children.    

So, in all of the effort of trying to find my place in Okinawa, once again, I have decided to go back to school and earn a Masters of Science Management/Accounting.  This is going to be a huge undertaking and will certainly keep me busy for the remaining time I have here.  In my linear way of thinking I have already planned out exactly what classes need to be taken and exactly what term I will take them in.  Of course, determining what classes need to be accomplished was easy.  The University of Maryland has determined that for me. 

In addition to the graduate level courses I need to take I also have some undergraduate accounting courses that I will have to accomplish.  I will be taking Accounting II this summer, as well as a graduate level research course.  The graduate level research course is sort of like library science and every graduate student has to take this course.  I plan to take intermediate accounting I the first part of the Fall semester and then intermediate accounting II the second part of the semester.  On top of that I will also work on Cost Accounting this fall.  Additionally I am going to take a graduate level management  course titled ”Organizational Theory & Behavior in a Global Environment”.  I took a course similar to this during my undergraduate studies.  So, I am very much looking forward to it.  This course is a 6 hour course.  So, the total of college credit hours for the fall semester will be 15 hours.  Because I have nothing but time on my hands anyway I should not have a problem accomplishing all of this course work.   

I must give credit, however, to my wonderful husband.  He has decided to allow me to use his GI Bill in order to finance my education.  The “new” GI bill allows service members to transfer all or part of their benefits to family members.  This will be a huge help for us as the graduate level courses are close to $1200 each.  Although it’s not clear, I may also receive a $1000 per year book stipend.

  

   

Roasted Pork Loin, Chunky Baked Apple Sauce and Broccoli

While at the Kadena Commissary the other day I found a great deal on a smallish pork loin roast.  At just under $3.00 for a 2.28 pound pork loin I couldn't just go off and leave it there!  I always check the meat bargain bin when I'm at the commissary.  I know some people have an aversion to purchasing "bargain bin" meat.  But not me!

They can only leave the meat on the shelf for 2 days.  If it is not sold, they freeze it and reduce the price.  Since I'm going to bring the stuff home and put it in the freezer, I don't see a problem with reduced price meat. I've been doing this for years and never ever had a bad piece.  Sometimes there are great deals in there for awesome cuts of meat such as a package of 2 Ribeye steaks for $6.00 and ground beef for $.90.  How can I leave that stuff there and pay full price for something that I'm just going to bring home and stick in the freezer anyway.

So, back to the pork loin.  Here it is.

After reading a friend of mine's post on Facebook about her choice of BBQ Pork Loin for dinner I decided that we would also have pork loin for dinner.  I gathered my ingredients and and began the preparations.

Here are the ingredients I used.

Pork Loin

2 or 3 cloves garlic pressed or minced.  Use the real stuff, the stuff in the jar comes off sweet.

1/2 teaspoon course salt

1/4 teaspoon course ground pepper

1/4 teaspoon rubbed sage (or poultry seasoning if your out of sage like I was)

1/4 teaspoon rosemary

1/4 teaspoon thyme

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 - 1/2 olive oil

1/2 onion cut into ribs length wise.  Put this in the bottom of your roasting pan to rest the roast on.

I start out by setting the oven to 325 degrees.

Cut that onion up and put it in the bottom of the roasting pan so that your roast is not sitting directly on the bottom.

It's a good idea to tie the roast to ensure even cooking.  So, if you have cooking twine, tie that baby up.  If not, don't worry about it,.  I've done it both ways and it's been okay.

In a small bowl combine the garlic spices and olive oil and then rub it all over your roast.

Place the roast in the roasting dish, on top of those sliced onions, with the fat side up.  Put it in the oven on a middle rack.  Roast to 150 degrees Fahrenheit.  My roast was done in 1 1/2 hours.  I have an instant read thermometer and I checked the temp in the center of the roast at about 1 hour.  We were at 110 degrees Fahrenheit at 1 hour.  I checked it 30 minutes later and it was right at 150 degrees Fahrenheit.  At this point I switched on the broiler for about 5 minutes to give it a bit of color.

Be sure to let it rest for about 15 - 20 minutes before slicing.  This ensures that the juices remain in the meat and not on the cutting board.

Marc has always told me that pork makes his stomach hurt.  He said he has really bad stomach cramps about 2 or 3 hours after he eats it.  I remember hearing, or reading, that if you eat apples with the same meal you consume the pork that the apples will aid in digestion.  I decided tonight would be the time to test this theory with Chunky Baked Apple Sauce.

After I got the roast in the oven I started working on my home made chunky applesauce.  This sounds difficult, but it's not.

You will need a couple tart apples, brown sugar, cinnamon and vanilla.

2 tart apples

3 Tablespoons brown sugar (or white sugar)  If you have sweet apples you might reduce the sugar a bit.

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Mix the sugar, cinnamon and vanilla in a small bowl.

Peel the apples and remove the core.  Chop the apples and place in a small baking dish.  Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the top and cover and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 35 - 40 minutes.

I baked mine along with the pork loin.  Therefore, they were in the oven at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for about an hour.  When it's finished mash the apples with a fork to create the sauce.  Try not to stand at the stove and eat it all before dinner!

Before I started on the broccoli I made a sauce with the pan drippings and some chicken stock.  Start by discarding those onions that are on the bottom of the pan.  Add about a cup of chicken stock or water with bullion dissolved in it.  Scrape all the brown bits off and place the liquid in a sauce pan.  Bring to a boil.  Thicken with 1 Tablespoon corn starch dissolved in about 2 Tablespoons water.  Add this gradually to achieve the thickness of sauce you desire.  When it's time to plate the food just drizzle it over the meat.

Now for the Broccoli!

I found this recipe a few month ago and it can't be beat!

Broccoli with Garlic Butter and Cashews.  

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds fresh broccoli, cut into bite size pieces
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons white vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup chopped salted cashews

I like to steam my broccoli in the microwave with those steamer bags.  Unfortunately I am out of those and I have not picked up any more.  So, I just put it in a gallon size ziploc type storage bag.  Close the zip top on the bag leaving about 1 inch open so that steam can escape.  Put it in the microwave and cook on high for about 3 minutes.  Turns out perfect!

While the broccoli is doing it's thing in the microwave melt the butter in a small sauce pan.

Add the other ingredients except the nuts.  Bring to a boil and then turn off the heat.  Add the chopped nuts at this time.  I was out of cashews so we used peanuts.  Marc measured out the nuts but I forgot to tell him to chop them.  So, we had big whole peanuts in ours.  You could easily leave out the nuts.  

When the broccoli is finished carefully remove it from the microwave and put it in a bowl and drizzle the sauce over it.  

I always plate our food in the kitchen.  If I allow Marc to fix his own plate there will be nothing left for me.  So, we try to practice portion control by me plating the food and him waiting for it to be done!