summer Archives - From Gate to Plate

Golden Peach Cake #TheCakeSliceBakers

August 26, 2014 by Lauren 7 Comments

A delicious, light and fluffy Golden Peach Cake using fresh peaches would be perfect for any summer potluck or party!

It’s that time of the month again… for The Cake Slice Bakers that is! Jeez. I missed July’s cake reveal because of the oh-so-busy fair month. I barely had time to sleep let alone bake anything, but no worries; I’m back!

If you’re just tuning in for the first time… I joined a group called The Cake Slice Bakers. We are baking our way through a great cookbook called Great Cakes by Carole Walter. This book will be coming to an end though and we will be starting our new one in a couple months. I’m super excited for our next cookbook…. but shh. I can’t tell you what it is yet!

For those of you who have never heard of The Cake Slice Bakers… let me give you a little run down. Each month our members get to chose their favorite one cake out of four listed. You must bake the cake as directed and then give your review. Sounds easy peasy right?! Yup, sure is as long as you find time to blog about it afterwards… unlike me ha! Our reveal date is on the 20th of each month. Needless to say I’m a little late on that part… But without further adieu… lets get to this Golden Peach Cake.

Earlier in the month for our Foodie Extravaganza Party we shared recipes for peaches because August is National Peach Month and I also told you when I made my Old Fashioned Peach Cobbler that I was not a fan of warm/cooked peaches.. I only made the cobbler for my mother. Well, this cake is an exception for me. The peaches are not super mushy and hold the form really well. The cake itself has great flavor and I pretty much just really enjoy this cake; even if it does have peaches in it!! There’s a nice cinnamon-sugar mixture that you sprinkle on top of the cake before it goes into the oven… ohh yes, as we know peaches and cinnamon–a great combo!

So overall, for this Golden Peach Cake review I must say it will probably be one of my go-to cakes that I use when I have fresh peaches laying around. It has been a hit in my house!

Golden Peach Cake

2014-08-26 09:38:34

Serves 8

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Prep Time

20 min

Cook Time

50 min

Total Time

1 hr 10 min

Prep Time

20 min

Cook Time

50 min

Total Time

1 hr 10 min

Ingredients

Topping
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Cake
3 medium peaches, peeled, 1-inch cubes
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 3/4 cup sifted cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons = 14 tablespoons sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup milk

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350*F and position rack in lower third of oven. Butter a 9-inch springform pan.
Topping--
Mix all ingredients and set aside.
Cake--
Sprinkle peaches with lemon juice and set aside.
Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl, cream butter and lemon zest until smooth and light in color, about 2 minutes.
Add the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time.
Add the eggs, 1 at a time, mixing 30 seconds between each.
Blend in vanilla.
Add the flour mixture, alternating with the milk beginning and ending with flour.
Spread 2/3 of the batter into the prepared pan.
Arrange peaches in a single layer over batter.
Pour remaining batter over peaches and with a spoon gently spread the batter out. It is not necessary to cover all peaches.
Sprinkle the topping evenly over the batter
Bake at 350*F for 50-60 minutes or until cake tests done and is golden brown on the top.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a cooling rack
When ready to serve, remove the side of the pan.
Serve plain, with yogurt or ice cream!

Notes

**I omitted the walnuts in the topping when I prepared this cake**
**If you wish to remove the metal bottom from the cake before serving, use a parchment lining before baking**

By Carole Walter

Adapted from Great Cakes Cookbook

From Gate to Plate http://fromgatetoplate.com/

I hope you enjoyed my cake selection and you take the time to hop over to see what the other Cake Slice Bakers have baked! All four of the cakes this month were good choices!

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Soft Butterscotch S’more Cookies {Day 2} #KickOffToSummerWeek2014

May 13, 2014 by Lauren 16 Comments

When you don’t have a bonfire and you want a s’more, don’t fuss… just bake these super soft and delicious Soft Butterscotch S’more Cookies!

Welcome to Day #2 of Kick Off to Summer Week, a multi-blogger event co-host by Lauren of From Gate to Plate and Summer of Summer Scraps. With summer quickly approaching and Memorial Day in a few weeks, we wanted to make sure you had plenty of ideas for your Memorial Day activities. Each day we will be serving up a variety of different appetizers, main dishes, desserts, decor, printables and more all centered around the up-coming Memorial Day. We hope you enjoy all of these wonderful ideas. Tune in each day starting with Monday, May 12 and ending on Saturday, May 17. We have great prizes up for grabs throughout the week so you will not want to miss out on any of the days! Follow #KickOffToSummerWeek2014 on Twitter to keep up to date with all of our spectacular ideas and giveaways!

