Strawberry 🍓 Bread

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Strawberry Bread

★★★★★

Breads, Fruit,

Cook Time: 50 minutesServings: Prep time 10 minutesSource: tastesoflizzyt.com

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE BREAD:

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup oil

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract or almond extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder** (see notes)

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups diced strawberries

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

FOR THE GLAZE:

2 cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons melted butter

1/3 cup finely diced strawberries

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or almond extract

1-2 tablespoons heavy cream or milk** (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, stir together the sugar, milk, oil, egg and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined.

In a small bowl, toss together the strawberries and the 2 tablespoons of flour to coat the strawberries. Fold the floured strawberries gently into the batter.

Pour the bread batter into a greased 9″x5″ bread pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the center of the bread should come out clean. Allow the bread to cool for 10 minutes, then remove the bread to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the glaze, combine the powdered sugar, melted butter, diced strawberries and extract in a small bowl. Mix until it is smooth.

Once the bread is cool, spread the glaze on top of the bread. Slice and serve.

NOTES

*I often add an extra teaspoon of vanilla or almond extract to the bread batter (along with the wet ingredients) for an extra boost of flavor. I do this especially if I’m not putting the glaze on top. The bread has the most flavor when you add the strawberry glaze!

*We have added up to 2 ½ cups of diced strawberries to the batter. The bread stays together the best when you use about 2 cups.

**We like the strawberry bread as written, but if you’d like a higher rise on the bread, reduce the baking powder to 1 teaspoon and add ½ teaspoon of baking soda. This will change the texture slightly, but some like it a little better.

**We didn’t need any milk or cream to make the glaze spreadable, but it may depend on the juiciness of your strawberries. The glaze will be very thick and look like it is not mixing up, but if you keep mixing, it should create a nice creamy pink glaze as shown below. If it doesn’t, add milk or heavy cream 1 tablespoon at a time. The glaze will soften as it sits too since the sugar pulls out juices from the strawberries. Keep this in mind when adding milk and don’t add too much!

***Many people find that they can make half of a recipe of glaze and it is plenty. If you don’t like a lot of glaze, halve the ingredients.

****The calories shown are based on the bread being cut into 10 pieces (and all of the frosting used), with 1 serving being 1 slice of bread. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate.

NUTRITION

Calories: 394kcal | Carbohydrates: 62g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 25mg | Sodium: 92mg | Potassium: 181mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 40g | Vitamin A: 115IU | Vitamin C: 19.7mg | Calcium: 60mg | Iron: 1.5mg

Ultimate Tuna Melts

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Tuna melts – the ultimate comfort food

Sandwich, Seafood,

Servings: Serves 4 Source: barefootcontessa.com

INGREDIENTS

2 (6 to 8-ounce) jars imported tuna packed in olive oil, drained

½ cup (Âź-inch) diced hearts of celery

½ cup minced scallions, white and light green parts (3 scallions)

3 tablespoons minced fresh dill

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

ž cup good mayonnaise, such as Hellmann’s

1 teaspoon anchovy paste (optional)

4 large slices bread, such as Pepperidge Farm Farmhouse Hearty White

4 ounces Swiss cheese, such as Emmentaler, grated

1 ounce microgreens

DIRECTIONS

In a medium bowl, flake the tuna finely with a fork. Add the celery, scallions, and dill, and continue mixing and fluffing with the fork until combined. Add the lemon juice, 1½ teaspoons salt, and ž teaspoon pepper. Combine the mayonnaise and anchovy paste, if using, and mix into the tuna.

Preheat the broiler. Toast the bread in a toaster and place the slices in a single layer on a sheet pan. Spread a quarter of the tuna mixture thickly and evenly on each piece of bread, covering the entire slice. Sprinkle the cheese evenly on the 4 sandwiches, covering the tuna completely. Broil for 1 to 2 minutes, just until the cheese melts and starts to brown. (Watch it carefully!) Sprinkle with the microgreens and serve hot.

Hearty Ham and Navy Bean Soup

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Honey Baked Ham and Navy Bean Soup

My parents loved this recipe. It’s the perfect supper served with a side of homemade cornbread.

I’d visit a Honey Baked Ham store just to purchase a few ham bones for our freezer.

Freezes beautifully and recipe is easily doubled (or in my case tripled) by doubling or tripling ALL ingredients, save for the ham bone.

