Healthy Parfaits Using On Sale Ingredients

Fresh berries have been on sale, lately.

As you know when I get the Kellogg's cereals with the free breakfast item I like to order this yogurt. It's a good time to make some yummy parfaits!

Your imagination is the only limit with these tasty treats! I have been collecting these champagne glasses at garage sales this spring. They seem to run about .25 a piece and so every time I see one I get it, as they are so pretty for this kind of thing!
These ones above were strawberries and raspberries.

These ones have some blackberry juice and berries, along with strawberries.

One tub of yogurt made 12 parfaits. Now that I have blueberries I will have to make some of those! What are you putting in yours????

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie ATK Easy!

The rhubarb is ready....it's a wonderful time of year!

Time to make some Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie!

This is the America's Test Kitchen recipe...except I cheat on the pie crust! :)  This recipe takes about 2 hours from beginning to end because of the 1 hour macerating and 50 minute baking time.

You need 4 stalks of rhubarb cut up.

You need 4 cups strawberries cut into quarters.

Add one cup of sugar and let macerate....for one hour, to draw some of the liquid out to avoid soggy pie syndrome!



This is a really easy recipe....I just have to remember to add in an hour for macerating!



Here's my "not made from scratch cause I tried that and this is easier" solution. I used a coupon...so it's ok..

Allow your professionally made crusts to thaw at room temperature.

There is lots of liquid that is left behind after draining your fruit thoroughly.

Keep 1/4 cup of the liquid.

Get the zest of an orange if you want(this is optional). You need 1 tsp.

Seems this box cost $1.48(a little of my grandpa coming out....).
You need 2 Tbsp cornstarch.

1/2 tsp vanilla(mine's from Mexico...thanks Lynn!)

Add orange zest, cornstarch, and vanilla, along with 1/4 cup reserved liquid to the fruit.

Put fruit into pie crust.

Top with second crust and press along the edges. The directions say to make 8 vent holes(oops!)



Brush crust with the white from one egg.



Sprinkle with 1 Tbsp sugar.

Bake at 425 for 25 minutes(place on a cookie sheet to save your oven) then rotate the baking sheet and reduce oven temperature to 375 and cook until golden brown, 25-30 minutes.

The directions say to let cool for 2 hours....ummm didn't happen in my house, but good luck!



I don't like pie, but this was so good.....Strawberries and rhubarb, is there a better combination????



Strawberry Shortcake ATK



Strawberries are on sale right now.....and whipping cream was in the clearance section at Safeway! Time to make some strawberry shortcake!




I found this recipe in my America's Test Kitchen's Baking cookbook.




It calls for 8 cups of strawberries, that's the same as one 2lb package.



Take 3 cups out of the 8 cups you sliced up.

Mash them up with a potato masher(it's not as easy as you'd think!).



Fold the mashed strawberries into the sliced and add 6 Tbsp of sugar. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.



Next I whipped my cream up. As you can see my bowl and beater are all frosty from being in the freezer to chill. I whipped up all this cream and froze several containers full.

In the food processor pulse about 3 times
2 cups flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
3 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt

The recipe calls you to chill 1/2 cup of unsalted butter cut into 1 inch pieces.
My butter was in the freezer, so I just sawed off 1/2 cup(salted, it's all I had) and cut it into pieces! It worked well, I just had to pulse more than 15 times.
Pulse 15 times until the mixture resembles cornmeal.



Whisk one room temperature egg and 2/3 cup half and half.

Then stir into flour mixture with a rubber spatula until large clumps form.


Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead lightly until dough comes together, about 30 secs.




The recipe says to pat into a 9X6 inch rectangle about 1 inch thick. I used my rolling pin, gently.



Cut into circles and place on parchment paper. Brush with egg white from one egg and 2 Tbsp sugar.

Bake at 425 for 12-15 minutes turning the sheet half way through cooking time.

Let cool on sheet for 15 minutes. Cut in half.

Top with berries and whip cream.

Try to eat just one.......

More I've Got Lots of Rhubarb/ Strawberries

A refreshing rain



It's raining cats and dogs today! The air smells fabulous. I have been up since 3:30am(hormones!).....yawn! Amazing what you can do in the quiet....I decided to put on a big jacket with a hood and tromp(shall I say wade?)out to the rhubarb. Yesterday I picked up some yummy strawberries and so this morning I thought strawberry rhubarb muffins would be nice. I searched through my Rolodex of recipes sure that I had a good recipe in there somewhere, sigh...I seem to have not saved one. The problem with the wonderful world of Internet recipes is that I try something new, don't write it down...and then can never find it again! So, I decided to take a few recipes and combine them. Here it is...enjoy!



Rhubarb Strawberry Muffins

3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups sour cream(you can use plain yogurt)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup melted marg or butter

1 1/2 cup rhubarb

1 cup strawberries
Mix the wet, add the dry, toss the fruit in the dry, don't over mix. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes.

I am testing one as I blog...they are wonderful...I tried cutting back on the sugar and then are still tasty.



Recipe makes 12
I had to sample!



Oh!!! I almost forgot! Feta Cheese is on sale at Costco this week(sales usually change Mondays). It's the lowest I have ever tracked it! 1kg $8.79(regular price is $11.99)!!!!! If you click on the picture you can zoom in and see that it is good(unopened) until April 2012!!! I stocked up! I guess you'll be hearing about feta cheese recipes shortly!