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Strawberries

4th of July/ Holidays/Parties/ RECIPES/ Sweets/ Valentine's Day

Cheesecake- Stuffed Strawberries

Cheesecake-Stuffed-Strawberries

Do you know what July and February have in common?

The 4th of July & Valentine’s day both give us an excuse to eat lots and lots of  STRAWBERRIES!

Cheesecake-Stuffed Strawberries are a super great way to celebrate a holiday.  They are special, beautiful, and a nice change from chocolate-covered strawberries.  Can’t give your Chocolate Covered Strawberries up? Then mix the 2 on a beautiful platter and get ready for the oooo’s& ahhhh’s !

My 11- year- old Avery is quite the pastry chef and loves any excuse to get her pastry bag out and do some filling or decorating.  She made these beauties for her sister’s birthday which is at the end of January, and we loved them so much we are going to make them again for Valentines Day.

I love recipes that have a bit of natural, healthy goodness along with a sweet.  This recipe is just that.  Nature’s goodness with a creamy sweet addition.

Enjoy!

 

Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries

2 lbs. fresh strawberries

8oz cream cheese

1 tbsp sour cream

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

 

Wash the strawberries and pat dry with a paper towel.  Use a melon baller to remove the stems and create a small hole in the strawberries for the cheesecake to sit.  Set aside.

In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese and sour cream until fluffy.  Add in the vanilla and powdered sugar.  Beat until smooth and combined.  Place cheesecake mixture into a piping bag or

zip close bag, with the corner snipped off.

Squeeze a bit of the cheesecake mixture into each strawberry.  Place on a wax paper lined baking sheet when done and let chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.  Place on a pretty tray to serve.

Holidays/Parties/ Homemade Gifts/ RECIPES

Easiest Chocolate Covered Strawberries

One of my most popular posts here at New Nostalgia is How to Hull a Strawberry Using a Straw.  In that post I asked for readers to share their favorite way to eat strawberries, and I got one of the best tips for making the Easiest Chocolate Covered Strawberries from a sweet reader.

 Ilyana sent an email and told me that she makes Chocolate Covered Strawberries by melting Dove chocolates.  She said “these are the best chocolate covered strawberries I have ever tasted and friends and family agree.  They’re a fav.”

Easiest Chocolate Covered Strawberries 

(a no recipe, recipe)

1. Wash and FULLY DRY berries before dipping.

2. Bring the berries to room temperature

3. Unwrap a bag of Dove milk chocolates and place in a quart Pyrex measure cup.

4. Melt in the microwave about 10 seconds at a time, stirring each time until melted.  It melts pretty quickly and stays melted long enough to dip at least a large cookie sheet of large berries.

5. Place on wax paper covered cookie sheet then into the fridge to set.

Yum! (or in Ilyana’s words–Crazy Good!)

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Tips:

~Do not get even a drop of water in the chocolate or it will seize up.

~Keep the green stems on and use them to hold on to the strawberry while dipping.  The green makes for a very pretty strawberry.

~When dipping, turn the strawberry into a circle, until the entire bottom is covered.

~You can also use this recipe to dip graham crackers, bananas or pretzels.

~This would also be a great Valentines Day recipe.

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I am going to make these this weekend for Easter as a family treat. We are going to go to our Saturday evening church service, which is a first for our family. We are going on Saturday to avoid Sunday morning crowds and have time to drive an hour on Sunday to be with extended family.  I thought Chocolate Covered Strawberries would be the perfect Easter treat to come home to.

GF, Vegan & Raw/ RECIPES/ Sweets

Orange-Almond Polenta Cake With Strawberries

This cake is moist, filling, not-too-sweet and delish!  It is perfect for summer.  The citrus flavor is really light and refreshing, although the cake is filling and hearty thanks to the almonds, cornmeal and chia seeds. I will definitely be making it again!

 Orange-Almond Polenta Cake With Strawberries 
{Vegan Version Included}
{adapted from The Moosewood Restaurant Cookbook}

1/3 cup cornmeal
2/3 cup unbleached white flour {next time I will try wheat}
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
11/2 cups almonds
1/2 cup sugar {or sucanat}
1 orange
1/2 cup vegetable oil {I used coconut oil}
2 eggs {I used “chia egg substitute”–1 Tablespoon chia seed to 3 Tablespoons water for each egg.  Stir and let set until gel-like. About 10 minutes}
1 cup of berries {I used strawberries}

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly oil and flour a 9 inch cake pan.

