Strawberry Oatmeal Breakfast Smoothie

Breakfast time is serious business at our home. My kids are unhappy if there isn't a good variety to choose from. They are quite satisfied if I have a couple of cereals to chose from or my breakfast burritos are in the freezer. I also tend to make muffins and freeze those for easy grab and go breakfasts, but with the temperatures outside being already hot in the morning, breakfast isn't as appealing as usually.

Since I believe that a well balanced breakfast is important to start the day right, I'm trying to come up with different choices for those already steamy mornings. This is where the Strawberry Oatmeal Smoothie comes in handy. This smoothie is very easy to make, super filling, and perfect even if you are on the go.

The ingredients in this smoothie harmonize well together, but it also lends itself to a variety of different ingredients. Look at it like a blank canvas and just pick and choose whatever sounds good to you and your family. For example: soy milk, replace it with regular milk or almond milk. Don't care for bananas? Use a different fruit. Don't have strawberries? Go with raspberries or blackberries. Instead of honey, use brown sugar, white sugar, maple syrup or agave nectar. The possibilities are endless.

This smoothie has been a staple for breakfast and even a few lunches for a couple of weeks now, and so far the kids have not grown tired of it and all it's endless combinations. The recipe makes 1 very large or two smaller smoothies but can easily be doubled. 

I hope you'll give this smoothie a try and enjoy it for your next breakfast as much as we do.

Strawberry Oatmeal Breakfast Smoothie

 ~makes 2~
(Print this Recipe)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup rolled oats

1 cup Vanilla soy milk (I use the light kind)

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1 banana, broken into chunks

14 frozen strawberries

1/2 cup frozen blueberries

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 to 1 tablespoon honey

Directions:

In a blender add rolled oats. Process until almost powder like. Add soy milk, yogurt, banana, strawberries and blueberries, vanilla and honey. Blend until smooth. Pour into glasses and serve.

A Susi's Kochen und Backen Original Recipe

Strawberry Tiramisu

 

What better way to enjoy strawberry season then with copious amounts of great berry recipes. I'm always on the lookout for new and innovative dishes, so when I found this one for Strawberry Tiramisu I was hooked from the get go.  I mean, what is not to love? Tiramisu is one of my all time favorite desserts, and remaking this classic with the addition of beautiful juicy strawberries was all I needed to keep myself from drooling.

This recipe has a few layers, but comes together quickly once all the different components are good to go. Ladyfingers and strawberries are the main players in this dish but they are greatly enhanced by the filling of mascarpone and cream. This recipe calls for Grand Marnier in almost every layer which absolutely makes the dish extraordinary. The liqueur definitely turns this into an adult only dessert so if you don't mind the alcohol, don't skip it. However, if you wanted to serve this to children and adults alike you could certainly replace the alcohol with additional orange juice.

This is an amazing flavor experience that was greatly enjoyed by everyone that tried this dish. I hope you'll give this a try at your home as well.

Strawberry Tiramisu

(Print this Recipe)

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups strawberry preserves

2 tablespoons plus an additional 2 tablespoons Grand Marnier, divided

1/3 cup orange juice

8 ounces mascarpone cheese, at room temperature

1 1/3 cups chilled whipping cream

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 - 1 1/2 pounds fresh strawberries, divided and washed

1 package (about 24) crisp ladyfingers

Directions:

Whisk preserves, 2 tablespoons Grand Marnier, and orange juice in 2 cup measuring cup. 

Place mascarpone cheese and 1 tablespoon Grand Marnier in large bowl; fold just to blend. 

Using electric mixer, beat cream, sugar, vanilla, and remaining 1 tablespoon of Grand Marnier in another large bowl to soft peaks.

Stir 1/4 of whipped cream mixture into mascarpone mixture to lighten. Fold in remaining whipped cream.

Hull and slice half of the strawberries. Spread 1/2 cup preserve mixture over bottom of 9-inch square serving dish. Arrange enough lady fingers over preserve mixture to cover bottom of dish.  Spoon 3/4 cup preserve mixture over ladyfingers, then spread half of the mascarpone mixture over. Arrange sliced strawberries over mascarpone mixture. Repeat layering with remaining ladyfingers, preserve mixture, and mascarpone mixture. 

Cover with plastic and chill at least 8 hours or overnight. Slice remaining strawberries. Arrange over tiramisu and serve.

Adapted from: Bon Appetit

Strawberry Sour Cream Ice Cream

 

The other day my husband stopped at Costco on the way home and brought me a 4 pound container of Strawberries. What a perfect opportunity to make another of David Lebovitz's ice cream recipes. After looking through his book, The Perfect Scoop, I decided on Strawberry Sour Cream Ice Cream which can be found on Page 90.

