strawberries

#FantasticalFoodFight: Ice Cream

~ lk529 ~ 15 Comments

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Fantastical Food Fight has done it again, a food fight worthy of returning to my blog.

I’m laughing a little bit because my uncle teased me for blogging so much after declaring I was taking a break. (Thanks for being a true fan, Uncle Lar!)

The kids and I spent the end of June at Lake Geneva with my parents while my husband was doing a two week stint at the Pentagon. While on our trip, we went strawberry picking in Bristol. A lot of strawberries! We used those strawberries to make pie, sorbet, and no-churn ice cream.

Because I was at my mom’s house, sans ice cream maker, I had to go with a no-churn method for ice cream making. Luckily this food fight allows no-churn varieties of ice cream!

No-Churn Strawberry Ice Cream

Ingredients:

  • 1 qt frozen strawberries
  • 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 pt heavy cream

Steps:

  1. Place a metal pan in the freezer to chill (we used a bundt pan!).
  2. Thaw strawberries 10-20 minutes.
  3. Place strawberries in a food processor and pulse until pea-sized. Add the condensed milk, vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Pulse until combined.
  4. Using a hand mixer, beat the heavy cream until stiff peaks are formed.
  5. Fold 1 C of the whipped cream into the ice cream base then pour that into the remaining whipped cream until blended.
  6. Pour into the chilled pan and freeze 2-5 hours.

*This recipe is adapted from Food Network at http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/no-churn-strawberry-ice-cream-3364490*

No-Churn Strawberry Ice Cream for #FantasticalFoodFight from Sew You Think You Can Cook

To check out these other Fantastical Ice Creams click here:

 If you would like to join our Fantastical Food Fight, you can learn more on our informational page.

#FantasticalFoodFight: PB&J

~ lk529 ~ 12 Comments

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This month’s Food Fight is PB&J. Recipe requirements were to share a recipe that had to include fruit and peanut butter. I love doing twists on the classic pairing and can’t wait to see what everyone else has brought to the fight. Be sure to scroll past my recipe to click on the link-up!

There’s a show on Cooking Channel called Food: Fact or Fiction that gives a fun history on food. One episode was about classic food pairings with PB&J being a big feature. It was quite fun to learn about how the two seemingly perfect ingredients came to be a match made in culinary heaven.

Peanut butter used to be an expensive food item while jelly was cheap and for commoners. It wasn’t until George Washington Carver developed an easier and more effect way of cultivating peanuts.

It took WWII for peanut butter and jelly to marry when both were provided in soldiers’ rations.

I’ve done PB&J muffins before. I’ve also made a smoothie before and quite enjoyed it. I decided to try developing a real recipe and am happy with the results. The oats in the smoothie provide the “bread like” quality that you get when enjoying a true PB&J sandwich. This smoothie is perfect for kids with a cold who refuse to eat.

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My PB&J creations bucket list includes: cinnamon rolls, doughnuts, and oatmeal. Huh, looks like I’m on a breakfast kick. (I actually made PB&J pancakes for dinner tonight, too!)

I wonder if I could turn PB&J into something savory: perhaps a stir fry or a pizza?

An Original Recipe

This recipe makes 1 small smoothie.

PB&J Smoothie

Ingredients:

  • 4 strawberries
  • 1/2 C vanilla Greek yogurt
  • 1/8 C old fashioned oats
  • 1/8 C smooth peanut butter
  • splash of milk (as needed)

Steps:

  1. Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. The amount of milk needed will depend on the consistency of the peanut butter.

PB&J Smoothie for #FantasticalFoodFight from Sew You Think You Can Cook

To check out the other Fantastical PB&J inspired dishes click here:

If you would like to join our Fantastical Food Fight, you can learn more on our informational page.

Bonus cute kid photo: Firecracker wanted me to take a picture of him eating the strawberry.

