Cranberry Nectarine Crumble

Mmmmmm.... these comforting little crumbles only took about 10 minutes or less to put together and then they were already in the oven; SO quick and easy!


I got the idea for this dessert when I went shopping the other day; I saw a huge new assortment of nectarines and peaches in the produce department! I got so excited because I LOVE peaches. The nectarines and peaches were so big and juicy, and what really got me was that they smelled SO heavenly when I walked by! I originally set out to make a peach crisp, but then I remembered that Peter doesn't care for peaches because of their skin. That's okay, I've heard that from a lot of people who have that same problem with them. But if you DO like peaches, you could use those for this recipe too. This time, I used nectarines.


Side Note: There are yellow and white flesh nectarines and peaches. Yellow nectarines and peaches are sweet and slightly tangy. White flesh peaches and nectarines are even more sweet (almost too sweet for me) than the yellow varieties.
I liked these yellow flesh nectarines because they were still somewhat firm for how juicy they were. When baking with fruit, I like to choose ripe fruit that is still somewhat firm. If f goes in too soft already, then it can come out like applesauce when it's finished. If your fruit is super soft, cook it for less time. If your fruit is super firm (like apples), it may require more time.


Recipe (serves 4): 
2 large, ripe Nectarines, diced
1/4 cup Dried Cranberries
2 dashes of Cinnamon
2 teaspoons fresh lemon zest
1 Tablespoon fresh squeezed Lemon Juice
1/2 cup Quick Oats
1/3 cup Flour (whole wheat flour works well in this recipe)
1/4 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
4 Tablespoons cold Butter

Mix the nectarines, cranberries, cinnamon, lemon zest & juice in a bowl:

In a separate bowl, combine the oats, flour, sugar and brown sugar:

Into that oat mixture, cut in 4 tablespoons of COLD butter that has been diced into many little cubes. Cut/mash with a fork until the butter is somewhat dispersed throughout the oat crumble:

Fill ramekin dishes with the nectarine mixture and then top generously with the oat crumble topping. 

Place ramekins on a cookie shoot so that no fruit juices can ooze into your oven and make a mess: 

Bake these little guys at 350 degrees F for about 30 minutes- until the crumble topping becomes golden brown and crispy.

Top with some vanilla ice cream and serve immediately :)

Chicken Divine

Chicken Divine (pronounced Chicken 'Divan'), is a casserole made with chicken and brocoli, and it is a great and super easy weeknight meal! In fact, this time that I made it, I worked a 9 hour day, then picked up my car from the mechanic shop, and STILL had time to make this easy and delicious dinner.

This time, I tried something new-- I actually replaced some of the original ingredients with healthier options and the end result tasted EXACTLY THE SAME as the original recipe!! Though it sounds healthy, being a chicken and broccoli dinner, some of the ingredients in the sauce could be made healthier. I was nervous because it makes a large casserole dish worth of food and if this healthy makeover didn't turn out well.... it would have been a loooong week of forcing leftovers :) But you would never know that some of the original calorie and fat laden ingredients had been omitted! Peter wanted it again for dinner the next night AND he wanted me to pack it for lunch to take to work with him! This was a successful healthy makeover. 


I have underlined just a couple of the BIG changes in the recipes below so you can have both the original recipe as well as the healthier version so that you can be able see where some of the ingredients were altered:

Serves 6-8:

Healthy-Makeover Recipe:

2 lbs Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast, cooked & cubed

2 lbs fresh Broccoli, chopped (or 2 bags frozen broccoli)

1 cup shredded Swiss Cheese

1 cup shredded Longhorn Cheese (or a mild white cheddar)

1/4 tsp Curry Powder

One 8oz. container of Nonfat Plain Greek Yogurt

2/3 cup light Mayonnaise

1 can low sodium Cream of Celery Soup

1 1/2 cups bread crumbs

2 Tbsps Butter, melted (I know this part isn't healthy, but it is optional... necessary in my opinion though :)

Original Recipe:

2 lbs Chicken, cooked & cubed

2 packages frozen Broccoli

1 cup shredded Swiss Cheese

1 cup shredded Longhorn Cheese

1/4 tsp Curry Powder

One 8oz. container of Sour Cream

2/3 cup Mayonnaise

1 can Cream of Celery Soup

2-3 cups bread crumbs

4 Tbsps Butter 

Just by switching...

1. sour cream to nonfat plain greek yogurt you will save: 334 calories, 45 g fat, & 26 g saturated fat
2. regular mayo to light mayo you will save: 534 calories, 64 g. fat, & 6 g. saturated fat
3. 2 tbsps of butter less for the crumb topping, you will save: 200 calories, 22 g. fat, & 14 g. sat. fat

...Cutting a grand total of 1,068 calories, 131 grams of fat, & 46 grams of saturated fat

Okay, now down to business... Start by making the sauce; mix the cheeses, cream of celery soup, greek yogurt, light mayo, and curry powder. 

