Nectarine Blueberry Crisp

I'm a pretty organized person, some days I'm even more so.  My life is very busy, I have a lot of activities that I juggle.  Being organized helps keep all the balls in the air. It also saves time and energy. One area that I tend to slide on is meal planning and shopping. I'm one of those that is wondering what I'm cooking for dinner at 3 in the afternoon. I tell myself it's because I dislike shopping but that's really a lousy excuse because my lackadaisical attitude usually means I'm at the grocery store more frequently.  I'm still a work-in-progress!

Recently we had a drag racing weekend.  This involves living in our motorhome for 4-5 days.  We are at the track 24/7 and going to the store is not an option, unless we have taken an extra vehicle.  So I have to be very organized.  I set up a daily meal plan (3 meals and snacks) and prepare shopping lists, as well as a list of items to take from home. Each day I know exactly what I'm going to cook and that I have the ingredients.  Why, oh why, don't I do this on a regular basis at home?

In anticipation of these trips I also do some make-ahead cooking or baking.  A few days before our trip I made a peach raspberry crisp for our dessert. I made a small crisp but the regular amount of topping, so froze half the topping in a freezer bag.  This got thrown in the RV freezer during our packing.  On the night I made the nectarine crisp all I had to do was prepare the fruit mixture, throw into a disposable pan (we have to ration our water in the RV, the less dishwashing the better!), and top with the previously-made topping.  It took very little time and I had minimal kitchen clean up.  Again, why, oh why, don't I do this on a regular basis?

Any fruit mixture will work good in this recipe. I was originally going to make another peach raspberry crisp but the nectarines at the fruit stand were so beautiful I had to buy them.  I had frozen blueberries in the freezer and thought they would be a nice addition, they are so healthy. I figure anything that has a lot of sugar in the recipe needs some sort of healthiness to it!

Nectarine Blueberry Crisp

Filling:
2 pounds nectarines, sliced
1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons orange juice

Topping:
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup quick-cooking oatmeal
1/4 pound cold unsalted butter, diced


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter (or use cooking spray) a 9x9-inch baking dish (double the recipe if you are using a larger dish).

In a large bowl, combine the nectarines and blueberries.  Add the granulated sugar, cornstarch, and orange juice; mix gently.  Pour the fruit mixture into the prepared baking dish.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, brown sugar, salt, and oatmeal. Cut the diced butter into the flour mixture using a pastry cutter or 2 knives. 

Spread the topping over the fruit.  Bake for 1 hour, until the top is browned and crisp and the juices are bubbly.