Ahead of time.

Sometime in the middle of last week, my other half informed me that he was going to kidnap me for the weekend. (It turned out to be a belated birthday present to my favorite semi-local winery. Yum.) Before we left, I asked for some numbers.

Sarah picked number 7. Molly picked number 11. Jung picked number 10.

I crocked 7 and 11 yesterday. 7 was dinner. 11 was dessert.

7 was...

"Orange Soup" (6 quart pot)

~2 T olive oil
~1 onion, minced
~2 inches of fresh ginger, peeled and minced (the recipe called for 1/4 c, peeled. I improvised because I'm not a HUGE fan of ginger.
~1 1/2 lb baby carrots
~3 c vegetable stock
~1 1/2 c oj
~1/2 c half-and-half

Heat oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat.
Add onion and ginger and cook until onion is translucent.
Place onion and ginger in crock pot.
Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
Puree mixture. (I did it in batches using my Magic Bullet...and put an immersion blender on my Christmas list. Ha!)
Add oj and half-and-half
Cover and cook on high for 15 minutes. DO NOT SIMMER.

4 servings.

This soup was REALLY good. It's orangey in color and flavor. AND it's not overpoweringly gingery, so I was super excited about that. Yum.

11 was "Peach Cobbler". This time, it was Giant that didn't have what I was looking for. They had several types of frozen fruit, but not frozen peaches. The closest I could get was their mixed fruit. It has peaches, mango, pineapple, and strawberries.

"Mixed Fruit Cobbler" (6 quart pot)

~2 packages (16 oz each) frozen mixed fruit, mostly thawed (The recipe says to thaw completely and drain, but I didn't read the recipe ahead of time, so I didn't have enough time.)
~3/4 c plus 1 T sugar, divided
~2 t cinnamon, divided
~1/2 t ground nutmeg
~3/4 flour
~6 T butter, cut into small pieces
~whipped cream

Combine fruit, 3/4 c sugar, 1 1/2 t cinnamon, and nutmeg in medium bowl.
Add mixture to crock pot.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, 1 T sugar, and 1/2 t cinnamon.
Mix in butter until mixture resembles course crumbs. (The recipe says to use a pastry blender. I had zero idea what a pastry blender is*. I used a spoon. Then, I decided that ut was taking too long and used my hands. Sshhhh)
Cover and cook on high for 2 hours.
Top with whipped cream

4 servings.

It was a little soupy because of the whole not defrosting the fruit completely, but it's still delicious. I think it would be amazing over vanilla ice cream. *drool*

*Ok, so THIS is a pastry blender? Really? I thought that was a hard boiled egg slicer or something. A blender that doesn't require electricity? I don't understand the question. Ha!