Strawberry Bars

Wow.  It's been quite some time since I have been on here.  My life has been in a constant state of rush here-rush there-rush everywhere since mid-March.  You see, I worked two jobs.  Well, I have worked two jobs for nine years now (and before that, I worked three part time jobs - you gotta do what you gotta do sometimes).  I have my own business that has always been somewhat in the background while my "day job" took up most of my time.  But my allowing my business to be the sole source of income for me has been a dream long time comin.  Finally, after nine years, I put in my notice, took the leap, and haven't looked back.  Now, I am normally a person who panics at every opportunity and I had been nervous about putting in my notice and taking that first step but once I did, I had this calm settle over me.  I knew this was where I was meant to be.  My entire working life had been working up to that moment.  It's been almost three weeks now that I have been self-employed and it is AMAZING.  I cannot tell you enough about how much better I feel.  I am not as stressed out, working 100+ hours each week is no longer required.  I am telling all you folks out there who are thinking about taking that leap... do it.  There will never be a time where you feel 100% okay with quitting a regular job and going after a job you love, but if its meant to be, it will be.

Just like the marriage of these bars.  Similar to a lemon bar - but in strawberry form.  Let's be honest, strawberries make everything better.  They are sweet but tangy, soft yet firm.  I honestly don't know why in the world no one else has figured this out!  I changed up the original recipe somewhat because I wanted chunks of strawberries in my bars.  I love having some of those delectable berries to bite into when I eat them.  And when those berries come fresh from a strawberry patch on a nearby farm... well I am sure you can understand why you want them a little chunky!  I just took my handy-dandy potato masher and went to town on those berries!  (If you want a smooth, more-like-lemon-bar-type bars, puree the berries in a blender.)  Strawberry season is over in our neck of the woods but I still find myself dreaming of these bars - they will be making a regular appearance at my house every summer for the rest of my days.

Strawberry Bars
adapted from A Spicy Perspective

Crust:
1 stick Unsalted Butter, softened (1/2 cup)
1/3 c. Powdered Sugar
1/4 tsp. Salt
1 c. All-Purpose Flour

Strawberries:
1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk
3 Egg Yolks
1 c. Mashed Strawberries (or Pureed)
2 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
1/4 tsp. Salt

Preheat the oven to 350.
Line a 8x11 pan with parchment paper, allowing the edges to hang over.
Using a mixer, beat the butter and sugar until fluffy and well-blended.
Add in your salt and flour and mix into your butter-sugar mixture until incorporated.
Press evenly down into the bottom of your pan using your fingertips (dipped in cold water) or another small piece of parchment.
Bake for 15 minutes.
Mash the strawberries with a potato masher (or blend in a blender to get a smooth consistency).
Mix in the egg yolks, condensed milk, lemon juice, and salt.
Pour over your warm crust.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the center is softer but not set.
Allow to cool at room temp.
Once completely cooled, cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least three hours.
To serve, sift some powdered sugar over the top of the bars and cut into squares.
(Keep any leftover bars in the fridge.  Also, the powdered sugar will be absorbed into the bars if left on longer than a couple of hours.)
Enjoy :-)

P. S.  My new job is as a pet sitter :-)  And I LOVE it!

Strawberry Icebox Dessert

Let's talk about strawberries for a moment.  Just a minute.  Could there possibly be anything bad about a strawberry?  They are sweet no matter how you eat them.  They're special - the only fruit to have its seeds on the outside.  (Didn't know that, did ya?)  Dogs can eat them.  Speaking of dogs.....

This is Bella.  She belongs to my best friend.  And she loves fruit better than any dog I have ever seen.  So when I was cutting up the strawberries for this dessert, this is the look I got.

If anyone has a Dachshund, you will understand what this stare is.  It's constant and unblinking (almost).  You feel the tingles along the back of your neck and you know, you just KNOW, that when you turn around, those big brown eyes are going to be on you.  The entire time I was cutting up those strawberries for this dessert, I felt her eyes on me.  The ENTIRE time.  And Bella knows I'm a pushover when it comes to dogs.  Always have been, always will be.  If you're a pushover for a dog, they will know it and they will exploit it.  So it should come as no surprise to anyone that this dog totally got to be the taste tester for the strawberries we had.

This recipe is absolutely PERFECT for a summertime get-together.  There is no baking involved so no need to make your kitchen even hotter in the summertime. The combination of the cold whipped cream cheese with the fresh strawberries is utter perfection.  However, that being said, this recipe only lasts for around two days in the fridge before the graham crackers start becoming... well, not-so-good. They turn to mush and that's just not appealing to anyone.  So if you're having a picnic or family reunion and want to show off a dessert that looks and tastes like you put a lot more effort into it than you actual did, this is the recipe for you!

