Strawberry Citrus Refresher

I know I post a large amount of recipes that use berries. If you don't like them or can't eat them, please hang in there with me. Its really is just a summertime addiction. They are just too good right now for me not to use them! This is a nice refreshing summer drink that would be great for get-togethers or just to have for your family at home. My little boy thought it was fun squeezing all the lemons, limes and oranges so that might be a fun project for your kiddos too!

What You Need:
1 pound strawberries, hulled and sliced
1 1/2 cups sugar {or you can use a sugar substitute}
2 cups boiling water
1 1/2 cups fresh lemon juice { about 8-10 lemons}
1 cup fresh orange juice {about 4 oranges}
½ cup fresh lime juice {about 6  limes}
6 cups cold water

Directions:
Combine berries, sugar and boiling water until sugar is dissolved. Use a potato masher or muddler to crush the berries. Let steep for 30 minutes.

Stir in lemon juice, orange juice, and lime juice. Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a large pitcher, pressing down on the berries to extract as much juice and pulp as possible. Stir in cold water and serve over ice. Enjoy!

S'mores Bars

You should run, right now, to your kitchen and make these. I saw this at Real Mom Kitchen a few weeks ago and made them right away. If you like S'mores, you are going to be in heaven with this quick little dessert. The weekend is fast approaching and you need these, whatever it is you are doing. Trust me. I mean, just look at it. The only warning I have is that you might be tempted to eat the entire pan.

What You Need:
1 stick of butter, room temperature

1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 king-sized Hershey’s milk chocolate bars
1 large egg
1 jar marshmallow creme/fluff
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (~7 full-sized graham cracker sheets, processed til fine)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan. Use an electric mixer to cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Set aside.

Meanwhile,whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Slowly add flour mixture to the creamed butter mixture until combined.

Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan.

Place chocolate bars over dough. 2 king-sized Hershey’s bars should fit perfectly side by side. (I had to trim a little off one bar to get mine to fit.)

Spread chocolate with marshmallow creme or fluff.

Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff. You sort of have to make "shingles" with your hands by flattening small sections of dough and piecing them together on top.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until lightly browned. Be sure to cool completely before cutting into bars. {Although we didn't cool them and I thought they were best served warm!} Enjoy!

Homemade Pasta Sauce

Okay I'll admit it. For awhile now I've been using store bought pasta sauce. Between our families, my husband and I grew up eating homemade sauce but somewhere along the way I found out Ragu was actually pretty good and it became a pantry staple. Anyway, in my quest to reduce as many processed foods as possible I decided to make a large batch the other day. With foods like this, I always make a ton extra and freeze the rest in small containers to be pulled out as needed. It doesn't take extra work to double, triple or quadruple a recipe and saves so much time later on. This recipe turned out pretty much perfect! This makes over 6 quarts of sauce. Just don't do what I did. I left mine out to cool before freezing and forgot about it overnight! I was extremely sad about that but will definitely make this again! Oh, and I made the pasta and sauce with  this Three Cheese Italian Bread, which is also awesome, by the way!

What You Need:
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups onion, chopped and divided
1 red pepper, coarsely chopped
2 pounds hamburger (at least 90% lean)
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 12 oz. can tomato paste
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
3 teaspoons dried oregano
3 teaspoons dried basil
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 14-oz. can Italian-style diced tomatoes
2 28-oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 carton fresh mushrooms (optional)
1 1/2 cups beef stock or beef broth
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add 1/2 of the onions and saute until translucent and slightly browned. Add garlic and stir constantly for 1 minute. Add beef and cook until no red is showing. Drain beef slightly. Blend up the remaining onions and red pepper in a blender or food processor until mostly smooth. Add mixture to the garlic, onions and beef and stir to combine, cooking for another minute. Add tomato paste and spices and cook for 1 minute, stirring until combined. Add tomatoes, beef broth and sugar (and mushrooms, if using). Stir until combined and add the bay leaves. Bring to a boil and then reduce to low and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Fifteen minutes before serving, stir in the balsamic vinegar.

 The sauce will seem watery at first but will reduce to perfection after simmering for an hour {or more}.

Fresh Strawberry Bread

I found this recipe at My Baking Addiction, which is one of my new favorite baking blogs. This recipe would be so perfect for a social event such as a wedding or baby shower or a brunch. Anytime, really! This was such a moist flavorful bread. I loved the strong strawberry flavor. I doubled this recipe and got 3 small loaves. The orginal below states it makes one loaf in a 9x5 bread pan but I think there is a lot more dough than that. You decide.

What You Need:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups strawberries, hulled and chopped {I used the food processor}

Directions
Grease and flour a 9×5 inch loaf pan. With electric mixer cream butter, sugar and cream cheese until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Mix in vanilla. In separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Blend flour mixture with butter mixture just until blended. Add buttermilk and only stir until just combined; do not over mix. Carefully fold in strawberries. Dough mixture will be thick. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 50 to 60 minutes. I needed to cover mine with foil after about 45 minutes so they would not burn on top. Enjoy!