Rainbow Fruit Salad

Summer is approaching and that means you'll need your fair share of snacks to cool you down.  This is one that you need to have in your refrigerator, for those hot days.  

Of course fruit is good by itself but if you leave it cut up in your refrigerator for too long, it begins to turn strange colors.  Especially those darn bananas.  This recipe is great because it isn't covering up that great fruit flavor, but adding a hint of extra flavor.  Coincidentally it's also helping to preserve that lovely color.  Lime juice is good like that. And you can't go wring with honey, I mean, really. 

This recipe is perfect for a quick snack on a hot day.  

Rainbow Fruit Salad

Recipe from Buzzfeed

Ingredients

• 1 pound fresh strawberries, quartered
• 4 kiwi's, peeled and diced
• 2 mango's, peeled and diced
• 2 bananas, peeled and diced
• 12 ounces fresh blueberries
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 1 limed, juiced

Cooking Directions

1. Combine the cut up fruit in a medium sized bowl. Mix together the honey and lime juice and pour over the fruit, stir. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Sugar Free Chia Jam

By far the easiest jam recipe you'll ever make.  No cooking, no pectin, no sugar.  Only two ingredients and you can eat it straight out of the jar if you want to. Seriously. Crushed fruit and chia seeds and that's it.

The chia seeds thicken up the fruit so it can become spreadable for peanut butter and jelly or topped on your hot cereal's in the morning.  Also great scooped into your morning smoothie. And chia seeds are super healthy for you, so that's a plus. Noted as one of the most nutritious foods on the planet they have ton's of fiber, protein, Omega-3's and various other nutrients.  You can buy them most places these days, they usually come in a see through container and are dry and very tiny. You can also find them online. And best of all they are usually reasonably priced.

I loved this recipe because clearly, it's very easy.  But also very healthy AND it tastes exactly like the fruit itself, the chia seeds don't add any flavor, just texture.

Chia Jam
Recipe from Time

Ingredients

• 1 cup crushed fruit
• 1 Tbsp chia seeds

Cooking Directions

1. Mix together and place in the refrigerator for a day or two in order for the chia seeds to plump up. Enjoy.

Strawberry Oatmeal Bars

Hump Day!  I never say that but It felt right today.  It's been a hectic week.  Well, we're almost done with it now.  Closer to Friday.  Yay!

My mornings can be a little hectic, how about yours?

This recipe was another attempt to make my morning less stressful.  I think I succeeded. These bars are fantastic.  Easy to throw together and so delicious. Use any flavor preserves you want!  The crumb top and bottom is so tender, with a nice texture from the oatmeal.  The sweetness of the filling is the perfect compliment.

I can see this as being one of my summer picnic foods too.  Nothing here that will melt away in the hot weather.  They are sturdy when kept cold so they'd pack nicely in a lunch box or as a snack. Plus you get the added benefit of the healthy oatmeal.

My husband couldn't get enough of these. Healthier than the store bought fruit bars and simple to make.

Strawberry Oatmeal Bars

Recipe from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 stick butter, cold cut into pieces
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups oatmeal, quick or old fashioned
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 jar (10 - 12 oz) strawberry preserves

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350º and butter a 9x13 inch dish.
2. Stir together the flour, oatmeal, brown sugar, baking power and salt.  Cut in the cold butter with a pastry cutter or two forks. 
3. Pour half the mixture into the prepared dish, pressing down slightly to pack it. 
4. Smear the preserves over the top and spread out evenly. 
5. Top with the other half of the mixture and press lightly. 
6. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown on top. 
7. Cool completely before serving. 

Strawberry Freezer Jam

What do you do when you have all these fresh strawberries and they are starting to go bad? Make jam! I know, I know, don't panic.  Freezer name is much easier then traditional jam making.  You don't even have to have canning jars, but you do need some sort of jar with a lid.

I'm sure you've noticed how fast fresh strawberries tend to go bad, right? Don't let your efforts be wasted by throwing them away.  Even if you just bought them from the grocery store, don't throw your money away either.  Freezer jam is easy.  No thermometer, canning jar's or supplies are needed.  I promise.

