Each year, Schnepf Farms has a Peach Blossom Celebration. This is before the actual Peach Festival, at the very beginning of the Arizona "spring season" when all the trees are just beginning to bud and bloom with beautiful flowers. They have a self guided walking tour, through the orchards of peach and apple trees, that is just inspirational. The best part... It's FREE! We love free, right? Starting Feb 2nd until March 2nd, Thursdays-Sundays from 9am-4pm, you can take a prayerful walk by yourself, a romantic walk with your hubby, or make it a beautiful way to show your children some of the wonders God has made. The blossoms are different each weekend, constantly changing, blooming right where they are planted. It makes me think...
We are a bit like flowers sometimes.
Fragile, but beautiful.
Sometimes prickly, sometimes withered.
Sometimes a little worn from the elements around us.
Life doesn't always end up how we've planned, does it?
We must come to a place where we realize that God has put us in this season, right where He wants us. He has a reason for creating us the way He has, and a reason for planting us where He has. We must trust, and determine to be the best we can be where He has put us. Comparing ourselves to others, their place, their beauty, will only cause us to wither.
Some of us are in difficult situations. Situations that we know are temporary, and so we wait. Wait until we have more money, wait until we loose the 10 lbs, wait until we get a new job, a new friend, until we are a little better at something. Unknowingly, we miss the opportunities God has given us for today.
The time is now.
God has something he wants you to do.. right now. Take a walk, look around, see where God has put you and how he wants you to bloom right there... where you are.
Don't put it off.
And don't be wishing you were someplace else or with someone else. Where you
are right now is God's place for you. Live and obey and love and believe right there.
1 Cor 7:17 The Message
...By the way, Schnepf farms has other activities to do besides the self guided Blossom walk. Take a look here at http://www.schnepffarms.com
They have a petting zoo and a playground for the kids. For $3 you can take a 13 minute train ride through the blossoming orchards, or for $5 you can take a 20 minute guided hay ride through several of the orchards. Don't forget about the Country Store and Bakery, where they serve fresh peach pies and peach cinnamon rolls, peach scones and peaches & cream cake, as well as many more baked goods. Oooooh, peaches... yum!
I have a favorite Peach Recipe. Maybe it's not quite as good as anything you can get at Schnepf farms, but no one would guess how easy it is to make, and how delicious just 4 ingredients could be together. I'll share it with you. Will you comment and share your favorite peach recipe too? If you post a recipe, I will enter your name into a drawing to win one of two yummy prizes: a jar of Schnepf Farms Peach Preserves or a jar of their creamy dreamy peach butter. (Winners will be drawn Saturday Feb 9th)
Peach Dump Cake Cobbler
Ingredients:
2 (16oz) cans peaches in heavy Syrup
1 (18.25oz) box of yellow cake mix
1 (18.25oz) box of yellow cake mix
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp ground Cinnamon
1 tsp ground Cinnamon
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Empty Peaches into the bottom of 13 x 9 inch pan, cover with dry cake mix and press down firmly. Cut butter into small slices, and place evenly over top of cake mix. Sprinkle with Cinnamon.
3. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes.
4. Let cool for 10 minutes, then serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream on top.
Thank you! Wonderful blog post Nicole! Oh, and I didn't know about the self guided blossom walk! I think I'll be checking that out.
ReplyDeleteYour recipe looks so good, and so easy too :)
~Linda
Thanks Linda! I know you have a peach recipe or two! What is your favorite?
DeleteOh how I miss the peach orchards of Romeo. MI from my childhood. Nice blog. Makes me wish I was closer to Schnepfs. Sounds like a great place to spend a leisurely day.
ReplyDelete~ Tracy_warm_in_tx
:) Nicole you make me smile. Wonderful job !
ReplyDeleteI have a hanging canvas of that phrase "Bloom where you are planted" on the wall of my laundry area that I received from my mother in law. It was the best gift she has ever given me. I see and ponder it often(whenever I do laundry) and it has become a mantra of sorts for me. It took me awhile to realize this truth but now that I get it, I hold on to it for dear life. It is the key to daily happiness and contentment with where God has you right now. Live in the moment ladies and glory be to God in the highest!
ReplyDeleteWhat a precious gift! It's such a great reminder, especially when we are doing seemingly mundane tasks.. like Laundry!! Thank you for your beautiful comment.
DeleteSuch an awesome truth. As women we tend to dream about our tomorrows or the promises yet to come and grow discontent in our daily lives waiting for the better to come along. God has showed me time and time again throughout His word He works in the ordinary!! He has us exactly where we are for His purpose and His plan and if we allow Him, our master gardener will do His work and we will be budding fragrant beautiful flowers that attract those around us directly to Him and our lives will bear the rich fruit of His spirit. Thanks Nicole for the reminder, very well written!!
