Strawberry Lemon Pudding Bread (whole wheat, dairy free)

The Weather

0000 1st Sky

Universe 99999

To whomever it may concern,

My name is Mary Frances McNellis and I'm a high school junior.  I'm involved in sports, as are my brothers, and we really enjoy warm weather.  The recent temperatures of 75 were absolutely wonderful.  My athletic shorts haven't felt so loved since last year.  I was wondering if you could continue this stretch of spring weather for several more weeks?  It is March, and many people, including myself, have taken advantage of, and love, these warm temperatures.

I appreciate your time.  Thank you for considering this opportunity.

Mary Frances McNellis 

 

 

 

I've been writing letters to different businesses and people I would like to shadow this spring.  I never would've thought how difficult it would be!  Or maybe I'm just making things difficult.  I want to be formal, so they take me seriously, but at the same time, I don't want to sound like I want their job.  And I want to be personable.  It is a fine line and after more than a week of writing, having Mom rewrite it, then I rewrite it, then formatting, and more editing, they are finally printed and in the mail.  We'll see what happens!

 

 

But for reals, I am so excited about this warm weather!  Getting to wear athletic shorts again?  I know I will be sick of them by this July, but for now, I'm soaking it up.  Yesterday was super windy, so the volleyball tended to blow every direction, making it hard to practice.  If you are ever in the mood, try setting with a basketball.  Seriously, it works.  The basketball is heavy enough that nothing (except for a hurricane) is going to blow it off course.  And then today, it hit 80.  80 DEGREES!  Crazy, right?  But it was amazing, although being hot isn't the best.  It sure beats cold fingers and toes!  Being able to send everyone outside, without boots and snow pants, and gloves was the best. 

  

Another thing I love about warm weather is it means warm weather fruits are almost in season!  Like, strawberries, pineapples, blueberries, peaches, -> yes yes yes!  So, in honor of all that jazz, I made lemon strawberry bread.  Doesn't that sound amazing?

 

 

If you haven't noticed, I have a thing for pudding mix.  I love moist and soft things and since pudding mix guarentees those things, I enjoy tossing a box into whatever I'm baking.  This time, it happened to be bread.  If you haven't noticed, I also have a thing for bread.  But for the first time, I couldn't use Greek yogurt and I ALWAYS have used Greek yogurt.  It makes the bread (you guessed it!) moist and soft, and adds protein.  But since I couldn't use it this time, I turned to new recipe and added a couple things, including lemon pudding mix.  Some mixes aren't dairy free, so double check if that is a big deal.

 

Now, if you don't like the undercooked center in most quick breads, then you won't like this bread.  I'm giving you a fair warning, okay?  I hadn't planned on the pudding mix making the bread this soft, but it amazing!  And I personally am stuffing my face with it, but if that isn't your thing, omit the pudding mix, or find a different recipe. 

Now, if you DO like undercooked centers, then this is the bread for you.  The whole thing is on the verge of being categorized as undercooked.  Plus, the flavor combo of strawberries and lemon is bright and fresh and absolutely delicious.  My Mom especially liked this.  The lemon is really subtle and she admitted the strawberries paired with the lemons perfectly, even though she prefers her strawberries in fresh form and fresh form only.  If you want more lemon punch, add some lemon zest.

Letters in mail: check

Strawberries.: check
Lemon undertones: check

Moist and soft bread: check

Warm weather: pretty please!

 

 

 

Strawberry Lemon Pudding Loaf

Recipe Source: The Sweet {Tooth} Life.  Adapted from Williams Sonoma

Yield: 12 servings

 

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup +2 tablespoons all purpose flour

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar 

1 (4 serving) package instant lemon pudding mix

1 tsp. baking powder 

1/4 tsp. baking soda  
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 cup almond milk

1/4 cup canola oil 

1 tsp. vanilla extract 
1-1/4 cup strawberries, diced

Preheat oven to 350.  Lightly grease loaf pan.
Combine flours, sugar, lemon pudding mix, powder, and soda.
In another bowl, beat eggs. 
Add lemon juice, almond milk, oil, and vanilla to eggs.
Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir until combined.
Fold in strawberries.
Pour into prepared pan.
Sprinkle reserved strawberries on top, if desired.
Bake for 55-60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean or top is lightly browned.  *The back of my oven is hotter than the front, so I turned the bread half way through baking time.*
Let cool overnight before cutting and eating.

St. Patrick's Day Detox Green Smoothie

It is Saturday!  Woot woot!  We had a busy weekend with Luke's end of the season basketball tournament.  It was fun, but it was a lot of driving!