You do need a box of pectin but that's all you need from the canning jar isle, unless you specifically want the canning jars.  Even if you buy too many there are a million and one uses for canning jars.  Store everything from spices to leftovers in them.  I make salad dressing in them because it's convenient to just shake it in the jar and them just set the jar on the table for serving.  Give gifts in them, use them as a flower vase.  Really, you can always use extra jars and lids.

Just store the jars in your freezer when you're done, let them thaw in the refrigerator and then use them in about a month and you've saved all that yumminess and money for later use.  The jam is so tasty!  Peanut butter and jelly never had it so good, or use it to spread on toast.  There are so many uses for canned jams and jelly's.  Even if you give them away to your family or friends, they'll be so happy and you'll be a hero.  Give this recipe a try!

Strawberry Freezer Jam

Recipe from All Recipes

Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh strawberries, crushed
• 4 cups granulated sugar
• 1 (1.75 oz) package pectin powder
• 3/4 cup water

Cooking Directions

1. Crush the strawberries and add the sugar, stir and let sit for 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan combine the water and the pectin. Bring to a hard boil and boil for 1 minute.
3. Turn off the heat and let sit for 1 minute.
4. Mix the pectin mixture in with the crushed strawberries, stir until the sugar has dissolved and let sit for 3 minutes. Pour into the containers and tighten the lids. Let sit for 24 hours and then place in the freezer.

**Once thawed, they will last for about 1 month in the refrigerator. 

Strawberry Fruit Leather

Strawberries are in full swing this time of year here in the South and boy have we been taking advantage of it!  We have attempted to pick some from a local field but they just happened to not be picking that day.  Haha, such is our luck.  We'll definitely try again later.

The only problem I have when we get into this time of year is buying more than we can quickly eat and needing to come up with lots of ways to use them all.  This recipe is one of those examples.  My daughter loves fruit leather, as many kids do, so I thought this was the perfect way to use up some strawberries.

I didn't spread the puree out much on the cookie sheets I had so mine took longer to dry then the recipe below indicates.  It probably took 6 hours for mine to get done.  I didn't mind, it made my kitchen smell incredible and by the time they were done, I had plenty of time to roll them and take pictures. It worked out perfectly actually.

The other little helpful hint I will give you is this, make sure the edges and the middle are all the same thickness.  When the middle of my fruit leather was done, the edges were crispy.  Not that that matters, I just broke them off and crunched on them like little strawberry crackers.  They were quite yummy actually.

These are wonderful for road trips, school lunches, outdoor play or treats at an outdoor barbecue.  Or just to snack on. There are many different flavor combinations you can try, the Internet is magical when it comes to looking for new ideas!

Enjoy the fruits that are ripe in your neck of the woods, and make them last longer by making them into fruit leather!

Strawberry Fruit Leather

Recipe from Baked by Rachel

Ingredients

• 4 - 4 1/2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice

Cooking Directions

1. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone mat. (12x17 if you have it)
2. Preheat the oven to 170º
3. Puree all of the ingredients until smooth. You can strain to remove the seeds if you want to.
4. Pour half the mixture into each pan and use a spatula to make sure they are level, and thin. The thicker it is the longer it will need to bake. 
5. Bake for 3 hours total, turn 180 degrees half way through cooking and also switch the placement of the trays on the oven racks.  Like move the tray on the bottom to the top, and vice versa with the top tray. 
6. Cook until no longer tacky and move to a cutting board.  Cut into even sized pieces of your choice and then roll in either parchment paper or wax paper.  
7. Store in an airtight container. 

Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp

This is a classic dessert recipe that I remember from my childhood.  Strawberries and Rhubarb are meant to be together.  The sweet from the strawberries compliments the tartness of the rhubarb making this dish irresistible. 