During the summer months when I was younger, fishing and hanging with friends setting on a tailgate is all I wanted to do when I wasn’t playing softball or showing cattle. There’s almost nothing better than just hanging with great people under the moonlight trying to catch a big ol’ cat. Along with those fishing adventures usually comes a fire pit and what’s the best thing to do over a fire?! Yup, you’ve guessed it… make some s’mores!! I love my marshmallows super crispy on the outside and melting goodness in the middle slapped between two pieces of graham cracker and a slice of chocolate… hmm… I need a bonfire in my life soon. How do you take your marshmallows when you’re making s’mores??

Well, sometimes you just can’t go outside and light a fire whenever you are craving s’mores. That’s why these Soft Butterscotch S’more Cookies are pretty much the next best thing. Maybe besides these S’more Bars that is or even a little dose of some spiked s’mores with these Bailey’s Lucky S’more Bars. Either way… these will satisfy your cravings — for a little while 🙂

Honestly, when I first made these… I didn’t even want to bake them. I just wanted to eat the cookie dough as is! Seriously! Fantastic! We’re talking it’s my new favorite cookie dough. Forget that go-to sugar cookie or chocolate chip cookie dough that you always make. This dough. It’s simply…ahhhhhhh-mazing in my book! Next time, I think I might just skip the baking part and leave the dough in the fridge to snack on. I’m not even joking guys, the graham crackers in this dough just takes the normal cookie dough to another level that I’m so happy I found. If you don’t believe me, just try it for yourself and let me know what you think!

If the dough is able to make it on to the oven, you’re in good shape. Once the cookies are half baked you pull them out and place a few mini marshmallows on top and now you’ve got yourself a serious ooey gooey s’more cookie. The butterscotch chips give the s’mores something a little different… not a bad different either! Don’t just take my word for it.

Make them.

Eat them.

Hide them from loved ones.

Ohh. PS. If your marshmallows run over the sides of your cookies when baking… scrape the marshmallows off once they come out of the oven… and eat them.. don’t throw them away! Delicious!

Soft Butterscotch S'more Cookies

2014-05-12 20:31:09

Yields 36

A soft and chewy Butterscotch S'more Cookie is a perfect alternate for those s'more cravings you've been having! Forget the fire, just light your oven!

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Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

10 min

Total Time

20 min

Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

10 min

Total Time

20 min

Ingredients

3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cup flour
1 cup (1 full sleeve) graham cracker crumbs
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cup butterscotch baking chips
1 cup mini marshmallows

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375*F
In a mixing bowl, fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugars until smooth.
Add the egg and vanilla, mixing thoroughly.
In a sifter combine the flour and baking soda.
Add sifted flour mixture and graham cracker crumbs, mixing well.
Stir in the butterscotch chips.
With a cookie scoops (or spoon) place dough onto cookie sheets.
Bake at 375*F for 6-8 minutes and remove from oven.
Quickly place a few marshmallows on the tops of each cookie and return to oven to finish baking 2-3 minutes.
Remove from oven and let cool on wire racks.

Notes

**No 375* is not too hot. If you bake at 350* your cookies will spread too much**
**Yields 2.5-3 dozen cookies depending on size**
**Cookies may stick together if marshmallows become sticky melted and not crusty melted--I like mine sticky on the cookie :)**

From Gate to Plate http://fromgatetoplate.com/

So you’re not done looking for Memorial Day ideas are you?! I sure hope not because my friends have some to share with you below!

View all of the other Kick Off to Summer Week 2014 participants for more Memorial Day ideas!

Soft Butterscotch S’more Cookies by From Gate to Plate
Crunchy Peanut Butter Cookies by Keep it Simple, Sweetie
Patriotic Quinoa Salad by It’s Yummi
Salmon Burgers by The Haas Machine
Summer Letter Set by Summer Scraps
Creamy Corn Salad by Forty Eighteen
Classic Potato Salad by Clarks Condensed
Mini Cake Mix Sandwich Cookie Bites by Lady Behind The Curtain
Grilled Stuffed Flank Steak by Love in the Kitchen
Sun-dried Tomatoes – How to by Food Lust People Love

Thanks for stopping by and visiting!!

Did you miss Monday’s Kick Off To Summer Post? Well you will not want to miss it! I shared these Margarita Grilled Shrimp Skewers and a Pick Your Plum giveaway. Now run along… go check them out!

