Strawberries Galore!

GOT STRAWBERRIES?! 


It was a memorable Memorial Day weekend to say the least! Saturday morning kicked off with a trip to Yoders Farm in Rustburg to pick some of the nicest, ripest, reddest strawberries I've ever seen or tasted! We had a blast and the kids consumed almost as many strawberries as we brought home. Okay, not quite. But we had enough strawberries for mom to make homemade strawberry pie, Lindsay jammed 5 jars, and I made two batches of strawberry tea and the ooey-gooyiest strawberry cobbler you've ever eaten! There are even more strawberries left over for snackin' and morning smoothies.

For those of you who know me, you may be questioning my "Betty Crocker" skills. But something happened with the invention of Pinterest and the amazing kitchen I had in my last house. Somehow I've transformed into someone who loves to bake and cook. You're shocked, right?! I used to be pretty good at following a recipe, but now I can even improvise! Who knew?!?!

Maybe it's me getting ready to be the keeper of the home, maybe it's entertaining the picky taste buds of a 5 year old, maybe it's just me getting older and maturing (ha!)...but I enjoy finding new recipes and trying new things. Even as I'm planning the new house, I'm putting a lot of emphasis on the kitchen and eating area. Open, welcoming, inviting, warm, friendly.

I should also add while I enjoy experimenting, I like to keep things simple and use ingredients that I already have. I hate finding a recipe that I want to try, only to realize I'm missing a few ingredients and have to scrap it. In fact, I didn't have self-rising flour so I improvised with baking powder and salt added to regular flour.

These recipes were highly requested on Facebook, so here's the ingredients and step-by-step instructions. Enjoy!!!

Strawberry Tea
Ingredients: 4-5 tea bags, 1 cup sugar, 1 lemon, 3-4 cups fresh strawberries.

Brew 4-5 tea bags (I used 3 family size tea bags in a tea maker)

Stir in 1 cup of sugar to the brewed tea (while it's hot so the sugar dissolves

Puree 3-4 cups of strawberries (washed and hulled). The riper the strawberries, the less you may need. I started with 3 cups and added a few extra.

Squeeze the juice from 1 lemon into the puree.

Strain or pour the strawberry mixture into the tea and stir.

Serve chilled.

Strawberry Cobbler
Ingredients: 1 stick of butter, 3 cups fresh strawberries, 2 cups of sugar (split), 1 cup self-rising flour, 1 cup milk.
Melt 1 stick of butter in a medium pan

Add 3 cups of washed & sliced strawberries to the melted butter

Add 1 cup of sugar to the mixture and bring to a boil (this will create a syrup mixture with the strawberries) and remove from heat once mixed well.

In a separate bowl, mix 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of self-rising flour and 1 cup of milk. Stir well until all flour and sugar is blended with the milk.

Pour strawberry mixture along with flour mixture into a baking dish. I layered the mixtures back and forth, but the flour/milk mixture sinks to the bottom until cooked.

Cook for 30 minutes on 350 or until you have a golden, fluffy cobbler that has risen to the top.

Serve warm with ice cream and/or whipped cream!