Hearty Ham & Bean Soup

★★★★★

Soups & Stews

Servings: Servings 8 Source: keyingredient.com

INGREDIENTS

1/2 pound navy beans

Ham bone and any leftover ham

1 medium onion, chopped and sauteed

3/4 cup shredded raw potatoes

3/4 cup chopped celery

1/4 cup celery leaves

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup fresh green onion tops

1 cup chopped tomato (fresh or canned)

DIRECTIONS

Wash beans well, then cover with 6 cups warm water. Let stand overnight. Next day pour beans and water in which they were soaked into a large saucepan.

Combine all ingredients except tomatoes and green onion tops. These two ingredients may be omitted, but they add much color to the dish. Add them the last 10 minutes to retain color. Cook soup in a covered saucepan slowly about 3 hours or until beans are very soft. When done, taste and season further if necessary. If soup appears too thick toward end, add a little water or stock. If it appears too thin, cook uncovered a few minutes. Add tomatoes and onions last 10 minutes, and cook slowly uncovered.

Can easily double the amount of soup made by duplicating all ingredients EXCEPT for the ham bone 🙂

The Best Homemade Mac and Cheese đŸ§€

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This recipe looks long but is really simple and quick. Three steps: cook the pasta, make the sauce and, optional, bake in the oven with the crumb topping. The recipe is only long because I detail each step for novices. It’s a delicious and saucy served as soon as you combine pasta and sauce, but for true level deliciousness add the buttered crumbs and bake it a few minutes. Okay. Here we go … Preheat the oven to 375.

Instapot Mac and Cheese

★★★★★

INSTAPOT/Pressure Cooking, Kid-Friendly, Pasta, Quick & Easy

Source: A Grandma’s Recipes for your Instant Pot – Rootitoot Cookbook

INGREDIENTS

The Pasta:

2 cups macaroni or other small pasta 

2 1/2 cups cold water

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp butter

The Sauce:

2 1/4 cups milk

2 1/2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp flour

1/2 tsp ground dry mustard or 1 tsp Dijon*

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp sugar

8 oz cheddar or other cheese**

The Butter Crumb Topping: (option but, oh … do it!)

1/2 cup Panko or crushed saltines

3 Tbsp melted butter

2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

* MUSTARD NOTE: You cannot actually taste the mustard in this dish; it just enchances the cheese flavor. Use dry or Dijon.

**CHEESE NOTE: I usually use aged or sharp cheddar but I also like a Swiss or a combination of the two. Almost any combination of cheeses will work so feel free to use your favorites.

DIRECTIONS

FOR THE PASTA: Put the macaroni, water, butter and salt in the Instant Pot and give it a stir. Close the lid and make sure the valve is set to Sealing. Push the Pressure Cook (or Manual) button. Adjust the time using the + and – buttons to get to 4 minutes.

While it’s cooking, grate about 3/4 of the cheese in one pile and dice the remaining 1/4 cubes into another pile. Heat the milk in the microwave but do not boil.

When it beeps that it’s done, flip the valve to Venting for a quick release. Pour the pasta into a strainer and cover with a plate to keep it warm.

FOR THE SAUCE: Put the 2 1/2 Tbsp butter in the Instant Pot and hit the Sauté button a couple times to get to the “Normal” heat of the sauté setting. (Pressing Sauté a few times on the DUO models toggles through Saute’s three heat settings: Less, Normal and More).

When the butter is melted, add the flour and dry mustard, if using. Stir constantly with a whisk for a couple minutes to cook this roux. Keep it moving. Then add the hot milk all at once and whisk vigorously. (Add the Dijon mustard here, if you’re using that.). Keep stirring until it comes back to a boil and thickens. It can scorch if you leave it. The sauce should be the consistency of unwhipped heavy cream at this point. The cheese and pasta will thicken it, so if it’s any thicker than heavy cream, whisk in a little milk, a tablespoon at a time to thin it a bit.

Hit Cancel. (You do NOT want the sauce to boil once the cheese is in; it can curdle.) Whisk in the salt, pepper and sugar. Add the grated cheese but keep the cubes for later. Stir until the cheese melts. Taste it and add more salt and pepper if you like. (Incidentally, the sauce at this stage is what I use on steamed broccoli or cauliflower.). Stir in the cubed cheese and the pasta. If you like, you can heat it a little with the SautĂŠ function, but don’t let it boil. You don’t want the cheese cubes to melt into the sauce – they are a great little cheesy burst of flavor.

FOR THE TOPPING: mix the crumbs, melted butter and Parmesan cheese with a fork. Spread this evenly over the pasta and cheese sauce and bake at 375 for 10-20 minutes, until golden brown on top. Let it cool for 5 or 10 minutes before serving.