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Berry Yummy Hummus

~ lk529 ~ 12 Comments

When I saw Strawberry Hummus on Facebook I was instantly intrigued. I wasn’t sure if we were talking a sweet dip chock full of garbanzo bean goodness or strawberries used in a savory application. Yes, the latter is possible. I’ve used strawberries with pork, with shrimp, and on pizza before to great success.

I vowed that the strawberry hummus would be made as soon as we’d polished off the regular hummus already in the fridge. And I did just that!

I made some adjustments to the recipe. 1) I’d forgotten to pick up lemons, so I decided to use the Meyer lemon olive oil. 2) I, as typical with an infant in the house, I used agave in place of honey. And 3) I broke open the bottle of raspberry balsamic vinegar for some extra berry flavor!

Firecracker has had a roller coaster relationship with hummus in his extensive 1.5 year solid food eating life. Currently, he loves it. As berries are probably his number one snack of choice I had high hopes for this dip. Unfortunately, putting his two favorite foods together does not yield a perfect snack. In fact, when I pulled out the hummus the following day to give him another taste he declared, “I want the real hummus.” By which he means the store bought plain hummus. I’m afraid he’ll never trust a homemade hummus again! The strawberries helped me achieve the smoothest hummus I’ve made to date, too. Sigh…

Berry Hummus (toddler) Sew You Think You Can Cook

Treat and I quite enjoyed the hummus though! This unique hummus had an earthy, yet slightly fruity, taste perfect for pita chips, pretzels, and even apple slices. I’m sure cucumber sticks would compliment the dip well, too.

Berry Hummus (baby) Sew You Think You Can Cook

Berry Yummy Hummus

Ingredients:

  • 8 oz strawberries, hulled
  • 1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 2 1/2 tbsp tahini
  • 1 tbsp Meyer lemon olive oil
  • 1 tsp agave
  • 1 tsp raspberry balsamic vinegar, plus more for serving
  • 1 tsp fresh basil

Steps:

  1. Place the strawberries in a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped, but not pureed. Remove to a bowl and set aside.
  2. Add the chickpeas, garlic, tahini, olive oil, agave, and balsamic in the food processor. Blend until smooth. Return the strawberries, reserving a couple of tablespoons for garnish, to the food processor along with the basil. Pulse until fully combined.
  3. Serve hummus with a drizzle of extra balsamic vinegar and the remaining strawberries.

*This recipe is modified from Danielle at http://www.fancymadesimple.com/recipes/appetizers/strawberry-hummus/*

Berry Yummy Hummus made with Strawberries and Raspberry Balsamic Vinegar makes for a fun take on Hummus | Sew You Think You Can Cook | sewyouthinkyoucancook.com

Peanut Butter Crepes

~ lk529 ~ 1 Comment

Last month we went strawberry picking. Battling traffic for 2 1/2 hours (one way) for 50 minutes of picking time was absolutely worth it! These strawberries had the sweetest scent I’d ever sniffed. We had 4 1/2 pounds of strawberries making the road trip back home with us. Some green bell peppers, green beans, cherry tomatoes, and local honey hitched a ride, too.

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I’d put out a request to some of my local SoCal bloggers for their best strawberry recipes. And then, I didn’t use a single one! These strawberries barely made it a week. (To be fair, I froze about a third of them right away.) When something is just that good you almost don’t want to waste it as an ingredient. Instead, I decided to do crepes for dinner, filling them with our freshly picked strawberries.

I was quite hesitant with the crepe batter. It’s essentially all egg white and some peanut butter. I thought, “There’s no way!” But, I found the recipe from Natural Noshing’s Secret Recipe Club reveal of my dear friend Tara’s blog. I told myself that, if two people can succeed with these crepes, then it’s bound to work!

The first crepe is always a throw away – me, I ended up with a severely burnt crepe due to a child required my immediate attention. I told myself, “one more try”. And if it doesn’t work, I’ll throw in a bunch of flour and just make regular pancakes. Plan B was never needed. The only problem is that this recipe doesn’t make very many crepes! However, the use of peanut butter actually makes them filling and satisfying enough to feed 2 (and a half) people. You can always stretch out the crepes with whatever fillings you decide.