Strawberry Icebox Dessert
adapted slightly from Taste of the South magazine

8 oz. block Cream Cheese, softened (full fat
3/4 c. Powdered/Confectioners' Sugar
2 1/2 c. Heavy Whipping Cream
1 tsp. Vanilla
15 sheets Honey Graham Crackers
4 c. Fresh Strawberries, sliced

Beat cream cheese and powdered sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer in a large bowl until smooth.
Add in your cream and vanilla.
Beat a high speed until stiff peaks form.  (What are stiff peaks?  Stiff peaks happen when you lift your mixer's beaters out of the cream mixture and it forms a peak that doesn't fall over.  Need a visual?  Here ya go.)
In the bottom of an 11x7 inch baking dish, spread 1/2 cup of the whipping cream blend.
Place 5 of the graham cracker sheets along the bottom of the baking dish (you'll have four go the long way and then you'll break up the final one to fit along the tops).
Take one-third of the REMAINING cream mixture and spread along the graham crackers.
Top with 1 1/3 c. strawberries.
Repeat with the final two layers of graham crackers - whipped cream - strawberries.
NOTE:  Press gently after placing the graham crackers on the strawberries.  It will help fit the whole thing in your 11x7 pan because you won't believe three layers will fit!
Refrigerate for one to six hours.
Eat and enjoy!

Strawberry Muffins

You may have noticed on here that I love strawberries.  (From this post perhaps?) They are one of my favorite things about summer.  Whenever I get strawberries from the farmer's market, I have to fight from eating them on the way home.  I mean, who can resist that yummy, sweet strawberry-y goodness?  You want to talk about cruel and unusual punishment?  Tie me up and put a strawberry just out of my reach.  I'll crack in a second just to get at it.

Now, these muffins are topped with a special item - Spiced Vanilla Bean Sugar. I'm very lucky to have a phenomenal spice story really close to me called Savory Spice Shop.  They make their own spice blends to sell and always carry fresh spices. You can get as little as half an ounce if you don't need a lot which is wonderful if you just need a spice for one recipe.  Did I mention they'll let you taste their spices in the store?  I tried this spice blend in their store and just KNEW it would be amazing on these muffins!  It is a combination of sugar, vanilla bean, vanilla extract, cinnamon, allspice, mace, and cardamom.  Doesn't that just SOUND delicious??  Even if you don't have a Savory Spice Shop near you, you can order it online!  Isn't the internet great?  (Online ordering)  For this recipe, I've made the topping Sugar in the Raw since that's available at any grocery store.

Let me tell you a story.  Many of you know that I have a dog.  She's a beautiful eleven year old black Lab mix named Liz.  I tell everyone that my husband fell in love with her long before he fell in love with me.  And she owned my heart when she was only two weeks old.  So, one morning after I had made these muffins, Ryan had gotten two to have as his breakfast.  He got the muffins, set them on our coffee table, and stepped out of the room for a few minutes.  When he returned, the muffins were gone.  There wasn't even a crumb left on the table.  Liz was laying quietly on the couch, acting like nothing was amiss.  Ryan looked around for the muffins, thinking he'd left them in the kitchen or put them in another room.  No.  Liz ate them.  Both of them.  Muffin wrapper and all.  I wasn't sure who to be mad at - him for leaving them within her reach or her for eating them in the first place!  I will say that my years of training her to "clean up her mess" paid off.  She certainly left no trace of them!

Strawberry Muffins
modified from Best Recipes from American Country Inns and Bed and Breakfasts

2 c. All Purpose Flour
1/2 c. Sugar
1/2 c. Brown Sugar
2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 Egg
1 c. Milk
1/3 c. Canola Oil
1 c. Fresh Strawberries, chopped
3 Packets of Sugar in the Raw

Preheat oven to 375.
Line a muffin tin with liners; spray with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugars, baking powder, and salt.
In another bowl, beat together the egg, milk, and oil.
Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir until moistened, making sure not to overmix!
Fold in your strawberries.
Pour the batter in your muffin tin, dividing the batter equally amongst the muffin cups.
Sprinkle the muffins with the Sugar in the Raw.
Bake for 28 minutes or until the tops become slightly golden and a cake tester comes out clean.
Allow to cool for a few minutes on a rack before removing them from the pan to finish cooling.  (You can also tilt the muffins to let them finish cooling.  See this post.)