Kabob Marinade

September 23, 2013 by Lauren 4 Comments

Given it’s football season… a lot of my dishes are going to revolve around football and tailgating. Trying recipes out for the big game is one thing I love to do.

One of the easiest dishes for me to make for a good tailgate is kabobs. There’s so many different things you can do with them… from the type of meat, vegetables and marinade you put on them. Usually I stick with the cheap ol’ chicken for my kabobs, but for this past tailgate I went with smoked sausages, mushrooms, onion, green pepper, baby potatoes, and cherry tomatoes. I was going to put small chunks of sweet corn on them, but the corn was being difficult and the skewers weren’t very long.. I love my meat…. and mushrooms!

The marinade is really very simple and boy is it delicious! You probably already have all the ingredients in your pantry.

Instead of the Smoked Sausage Kabobs like I made… this marinade would be *PERFECT* for a good Steak Kabob as well.

Since my smoked sausage did not need marinated, I left them out, but I placed everything else in a big bowl and tossed it a few times. I actually let mine set for two days… All the vegetables were full of flavor and the mushrooms…. mmmmmmm I can still taste them in my mouth! They were so good.

You do not need to let yours set for that long, 30 minutes will do. Just keep in mind the longer you let them set the more flavor they will soak up!

For some reason I was spacing out when I was making these and I didn’t get any pictures. I think I am going to have to blame SnapChat for that!

Kabob Marinade

2013-09-18 12:12:08

Serves 6

A succulent marinade that can be used on steak, chicken, turkey, and vegetables.

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Prep Time

45 min

Cook Time

15 min

Total Time

1 min

Prep Time

45 min

Cook Time

15 min

Total Time

1 min

Ingredients

2 pounds Sirloin Steak, or meat of your choice, cut into 1" cubes
1 red bell pepper, 1" cubes
2 green bell pepper, 1" cubes
1 large red onion, 1" cubes
1 pound small mushrooms
1-2 cups cherry tomatoes
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon seasoning salt
1 tablespoon black pepper
3 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup olive oil
Metal or wooden Skewers (Mine made roughly 40-50)

Instructions

In a large bowl combine the seasonings, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, soy sauce, and olive oil
Place the steak (or your other choice of meat), peppers, onions, and mushrooms into the marinade tossing to coat and let set for at least 30 minutes
Skewer the steak and peppers alternating with the onion, tomatoes, and mushrooms until all the steak has been skewered
On a hot grill, place the skewers down and cook (5ish minutes per skewer--they don't take that long), turning occasionally until there's a nice char on the outside
Remove

Notes

**You can use whatever meat and vegetables you would like for this marinade**
**The longer you allow the meat and vegetables to set in the marinade the more flavor they will soak up**

From Gate to Plate http://fromgatetoplate.com/

Baked Brown Sugar Chicken Wings

September 10, 2013 by Lauren 4 Comments

Football… Food… Football… Friends… Ohhh how I love them all!

I made these Baked Brown Sugar Chicken Wings for Super Bowl XLVII (2013) after my besties wedding reception in Wichita. The wedding was in Vegas the week before. It was absolutely beautiful… but a little chilly. We all had a wonderful time hitting the casinos, great food and even a piano bar at New York New York after the wedding.

Here’s a few photos of our time while spent in Vegas….

Truffle Fries from BurGR by Gordon Ramsy

BurGR is an absolute must go-to when you’re in Vegas! You can find it in Planet Hollywood.

I can’t even begin to describe how great the food and service was to us. I wanted to eat there EVERY day we were there just to try more burgers and eat more truffle fries… yummy!!

The beautiful bride and I after we changed clothes from her wedding. We’ve been friends forever and I don’t know what I’d do without her! Love her to death!

Alright, enough about my wonderful trip to Las Vegas to celebrate the newlyweds… let’s get to the food.

What’s a Super Bowl party without great food and chicken wings??

Well, I’m bringing you an excellent, moist and juicy wing recipe that will satisfy any craving!

I also used legs for those who are not a fan of {bone-in} wings.

I placed my baked wings and legs in the Crock Pot so they would stay warm throughout the entire game.

Everyone will be coming back for more!!

Promise.

So go get those chicken wings ready for your next tailgating party whether it’s on your couch or in the parking lot in front of your favorite teams’ stadium.

