Recipe Recap #17

Hello again! Happy Tuesday to you! Welcome back to this week's Recipe Recap.  This week I am looking back at the recipes posted May 19 - 25.  I was in a strawberry mood that week!  Yum!!  Here are the recipes:

Strawberry Cream Crepes

Strawberry Fun da-middles "Shortcake"

See you next Tuesday!

Strawberry Banana Loaf

Many of you will notice that I've commented about this before, and I will probably comment about it again...we love banana bread in our house.  So much so that our oldest son knows that it takes 3 bananas to make banana bread, so when we get down to three in the banana bowl, he often asks if we can save them to make banana bread.
 
Over the weekend we had company and the bananas didn't get eaten.  We were so busy, we just seemed to forget they were there.  Imagine how pleased my son was to discover over breakfast today that there were 3 very ripe bananas sitting in the banana bowl (it sits on our kitchen table).  "Mommy, can we make banana bread today?"  "You bet!" was my happy answer.  I love baking with my son, it's great bonding time :-)

Well, for whatever reason, I started flipping through one of my cookbooks, looking at banana recipes.  I came across one for Strawberry Banana Loaf, so I asked my son if he would be interested in trying a new kind of banana bread, and his response was quite positive...with one request, that we add some chocolate to the bread too, so away we went, making our Strawberry Banana Loaf!

Here is the recipe: (Adapted from Company's Coming: Muffins & More)

2 eggs
1/4 cup cooking oil
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup strawberries, sliced
2 ripe bananas, mashed

1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs until frothy.  Mix in oil, sugar, bananas and strawberries.  I added the strawberries last to make sure they didn't get too mashed up in the mixer.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Mix thoroughly.  Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring only to moisten.  Pour into a greased loaf pan (9x5x3).

Bake for approximately 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean.  Cool slightly then remove from pan to a wire rack.

The original recipe stated to wrap well and allow to ripen for one day.  We couldn't wait that long, we waited a few hours until after dinner.  So we'll have to see tomorrow how the flavour changes!

VERDICT:
We all agreed that this was a nice change to banana bread.  A nice blend of complementary flavours (strawberry and banana - yum!) and I love the addition of the oats.  I did add some chocolate chips along to top on 1/4 of the loaf for our oldest son, and he was a big fan of that addition too.  This one is a keeper, we will be making it again, especially with strawberry season upon us!

Strawberry Infused Vodka

A while ago my hair stylist told me about how dangerous strawberry lemonade can be...especially with a little bit of vodka.  She sent me her lemonade recipe, which of course I can't find anywhere (sorry Roxy!), so I searched for a new one., found it, made it, and well...I'll be sharing that one with you soon :-)  Yes, I am a bit of a tease. 
Before I could make my strawberry lemonade, I wanted to make some Strawberry Infused Vodka to add to that lemonade, to kick up that strawberry-ness just a little.  And it makes for a nice, adult drink!  I had no idea that making an infused vodka was so stinkin' easy...thanks to Shutterbean for the recipe and tutorial!

1 pint of fresh strawberries
2 cups vodka

Wash, hull and slice the strawberries.  Fill a mason jar. Measure out the vodka, pour over the strawberries.  Seal.  Let the vodka/strawberry mixture sit for up to a week - on your counter, in the pantry, just not in direct sun.  Give the mixture a good shake everyday.  When you are ready, strain the mixture. Strain it well...get as many of those little bits out that you can!  I also squeezed as much juice as I could out of those strawberries.  You will now have some beautiful, sweet smelling, nectar-like vodka that you can store in little mason jars in the fridge and add to your favourite drinks.

It's easy peasy!!

VERDICT:

My husband was doubting me when I said that I was making Strawberry Infused Vodka.  Maybe because I don't really drink much (been busy making babies for the last 6 years!) - so he was rather shocked when he opened up that jar full of strawberries that was sitting on the counter, took a whiff, and WOWZERS what a surprise.  This was before the infusion had really set in, so it was more of an alcohol smell than the sweet strawberry smell that it is now.  And it is just that...such a beautiful sweet smelling concoction...I just want to chug-a-lug! LOL.  We added some to our strawberry lemonade, and well...YUM!  You'll have to come back and try the recipe for strawberry lemonade...posting soon :-)