In other news, Saint Patrick's Day is in a week.  Look at any food blog and you will see lovely recipes featuring the color green.

Look at my blog and you see ... cookies. 

And they aren't green.

My family is very challenged when it comes to this holiday.  Most Saint Patrick's Day recipes use mint, since green food is a lot more appealing when it is minty, or cream cheese, because cream cheese is great for food coloring!  Like, you can make it whatever color you want!  Brownies, er, not so much.  And cookies, either you use a two whole containers or you end up with the most disgusting colored cookie ever.  You think this is hypothetical.

And seriously, how am  Isupposed to celebrate?  I drink, but the smoothie type.  *lightbulb*

This green smoothie has no food coloring!  Or mint!  And it is still green!  My life as a food blogger is safe thanks to this recipe. ;)

 

I really like spinach.  I have always enjoyed it in salads, in lasagnas, on sandwiches, you name it, if it had spinach, I would probably eat it.  But I had never tried it in a smoothie and that had been on my bucket list for a while.  (Yes, I have a food bucket list ... it also has copycat Twinkies and Snickers on it, so don't think for a moment I sip on these all day, every day.  Haha! - no.)

I was absolutely shocked by how good this was.  You do not taste the spinach.

(let me repeat that)  You do not taste the spinach.

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?

Yes, really, the spinach just makes this smoothie really green, which I was not counting on.  I mean, I expected it to be green, but not like ... this.  So if your family is anything like mine, kidnap, blindfold them, and threaten them with penalty of no Snickers for eternity, and then serve them a glass of this.  Trust me, it works this way.  This smoothie tastes like strawberries and bananas.  Sweet, creamy, and delicious.  End of story.

It looks like a tornado went through a mad scientist's lab, but hey, it tastes incredible! 

There are a couple tricks to keeping this smoothie creamy, like a milkshake (because I do not like smoothies I can drink with a straw.  I am a spoon girl all the way)  First off, you have to have frozen ingredients.  Of the three main ingredients (strawberries, bananas, and almond milk) two of those need to be frozen.  I've tried with all three, but then I needed a lot of almond milk to blend it all together.  So I would suggest sticking with just two.  For frozen almond milk, I just freeze a 1/3 cup of almond milk in an ice cube tray and then throw it in my Ninja whenever I'm ready.  For bananas, just slice them up and freeze overnight.  And strawberries - I just buy them in a huge bag.  All three of those are in my freezer at all times.  I've done this with blueberries and it is also amazing. 

Detox Green Smoothie
Recipe Source: The Sweet {Tooth} Life
Yield: 2 servings

1 cup spinach, not packed
1/2 cup frozen strawberries
1 large banana
1/3 cup frozen almond milk cubes
1/4 cup almond milk (EDIT: Orange juice also tastes amazing!)
1 tablespoon sweetener, optional

Blend in a good food processor.  And, yep, you are done!

Coconut Oil Strawberry White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

These cookies are sweet, chewy, soft, and bursting with strawberries and white chocolate chips.  Pretty to look at, delicious to eat, and healthy to boot!  Oh, and did I mention they are mixed in only one bowl?  And that you don't have to chill the dough before baking??

 

I'm finally getting around to Valentine's Day food!

Strawberries are red,
Oats add the chew,
White chocolate and coconut oil,
These cookies rule!
 
(pretty legit, no?) 
I'm taking the liberty of calling these holiday treats because there is red in these cookies! 

 

 

These cookies are incredible.  My family gave them 10 out of 10, which is pretty good considering these are not your average cookie.  Thanks to some easy substitutions, this cookie is good for you!
I now have coconut oil!  I just got my newest jar.  It was on my Christmas list, but my secret santa had it defer to an iTunes giftcard (which I have been loving!)  This is the first recipe I've made with it.  Coconut oil really has no coconut flavor at all and subs 1:1 for oils and butters.  Also with the coconut oil, I used applesauce.  Applesauce can leave baked goods dry or tough or sometimes even crumbly, because it is wet, but not oily.  But because these cookies use all brown sugar (the more brown sugar, the chewier the cookie) and oats, they don't fall apart like some other applesauce cookies I've tried (either from being too moist or too dry)  There is enough coconut oil in these to balance the applesauce and make them taste buttery without the extra fat and calories.