Baked Brown Sugar Chicken Wings

2013-09-10 19:05:11

Yields 4

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Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

25 min

Total Time

35 min

Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

25 min

Total Time

35 min

Ingredients

2 pounds chicken wings {and legs if you want to use both}
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425*F and line a baking sheet with foil
In a large bowl, combine all ingredients stirring to coat the wings well
Place the wings onto prepared baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes, turning halfway through

Notes

**You may use legs with this recipe also if you prefer them over wings**
**I placed the baked wings and legs in a crockpot to help keep warm**

Adapted from Damn Delicious

From Gate to Plate http://fromgatetoplate.com/

Beef or Venison Stir Fry with Sugar Snap Peas

September 5, 2013 by Lauren 3 Comments

Earlier this summer our sugar snap peas were going nuts. It was the first time I tried to grow them and quiet frankly… I was never really interested in eating them… it was just something new. Maybe because I viewed them as a diet food.. and I don’t particularly like diets… I’d rather just workout instead and still eat what I want! Just watch your portion sizes and you’ll be fine.

Everyone I’ve seen eat them always eats them raw… after going about a week eating sugar snaps and ranch… I decided it was time to come up with a new way to use them. The first thought that popped into my head was a stir fry. I hadn’t had a stir fry in a long time so… why not. Lets do this! I did give Google a good ol’ search to see what I could come up with and I found this Beef and Snow Pea recipe from The Pioneer Woman. Her pictures looked fantastic and well the recipe sounded great as well.

So after finding Ree’s recipe… I had to do my own thing…

If I haven’t told you this before… I’m more of a “go grab whatever looks good and throw it together” type girl. I rarely follow recipes… except when I’m baking. I still love using baking recipes that require weights instead of cups and such… it’s just so much more accurate. But anyway…

Off to search the kitchen cabinets for some lovely spices… I didn’t have everything the original recipe called for, but who cares. Also, I didn’t have any flank steak thawed out; I just had some back straps from a deer we had harvested last fall. What are back straps you ask? Well they are part of the loin area… super tender just like any other animals’ loin-eye.

One thing about cooking… you can use whatever it is you have. You don’t have to go to the store and buy flank steak just because the recipe says. If you have a steak thawed out… loin… anything that’s going to be tender… use it. Don’t let one simple ingredient hold you back! Be creative and use what you already have.

Regardless if you have a recipe in front of you… put your own twists and likes into it. I always do 🙂

I’ve made this recipe a few times using different cuts. I’ve thinly sliced up a {beef} sirloin steak, tenderized deer steak (which is really just a slice of loin that has been ran through our tenderizer), and the back strap from a deer. Whether you use beef or venison as most people call it instead of deer…. it’s fantastic!

I love this stir fry and it’s very quick and easy. Who doesn’t like quick and easy these days?!

And when I just want to simply eat sugar snaps by themselves now… I give them a quick sauté and yummy yummy in my tummy!! Sautéing always brings out more flavor… I mean why hadn’t I done this before?!

Beef or Venison Stir Fry with Sugar Snap Peas

2013-09-05 12:07:18

Serves 4

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Prep Time

5 min

Cook Time

15 min

Total Time

20 min

Prep Time

5 min

Cook Time

15 min

Total Time

20 min

Ingredients

1-1 1/2 pounds flank steak, sirloin steak, or venison loin steak (whatever you have on hand), trimmed of fat, sliced thinly against the grain, or in bite size chunks
3/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried ginger
8 ounces fresh sugar snap peas, ends trimmed
5 green onions, 1/2 inch slices or 1/4 cup onion minced
Salt to taste
Oil
Crushed Red Pepper
Long Grain Rice or Jasmine, cooked according to package
Chow Mein Noodles

Instructions

In a bowl, mix together soy sauce, brown sugar, cornstarch, and ginger. Pour liquid over the sliced meat in a bowl and toss with hands; set aside
Heat 3 tablespoons or so of oil in a heavy skillet or wok over high heat
Add snow peas and stir for 1 minute; remove to a separate plate. Set aside
Allow pan to get very hot again
Add meat mixture to the hot oil and green onions. Spread out meat, covering the bottom of the skillet (do not stir for a good minute to allow the meat to brown). Turn meat to the other side and cook for another 30 seconds or until meat has cooked (it will not take very long if the meat is sliced thin). Add any remaining marinate to the skillet along with the peas. Stir over high heat for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Check seasonings and add salt if needed. Mixture will thicken as it sits
Serve immediately over cooked rice
Sprinkle with crushed red pepper if you would like to add a touch of spice and Chow Mein noodles

Notes

**You can use whatever tender meat cut you have on hand, just be sure to slice thin**
**Do not be afraid to use more sugar snap peas, I've used up to a pound at a time... they're delicious**

Adapted from The Pioneer Woman

From Gate to Plate http://fromgatetoplate.com/

Baked Citrus Shrimp & Asparagus

July 19, 2013 by Lauren 4 Comments

Well… let’s try this again. I had a nice wonderful post all written up and then… whoosh it’s all gone. Ugh technology these days makes things harder than what they need to be.

