SKILLET PEACHES A LA MODE
From: Better Homes & Gardens
– 1 recipe Sugared Pastry, below
– 1/3 cup butter
– 6 to 8 peaches or nectarines, pitted and halved or quartered (about 2 lb.)
– 1/4 cup peach or apricot nectar
– 2 Tbsp. packed brown sugar
– 1 cup fresh raspberries or blueberries
– Fresh mint leaves (optional)
– Vanilla Ice Cream

1. Prepare Sugared Pastry, below (see note). Melt butter in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add peaches, skin side up. Reduce heat to medium; cook 4 to 5 minutes, turning once. Remove peaches to bowls. Add nectar and brown sugar to skillet. Cook and stir over medium heat 1 to 2 minutes or until sugar is dissolved and syrup forms.

2. Spoon syrup on peaches. Top with berries, mint and Sugared Pastry. Serve with ice cream.

3. Sugared Pastry: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Let one 15-oz. rolled refrigerated pie crust stand at room temperature 15 minutes. Line baking sheet with nonstick foil or parchment paper. Unroll crust onto lightly floured surface. Brush with 1 Tbsp. melted butter. Sprinkle with 1 Tbsp. coarse decorating sugar or granulated sugar and 1/4 tsp. cinnamon. Cut pastry in half. Cut halves into strips, stars, or desired shapes. Place on prepared sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on baking sheet on wire rack. Makes about 40 strips. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

4. Note: Can be frozen up to 3 months.

Spiced Pecan & Pumpkin Butter
From cooksrecipes.com
– Zest of 1 orange or zest of 1/2 orange and 1/2 lemon removed in wide strips with a swivel peeler
– 1 (29-ounce) can solid pack pumpkin plus 1/2 cup of water or 3 1/2 to 4 cups pumpkin puree prepared from scratch
– 2 cups light brown sugar, firmly packed
– 3 tablespoons strained fresh orange juice
– 3 tablespoons strained fresh lemon juice
– 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
– 1/2 teaspoon salt
– 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
– 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
– Pinch of ground cloves
– 1/3 cup pecans or walnuts, lightly toasted and very finely chopped

1. Simmer the orange zest in 2 cups water in a saucepan for 10 minutes, then drain it and mince it to a fine pulp. Measure out 1 tablespoon and reserve. Combine in a heavy-bottomed stainless-steel or other nonreactive saucepan, the pumpkin and water (if using canned) orange zest, sugar, orange juice, lemon juice, cinnamon, salt, allspice, ginger and cloves. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly; lower the heat and simmer the mixture, stirring it very often with a wooden spatula, until it has become very thick, about 15 minutes. Sample the butter and add a little more of any of all of the spices, if you like (although flavors will blossom in storage). Add more sweetening if your taste buds request it.

2. Stir in the nuts and continue to cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Ladle the boiling-hot pumpkin butter into clean, hot half-pint canning jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Seal the jars with new 2 piece canning lids according to manufacturer’s instructions. Process the jars for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath. Cool, label, and store for up to a year in a cool cupboard.

Makes 5 cups.

One quick note. When it’s time to simmer the butter for 15 minutes”¦well, it’s so thick that it pops and makes a huge mess as it “simmers.” I put the next-size-up lid on my saucepan and kept it propped open with my wooden spoon”¦that way the moisture could escape to help thicken the butter, but your kitchen doesn’t look like the battleground for the Great Pumpkin War of 2008.

UPDATE 9/2014: I finally wrote an actual post about this recipe. I recommend clicking through, where the recipe has been re-written with more directions and notes. Thank you!

ORIENTAL CHICKEN SALAD:
From: Brittany Reisenberg
Dressing:
– 1 C oil (canola)
– 6 T sugar
– 4 T soy sauce
– 1/2 C apple cider vinegar
– 1 1/2 t. ginger
– 3 shots tobasco sauce
– 2 T sesame seed

Salad:
– 3 cooked chicken breasts, shredded
– 2 small heads iceberg lettuce
– 4 green onions, chopped
– 2 stalks celery, cut diagonally
– 2 small cans mandarin oranges
– 1 pkg fried wonton strips

Blend all dressing ingredients, except seeds, then add sesame seeds. Mix all salad ingredients. Toss with dressing. YUM!

To make fried wonton strips – buy wonton skins in produce section. Cut squares into 1/3 strips. In pan with oil to cover, cook on medium-high heat until strips are brown, then drain.