I think I've mentioned in the past my aunt Cathy has this top secret Strawberry-Rhubarb pie recipe that she refuses to share with me.  Well, she refuses to share it with anybody so it's not just me at least. Since I can't have her pie whenever I want it, I'm glad to have this crisp on hand.  

This is a great recipe for an outdoor cookout or party because it will do just fine outside when it's hot.  If you had some way to top it off with some vanilla ice cream you'll probably get some marriage proposals, or at least some admirers. 

Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp

Recipe from "The Back In The Day Bakery Cookbook" page 127

Ingredients for the topping

• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 3/4 cup old-fashioned oats
• 2 Tbsp yellow cornmeal
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 8 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 Tbsp canola oil

Ingredients for the filling

• 2 cups strawberries, hulled and halved or left whole
• 4 cups 1 inch pieces of peeled rhubarb
• 1 1/4 cups turbinado sugar
• 3 Tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch

Cooking Directions

1. Put oven rack in the lower third of the oven.
2. Preheat the oven to 350º
3. Butter a 9" deep dish-dish pie plate and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 
4. For the topping: In a large bowl combine all of the topping ingredients and use a fork or a pastry cutter to cut in the cold butter.  When fully incorporated, set aside. 
5. For the filling: In a large bowl combine all of the filling ingredients and mix together well so all the fruit/veg is fully coated. 
6. Pour the fruit into the prepared pie plate. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the top. 
7. Place the pie dish onto the baking sheet and bake for 40-45 minutes.  The fruit should be bubbly around the edges and the topping should be a golden brown color. 
8. Let cool slightly but serve when still warm. 
9. Can be covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days. 

Fantastic Fruit Salad

We finally made it back home!  It was a long, long process.  I had such a good time visiting my family in Montana that it overpowers our struggles to get home. I will be posting pictures soon, I still need to figure out how to get some off of my phone....I guess I'll google that.

While we were there, my aunt made us several meals and this fruit salad was at two of them.  It was a definite hit.  Even though I didn't make this myself, I felt it had to be shared.

Talk about the perfect summer fruit salad.  Since there isn't any dairy this can be brought on a picnic where refrigeration isn't possible.  The pie filling made the salad smooth and added a nice sweetness.  I really liked the use of fresh strawberries vs frozen, I would definitely make this again.

Fantastic Fruit Salad

Recipe from my aunt Cathy

Ingredients

• 2 cans mandarin oranges, drained
• 2 cans (15 oz) pineapple chunks, drained
• 1 (16 oz) package frozen strawberries (she used fresh)
• 1 can peach pie filling
• 1 can apricot pie filling (she couldn't find this so she used 2 can's of peach)
• 2 banana's, sliced

Cooking Directions

1. Add all of the ingredients into a medium bowl and gently mix together.

Fresh Strawberry Lemonade

For my daughter's birthday party everything was strawberry themed.  Even the drinks.  I knew for sure that strawberry lemonade was going to be served, I just had to find a recipe.  In case some of you are new to this blog, if I can make it from scratch I probably will, so I didn't want a recipe that included any kind of canned or bottled anything.  When I found this recipe on Pinterest I knew it was the right one for the job. 

I had a truckload of strawberries at my disposal so measuring out 1 1/4 pounds of strawberries was not a problem.

For this recipe, you're going to want to get the organic lemons.  You have to puree them skin and all.

Pour the mixture through a mesh sieve to get out all that pulp.

Pour the remaining water through this pulp mixture so that you're getting all that flavor.

All in all it was a very simple recipe to make as long as you've got a blender or food processor handy.

You can really taste the strawberries and the lemons, I would say that the ratio is perfect and you can sweeten as much or as little as you like.  I used honey and it was awesome.  It's sort of a thicker type drink - not smoothie thick but more like pulpy orange juice thick.  Garnish with some fresh lemon and strawberry slices and you've got a showstopper drink.  Perfect time of year to serve this one since strawberries are at their peak (well at least in the South they are).