I think the strawberries and white chocolate are so pretty together.  Not only are they a colorful couple, they taste incredible together!  I didn't count on the strawberries adding as much moisture as they did, so I did have to tack on a couple more minutes of baking time, but they were worth it.  (If you are using frozen, I would encourage you to quickly scoop your first batch onto the cookie sheet and then refrigerate or freeze the remaining dough while the first batch is baking, so that the strawberries don't bleed into the dough.  I didn't use fresh, but I assume you would want to do the same with them.)  The strawberries retain their juicy sweetness in the cookie and pair with the creamy white chocolate chips.  Between the oats, the strawberries, and the white chocolate chips, we've got a party for the tastebuds right here.  And one for your diet, because these are pretty darn good for desserts!  (if you are pointing to the sugar and white chocolate chips, I'm covering my ears and pretending not to hear.  what is a dessert without sugar???)

Then we've got the aforementioned oats.  Oats are a great source of fiber and add heartiness to just about anything!  They give a ton of texture to this cookie, so even though it is "lighter," you can still get your daily chew out of it.  I love textured cookies!  For even more stick with ya goodness, there is whole wheat flour hiding behind the strawberries and white chocolate.  I used half whole wheat, half white, but you can use all white if that is what you have on hand.  You can try all whole wheat, I don't know how it would turn out, but if you do, let me know!

 

 

For the sake of cleaning the pan, I made sure the diced strawberries were never at the bottom of the cookies.  Also, I pressed a few reserved white chocolate chips on top of the cookies before baking.  It only takes about a minute extra and you get eye-catching cookies AND more white chocolate!

 

I know Valentine's Day desserts are more formal (and I have one coming) but for a lower key meal, these make a fabulous, family pleaser dessert! 

 

Coconut Oil Strawberry White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
Recipe Source: The Sweet {Tooth} Life
Yield: 18 cookies

1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup oats
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup diced strawberries (frozen is best)

 

Preheat oven to 350.

Melt your coconut oil.

Whisk in the applesauce, egg, and vanilla.  Make sure the egg is beaten in well.

Add in salt, flours, sugar, and baking soda. 

Stir in oats.

Add white chocolate chips and strawberries.

Using a two tablespoon cookie scoop, place cookies on lightly greased cookie sheet.

Bake for 12-13 minutes.

Let cool for five minutes on cookie sheet before moving to a wire rack.

Eat warm or let cool completely before serving.

 

Notes:  If you are using frozen strawberries, I would encourage you to quickly scoop your first batch onto the cookie sheet and then refrigerate or freeze the remaining dough while the first batch is baking, so that the strawberries don't bleed into the dough.  I didn't use fresh, but I assume you would want to do the same with them. 

Strawberry and Pineapple Sprinkles Cake with Greek Yogurt Frosting

Let's talk colors.

What would our world be without them?  Black and white?  Those ARE colors. Clear?  Um, that's just weird. Well, I adore color and color combos and patterns. The possibilities are truly endless.

One of the reasons this cake is my favorites is because of the sprinkles. All those gorgeous colors!  So fun and whimsical. Ah, I just love sprinkles!  

Rainbows are also full of color. The other day, I was walking, like I do almost every morning, up and down our driveway (it's long:)  I almost didn't because it was sprinkling hard (or raining lightly, take your pick.)  I did however, and coming back, I saw this huge rainbow. You could only see it once you walked almost the whole way down. It arched over our house and I could see the entire thing. I ran back (I do not run first thing in the morning and that "run" definitely solidified that in my mind!)  My dad and one of my brothers were up and I ran all the way back to tell them and all they said was "Cool."

Cool!?  How often do you see an entire rainbow?  It was gorgeous and my shadow looked so small underneath it. It was such an awesome reminder of God's promise to Noah and also His promise for me. I also thought of how I would've missed it had I let some rain drops stop me. 

Sometimes, we have to walk through the rain in order to see the rainbow. Sometimes, it's the storms in life that bring us the most beautiful moments. Those moments can be quick; the rainbow was fading minutes after I saw it. By the end of my walk, it was gone. Don't let those rainbow moments in life fade without us appreciating them. 

Strawberry and Pineapple Sprinkles Cake with Greek Yogurt Frosting

Recipe Source: The Sweet {Tooth} Life. Cake from Averie Cooks. 

Yield: 12 slices 

Cake:

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup white whole wheat flour (+ 1 tablespoon for tossing with frozen fruit)

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup buttermilk
 heaping 1/4 cup plain greek yogurt
 2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup frozen pineapple, (I used chunks and I did cut them into smaller pieces)

3/4 cup frozen strawberries, diced 

Greek Yogurt Icing:

3/4 cup plain greek yogurt

1/4 cup powdered sugar 

1/4 - 1/2 cup sprinkles 

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease and flour an 8 inch cake pan and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flours, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

In a separate small bowl, whisk together the next 5 ingredients.

