Peach Cobbler Recipe Hack, Soda Cake

Hi. We celebrated my father in law's birthday yesterday. His favorite dessert in the whole wide world is peach cobbler, but he's gone and put himself on a diet, so I had to get creative.

I found some recipe hacks online and added my own twist to it. Considering that I didn't even get a picture of it because the people ate the entire tray of it, I'm just going to say that it went over splendidly.

If you're looking for a reduced sugar, low fat dessert idea that uses fresh fruit and is ridiculously easy, this is your thing. Promise.

Soda Cake Peach Cobbler
- 6-8 fresh peaches, peeled and cut up into bite size pieces
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- 1 can lemon lime diet soda (I used Sprite Zero)
- Handful of oats (optional)
- 2 tbsp brown sugar (also optional)
- cinnamon

(Yes, really, that's all that goes into it)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 pan with nonstick spray. Add the cut up peaches to the bottom, spreading evenly. (They do not, by the way, need to be ripe or cooked, which is a double bonus).

Spread the cake mix over the top, patting down with your hand. If you want it to be a little crispy, add the oats and brown sugar. Pour soda carefully over the top of the mixture. It will be bubbly. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon.

Bake for one hour.

I served it with light whipped cream instead of ice cream because of the diet, but you could use either.

Like I said, there was nothing left. They licked the container of whipped cream clean and scraped every bit out of the pan.

How To Make a Homemade Volcano, Then Make It Explode!

This summer, I've been spending a lot of time teaching the kids different science lessons. This week we are focusing on geology, rocks, tectonic plates, earthquakes and volcanoes. I decided that our science project for the week would be to construct and explode a homemade volcano.

The chemical reaction in this easy experiment really isn't that different from what happens in a real volcano. The production of carbon dioxide is what causes the eruption. The best part is that all the ingredients are non-toxic and safe to touch!

This is actually a really easy project that can take as little as an hour start to finish, just depending on the level of detail you're shooting for. Everything you'll use is probably already sitting in your kitchen.

Here's what you will need:

- empty plastic bottle (ours was about 12 ounces in size)
- cookie sheet 
- flour
- salt
- vegetable oil
- water
- red food coloring
- dishsoap
- baking soda
- vinegar
- paint (optional)

1) Mix up the material to build the volcano. Take about 6 cups of flour, about 2 cups of salt and mix thoroughly. Add 1/4 cup vegetable oil and 2 cups warm water. Mix with hands until it forms a doughy paste.

2) Take the plastic bottle, put it on the cookie sheet and start adding the paste mixture, building it up gradually from the bottom. You'll want to first stabilize the bottle, then form the cone of the volcano. Compact it to ensure it all holds. Let dry (only takes a few minutes).

3) If desired, paint your volcano. We painted it. Of course we did. Let dry. If you're so inclined, you could build a little village and put some trees around it to see how the lava flows would affect people nearby.

4) Fill a glass of about the same size as the bottle with very warm water. Add some drops of the food coloring.

5) Pour the tinted water into the bottle in the center of the volcano. Once added, squirt some dishsoap in with it.

6) Carefully pour about 2 tbsp baking soda into the water. It may begin to foam up a little.

7) Pour the vinegar into the bottle a little at a time and watch the lava explode and run down the sides of the volcano!

Fruit Infused Water

A few months ago, I started drinking fruit infused waters. I started primarily to ensure that I was getting an adequate daily water intake, knowing that I would drink more if the water had some flavor to it.

Since changing over to this, even the kids and my husband have started drinking it. I haven't bought juice aside from orange juice in months. Even sports drinks have been pushed aside for the fruit water here.

I've noticed that it is already helping me combat swelling in this pregnancy a ton.

As for the nutritional value of these waters, it isn't my area of expertise. I don't add sugar to them at all and any sugar comes from the fruit itself, which is pretty substantially diluted.

