Strawberry Banana Bread

As per my last post, its strawberry season! Yum! With some of the last strawberries that I hadn't done anything with yet, I thought I'd bake something. This recipe caught my eye as I also had some ripe bananas that needed to be used up. I just pulled the loaves out of the oven and they smell delicious!

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
3 ripe bananas, mashed
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups fresh strawberries, chopped and tossed in 1 tbsp flour

Preheat oven to 375F degrees. Spray 2 loaf pans and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs to the sugar mixture and beat until combined. Add the mashed bananas and mix until combined.

Sift all dry ingredients together and then slowly add into the banana mixture. Mix just until combined. Do not over mix. Fold in floured strawberries.

Pour batter into the two prepared loaf pans and bake at 375F for 15 minutes. Then turn oven down to 350F and bake another 25-30 minutes until edges are brown or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool before removing from pans.

*From http://therecipecritic.com/2015/07/strawberry-banana-bread/

Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce

It's strawberry season! Yesterday morning I went strawberry picking with my family and went home with four ice cream pails of strawberries. I love fresh strawberries! So far I have made 10 half pint jars of strawberry jam and frozen several bags for future smoothies. I also discovered this recipe. I happened to have some frozen rhubarb in my freezer, so this seemed like a good way to use it up. I was right, its delicious! So easy to make and makes a great topping for ice cream, yogurt, waffles, etc. The options are endless. Enjoy!

2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup orange juice
5 tsps cornstarch
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
4 cups sliced strawberries
1 cup sliced rhubarb

Combine sugar, orange juice, cornstarch and vanilla extract in a large sauce pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Add strawberries and rhubarb; reduce heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and blend with immersion blender or manually mash if you don't have an immersion blender. I like to leave some fruit chunks, but you can blend to smooth if you wish. Enjoy warm or cold. Makes 2 large pasta sauce sized jars.

*Adapted from http://allrecipes.com/recipe/200454/strawberry-rhubarb-sauce/

Strawberry Sparkle Cake

It's strawberry season!! My parents (& nephews) went strawberry picking today and I got some freshly picked strawberries delivered to my door. Yum! So good. Anyways, here's a strawberry recipe for you. I actually made it last month for Father's Day.

Now if you are really ambitious, you can make the Angel food cake from scratch, but I cheated and used a boxed mix. Just prepare according to package directions and let cool (upside down).

To make the filling empty a 3 oz box of strawberry jello into a bowl and add 2 1/2 cups boiling water. Stir to dissolve, then add 1 lb of frozen strawberries. Stir to cool the mixture and set aside.

Turn the cooled cake upside down (so the part of the cake that was at the bottom of the pan is now on top). With a sharp serrated knife, cut the top 1 inch for the cake and set aside. With a small knife, cut a trench in the cake by cutting 2 concentric circles. Pull out the extra cake from the trench. Be careful to not cut all the way to the bottom.

By now the filling should be cooled and thickened. Carefully spoon the filling into the trench. Fill slightly above the trench. Then put the top layer back.

Whip 1 1/2 cups whipping cream with 2 Tbps sugar. Spread over cake and chill for awhile before serving. Delicious!

*Adapted from http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2012/07/strawberry-sparkle-cake/

Citrus Strawberry Spinach Salad

I'm not always a huge fan of green salads, but this one was good. Fruit in a salad is always a good idea!

For the salad:

Spinach - however much you need (depending on your salad bowl)
Strawberries (at least 8-10), rinsed and sliced
Oranges (about 2 or 3), peeled and cut up
1/2 - 3/4 cup roasted pine nuts

For the dressing:
1/2 stick butter
zest of 1 orange
1/4 cup olive oil
2-3 Tbsp brown sugar
4 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar

Melt butter in a pot, add orange zest and garlic and saute. Then add olive oil, brown sugar and balsamic vinegar. Heat until almost boiling, reduce heat and then set aside.

Toss together salad ingredients and drizzle with dressing. Enjoy! You'll want seconds of this salad.

* From http://www.nestofposies-blog.com/2013/04/citrus-spinach-salad-with-orange-balsamic-dressing-and-a-big-giveaway/