Fresh Strawberry Lemonade

Recipe from laylita.com

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 pound fresh strawberries, washed and halved
• 2 whole lemons, washed and quartered
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup honey or sugar, to taste
• 6 cups water
• ice

Cooking Directions

1. In the blender, add the quartered lemons (rind included, use organic if possible), the strawberries, 2 cups of water and honey (or sugar).
2. Strain the mixture over a bowl or pitcher along with the other 4 cups of water.
3. Add additional sugar if desired.
4. Garnish with ice, lemon and strawberry slices if desired.

Chocolate Strawberry Wine

I'm very very happy that I found this wine on my last trip up to Massachusetts.  How can you possibly go wrong with chocolate strawberry wine? Well if you like sweet wine that is, otherwise you probably wouldn't like this. 

There I was, minding my own business at a local grocery store when this caught my eye. I love chocolate.  I love strawberries.  This wine was coming with me. 

Believe it or not it really does taste like chocolate and strawberries.  I had my doubts but it's true!

If you're looking for your own chocolate strawberry goodness I found the Chocolate Shop website. This is not a paid advertisement, I just really liked it.

Strawberry Cake and Fresh Strawberry Frosting

My little girl turns 5 years old today.  I just can't believe I have a 5 year old!  Where did the time go? This year's theme was strawberry so everything was strawberry related.  I'm sort of OCD about party planning. Ask anyone of my neighbors or family and they'll all completely agree.  I try not to bore people will my obsessing but sometimes I just can't help it.

I ordered a cute little strawberry birthday kit off of Etsy. It came with a ton of cute decorations and a bunch of things I didn't need but it was nice to have all those options.

I had a dress made specifically for her, it had her name and and a couple of strawberries on the bodice area and then lots of ruffles and polka dots.  I loved it and my daughter loves wearing it.

I made this strawberry cake with strawberry icing from fresh strawberries, chocolate dipped strawberries, strawberry lemonade and I had several strawberry beverages that I purchased.  See, I have this obsession...

The cake was harder to find a recipe for then you might think.  There are a ton of strawberry cake recipes out there but most are made from a boxed cake mix, I'm sure they're delicious it just wasn't what  I was going for for this party. The frosting was a little easier to find and I'm thrilled with how it turned out.

I loved how moist the cake was and the texture from the cake flour.  It was a pretty pink color and even though the original directions said that I could add food coloring to make it more "red" I decided that I didn't want the added color, it was great just the way it was.

I used another plain buttercream frosting recipe for the piping I did, her color's were pink, white, red and green so the green was very pretty on the cake. She loved it and so did all the guests!

Strawberry Cake

Recipe from CreativeCrumbsNashville

Ingredients

• 8 oz fresh or frozen strawberries
• 1/4 cup milk, at room temperature
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cup cake flour
• 1 3/4 cup sugar
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 12 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350º
2. Place the strawberries in a blender and blend until smooth. Measure out 3/4 cups of the puree and put that amount back into the blender.
3. Add the eggs, vanilla and milk to the blender and pulse quickly a couple of times to combine.
4. In the bowl of your stand mixer, add the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, salt) and mix briefly to incorporate.
5. Add the butter and mix until it the mixture looks like wet sand.
6. Slowly add the strawberry mixture and beat at medium speed for 1 minutes.
7. Stop the mixer, scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix for 30 more seconds.
8. Bake in a 9x13 in pan for about 32-36 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
9. If making 2- 9 inch round pans bake for 25 minutes, if making cupcakes bake for 18 minutes.

I will be making this frosting again and again.  It was THAT good.  I loved that it used fresh strawberries but I have to say that I didn't get 6 Tbsp of reduced puree out of the 1 cup of strawberries.  It is possible that I reduced it further then I should have but either way, it was dynamite.  The strawberry flavor was so prominent that people actually didn't believe that it was just strawberries and that I didn't add jello or something else. 