Green Monster Smoothie - Crazy Cooking Challenge

It's that time again, time for the Crazy Cooking Challenge!  This month, our task was to make a smoothie...any smoothie we wanted, we just had to find it from another blog.  After some thinking about what I wanted to try in a smoothie, and a little bit of searching, I finally found a new recipe to try - the Green Monster Smoothie, courtesy of Two Peas & Their Pod.  I did amend the recipe slightly from the original.  Here is how I prepared the recipe:

Green Monster Smoothie
1 large orange, peeled and segmented
1/2 large banana, broken into chunks
6 large strawberries, sliced
1 cup spinach
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/2 cup 1% milk
6 ice cubes


I used our Bullet as our blender died and we haven't yet replaced it.  So, I prepared all of the ingredients, and divided them equally between two bullet cups.  I blended each drink, garnished with some orange and strawberry, and served.  Easy breezy!

VERDICT:
We enjoyed this smoothie, and I must admit, I think it perked me up more that my usual morning cup of coffee.  All the fresh fruit and the spinach, tasted great together.  The Bullet did leave som orange chunks in the smoothie which was about the only down side to this challenge!

Strawberry FUN da-middles "Shortcake"

A while back, the Pint-Sized Baker shared at Scrumptious Sunday her Raspberry Lemon Fun-da-Middles.  I tought to myself, FUN-DA-WHAT?!?  I read her blog post (like I do all my Scrumptious Sunday submissions...there are so many great recipes there!)  and she had a picture of a box for Fun-da-Middles.  Clearly something we don't have here in Canada (or I have never seen them at the grocery store).  Fortunately for me, my parents happened to be in the States when I read the post, so I emailed my Mom a picture and asked, "Can you please bring a box home for me?" And she did, not one, not two, but THREE boxes.  She didn't know what flavour I wanted, so she bought one of each that the store had.  Awesome! Thanks Mom!
Fast forward a few weeks and it was time to try making some.  I didn't feel like making icing, and since I didn't know what to expect inside the box (or cupcakes) in terms of flavour (I didn't want the icing to distract), and I had strawberries and whipping cream on hand, I decided to make some Strawberry FUN da-middles Shortcake for us for dessert!  Here is what I did:

Cupcakes:
1 box FUN da-middles, yellow cupcake mix
2 eggs
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup oil

Bake cupcakes according to the directions on the box. Preheat oven to 350F. Line muffin tin with 12 paper baking cups. Mix cupcake mix, water, oil and eggs. Beat at low speed for 30 seconds then at medium for 2 minutes. Fill each cupcake cup 1/3 full with batter (approx 1/8 cup). Make sure the batter completely covers the bottom of the cup. "Warm" the filling pouch by squeezing/massaging it for about 2 minutes. Cut open the pouch at the cut line, and squeeze the filling amongst the 12 cupcakes. Do not let the filling touch the sides of the cups. Spoon the remaining batter over the top of the 12 cupcakes, ensuring the filling is completely covered. Bake for 24-29 minutes or until tops are light golden brown.

Toppings:
4 cups fresh strawberries, washed and cut

Whipping Cream:
I don't use any measurements when I make whipping cream, just a little of this, a lot of that.
Whipping cream
Vanilla (to taste)
Sugar (to taste)

After my cupcakes were baked and cooled, and it was time for dessert, I removed the paper liner and served the cupcake with the fresh whipping cream and strawberries. 

VERDICT:
It was a nice light strawberry shortcake-like treat.  Our son, who doesn't usually eat cake did eat about half of the cupcake.  He wasn't so sure about the filling. And actually he also kept saying he wanted me to make the chocolate ones (next time, kid!).  My husband and I thought they were fun, the little marshmallowy surprise in the middle and topped with the whip and strawberries.

Strawberry Cream Crepes

A few weeks ago, I wrote a guest post for my friend Kim over at Cups by Kim.  If you didn't get a chance to see the recipe, I thought I would share it with you now!