ReplyDeleteoooh, I love how you took the picture even further and included the Gardener and how we can attract those around us by being who God has created us to be! Thank you for your comment!
DeleteLove it...I needed to read this this morning! Thank you!
DeleteWOW!! Such beautiful writing Nicole and so beautiful watching you- a beautiful flower yourself - bloom throughout the years as you are so gifted at loving and encouraging women. Thank you for sharing...I will be sharing this as I know it will bless others...lots of good news you just shared...keep going!
ReplyDeleteI guess I need to get you guys started with the recipes!! LOL Here is another Peach Recipe. This one uses the Peach Preserves that we are giving away to someone who posts a peach recipe!! It is another EASY recipe. Only takes 10 minutes.. and NO Baking!! :)
ReplyDeletePeaches -N- Cream Cups
Ingredients
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon sugar
One 8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup peach preserves
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 small peach, sliced, for garnish
4 ladyfinger cookies, for garnish
Directions
In a large bowl, combine the heavy cream and sugar and whip with a hand mixer until medium peaks form. Cover with plastic and place in the refrigerator.
In another large bowl, combine the cream cheese, peach preserves and vanilla extract and beat with a hand mixer until light and fluffy. Fold in the whipped cream.
Divide the mixture among 4 dessert glasses or 8 of the super cute mini dessert dishes and refrigerate until ready to serve. When ready to serve, garnish each with a few slices of peach and a ladyfinger cookie.
From Kathie Letellier ~ Try this. You'll love it!!
ReplyDeleteGrilled Peach Crisp
~ Fun and easy dessert from the grill.
Ingredients
•2 tablespoons sugar
•1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
•4 medium peaches, halved and pitted
*4 tsp. very good quality balsamic vinegar
•4 cups vanilla ice cream
•1 cup granola
Directions
•In a small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over cut sides of peaches. Let stand for 5 minutes.
• Using long-handled tongs, moisten a paper towel with cooking oil and lightly coat the grill rack. Place peaches cut side down on grill rack. Grill, covered, over medium heat for 8-10 minutes or until peaches are tender and begin to caramelize.
• Place peaches in dessert bowls. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar. Top with ice cream and granola. Yield: 8 servings.
yay! Thanks for posting a Recipe Kathie! It sounds delicious! So neat that you can do it on the grill!
DeleteGreat blog. I will post a recipe today. My recipes are downstairs and I am upstairs resting for a few. And then I think I am going to write down some of these other recipes that have been posted.
ReplyDeletePeach Salsa
ReplyDeleteIngredients:
6 Roma tomatoes, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 seeded and minced jalapenos, plus 2 roasted, skinned and chopped jalapenos
1 red bell pepper, fine dice
1/2 red onion, fine chopped
2 dry ancho chiles, seeded, cut into short strips and snipped into pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 lime, juiced
Chili powder, salt, and pepper, to taste
Fresh scallions, cilantro or parsley, to taste
Directions
In a bowl, combine all ingredients. Place in refrigerator for up to 12 hours for flavor infusion.
Serve with tortilla chips.
Sorry - you can forget the above recipe. It's the wrong one! Lol
ReplyDeleteIngredients:
4 medium peaches, peeled and pitted
2 large tomatoes, cut into wedges and seeded
1/2 sweet onion, cut into wedges
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 cans (4 ounces each) chopped green chilies
4 teaspoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon lime juice
1/4 teaspoon pepper
In a food processor, combine the first five ingredients; cover and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add the chilies, vinegar, lime juice and pepper; cover and pulse just until blended. Transfer to a serving bowl; chill until serving. Serve with chips. Yield: 4 cups.
Kelly~ I wont forget that first one...it still is a great looking recipe :)
DeleteHere's my super easy Peach Smoothie
ReplyDelete1 peeled, sliced peach
1 cup of milk
1 cup of crushed ice
Blend until smooth and serve
You can add any other fruit with it if you'd like to jazz it up!
Wow, love all the recipes coming in...yummy! Here's one of my favorite peach recipes. It is perfect for a hot summer day since no baking is required. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
ReplyDeletePeaches and Dreams
Ingredients:
16 whole Graham Crackers that have been crushed
3/4 Cup of Butter..melted (do not use margarine)
1/2 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Milk
4 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows
1/3 cup white Sugar
1 pint of Heavy Cream
6 Large fresh peaches that have been peeled, pitted, and sliced
Directions:
In a mixing bowl, Combine the cracker crumbs 1/2 cup of Sugar, and the melted Butter. Mix until evenly moistened. Set aside 1/4 cup to use as topping later. Press remaining crumb mixture on bottom of a 9x13 baking dish.