This ice cream is very different from his Vanilla Ice Cream which I had made a couple of weeks back. This ice cream unlike the vanilla version, required not cooking a custard. The ice cream has very few steps, so besides slicing up the strawberries and blending everything together, which should take a max of 15 minutes total, there is only waiting time. This is truly an easy recipe as far as homemade ice creams are concerned.

It starts by washing and slicing your strawberries, then adding your sugar, some alcohol; which in my case I used Chambord (David uses vodka or kirsch in his recipe). Then the mixture macerates for one hour. After that, put the strawberries, which have juiced significantly, along with sour cream, heavy cream, and lemon juice in a food processor and pulse until desired consistency. The mixture then gets poured into the ice cream maker and frozen to the ice cream makers manufacturers instructions.

This ice cream did not disappoint either. It was full of strawberry flavor that was only enhanced by the sour cream, heavy cream, and Chambord but overall, the strawberries were the star in this frozen concoction. Everyone in the house enjoyed this ice cream immensely which I will be making again as long as strawberries are in season.

Strawberry Sour Cream Ice Cream

~makes about 1 1/4 quarts~

Ingredients:

1 pound (450 g) fresh strawberries, rinsed and hulled

3/4 cup (150 g) sugar

2 tablespoons Chambord*

1 cup (240 g) sour cream

1 cup (250 ml) heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions:

Slice the strawberries and toss them in a bowl with the sugar and Chambord, stirring until the sugar begins to dissolve. Cover and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour stirring every so often.

Pulse the strawberries and their liquid with the sour cream, heavy cream, and lemon juice in a blender or food processor until almost smooth but still slightly chunky.

Refrigerate for 1 hour, then freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

*If you are concerned about the alcohol you could leave it out, but I really think it enhances the berry flavor and certainly helps with the texture of the finished product once frozen.

Adapted from: David Lebovitz

Molten Lava Cakes with Frangelico and Nutella Centers

A mix between a flour-less chocolate cake, a souffle and a pudding, molten lava cakes are the epitome of decadence for me. As an admitted chocoholic it doesn't get much better then this but I figured why not try and take this classic dessert, which appears to have been invented in France, and take it over the top.

What better way to do so, then adding Nutella and one of my favorite liqueurs, Frangelico into the mix.

Essentially all molten lava cakes are composed of 4 main ingredients: chocolate, butter, eggs and sugar. What flavorings or centers one may add is up to each persons creativity and the possibilities are endless. I hope you'll give my version a try and let me know how it turned out.

Molten Lava Cakes with Frangelico and Nutella Centers

~serves 4~

(Print this Recipe)

Ingredients:

11 tablespoons unsalted Butter

4 ounces Ghirardelli 60 % Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Bar

2 ounces Ghirardelli Semi-sweet Chocolate Baking Bar

2 tablespoons Frangelico (or 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract)

3 whole eggs

3 egg yolks

1/3 cup sugar

8 tablespoons flour

4 tablespoons Nutella

1/4 cup Hazelnuts, chopped

Strawberry Sauce (optional), recipe follows

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and center oven rack. Spray 4 small ramekins with cooking spray to coat evenly. 

Place butter and chocolate into a double boiler and allow to melt completely over the steaming water. Stir frequently. After the chocolate and butter are melted take them off the heat and add the Frangelico (if kids are eating, the liqueur can be replaced with 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract), stir to combine.

Place eggs and sugar into the bowl of your mixer. With the whisk attachment, mix on medium-high speed until they become light in color and thick (about 8-9 minutes). After the eggs and sugar are at the right consistency, add the flour and mix together. Pour the chocolate-butter very slowly into the egg mixture, mixing on low until well combined and a sheen develops (about 5-6 minutes).

Place your prepared ramekins onto a cooking sheet. Ladle the chocolate batter halfway up the side of each dish. Spoon 1 tablespoon of Nutella on top of the batter in each bowl. Add the remainder of the batter on top of the Nutella in each ramekin, being careful not to overfill.

Bake ramekins for 12-14 minutes or until the outside is solid and the top appears to be soft and doesn't jiggle anymore.

After the cakes are baked, remove them from the oven,  and carefully place a plate on top of each one and quickly invert it. With a kitchen towel, remove the ramekin; the cake should fall right out.

Garnish the cakes with the chopped hazelnuts and the strawberry sauce (optional).

Serve immediately. 

They also taste great with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or homemade whipped cream.

Strawberry Sauce:

8 ounces (about 12 medium) Strawberries, fresh or frozen

1 - 2 tablespoons sugar

Place strawberries in food processor and pulse until desired consistency is reached. Add as much or little sugar as needed based on sweetness of berries. Stir, and set aside.