Fresh Strawberry Frosting

Recipe from allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1 cup (or a little more) Fresh Strawberries
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3 1/2 cups (divided) confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Cooking Directions

1. Place the strawberries in a blender, puree until smooth.
2. Pour the pureed strawberries into a small saucepan and cook over medium low heat until it begins to bubble, then simmer until it has reduced by at least half. Stir frequently, this should take 10-20 minutes. Let cool completely.
3. In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat the butter until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes).
4. With the mixer on low, add 1 cup of the confectioners' sugar until blended.
5. Beat in 2 Tbsp of the strawberry puree and the vanilla.
6. Repeat with 1 cup of confectioners' sugar and 2 Tbsp of puree two more times.
7. Add the last 1/2 cup of confectioners' sugar last and beat until smooth.

Oven Dried Strawberries

I was on the internet searching for strawberry recipes when I stumbled upon this one.  Well it's not really a recipe, but the person who wrote the post said these were just like candy and better than Twizzlers. Seemed like it was worth a try to me, all you need are strawberries and I just happened to have some. 

You cut the strawberries in half or quarters depending on how big they are, then lay them cut side up on a cookie sheet.  Cut side up is important because otherwise the liquid drains onto the bottom of the pan and they don't dry well. I should have used parchment paper so if you're making these you should do that.

Turn your oven to 210º and cook for 3 hours.  You can flip once during cooking if you want, I didn't and I'm not sure if it would have made a difference or not. Mine dried well without flipping.

Here are some things I noticed when I made them.

• They become more tart after drying so they are not as sweet as a fresh strawberry.  I don't know if it would help to add sugar or maybe a soak in sugar water.  My daughter didn't like them at all and she's a HUGE strawberry lover. 
• Obviously they shrink up by more than half their original size.  They would be great for adding into cereals or snacking on while hiking or something like that. 
• They taste nothing like Twizzlers, the texture isn't like Twizzlers either and I would not compare the two at all.  These are however, a lot healthier than a Twizzler. 

I'm not sure I'll be making them again anytime soon simply because my daughter wouldn't eat them and because you need a lot of strawberries to make a decent snack.  I do enjoy the taste and texture and might try them again later to see if my daughter's tastes change.  I'm glad I tried it out, now I know.

Found at PinCookie.com

Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie

So, I have this aunt, whom I love a lot, she lives in Montana, she makes awesome food.  She makes this awesome strawberry-rhubarb pie, everyone loves it and everyone wants the recipe.  Everyone including me. So I asked her for it and she said....no!

So I was forced to find another recipe.  This one is pretty darn good and when you're in doubt about a recipe you're planning to make because you know it's going to be compared to another one that is super fantastic then you go with a trusted cook/baker.  In this case I went with Smitten Kitchen because everything I've ever made of hers has been amazing.  This recipe didn't disappoint!  I loved it! It is slightly different from my aunt's but since it doesn't look like I'll be getting that recipe anytime soon I'm quite happy with this one. 

If you've never had rhubarb before it's hard to describe, and you might be better off just trying a piece of strawberry rhubarb pie from your local bakery, it's fairly common.  Rhubarb by definition is a vegetable, however in 1947 it was decided in court to be identified as a fruit (in the U.S.) for the purpose of regulations and duties.  it is most commonly served in pies or jams and has sugar added to cut through it's sharp flavor. 

Cut up the strawberries and rhubarb into bite sized pieces. 

Use a large bowl to mix the ingredients before transferring to a pie plate. 

The butter makes the syrup that is created inside, nice and flavorful.

Doesn't that look beautiful? 

I love the little crunch that a sprinkling of coarse sugar adds.

By letting the pie cool completely you will be able to serve it without it spilling out all over the sides.  It's strawberry season here in the South but if it's not quite yet that time of year where you live you can do this entire recipe with frozen fruit.  At the very least you might have to use frozen rhubarb since sometimes it can be hard to find fresh.

I'm a huge fan of the sweet strawberries and the little tartness from the rhubarb.  This is one of my favorite flavor combinations!

Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie

Recipe from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups rhubarb (1 1/2 pounds) cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 3 1/2 cups strawberries (1 pound) hulled and sliced
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup quick cooking tapioca
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1 large egg yolk with 1 tsp of water added for egg wash
• 1 recipe for double pie crust (or store bought)

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. If you're using a fresh pie crust recipe, roll it out on a floured surface and then gently transfer to the deep dish pie plate.
3. In a large bowl add the strawberries, rhubarb, sugars, lemon juice, salt and tapioca. Stir together to combine.
4. Add the fruit mixture to the pie plate in a mound.
5. Dot the fruit with the butter pieces.
6. Top the fruit with the other crust that has been rolled out to form a circle that will overhang by about 1/2 inch.
7. Cut any dough that is longer then 1/2 inch and then tuck the remaining overhang under itself and crimp the edges.
8. Transfer the pie to a baking sheet and then use the egg wash mixture to brush over the top of the crust. Cut some slits for steam to escape. I used a little coarse sugar to sprinkle over the top of the crust as well but that is optional.
9. Bake for 20 minutes and then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 25 - 30 minutes until the pie liquid is bubbling and the crust is nicely golden.
10. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a cooling rack. The liquid inside will be fully gelled when completely cool.

Chocolate Valentine's Cakes

These little hearts are a result of my daughter's preschool having a Valentine's Day party today.  I was given free range to make something special for them.  My husband helped me come up with this little dessert. My daughter helped me put them together so it was a family project last night and I think they turned out so cute. 

I made a sheet cake from Pioneer Woman.  She dubs it the best sheet cake and I whole heartily agree. So moist and tender with a wonderful chocolate flavor that won't overpower.  I'll be making this one again soon.  Plus, I usually make sheet cakes in my 9x13 inch casserole dish but this one was made in a jelly roll pan and I loved it!

I cut hearts in the cooled cake with a cookie cutter.  Then I piped frosting around the edge (of the bottom side of the cake) filled it in with strawberry jam and sandwiched it with another cake. 

Then sprinkles around the edge. 

I made some with strawberry jam and some with all frosting.  Then I made some that weren't a sandwich at all and instead were just a little heart shaped cake with frosting on top. My daughter loved the one's that weren't a sandwich and were just cake and frosting.

I didn't change anything about the two recipes I used so I'll just link you to them.  Nobody can beat The Pioneer Woman's photography so why even try.

Happy Valentines Day....tomorrow.  We're celebrating today because my hubs will be out of town tomorrow.  It's confusing.

The Best Chocolate Sheet Cake. Ever. 

Decorator Frosting

Fruit-Filled Heart Puffs

For Valentine's Day I decided to make something very simple and yet unmistakably Valentine-y. I was very pleased with how well these turned out.  To make them even easier you could use a canned pie filling. Not only are these totally delicious but they are super simple. 

For Valentine's Day you want to be with your loved one, NOT stuck in the kitchen!

I used a heart shaped cookie cutter but if you don't have one you can use any non-holiday shape or even a biscuit cutter. 

They bake up all golden and crispy on the outside.  This heart looks like it's bleeding a little, don't worry that is no reflection on any actual relationship status. :)

I drizzled mine with chocolate but you could also make a quick glaze of confectioner's sugar and milk and do it that way.

Let cool completely before eating.  Less oozing that way. Happy Valentine's Day everyone! 

Fruit-Filled Heart Puffs

Ingredients

• 1 box puff pastry, unthawed for 40 minutes.
• 1 cup fruit - fresh, frozen, or canned - petite diced
• 1 bar good chocolate
• sugar, for sprinkling (turbinado works best)
• 1 large egg, for egg wash (optional)

Cooking Directions

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cut the thawed puff pastry with a heart shaped cookie cutter. Make sure to cut an even number so you have one top and one bottom.
3. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
4. Lay and even number of cut out puff pastry shapes on the parchment paper.
5. place small scoop of fruit in the middle of the dough shape, leaving space around the edges.
6. Cut some small chocolate shavings or pieces and place on top of the fruit.
7. Cover the fruit with the additional puff pastry cut outs and crimp the edges with a fork.
8. Combine the egg with 1 Tbsp of water and mix well. Brush some of the egg wash over the tops of each pastry puff and sprinkle with sugar.
9. Bake for about 15-17 minutes or until golden brown.
10. Let cool for about 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.
11. While the pastries are cooling, use a double boiler to melt the remaining chocolate. Drizzle the tops of each pastry with the melted chocolate and let cool completely.

