Fresh Strawberry Syrup

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Homemade Strawberry Syrup

It’s the end of March, officially spring, and there’s 6-inches of snow on the ground outside my front door right now. While I love snow, I’ve had my fill of snow cream for the year. It astonishes me that it can be 70 degrees one day, and 20 the next!

One thing that does have me feeling like spring are the delicious strawberries I’ve been getting at the store recently. While snow might be still blanketing the ground here – in warm, sunny Florida it’s strawberry season! So whenever I see any berries from the sunshine state  in my local grocery store, I can’t pass them by without picking up a package. I haven’t had bad berries yet!

Most of the time they just get gobbled up, before getting the chance to be transformed into something else in a recipe. But, I did get a chance to make this delicious strawberry syrup a couple of weeks ago. It’s perfect over a scoop of vanilla ice cream, stirred into a cold glass of milk, served over hot Belgian waffles, or mixed into a cocktail to give it a fruity twist. It’s also wonderful to toss with some fresh sliced strawberries and then pour into a graham cracker crust for an easy, but delicious dessert.

The batch I made barely lasted a week, and I’ve already made it a couple of times since then. It’s so wonderfully versatile, and it’s nice to have that burst of fresh strawberry flavor in my refrigerator anytime I’d like!

Fresh Strawberry Syrup

4 cups strawberries, rinsed and hulled
1 3/4 cups of water
1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

Crush the berries in a heavy saucepan. Add one cup of water and the lemon zest. Bring mixture to boil then reduce heat to a simmer for five minutes. Skim any foam that forms off the top.

After five minutes of simmering, set the mixture aside to cool.

Meanwhile, place the sugar and the remaining 3/4 cup of water in a small, heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook until the syrup reaches 260°F on a candy thermometer. Set aside.

Strain cooled strawberry mixture through cheesecloth, squeezing to separate the majority of the seeds.

Pour the strained strawberries into a heavy saucepan with the sugar syrup. Bring to a boil and cook for eight minutes.

Store in Mason jar or another air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Source: adapted from StrawberrySue.com

Shrimp Alfredo

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Shrimp Alfredo

This has long been one of my favorite dinners. Especially in the summertime, when the shrimp are fresh and cheaper than chicken here on the Eastern Shore. It comes together quickly, taking more time to prep the shrimp than to put the dinner together – and the results are so delicious and satisfying.

I used to make this dish with lemon pepper seasoning – but, I’ve found that the use of fresh lemon, garlic, and black pepper lends such a burst of fresh flavor that I like to use that combo provided I have all the ingredients handy. Which, I almost always do…

It’s simple enough for a family dinner after a long day at the beach, but also impressive enough to be served to guests at a dinner party. I’ll usually pair with a salad or a steamed veggie like broccoli to round out the meal.

Shrimp Alfredo

1 Tbsp butter
1 lb shrimp, peeled and de-veined
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 Tbsp olive oil
zest from 1 lemon
juice from half a lemon
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb fettuccine
1 1/2 cups Alfredo sauce
fresh parsley, chopped (for garnish)

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, and place back in the pot.

Melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Toss shrimp with the salt, pepper, and olive oil. Add to the skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 3 minutes – until the shrimp turn pink and begin to curl. Add the lemon zest and garlic and cook for another 30 seconds. Add the lemon juice and toss to coat shrimp. Remove from skillet and place in a small bowl.

Toss pasta with alfredo sauce to coat. Place shrimp on top of pasta, and garnish with chopped parsley before serving.

Homemade Hamburger Helper

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Homemade Hamburger Helper

As the third-trimester winds down, and we get closer and closer to the due date – I’m getting tireder and tireder of just about everything, cooking included. So, a go-to easy meal like this one is a lifesaver on those nights when I’m just exhausted.

I’ve always secretly loved a bowl of Hamburger Helper, but hated the fact that I couldn’t pronounce half of the things on the ingredients label. Not to mention the astronomical sodium content…and, the fact that you feel like you have a lead pellet sitting in your stomach for hours afterwards. I knew I could do better at home!

So I set out to make a homemade version, and I tried a few before I finally settled on one that I really loved. It takes the same amount of time to bring together as the box you buy in the store, and is about a million times better – both on the health front as well as taste. Ingredients like basic spices in your pantry, milk, pasta, and lots of freshly shredded cheddar cheese are the only things on my ingredient list.

You could easily pre-mix a few batches of the spices and pasta together and store them in a resealable bag to have them ready to go – making this dinner even quicker and easier. It always feels great to kick yet another boxed processed mix to the curb!

Homemade Hamburger Helper

1 pound ground beef (I like 90/10)
1 1/2 cups hot water
2 1/2 cups milk
2 cups elbow macaroni (or whatever pasta type you like)
8 oz cheddar cheese, shredded

For the spice mix:
2 Tbsp cornstarch
3 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp onion powder
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp black pepper

In a small bowl, combine the ingredients for the spice mix. Set aside.

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown ground beef. Drain any rendered fat. Add hot water, milk, pasta and spice mix. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes or until pasta is tender.

Remove cover and add the shredded cheese, stirring to combine until melted. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper if necessary before serving.

Source: adapted from Food.com via Iowa Girl Eats

Blackberry Yogurt Cake

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Blackberry Yogurt Cake

Well, it’s officially spring! Which, is kind of hard to believe considering we just had another snow day on Monday. Bygones! Hoping the warmer weather is here to stay, because we’re all ready for it in this house. And, I can’t think of a better way to welcome warmer days than by baking a delicious cake studded with plenty of fresh berries.

I’ve made a Strawberry Yogurt Cake in the past, that was absolutely delicious. So I took that as a base and substituted fresh blackberries for the strawberries. Talk about another homerun! It was moist and dense, everything that a Bundt cake should be – with the juicy and tart whole blackberries studded throughout the cake. Absolutely delicious.

Instead of a glaze, I went with something a little more heavy duty…adding more confectioner’s sugar to the mix, as well as some blackberry puree that I blended up with a few of the berries. It gave the glaze a gorgeous purple hue that really set the cake off, and let you know what was hiding inside.

Another new favorite, for sure. Will have to try it with raspberries and blueberries next, as I know those combos are sure to be winners as well. Have a great weekend everyone!

Blackberry Yogurt Cake

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
Zest of 1 lemon
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
8 oz. plain Greek yogurt
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups fresh blackberries

For the glaze:
1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
1/4 cup fresh blackberries, pureed
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan (10-15 cup pan.) Sift together the 2 1/4 cups of flour, baking soda and salt. Mix in the lemon zest and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the lemon juice. Alternate beating in the flour mixture and the yogurt, mixing just until incorporated. Add the buttermilk and the vanilla, and mix until combined.

Toss the blackberries with the remaining 1/4 cup of flour. Gently fold them into the batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Allow to cool at least 20 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack that’s set over a sheet pan to cool completely.

Once the cake has cooled, prepare the glaze. If you don’t like seeds, strain the blackberry puree through a fine mesh strainer before proceeding. Whisk all the glaze ingredients together until well combined. Pour over the top of the cake and let set up for about 30 minutes before slicing and serving.