My crepes were filled with softened cream cheese, cinnamon sugar, and fresh sliced strawberries. Stuart filled his crepes with Nutella, fresh sliced strawberries, and honey. Firecracker had his with Nutella and fresh sliced strawberries.

Other filling options could include banana, jelly, chocolate chips, and/or maple syrup.

Peanut Butter Crepes

Ingredients:

  • 1 whole egg
  • 6 egg whites
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 heaping tbsp sugar
  • 2 tbsp creamy peanut butter

Steps:

  1. Using a hand mixer, whisk the egg and egg whites until frothy. Add in the vanilla, sugar, and peanut butter until smooth.
  2. Pour 1/4 C batter into a small greased skillet. (I used 1-2 tsp butter between each crepe) Swirl the pan around to create an even crepe. Once the surface bubbles flip and cook another minute. Remove, repeat with remaining batter.
  3. Serve with desired fillings.

*This recipe is adapted from Nora at https://naturalnoshing.wordpress.com/2015/07/26/peanut-butter-crepes-with-cinnamon-cream-cheese-filling-grain-free-src/*

Peanut Butter Crepes Sew You Think You Can Cook

And if you need an idea for all those leftover egg yolks, might I suggest chocolate frozen custard?

SRC: Strawberry Vanilla Smoothie

~ lk529 ~ 19 Comments

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It’s Secret Recipe Club Reveal Day! In the Secret Recipe Club, each participating blogger is assigned a blog from another participating blogger and secretly searches their site for something to recreate. The accompanying blog post then goes live on reveal day! So while I was immersed in my assigned blog, someone else was picking through mine! I’m so excited to be part of this group, to see what on my blog peaks other’s interests and to stumble upon new blogs and new recipes.

This month I was in a mad scramble to make something from my assigned blog, The Avid Appetite. While I’ve had my assignment for a month, it’s been one heck of a month between my husband going on his first work trip since the boys have been born, finally getting internet, and traveling for my brother’s wedding it’s been hard to get into a rhythm that supports my hobby!

Rachel is the mastermind behind The Avid Appetite. Rachel has been sharing her culinary adventures for over five years! She’s a wife, mother, and brand licensing professional living in NJ. Sounds busy to me. She shares family stories on Tuesdays (hey, me too, with my Tuesday Tattles series!), consider yourself pre-warned for some adorable Penelope cuteness overload.

Her recipe index left me with 15 items to consider for today’s reveal! From those 15, real consideration was given to a Chicken and Pineapple dish and a Baked Oatmeal. Had I been assigned her blog two months ago when I was in my blood orange obsession there’s no question that I would be sharing this Loaf Cake or these Shortcakes. And I will be revisiting her Caramelized Potato Parsnip Tart next week, too.

Due to my {self imposed} shortened time table I settled on a smoothie. Her sweet daughter sold me on the Strawberry Vanilla Smoothie. Precious. Well, that and the fact that I had some farmers market strawberries in my freezer. It’s as if it were meant to be because the amount called for in her recipe was the exact amount I had saved! I did substitute plain Greek yogurt for the vanilla so I doubled the amount of vanilla extract. I can’t believe I’ve never thought to put extracts in my smoothies. That quality of sweetness can’t come from anywhere else. I felt like I was drinking a smoothie from a smoothie place, not my own kitchen. It reminded me very much of a smoothie I used to get in between classes back at Auburn. Amazing how something so simple can bring back memories over 6 years old.

This smoothie recipe will make two servings. I saved one glass (aka what Firecracker didn’t finish) for the next day and it was still perfect!