Add the wet mixture to the dry, mixing lightly with a spoon or folding with a spatula until just combined. Don't overmix !

In a small bowl, toss the fruit with 1 tablespoon flour. The flour helps to prevent the fruit from sinking while baking.

Gently and briefly fold the fruit into batter.  Pour into prepared pan and bake for 30-45 minutes.  Baking time will depend on your oven and batter, so check periodically after 30 minutes.  Mine took about 35.  Let cool before frosting.

For frosting: Strain yogurt using same method as in the tzaziki.  (I only did mine for 30 minutes, not 4 hours)  Once strained, gently stir in powdered sugar.  Frost cooled cake with frosting and sprinkle with the sprinkles.  Cut and enjoy!

 

 

Red, White, and Blue Lemon Cream Tart

The Fourth of July makes me giddy.

{OH MY GOODNESS I CANNOT WAIT!}

Yeah, overly excited might be another word. 

For our family, we always go down to my grandparent's lake house and over several days, swim, splash, jet ski, tube, and eat more than should be legal.  It is too much fun and one of the highlights  of my year.  My cousins from Texas come up (GRACIE!!!) and we have traditions we always keep.  Like, we always have a play.  It used to be huge, that was all we thought about.  We even had scripts and tickets and signs.  Ironically, an on-the-fly rendition of the chicken dance has been the requested re-run from plays past. Although the last couple plays have been a lot less involved (we discovered the joy of tubing and well, that became our new favorite) we've always had some sort of play and a chicken dance.

And tubing . . . OH MY GOODNESS IT IS MY FAVORITE PART.  Gracie and me are the oldest cousins and thus, the first tubers.  We've gone through three tubes over the years.  We used to both sit in a tube and then we grew out of that one . . . and then another one . . . and now we actually ride a tube like you are supposed to.  Every year we scream and squeal and laugh until we can't breathe (which is really dumb, since we are in the middle of a lake) and recount feats from last year's tubing.  I remember conversations consistening of nothing but "We are going to die!" "I can't hold on!" "Oh no, oh no, oh no!" and so on, and then others about movies and career choices and whether root beer or coke is better.  My arms are usually sore, as are my hands from gripping the handles, but it is so much fun, we both could care less.  I love tubing.

And then the food!  We can put away food really well. Grilled foods are always on the table and fruit is everywhere, from strawberries to apples to the traditional watermelon. Last year, I brought a pound cake slathered in lemon whipped cream and fresh berries. It's been a family favorite since then. But this has joined ranks with the lemon/berry/summer desserts. This tart was picked by Abigail when I asked her and Elizabeth to look through my cookbooks in an effort to keep them quiet while I worked on a project. Abigail immediately found a peach and raspberry tart recipe. I altered it based on what we had and I loved how it turned out.

 

When I was photographing this yesterday, Nathan said,"You should bring this to the lake, Sis. It looks great for the 4th."  He's right!   It is so pretty and with the strawberries and blueberries, perfect for the Fourth of July. Feel free to use whatever berries you have on hand. Peaches, raspberries, maybe even fresh cherries?  The possibilities are only limited to your tastes and imaginations.  

The filling is slightly tangy, fresh and complimenting the buttery, crunchy crust and juicy berries. Seriously, me and my siblings kept slicing little slices off this tart until 3/4 of it was gone. It is so light and refreshing, it's so hard to stop eating. (OH MY GOODNESS GOOD)

Red, White, and Blue Lemon Cream Tart

Recipe Source:The Sweet {Tooth} Life. Adapted from Better Homes and Garden Cookbook

Yield: 12 servings

Crust:

1/2 cup finely ground pecans

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1 inch cubes

1/4 cup granulated sugar

Filling:

1/2 whipping cream

8 oz. low fat cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1 and 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon lemon zest

Topping:

2 cups strawberries, sliced or chopped

1 cup blueberries

Preheat oven to 350.

In food processor, grind pecans until fine. (Not a paste though)  Add flour and sugar and pulse until combined. Add butter and process until mixture pulls into a ball.  Press mixture into bottom and up sides of a 10 or 11 inch tart pan. Freeze for 10 minutes. Bake for 15-18 minutes. Let cool on wire rack. (I letind cool for about 20 minutes.)

While the crust is baking, whip whipping cream until soft peaks form, usually 3-5 minutes.  Set aside. 

In another bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until fluffy. Add lemon juice, zest, and vanilla and beat again. Gently fold in whipped cream and if crust is not cooled yet, set in refrigerator until crust is cool. 

Once crust is cool, spread filling evenly on crust. Arrange strawberries and blueberries over filling. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. Refrigerate leftovers. 