Strawberry Ice Cream

Wow, what a busy week I had last week.  A big event at my job, some parties to attend, a Tim McGraw/Kenny Chesney concert on Sunday.  I'm beat!  Did I mention this is my last week at my job also?  Well it is.  I'm going to stay home with my little girl and be a mommy.  That's quite the change for me, I've worked since I was 14 so this new step is a little scary for me.  The plus side is that I'll get to keep up on this blog much better than I have lately.  I'll also get to start making a meal plan which has been on my to-do list for way too long.  I usually run home and just throw something together so we can eat at a reasonable hour before the night time rush of bath's and bedtime.  I'm really looking forward to this change.

Along those lines comes this ice cream.  My daughter basically likes all ice cream so if I could figure out how to make broccoli ice cream I might be onto something. Just kidding, that sounds gross.  She's been asking for strawberry ice cream lately because I've been bringing home all these wonderful strawberries for us to snack on.  I finally gave in (she really had to twist my arm)!  She loved helping me make the custard for this ice cream and she also loved giving it a taste test once it was in the ice cream maker and starting to freeze.  She's a great help.

First off, you need to wash your berries.

Hull them and put them into a food processor.

Process with several small pulses.  You want it to have some chunks but be mostly ground up. This looks perfect.

Now start making your custard.

Strain the custard to remove any cooked egg pieces.

Add in the strawberry mixture.

Stir and refrigerate overnight.

Process in your ice cream maker for about 20-25 minutes and then move to a container you can freeze it in.  Let harden before scooping, or eat it as soft serve out of the ice cream maker.

I love the flavor of this ice cream.  You can really taste the fresh strawberry taste and it's creaminess makes it unbeatable.  I recommend you let sit on your counter for a few minutes before scooping as it did get pretty hard in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!

Strawberry Ice Cream
Found at Brown Eyed Baker

1 quart strawberries, hulled and sliced.  (32 ounces)
1 cup granulated sugar, divided
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 cups heavy cream, divided
1 cup whole milk (I used 1%)
pinch of salt
1 whole vanilla bean
6 egg yolks
3/4 tsp vanilla extract

Wash and hull your berries, then place in a food processor with 1/4 c of the sugar and the lemon juice and pulse several times until most of the berries are broken up but there are still chunks left.  Transfer to a dish and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Start the base by adding 1 cup of the cream to a medium saucepan, add the milk, the remaining 3/4 cup of sugar and the salt.  Warm the cream mixture and stir to dissolve the sugar.  Once warm you can turn off the heat and add the vanilla bean.  Cover and let steep for 30 minutes.

Pour the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream in a bowl and place a strainer on top of the bowl.  Set aside.  In a smaller bowl, whisk the egg yolks.  Add some of the hot cream mixture from the stove to the egg yolks a little at a time to temper the eggs.  When you've added about 1 cup of the warm cream mixture to the eggs and whisked thoroughly you can then pour the egg/cream mixture back into the rest of the warm cream that is still in the sauce pan.

Turn the heat back on under the saucepan and warm the egg/cream mixture using a spatula to stir and scrape the bottom. Cook until the mixture thickens and coats the back of the spatula.  The temperature should be 170 degrees.  Pour the heated cream mixture through the mesh strainer into the remaining heavy cream.  Use your spatula to push the mixture through the strainer.  Pour in the chilled strawberry mixture and mix to combine.  Chill the mixture in an ice bath and then refrigerate overnight in a covered container.

When chilled, remove the vanilla bean and run the mixture through your ice cream maker for about 20-25 minutes. Freeze until hard.