Strawberry Vanilla Smoothie for Secret Recipe Club from Sew You Think You Can Cook (kid approved)

Strawberry Vanilla Smoothie

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 C frozen sliced strawberries
  • 1 C milk
  • 1/2 C plain Greek yogurt
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Steps:

  1. Place ingredients in a blender. Pulse until smooth.

*This recipe is modified from Rachel at http://www.theavidappetite.com/home/2016/1/31/strawberry-vanilla-smoothie*

Strawberry Vanilla Smoothie for Secret Recipe Club from Sew You Think You Can Cook

To see the other bloggers who participated in The Secret Recipe Club this month click here:

SRC: Strawberries and Cream Muffins

~ lk529 ~ 21 Comments

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Good morning and welcome to another edition of The Secret Recipe Club. For a little “behind the scenes” information, The Secret Recipe Club (SRC) is divided into four group. Each group posts on a different Monday of the month. I am in Group D and always post on the 4th Monday of the month. This means that those special months with five Mondays there’s a week without any fun reveal day! That is all about to change, beginning with today. On the 5th Monday of the month there will now be a themed reveal and it’s a “free for all,” which means that there aren’t any group restrictions. I’m looking forward to getting to know some of the other bloggers in the club.

That being said, I’m very familiar with my assigned blog for today’s tailgating themed reveal. My assignment this month comes from Group B, but I’ve participated in many blogging events with her in the past. Quite conveniently, she was a member of the #10DaysofTailgate blog event two years ago! Needless to say I had a lot of recipes to choose from that fit with today’s theme.

So who is this mystery assignment? It’s Ashley from Cheese Curd in Paradise!

I promised myself that I would not pick a dip recipe because 5 of my last 8 reveals were a dip recipe. This meant her pizza dip, Mexican spinach dip, and loaded baked potato dip were off limits.

Auburn tailgatingInstead I thought about those morning games. Morning games are probably my favorite ones for tailgating. We would get to campus early and have a tailgate tent complete with fresh fruit, bagels, coffee, and muffins. Then after the game return back to the tent for more “traditional” tailgating fare of burgers, chips, dips, and beer. (I get pretty “home sick” during football season, wishing I could be back on the Plains cheering on my Auburn Tigers in person, throwing the football with family, and enjoying the atmosphere that is SEC football.)

I decided between Apple Strudel Muffins, Blueberry-Lemon Yogurt Muffins, and Strawberries and Cream Muffins. It’s a good thing I didn’t pick the apple ones because I ended up making Apple Cinnamon Muffins for my standard SRC reveal day (I made this tailgating muffin weeks before)! The only reason I picked strawberry over blueberry was because I had strawberries in my fridge that were reaching the end of their shelf life. Besides, there’s no way I can “waste” blueberries for baking – they’re my little man’s favorite food, he’d eat the whole pint if I let him!

We really liked these Strawberries and Cream Muffins – my only regret is that I misjudged how much of the cream cheese mixture to put in the muffins and there wasn’t nearly enough. My advice: use it all, it’s the best part! I loved having these muffins on hand for that mid-morning snack.

Strawberries and Cream Muffins 2 Sew You Think You Can Cook

This recipe makes 12-15 muffins.

Strawberries and Cream Muffins

Ingredients for filling:

  • 4 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 11/2 tbsp of beaten egg
  • 1/3 C sugar
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Ingredients for muffin:

  • 2 C flour
  • 3/4 C sugar
  • 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 stick butter, melted
  • 1 C milk
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/8 tsp almond extract
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 C diced fresh strawberries

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line muffin tins with liners.
  2. Make the filling: Whisk together the cream cheese, egg, sugar, and vanilla until lump free. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
  4. In a small bowl (I actually did this in the glass measuring cup I used to melt the butter), whisk together the melted butter, milk, vanilla extract, and almond extract. When slightly cooled, whisk in the eggs. Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients.
  5. Fill prepared muffin tins halfway with the batter. Add a few strawberries, and top with a generous amount of cream cheese filling. Top the muffins with batter and stud with some more strawberries.
  6. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out cleanly. Allow muffins to cool 5 minutes in the tin before removing to a cooling rack.

