Recipe: Rhubarb Strawberry Crisp

I want to make sure you are using up all those great strawberries and the excess rhubarb from your patch ( or in my case, my neighbor's patch).  This has the perfect sweetness/tartness flavor and the crunchy topping makes it one of my favorite desserts.  Best served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

RHUBARB STRAWBERRY CRISP

Grease an 8x8 square baking pan.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3/4 Cup Sugar
3 Tbs Cornstarch
3 Cups rhubarb, diced
2 Cups Strawberries, sliced

In large bowl, combine sugar and cornstarch. Add rhubarb and strawberries. Toss to coat. Place into pan.

1 Cup Old-Fashioned Oats
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Butter, melted
1/3 Cup Flour
1 tsp Cinnamon

In a small bowl, combine the oats, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and butter with a fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over the fruit in the pan.  Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.  Best served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Click HERE for a printable version of the recipe.

Recipe: Rhubarb Coffee Cake

This is one of my favorite ways to use Rhubarb from my neighbor's patch.  It has been ready to pick for a few weeks, but I finally had time to pick some and get it all cut up.  The first thing I made was this delicious coffee cake.  It is super easy to make and only takes 1 1/2 cups of rhubarb.  It is best to eat it warm with a dollop of whip cream on top. It is super moist and has just enough tart.  

I just dice the rhubarb into small pieces.  If I have bigger stalks, I usually slice them down the middle, then in half and dice away. Once it is diced up and measured, I place it in a baggie with the amount of cups on it.  You can freeze rhubarb and make it later or just keep it in the fridge. 

The ingredients come together quickly and once it is ready to go in the oven, it takes just 40 minutes until you have delicious coffee cake.  It is perfect for brunch, afternoon snack, or dessert! My dear neighbor shared this recipe with me and now I want to share it with all of you. 

RHUBARB COFFEE CAKE

Need: 9x13 pan, greased

Preheat Oven: 350 Degrees

1 1/2 Cups Brown Sugar

2/3 Cups Oil

1 Egg

1 Cup Buttermilk (Make your own by placing 1 T of vinegar or lemon juice in 1 Cup Milk and letting sit for 5 minutes)

1 tsp Vanilla

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp Baking Soda

2 1/2 Cups Flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 Cups Rhubarb, diced

Topping: 

1/2 Cup Sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

Stir these ingredients together.

Mix brown sugar, oil, and egg together. Add vanilla. Beat well. Mix together the dry ingredients and add them alternating back and forth with the buttermilk/sour milk, ending with the milk.

Gently stir in the rhubarb.

Pour into a 9x13 plan. Sprinkle with the topping ingredients.

Bake at 350 Degrees for 40-45 minutes.

Serve warm with a dollop of whip cream.  Also just as good served later once cooled. 

Printable Version

Click the link to print your own copy: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HmR-F7rAITVRCt7IgiEtiHEgfykoEMCIt4OaYaQxyDc/edit?usp=sharing

I'm linking up with other great Summer Recipes.  Check out all the yummy recipes by clicking the button below!

Betty Crocker Watermelon Cupcakes

Have you seen the new Betty Crocker Watermelon Cupcake Mix and Betty Crocker Watermelon Frosting?

source

When I saw this cake mix and frosting at our local Target store, I thought it would be fun to try it. It the middle of this nasty winter, a little bit of summer was just what we needed to cheer us all up!

Right away, I noticed the scent of watermelon was very strong.  It reminded me of Hubba Bubba Watermelon gum that I used to chew as a kid.  

I wasn't sure what the black flecks in the cake mix were and I didn't feel like there was enough of them.  So, I added about a 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips to the batter.    

Surprisingly, these cupcakes were really good.  The watermelon scent is strong, but I didn't feel like the flavor was overpowering.  I took them to Storytime and the kids ate them right up, even asking for seconds. Our three kids liked the cupcakes as well.  Even my husband, who doesn't like watermelon, thought they were pretty good. I liked the texture of the mini chocolate chips in the cake as well.  I would recommend adding them for that extra special touch.

If you are looking for a fun dessert to make with your kids, these Betty Crocker Watermelon Cupcakes would be a great way to celebrate the end of your school year or to remind you that summer is truly coming! Get them now though, they are only available for a limited time.  I know you can find them at Super Target, I am not sure about their availability in other stores.

Some Deliciousness

I spent my Friday baking for our annual church fall bazaar.  I did some internet surfing and found some recipes that I wanted give a shot.  I am always searching for the perfect banana bread recipe.  I have plenty of ok ones in my stash, but I am always looking for THE ONE.  I found this Martha Stewart Banana Bread recipe from Amberly Place Cooking Corner .  Why hadn't I ever considered Martha Stewart before?  Maybe because usually her recipes are difficult or multi-step recipes.  Well, not this one.  WAY easy AND I had all the ingredients.

Martha Stewart's Banana Bread

1/4 Pound (1 stick butter), room temp

1 c sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 c flour

1 t baking soda

1 t salt
1 c mashed very ripe bananas (2 bananas)

1/2 c sour cream

1 t vanilla extract
1/2 c chopped walnuts or pecans

Preheat oven to 350°F, butter 9X5X3" loaf pan. With an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs beating well. Sift (yeah right) the dry ingredients together and combine with the butter mixture. Blend well. Add the bananas, sour cream, and vanilla. Stir well. Stir in the nuts and pour into the pan. Bake 1 hour until a cake tester comes out clean. Turn out onto a rack to cool.

I made one batch of 4 mini loaves and one batch with a regular loaf and mini loaf and added mini chocolate chips.  They turned out practically perfect. 

Next up were Picky Palate's Itty Bitty Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies.   Jenny at Picky Palate is always coming up with something new and amazingly delicious. If you aren't following her blog yet, you should be.  I just wish I had all the time in the world to bake and no worries to eat all of her scrumptious goodies.  When I saw these I knew I had to try them and surprise my kids with them.

Click on the recipe title above for the link to the recipe.

I used one scoop of cookie dough, divided it in half and then folded it around the mini oreo.  My cookies also took closer to 13 minutes in my oven, so be sure to check after your cookies often.  The kids we excited to have cookies after school but when they took a bite and said, "Mom, are there oreos in here?"  I could tell they were excited.  I got "These are awesome!", Wow, thanks Mom!", and "How many can I have?" as responses.  I handed one to Pat when he got home and he was pleasantly surprised by the oreo in the middle as well. 

Now you can either bake these yourself, or come on out to the Salem UMC Fall Bazaar Dinner Saturday night.  Get the banana bread and cookies before they are gone.  Hmmmmm, maybe I should sell to the highest bidder!

Rhubarb Crisp

Today I want to share a yummy recipe that our family has been enjoying!

Rhubarb Crisp
4 C fresh rhubarb (diced)
1 C sugar
3 T flour
1/2 C sugar
2 T butter, softened
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 C quick oats
1 egg (beaten)

Cut rhubarb into small pieces and place in 8 inch baking pan. Mix 1 cup sugar and 3 T flour and stir gently into the rhubarb. Mix the other dry ingredients. Then add the butter and stir in the beaten egg. Spread the mixture on top of the rhubarb. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until nicely browned. We like it best, served warm with vanilla ice cream on top!