Having never made crepes before (can you believe it?!), I decided to make  “Strawberry Cream Crepes” for my family for our Saturday morning breakfast. Nice change to our usual pancakes / waffles / french toast.  I did take the extra time to make the crepes over a few days (made the batter on Thursday night, made the crepes on Friday, and served them on Saturday) - and I am really glad that I did. Made for a mellow Saturday morning enjoying a lovely sweet breakfast before the busy-ness of Saturday kicked in.  Here are the recipes I used:

Strawberry Cream Crepes

Crepes – Source – Company’s Coming Desserts

4 eggs

1 cup milk

1 cup water

2 cups flour

4 tablespoons cooking oil

1 teaspoon sugar

½ teaspoon salt

Beat eggs in a large bowl until they are frothy.  Add remaining ingredients and beat until smooth.  Cover and store in fridge for a few hours to overnight (I stored overnight).  If you find the batter is too thick when you go to cook the crepes, add milk to thin it (I didn’t need to).  Pour approximately ¼ cup of the batter into a greased, hot crepe pan (I used a frying pan).  Tip the pan to swirl the batter all over the pan bottom (do this quickly, the crepe starts to cook the moment the batter hits the pan).  Remove from the pan when the underside starts to brown.  Cool and stack with waxed paper between each crepe.  If you aren’t using the crepes right away, wrap them in plastic and store in the fridge or into a freezer bag. 

Cream Cheese Filling - Source – Company’s Coming Desserts

1 package cream cheese, softened

¼ cup sugar

1 cup sour cream

Beat cream cheese, sugar and sour cream well. 

Strawberry Sauce

2 lb strawberries, washed, hulled and sliced

In a medium sized pot, put the washed, sliced strawberries.  Add a smidge of sugar (yes, just a smidge!).  Warm over medium heat until the strawberries start to break down, forming a chunky strawberry sauce.

Putting it all Together:

When you are ready to use your pre-made crepes, bring them out of the fridge (or freezer).  Use a pancake griddle to slowly warm the browned side of the crepes to your desired serving temperature.  Spread the cream cheese filling on the unbrowned side of the crepe and roll.  Top with the warmed strawberry sauce, a dollop of whipping cream, and serve!

VERDICT:

This was like having dessert for breakfast.  It was such a nice treat!  My husband and I both really enjoyed these crepes, and are already planning for our strawberry-banana ones tomorrow morning.  Our oldest son isn’t much of a cream cheese fan so we had to modify his slightly to just crepes and strawberries.  He still wasn’t as “in love” with the breakfast as we were (he prefers fluffy pancakes) but he did clean his plate.  I am really happy that I made the crepes the day before, so all we needed to do was warm, fill and roll in the morning – quick process and we all got to eat together!  I will be making this again!

Guest Post with Cups by Kim!

I have been having a great time writing guest posts for some of my blogging friends.  This week I've been working with Kim from Cups by Kim on my latest creation.  Thanks so very much Kim for hosting!!  It's another new-to-me recipe...please visit Cups by Kim for all the details!  In the meantime, here is the teaser...

Scrumptious Sunday #4 - Features!

What an incredible party it was last week!  Thanks so much to everyone who came and shared recipes.  I really enjoyed reading each and every submission.  Everyone it so talented!  An amazing 85 entries last week!  WOW!

It was SO HARD to choose just three submissions to feature...I know I've said that before, but it is true!  And I couldn't choose just three this time, so I picked four features for the week.  Congratulations to everyone on your fantastic posts....if you are one of my features, please grab my "I Was Featured" button and post it on your site, please and thanks!

<a href="http://iamaddictedtorecipes.blogspot.com"><img src="http://i1079.photobucket.com/albums/w519/AddictedtoRecipes/addictedbutton.jpg" width="200" height="177" border="0" alt="I was featured, I was Featured by Addicted to Recipes"></a>

Here are my four features from Scrumptious Sunday Link Party #4:

#13 - Strawberry Shortcake Appetizer from Lady Behind the Curtain

#48 - Spaghetti Squash Carbonara from The Travelling Spoon

# 56 - Royal Icing Recipe, Step-by-Step from Lizy B

#74 - Skinny Mashed Cauliflower from Serena Bakes Simply from Scratch

Scrumptious Sunday #5 Link Party opens late tonight - be sure to link up your favourite recipes from the last week!

If you have a moment, I would LOVE for you to support my blog by voting for it at the voiceBoks "Top 10 Foodie Blogs of 2012" awards - simply click this link and vote for ADDICTED TO RECIPES.  Just takes 2 little clicks...thanks so much!  Voting ends on April 13 (which happens to be my son's birthday!).