*This recipe is adapted from Ashley at http://cheesecurdinparadise.blogspot.com/2012/08/recipe-swap-apple-strudel-muffins.html*

Strawberries and Cream Muffins Sew You Think You Can Cook

To see the other bloggers who participated in the themed Secret Recipe Club this month click here:

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Waffles

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

I have been eyeing one of Tara‘s recipes ever since she posted it; I actually almost made them for #SundaySupper last week. When she posted this recipe for Strawberry Waffles I had JUST polished off a container of strawberries. But honestly, it’s very rare that we get through the entire carton before the strawberries start to go bad (unless I clean, chop, and put them in a container in the fridge when I get home from the grocery store… which is a rare occurrence). So I knew that next time I had strawberries that were starting to go I’d puree them up and make Tara’s waffles.

Turns out the next strawberries I had in my fridge were those from my Mother’s Day Edible Arrangement! So, instead of strawberry waffles, I had chocolate covered strawberry waffles! (I almost sat on this recipe until Valentine’s Day but I just couldn’t wait!)

imageI’ve always wanted an Edible Arrangement, I just thought they were so fun! It’s been over 5 years of me wanting one and in those 5 years I developed an allergy to melon. I thought my chances of getting an Edible Arrangement were history. But – they had one with pineapple, strawberries, and grapes. Perfect! These arrangements are HUGE though! Or at least this one was. I knew we couldn’t make it through all of that fruit before it went bad, so some of those strawberries were transformed into waffles. Win-win.

I halved the recipe because I wasn’t anywhere close to 2 C of pureed strawberries. As is I had to supplement some of the puree for milk. This amount of batter was perfect for just me – it made 5 waffles, which I enjoyed over the course of two days.

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Waffles

Ingredients:

  • 3-4 very large chocolate covered strawberries
  • 1/4 C milk (if needed)
  • 1 tbsp agave
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 C flour
  • 3/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Steps:

  1. Place strawberries in a blender and puree. If you have less than 1 C of puree use milk to reach 1 C of total liquid.
  2. In a bowl whisk eggs. Add the strawberry/milk mixture and the agave.
  3. In another bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Pour batter into a hot waffle iron and cook until golden. Serve with whipped cream.

*This recipe is adapted from Tara at http://www.tarasmulticulturaltable.com/strawberry-waffles/*

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Waffles Sew You Think You Can Cook

A Spring Time Potluck Party

~ lk529 ~ 4 Comments

When we moved to Ohio my neighbor told me about a group of gals who get together once a month for a potluck. As soon as we were settled in I knew I had to go with her to one of these events. And I’m so glad I did – I’ve made many friends through this group and there’s always someone new to meet.

The person who organized this club moved at the end of March and I have since taken over the organization. We always host the event at one of the neighborhood clubhouses so all I have to do is bring the collection of plates, cups, and bowls and make sure the clubhouse is cleaned up when we’re done. But the fun part is getting to be the one to pick the theme for the month’s potluck!

A Spring Time Potluck

For April we did Spring. We had such a vibrant and colorful display of food. Here are just some of the recipes from the night:

  • Mango Black Bean Salad: 2 cans black beans (drained and rinsed), 2 mangoes (diced), 1 red bell pepper (diced), 1 bunch scallions (sliced), 1/2 C chopped cilantro, 1 jalapeno (minced), 1/2 C red wine vinegar, zest and juice 1 orange, zest and juice 1 lime.
  • Creamy Cucumber Salad: 1 cucumber (thinly sliced), 1 tsp salt – laid flat and then patted dry after an hour. 1 tbsp sour cream, 1 tsp minced onion, 1 tsp chopped dill, 1 tsp vinegar, 1 tsp sugar – combine and refrigerate for an hour before tossing with prepared cucumber slices.
  • Pineapple Fried Rice: I don’t know if she used my recipe but it was very similar – https://sewyoucancook.wordpress.com/2015/01/23/pineapple-fried-rice/
  • Spinach and Strawberry Salad: 4 C baby spinach, 1 pint strawberries (sliced), 1/2 oz sliced almonds – for the salad. 1/4 C sugar, 2 tbsp sesame seeds, 1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire, 1/4 tsp paprika, 1/4 C red wine vinegar, 1/2 C EVOO – for the dressing.
  • Fruit Salsa: 32 oz strawberries (diced), 8 oz raspberries, 3 kiwis (chopped), 1 golden apple (diced), 1 1/2 tbsp sugar, 2 tbsp fruit jelly.
  • Lemon Squares: 2 C flour, 1 C butter, 1/2 C powdered sugar – whisked and pressed in 9×13″ pan, 20 minutes @ 325deg. 4 eggs, 4 tbsp flour, 4 tbsp lemon juice, 2 C sugar – place on crust, 20 minutes @ 325deg.
  • Chocolate Cheesecake Filled Peanut Butter Bundt Cake: https://sewyoucancook.wordpress.com/2015/04/16/bundtbakers-hidden-surprise/

I was caught up in making sure I had everything needed for hosting my first potluck that I forgot my camera! A big thank you to my friend Emily for remembering to take some pictures. So, I’d like to give her a little shout out – Emily is a very talented crafter and has started her own blog, Emmy’s Crafty Corner! Please go check it out, I promise you you’ll find something unique!

Next week we’re throwing a Cinco de Mayo party – and I couldn’t be more excited! Stay tuned next time for a round up of Mexican favorites, even if it’ll be after the holiday.

Strawberry Balsamic Pizza

~ lk529 ~ 2 Comments

Earlier this month a Publix opened up across from our neighborhood. I absolutely love Publix. Growing up in Southwest Florida it was pretty much the only grocery destination – sure we had Walmart, an Albertson’s, which I don’t even think exists anymore, and Sweet Bay. Every Sunday after church we’d go to the grocery store. (I am not looking forward to moving away from the land of the Publix.)

Grocery shopping is not my favorite thing. Despite my efforts to remain organized I always manage to miss something and have to back track throughout the store. But, now that I have a Publix within walking distance I use the Publix App on my phone. Not only can I browse the circular to find what’s on sale this week, but I can create my grocery list. Yes, Winn-Dixie and other grocery apps have the same ability, but Publix – the place “where shopping is a pleasure” – has surpassed customer service in the app alone. When you input your specific store, it’ll tell you what aisle that item is in. Not just “baking” but “aisle 9”. It might just be the best thing since sliced bread.

I apologize greatly for my Publix add, but there is a point! I used pre-made pizza dough from the Publix bakery instead of making my own. And it is delicious. Almost every grocery store does offer dough in their bakery, so don’t fret if you don’t live in the land of Publix. (Other alternatives include making your own, refrigerated pizza dough, or even the dry pizza dough usually hanging on an end cap in the store with pepperoni.)

Another benefit of living in Florida is that I can still find beautiful, ripe, Grown in Florida Strawberries at the store. I hadn’t thought strawberries to be in season, but Winter Strawberries are harvested between November and March. I swear, these are more beautiful than the ones I get in July. So, again, I apologize if you cannot find fresh strawberries in your local area – pin this recipe and save it for the summer. I promise you it’s worth it!

This pizza rivals any that you find at a gourmet pizza shop, and although you can roll your dough to your desired thickness, a thicker crust works beautiful with this masterpiece. Stuart questioned this dish – he thought strawberries on a pizza would be weird. But they complement the chicken and bacon and the cilantro provides a note of lightness. He pointed out, and I agree, that mint would also work well here (if you happened to have that instead).