I have two jars that we use for the water. A one gallon sun tea jar is what I use when making small batches, then we have a larger two gallon jar for the weekends when everyone is home all day. I fill them and add the fruit first thing in the morning. The longer it sits, the better it is. There are some combinations with teas and vegetables as well.

I empty and wash the dispensers at night.

The idea is to just try different combinations out and see what you like the best.

I add one lemon/lime/orange/peach (or other larger fruit) and a handful of berries at a time. If you squeeze the fruit or bruise the herb leaves slightly, the flavors will come out quicker.

These are some of the combinations we have tried here:

- Lemon blackberry (my personal favorite)
- Lemon raspberry
- Orange lemon raspberry
- Kiwi strawberry
- Peach strawberry
- Orange blueberry
- Lemon cucumber
- Lemon kiwi
- Apple peach
- Cantaloupe lemon
- Watermelon strawberry

I've added passion fruit tea, chamomile tea and black tea to them in different combinations as well. The passionfruit works best with lemon and berries. The chamomile works best with lemon. Black tea works best with oranges. Fresh herbs such as mint, basil and cilantro can be added as well. Mint blends well with berries and melons. Cilantro brings a fresh flavor when mixed with citrus.

Citrus fruits are known for helping detox your body and fight swelling, so I include some kind of citrus every day.

Carne Asada, Chimichurri Sauce, Beans and Lime Cilantro Rice

I promise that the next time I make this meal, I will remember to take pictures of it before the kids eat it all. I couldn't get to it before they destroyed it - which is a good thing. It means it all was good!

I learned, accidentally, that almost all of this meal is better when you let it sit and get happy longer than you think you should. I initially made it all for Sunday but ended up in the ER with my son after he got hit by a baseball. So, it waited an extra day. Turns out that made all the difference in the world, because everything was even better.

Carne Asada
This isn't exactly a traditional recipe, but it's damn good. I hate that I cook better food than you can get in restaurants here. This recipe is written for two flank steaks, but you can cut it in half if you only need one.

- Flank steak (one for every 3-4 people)
- 2/3 can of soda (I used regular Coke)
- juice of 2 large limes
- 2 tbsp oregano
- 2 tbsp seasoned salt
- 1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped

Combine soda, juice, seasonings and cilantro in a bowl. Place meat in a shallow dish and pour mixture over top. Let marinate in the fridge 24+ hours, flipping a few times to make sure both sides are coated well.

Grill until desired temperature reached. We aim for medium here.

About halfway though the marinating process, I added chimichurri sauce to the marinade as well. That recipe is below.

Chimichurri Sauce
Chimichurri is an Argentinian sauce used mostly with grilled food. If you haven't had it, you must. This stuff will change your life.

- 1 bunch flat leaf parsley
- 3 tbsp minced garlic
- 1/2 small red onion, chopped
- 1 cup olive oil
- 2/3 cup vinegar
- juice of one lemon
- salt and pepper to taste

Throw all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse together. Use half to marinate the meat, reserve the other half in the fridge to use after the meat is cooked.

Beans
This is so easy and so ridiculously good that you won't buy canned beans again. Don't try it or you'll never go back. Honest.

- 16 oz pinto beans, rinsed
- 9 cups water
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 2 tbsp minced garlic
- 3 tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp pepper
- 1 tbsp cumin

Throw it all in a crockpot and cook on high at least 8 hours. Scoop out beans and onions, mash together adding cooking liquid as needed for texture.

I usually cook them for the 8 hours, but this time they sat on high for 12. I thought they'd be burned. Nope. Even better.

Lime Cilantro Rice
I conjured this one up after a trip to Chipotle. I fell in love with their rice and became determined to figure out what they put in it. This is what I've come up with.

- Cooked white rice (I make 8 cups at a time because my herd loves this stuff, preferable Jasmine rice)
- butter
- limes
- 1/2 bunch Cilantro
- salt and pepper to taste

For the amount of rice I make, I use 4 tbsp butter and 2-3 limes. Stir it all in, add salt and pepper to your preference, then try not to eat the entire bowl.