 In a large casserole dish lightly sprayed with a nonstick spray, layer the chopped broccoli...

 ...then the cooked/chopped chicken...

 ...then top with the sauce mixture.

 Bake at 350 degrees F for about 30 minutes until the top just starts to turn golden...

While the casserole is baking in the oven, make the bread crumb mixing the bread crumbs (I pulsed together some seasoned bread cubes and panko) and the melted butter.

After the casserole has been cooking for about 25-30 minutes and the top just starts to turn golden...

 Pull it out of the oven, top it with the buttered bread crumbs, and return it to the oven for just enough time to allow the bread crumbs to turn golden brown (about 10 minutes)

After about 10 minutes: 

It is HOT, so let it sit for a few minutes to cool down, and also to let it set up or else it will run all over your plate if you try to serve it before it has set.

It doesn't exactly serve in a typical, perfect, casserole-like square serving size... In fact it is easier to scoop servings with a large serving spoon rather than a spatula.

Oatmeal Bread

I grew up babysitting for the Dean family. The 4 kids were like my little siblings that I never had but always wanted; and Todd & Becky were like another set of parents to me :) I still consider them 'family'. Becky and I were hiking in Laguna Beach a few months back, and we were talking about recipes and baking bread and so on. Soon after, she told me about this wonderful oatmeal bread that was one of her family's recipes. It is sweet and wholesome tasting at the same time. The oats give it that light, nutty, wholesome taste, and the molasses lends to its  dense sweetness :) Mmmmmm! 

On the afternoon that Becky was teaching me how to bake this special bread, I got so excited when I saw there was molasses in it; I LOVE the rich flavor of molasses. Becky laughed and shared a great story...

Becky grew up in Bolivia, and as a kid- molasses was such a treat for her down there. When she was little, she used to go over to a friend's house and they would get spoonfuls out of her friend's mom's molasses jar for a special treat. One day, driving on the narrow Bolivian roads, a large truck overturned and TONS of molasses was spilling out. The driver told everyone to gather molasses if they wished, as it was all spilling to waste! There happened to be a large tupperware container in the back of their car, so little becky got to fill it with molasses. She had died and gone to heaven! ...until she ate herself so sick on molasses that she still has a hard time even smelling it to this day! Luckily though, she still enjoys this oatmeal bread :)

*Nutrition Noteworthy: Molasses is a great source of Iron commonly recommended for those who are anemic.

Recipe (makes 2 LARGE loafs, or 1 Large loaf + 1 Large tray of rolls): 

• 2 packages (4 1/2 teaspoons) Yeast 
• 1/2 cup Warm Water (for rising yeast)
• 1/2 teaspoon Sugar (for rising yeast)

• 1 1/2 cup Quick Oats
• 1/4 cup Butter
• 1/2 cup Molasses
• 1 Tablespoon Salt
• 1/4 cup Brown Sugar
• 1 2/3 cups Boiling Water

• 2 Eggs
• 6 cups Flour

In a glass container, dissolve the 1/2 tsp sugar in the 1/2 c. warm water and stir in the yeast. Allow to rise while you mix your next ingredients...

...while your yeast is proofing, combine the Oats, Butter, Molasses, Salt, and Brown Sugar: 

Then pour the boiling water over it, and stir until the butter is melted and all the ingredients are combined: 

 Then crack in the 2 eggs and stir well into the oat mixture. THEN you can finally add in the proofed yeast and stir well: 

 Add the flour in 1 cup increments, kneading until you get a warm, supple, dough ball- almost the same smooth, stiffness as play dough.  

It did not require any more than 6 cups flour.

Here is Amy, the youngest of the 4 Dean kids, buttering all of the baking dishes:

We doubled the recipe, and it made this much PLUS another loaf that didn't make it in this picture:

(the large loaf was exactly 1/2 of one recipe yield, and the dinner rolls were made by rolling the other 1/2 of the dough into either large balls in the glass casserole, or 3 small balls into each cupcake tin to make the clover rolls.)

We covered the dough with a large tea towel and let it rise (about 30-40 minutes): 

Look at how beautifully all of the dough rose!

These baked goodies went for 30 minutes at 325 degrees F, and out came warm, delicious rolls and loaves! 

While they were still warm out of the oven, Becky rubbed the tops lightly with a little spread of butter (something that I used to watch Nana do when she made rolls also!)

We had to eat some right away while they were warm :D 

Some of these clover rolls were pulled apart and enjoyed with a little butter and some with jam, and some with both!

 Oh my goodness- this is a beautiful sight! 

Peter and I enjoyed this loaf ALL WEEK. Every morning we would toast another slice and sit together while we savored every warm bite :)


Thank you Becky!!!