Sift the cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl.  In a blender or food processor, whirl the almonds and sugar until the almonds are finely ground.  Add to the flour mixture.

Grate the orange peel and juice the orange (about 1/3 cup).  Add the orange juice, orange zest, oil eggs (or chia substitute), and 1/3 cup of water to the blender or food processor and whirl for about 15 seconds.  Add the dry ingredients and blend until well mixed, using a spatula to scrape down the sides if necessary.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then carefully remove the cake from the pan.
Serve with your choice of berries.  {I used Strawberries that were mashed and heated, then cooled}

RECIPES/ Sides

Roasted Strawberries

We have been to our local strawberry patch, RocaBerry Farm, to pick strawberries TWICE this past week.  My kids just love going to the patch and hunting for the sweet treasures.  The price is great–99 cents a pound!  We now have a freezer full of hulled strawberries, which makes me very happy! 
{my youngest trying not to step on the berries!}
I was drooling browsing through Heidi Swanson’s Super Natural Everyday Cookbook, and came upon a recipe for Roasted Strawberries.  I have been a huge fan of Heidi’s online journal, 101 Cookbooks, and knew she would not steer me wrong.

She didn’t.  This recipe is super easy to make, and let me tell you, it makes the house smell DELISH! The finished product is unlike your typical strawberry sauce.  It is much more concentrated and special. They are perfect slathered on toast, biscuits, bran muffins, or over ice cream.  
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Roasted Strawberries
8 ounces small tο medium strawberries, hulled
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
1 tablespoon port wine (optional, I didn’t use)
A few drops balsamic vinegar
Preheat thе oven tο 350F wіth a rack іn thе middle οf thе oven.
It іѕ valuable tο υѕе a rimmed baking sheet οr large baking dish fοr thіѕ recipe—уου don’t want thе juices  to run οff thе sheet onto thе floor οf уουr oven. If уου аrе bу a baking sheet, line іt wіth parchment paper.
Cυt each strawberry іn half. If уουr strawberries аrе οn thе large side, сυt thеm іntο quarters οr sixths. Add thе berries tο a mixing bowl. In a separate small bowl, whisk thе maple syrup, olive oil, аnԁ salt. Pour thіѕ over thе strawberries аnԁ very gently toss tο coat thе berries. Arrange thе strawberries іn a single layer οn thе prepared baking sheet.
Heat fοr аbουt 40 minutes, јυѕt long enough fοr thе berry juices tο thicken, bυt nοt long enough fοr thе juices tο burn. Watch thе edges οf thе pan.
WhіƖе still warm, scrape thе berries аnԁ juices frοm thе pan іntο a small bowl. Stir іn thе port аnԁ balsamic vinegar. Uѕе immediately οr Ɩеt сοοƖ аnԁ store іn thе refrigerator fοr up tο a week.
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Need more strawberry inspiration?


How about Homemade Freezer Jam?  or Homemade Fruit Leather??  MMMMmmmmm.
How-Tos/ RECIPES

Hulling Strawberries With A Straw

My girls and I spent the afternoon at a strawberry patch, picking strawberries with good friends of ours. It was so much fun! We came home with almost 40 lbs of strawberries. I plan on making freezer jam, strawberry pancake syrup, smoothies, popsicles, and strawberry bread.

We started the big job of washing and hulling the strawberries right when we got home.  I plan on mashing them up, then putting them in jars to freeze, thanks to this post I read.  (she talks about why she likes to mash them instead of freezing them whole).

{Click here for my favorite stainless steel straws}
I am so happy that I learned this secret to easy hulling from my stepmom.  All you have to do is poke em’ with a straw!  You start at the bottom of the strawberry, push the straw up, and the stem and white bit just pop right up!  My girls think it is quite fun, & my middle girl wanted to just keep going, even after hulling 10 lbs with me.  I said “Wow, honey, you are quite the hard worker,”  She said, “yup, as long as I have gum in my mouth” ???  I guess blowing bubbles while hulling strawberries is her thing.

Have any other ideas of how I can use up these berries?  I would love more ideas and recipes if you’ve got ’em!

You might also like:

Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries

Easiest Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Homemade Freezer Jam

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