So back to my original post…

It sure has been far too long since I’ve shown my blog some lovin’, but these summer months are always extremely busy here on the farm. I feel like I can never get anything accomplished… always on the run and therefore my lovely new blog has taken the back burner once again. But lets hope I can get into a routine and be faithful in posting regularly.

So what’s new with y’all since we last met? For me… One thing is for sure… I’m glad summer classes have ended. Luckily, I didn’t pull all of my hair out and for those who know me… I can’t afford to lose any.. haha!! With classes over with I don’t feel like I am pressed for a strict deadline, but that doesn’t mean we’ve slowed down here on the farm. But, on another note, I am able to spend a little more time in the kitchen.

Summer… summer lovin’ had me a blast, summer lovin’ it happened so fast! Aww… good ol’ Grease. Love that movie! Sorry for the random out burst in song ha! Summer just has me all sorts of happy-go-lucky because I get to enjoy tailgates & tanlines… I mean really it’s summer… it’s the only time that I’m okay with tanlines and honestly I love spending time with friends on a tailgate doin’ a lil’ fishin’ with a cooler of ~~beer~~ ice-cold beverages and some s’mores… Who wouldn’t love that?! But let me quit talkin’ about this before I just stop writing this post and go out and kidnap some of my oh-so-busy friends to fulfill my dire need of some good company.

So now that I’m skipping all the jibber-jabbor talk let’s get straight to the recipe. I found this recipe on my good friend, Stefanie’s blog over at Cooking for Two. We used to go to college back when I thought I wanted to be an Accountant. Psh. Numbers, numbers and more numbers, but I must admit I did love it while it lasted. I decided I was too bored with accounting and that’s when I went to Culinary school. LOVED IT! Which I’m sure that’s not hard to figure out by now. I can remember Stefanie coming and knocking on my apartment door and having me try her Butt Cake. Super delicious! I ran into the recipe awhile back and it brought back all sorts of memories. Do you ever come across a recipe that’s been stored away for safe keeping and it brings back good memories?! Go on and share your great memories with me!

Okay, I know you’ve noticed… I’m really good at getting off topic. So back to the recipe we go. I made this recipe last month when we had asparagus growing out our ears! I mean we were picking close to ten pounds every other day. Craziness! So I had some shrimp in the freezer that needed to be used and low-and-behold when I was at our local Dutchman’s Store, which is own and operated by the Mennonites in our community, they had 4-pound bags of lemons for a dollar! Let me say that again… ONE DOLLAR! So who bought them out of lemons? That’d be me! I’m thinkin’ hello… fresh lemonade too! I will be bringing you that recipe as well!

This recipe is super easy and very delicious! It takes a few minutes… I mean like less than ten to throw together and get it in the oven! It’s that quick.

Baked Citrus Shrimp & Asparagus

2013-07-19 09:31:56

Serves 2

A quick and easy dish of shrimp and asparagus with a dash of citrus!

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Prep Time

5 min

Cook Time

10 min

Total Time

15 min

Prep Time

5 min

Cook Time

10 min

Total Time

15 min

Ingredients

1/2 pound shrimp, precooked, thawed
1-2 lemons, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons Italian seasoning
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 pound asparagus, trimmed
Salt, to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350*F
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil
In a bowl, toss shrimp with Italian seasoning
Place the thinly sliced lemon across the bottom of the baking sheet **you do not need to cover the entire bottom**
Pour melted butter over the lemon slices
Arrange the shrimp over half of the baking sheet
Arrange the asparagus over the remaining half of baking sheet
Sprinkle with salt
Bake for 10-15 minutes or until shrimp is hot and asparagus is cooked

Notes

**Cook asparagus to al dente, meaning leave slighlty crisp. This allows for the most flavor out of your produce. When the asparagus is cooked to *perfection* it will be bright green in color**
**This recipe serves two, but can easily be doubled**

Adapted from Cooking for Two

From Gate to Plate http://fromgatetoplate.com/

Hope you enjoy!! Stay tuned for more yummy goodness coming soon!

Golden Peach Cake #TheCakeSliceBakers

Soft Butterscotch S’more Cookies {Day 2} #KickOffToSummerWeek2014

Kabob Marinade

Baked Brown Sugar Chicken Wings

Beef or Venison Stir Fry with Sugar Snap Peas

Baked Citrus Shrimp & Asparagus

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