NOTE:  Muffins made with fresh fruit like this only last for two or three days.  Please don't feed the leftover to the dog, either.

Strawberry Crumble

There are times where I get a craving for something and I won't be satisfied until I get it.  I had a huge craving for a strawberry crumble or crisp - I wasn't sure which.  So off I went in search of a recipe.  And you'd think amongst the plethora of cookbooks I have, I'd find a recipe but nooooooooooooo.  I came up with nothing.  I searched my usual places online and still came up with diddly squat.  Zero - nothing.  Finally, I was about to give up and stomp away like a five year old and go pout, I found one!  A strawberry crumble!  The angels sang!  I was so happy!  And, just as luck would have it, I happened to have everything in my pantry for it!  Even better!!  Happy Jamie!!!  And it has to be one of the easiest recipes I've ever seen.  I was able to recite it from memory for my mom the following Monday.  The ingredients are ones we all have in our pantry so if you don't make this very, very soon, you should be ashamed.  And don't have strawberries?  That's okay, you can substitute any fresh fruit for this quick and easy crumble!!

Strawberry Crumble
recipe courtesy of The Second Lunch (adapted from the cookbook Animal, Vegetable, Miracle)

1 quart strawberries (halved or quartered, depending on size)
1/4 c. Honey

Crumble Topping:
1/2 c. Flour (KAF)
1/2 c. Rolled/Old Fashioned Oats (Quaker)
1/2 c. Brown Sugar
3/4 tsp. Cinnamon
1/3 c. Butter (leave it set out for around 15 minutes to make it easier to handle)

Preheat oven to 350.
Combine strawberries and honey in an 8x8 pan or a deep dish pie plate and set aside.
Mix all ingredients for the crumble topping in a separate bowl, using your hands.
Sprinkle over the fruit and honey mixture.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes (or until the topping is golden brown and the fruit is nice and bubbly around the edges).
Serve warm!!

Strawberries Galore!!

I. Love. Strawberries.  I look forward to this time every single year - when I see those red, juicy berries awaiting me.  When I was little, I would eat them plain, with sugar, with sugar in milk, in pies.  I love strawberries (did I say that already?).  So a couple of weekends ago, Ryan and I went to the farmer's market for one reason - strawberries.  I'm sorry but what you get in the grocery store doesn't even hold a candle to farmer's market strawberries.  Never had them from the farmer's market?  You're missing out.  Anyhoo, we went to the farmer's market for strawberries because Ryan was in serious need for my strawberry pie.  Off we went!  I didn't know exactly how many we were going to come home with...

 We got eight quarts.  Do you think it was enough? :) :)  (I was very, very happy)

Now, the next question was - "We have eight quarts of strawberries.  What exactly are we going to do with them??"  Here's what happened....

First, we made Instant Strawberry Jam
recipe courtesy of the Ball Instant Fruit Pectin package

4 c. crushed strawberries
1 1/2 c. Sugar
5 Freezer Jars
1 package of Ball Instant Fruit Pectin

1 - Stir sugar and pectin together, set aside.
2 - Add crushed strawberries and stir for three minutes.
3 - Put into jars and let stand for 30 minutes.

You can put some jars in the freezer and some in the fridge - freezer jam lasts for up to 1 year and it keeps in the fridge for 3 weeks.

Next, we made Strawberry Ice Cream
recipe from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook

4 c. Half and Half
1 1/2 c. Sugar
1 Tbsp. Vanilla (Nielsen Massey Vanilla Bean Paste)
2 c. Whipping Cream
4 c. Crushed Strawberries

Combine half and half, sugar, and vanilla in a bowl and stir until sugar dissolves.
Stir in whipping cream.
Add crushed strawberries.
Pour into ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions.

(it develops this lovely pink hue!)

Wait!  What about the pie??  "Didn't you make the pie?" I'm sure you're asking.  Of course - my husband wouldn't let me forget!!

Strawberry Pie
recipe courtesy of my mom!!

2 c. Sugar
6 Tbsp. Cornstarch
2 c. Water
4 Tbsp. Strawberry Jell-o
2 regular frozen pie crusts
1 quart of Fresh Strawberries

Bake pie crusts according to package directions.
Combine sugar, cornstarch, and water in a saucepan.
Bring to a boil and cook until thick, stirring constantly (keep stirring until the mixture coats the back of your spoon).
Cool slightly.
Add gelatin and mix well.
Add strawberries.
Pour into pie crusts.
Put in fridge until set (overnight works best).

(Please forgive the lack of calorie info on this post!)