Strawberry Balsamic Pizza

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 C balsamic vinegar
  • 1/4 C strawberry jam
  • 1 tsp sriracha
  • cornmeal, for pizza peal
  • 1 ball pizza dough, rolled out to approximately 14″
  • 1 C diced, cooked chicken
  • 3 strips, cooked thick-cut bacon, diced
  • 1/4 red onion, finely diced
  • 2 C shredded Italian blend cheese
  • 4 large fresh strawberries, diced
  • fresh cilantro (or mint), for garnish

Steps:

  1. Place pizza stone in oven and preheat to 475 degrees F.
  2. In a small saucepan bring balsamic vinegar to a boil, reduce to a simmer for 4 minutes. Add in jam and sriracha. Toss chicken with 2 tbsp of sauce and set the remainder aside.
  3. Sprinkle cornmeal onto a pizza peal, if you don’t have a a pizza peal an edge-less cookie sheet works well too.  Place dough on peal.
  4. Top dough with balsamic sauce, leaving a 1″ crust. Top with chicken, 3/4 of the cheese, then the bacon and onion. Top this layer with the remaining cheese.
  5. Bake for 10 minutes.
  6. Garnish with fresh strawberries and cilantro (or mint). Allow pizza to cool a few minutes before slicing.

*This recipe is adapted from Chris at http://www.thecafesucrefarine.com/2011/07/strawberry-balsamic-pizza-with-chicken.html*

Strawberry Balsamic Pizza 1 Strawberry Balsamic Pizza 2

CIC: Mustard & Strawberries

~ lk529 ~ 12 Comments

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It’s that time of month for another Crazy Ingredient Challenge.  With the business of the holidays I sat out during December and January and I’m glad to be back this month.

This month we were assigned Mustard and Strawberries. The challenge is to combine sweet strawberries with vinegary mustard. I decided to be liberal with the mustard ingredient and use honey mustard. Stuart wondered if strawberries could be pickled in a way to compliment yellow mustard. But I liked my idea better.

I present to you Strawberry Pretzels with Sweetened Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce.

I chose to follow Hannah’s recipe for pretzels because I could completely connect with her blog post. The trick was adding in strawberries. I was really nervous about this part. You can’t just fold them at the end of the dough making process like you would pancakes or cookies, so I added them during the kneading process and hoped for the best. I tried researching how to add fruit to pretzels and found absolutely nothing. So I tried looking for adding chocolate chips to pretzels, again nothing. I think I’m starting a trend here!!

How to pretzel

Strawberry Pretzels with Sweetened Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

Ingredients for Pretzels:

  • 1 (1 oz) packet  active dry yeast
  • 1 tsp sugar in the raw pure cane sugar
  • 1 1/4 C warm water
  • 2 1/2 C bread flour
  • 1/4 tsp kosher salt
  • 2/3 C finely chopped strawberries
  • 3 tbsp butter, melted, divided use

Ingredients for Sweetened Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce:

  • 1/4 C honey mustard
  • 1/2 tsp white sugar
  • heaping 1/4 tsp honey

Steps:

  1. In the bottom of a stand mixer gently stir together yeast, sugar, and warm water.  Let stand 5 minutes.
  2. Add 1 1/2 C of flour to the yeast begin to stir with the dough hook attachment on low speed. Add 1/3 C of strawberries and stir. Add salt, remaining flour and strawberries. Mix until the dough comes together around the hook.
  3. Cover and let dough rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
  4. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
  5. Punch dough and transfer it onto a floured surface, divide into six equal parts. (I think you could even get 8 pretzels if you wanted!) Roll dough into a long snake and shape into a pretzel – do this by making a heart and twisting the ends. (see photos above)
  6. Place pretzels on parchment lined cookie sheet. Brush with 2 tbsp melted butter and bake 10 minutes.
  7. Turn on broiler and bake another 1-5 minutes until golden brown. Keep an eye on them, the timing will depend on your oven. Brush with remaining 1 tbsp butter and sprinkle with kosher salt.
  8. Make dipping sauce by whisking all three ingredients. Serve with pretzels.

Strawberry Pretzels

To see the other bloggers who participated in this month’s Crazy Ingredient Challenge click on the link below.