In a large saucepan over low heat, stir marshmallows and milk until marshmallows are completely melted. Remove from heat and cool.
In a large bowl, whip Heavy cream until soft peaks form then add in the 1/3 cup of Sugar and continue beating until peaks become firm. Fold this Cream mixture into the cooled Marshmallow mixture.
Spread half of the cream marshmallow mixture over the crust then arrange the sliced peaches over top. Next, spread the remaining cream mix over the peaches then top with the reserved 1/4 cup of cracker crumb mixture. Place in refrigerator until serving time.
Enjoy!
~Linda
Copying down all of these yummy sounding recipes! And here is mine for peach butter you can make in your crockpot. :)
ReplyDeleteHOMEMADE CROCKPOT PEACH BUTTER
Ingredients:
15 ripe freestone peaches
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1-1/2 cups sugar
Directions:
Bring a pot of water to a boil, and place peaches in the water for 1 minute. This works better if Youre using ripe peaches that are ready to eat.
Using a slotted spoon, place the peaches into a bowl of ice water for 2 minutes. Then, slide the skins right off! Or you can use a regular peeler and skip the boiling/ice method.
Cut the peaches into slices, and place in blender. Blend until smooth.
Place the pureed peaches into your Crock Pot, and top with cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and sugar. Cook on low until it reaches the thickness you want. Anywhere from 3-6 hours is good.
Put peach butter into half-pint jars or a container you can freeze it in.
If you want to seal the lids on the jars, then make sure you leave 1/4 to ½ inch at the top of the jar and wipe the top edge of the jar to make sure it is good and clean. Keep the lids in hot water until you are ready to use them. Once jars are filled with the peach butter, put hot lids on them and place them in a hot water bath by putting them in a pan of boiling water that covers them by 1 to 2 inches. Let water boil with the jars in it for 15 minutes. Lift the jars out of the boiling water with tongs and let them cool overnight. They are sealed correctly if you can press on the lid and it doesn’t pop up and down.
OMGoodness does that sound good Pam!
DeleteHere is my contribution...they all sound yummy!
ReplyDeletePeach-a-Berry Pie
4 cups fresh peaches - peeled, pitted, and sliced
1 cup fresh raspberries
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 (9 inch)pie crusts
2 tablespoons butter, softened and cut into pieces
1 tablespoon coarse granulated sugar
Directions
1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2.Place peaches and berries in a colander for about 15 minutes to drain any excess fluid , then transfer to a large bowl. Gently toss with sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Transfer to a pie crust. Dot with butter, and top with remaining crust. Cut vents in top crust, and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
3.Bake 45 minutes in the preheated oven, until crust is golden brown.
Debi Hill
I love this post! This recipe is so simple I love to just grill fresh peaches then top with ice cream.
ReplyDeleteJennifer Young
DeletePeach Cobbler
ReplyDelete5-6 med. ripe peaches
1T fresh lemon juice
1 2/3 c. sugar
1 stick melted butter
1 c. flour
1 T baking powder
1/4 t salt
1c. whole milk
cinn. and or nutmeg for sprinkling
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375. Cut an x in bottom of each peach with a paring knife and blanch peaches in 2 batches in a 3 quart sauce pan of boiling water for 10 seconds. Transfer peaches with a slotted spoon to a bowl of ice water. Peel off skin, start at scored end. Halve peaches, pit and cut 1/4" slices. Transfer peaches to a heavy saucepan and add lemon juice and 2/3 c.sugar. Bring to a boil over high heat, stir occasionally 4 min. Remove from heat. Pour melted butter in 13x9 pan. Wisk together flour, baking powder, salt and rest of sugar, the wisk milk just until combined. Pour batter over butter pour peaches overf batter sprinkle with cinn. or nutmeg
Bake for 40-45 min
Easy Peach Jam
ReplyDelete5 Cups Diced Peaches
5 Cups Sugar
1 Package Orange Jello
Mix peaches and sugar bring to a boil, boil for 10 minutes. Mix in orange jello stir until dissolved. Pour into jars and seal.
Thanks so much for all your great Peach Recipes!! Feel free to continue to add Recipes to this post even though the contest is over. :)
ReplyDeleteThe Winner of the Jar of Schnepf Farms Peach Preserves is..... PAM COLE!
The Winner of the Jar of Schnepf Farms Yummy Peach Butter is.... DEBI HILL!
Congratulations! & Enjoy!! I will contact you and get your prize to you right away! :)
Congratulations Pam and Debi!!!
ReplyDelete