Salad Saturdays: Avocado Strawberry Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette

Sorry, this will be a short post.  I just got back from camp and will have a whole post dedicated to that soon, but first, lets talk salads!

Avocados and strawberries are some of my favorites and their colors make this salad really pop.  And then the raspberry vinaigrette is out of this world!  Colorful, a little sweet, and little vinegar, and super easy: amazing salad. 

 

 Hopefully the pictures spoke for themselves!  Short and sweet post and a short and sweet salad.

Avocado Strawberry Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette

Recipe Source: The Sweet {Tooth} Life

Yield: 4 servings

Salad:

3 cups shredded lettuce

1 avocado, sliced,

8 large strawberries, sliced

Raspberry Vinaigrette:

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup canola oil

1/4 cup raspberry vinegar

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/8 teaspoon salt

Salad: Toss all ingredients in a large bowl.

Raspberry Vinaigrette: Combine all the ingredients in a jar and shake well.  Pour over salad and serve.

If you missed the first of Salad Saturdays, check out my Fresh Lemon Kale Salad!

Creamy Strawberry Lemonade Smoothie

Summer is a comin'!

Who am I kidding - summer is practically here!  And the best way to welcome it?  Sitting in an air conditioned room sipping this smoothie.  I'm loving the warm weather, but not the hot weather.  Warm means playing outside and enjoying yourself.  Hot means walking outside and sweating immediately.

The only downside to warm weather is that I promised myself I would start running when it got warm.  It's, uh, painful?  I do a walk/run combo for now, but I find myself waiting until 7 or 8 in the evening to avoid the very warm humidity.  I went out after lunch and promptly turned around and walked back inside.  I think I was sweating within 10 minutes.  I'm not acclimated yet, so I rewarded myself for my trek outside with this creamy strawberry lemonade smoothie.

I have seen and pinned half a dozen strawberry lemonade recipes.  It just sounds so perfect!  You all know I love my strawberries.  Maybe a little too much. 

This is strawberry lemonade banana smoothie hybrid you won't want to miss.  It gets it's creaminess from the banana and its tanginess from the lemon.  Throw in some bright red strawberries and you've got a smoothie that is fun to make, pretty to look at, and delicious to taste.

Don't worry about the lemon and banana conflicting.  Unless you way overdo the lemon like I did the first time I made this, the sweet and sour and creamy will be balanced.  Still not sold?  Think smooth and cold strawberries with lemon dancing through them. 

Summer smoothes are a comin'.  And if you want, in the next five minutes.

Smoothies take no time at all and are crazy good on warm days.  Oh forget it, they're amazing on cold days too.  But right now, they really hit the spot.

Creamy Strawberry Lemonade Smoothie
Recipe Source: The Sweet {Tooth} Life
Yield: 1-2 servings

1/2 banana
1 cup frozen strawberries
1/2 cup crushed ice
1/2 cup cold water
1-3 tablespoons lemon juice
Sweetener: (optional) honey or sugar
Add all ingredients to a blender and blend on high until smooth.  Serve immediately.

Note:  The pics are from two different days with different lighting, so that it why one is pinker than the other:)

Strawberry Sugar Cookie Reeses Cups

Okay, I probably can't call this a Reeses and let you believe there is peanut butter in it.  That probably isn't right. 

But as a consolation, I put something else in them.  Something smooth and sweet and irresistible.

Sugar cookie dough.

Not only is this stunning, refreshing, and delicious, it is fairly simple. Seriously, you can do this in the next half hour without turning on your oven. And while the chocolate is hardening, you can lick the bowl do your homework or something productive like that. You all know that is exactly what I did, right?

Right.

If you haven't noticed, I go on ingredient kicks.  A couple weeks ago it was peanut butter in my brownies.  This week it is strawberries.  In scones, in parfaits . . .

And now paired with sugar cookie dough and chocolate.  Could it get any better? 

So there is exciting thing number 1.

Exciting thing number 2 - I got my learners permit. *happy sigh* We have a trip coming up where I could get a lot of hours, but I have zero experience driving and tackling not only our super high, super big Sprinter but also big cities kinda seems like a recipe for an expensive disaster. *not happy sigh*

I'll stick with logging hours in the kitchen, creating successful recipes like this one.

Exciting thing number 3? Graduation! Yeah, I got to make two cakes (which was REALLY fun!) and have the knowledge that my friends successfully completed school, but at the same time - why is everyone growing up?! Why am I old enough to start driving and why are my friends old enough to go to college? Could we puh-lease hit rewind?

Okay, back to exciting thing number 1. If you haven't had anything exciting happen, these are gonna be it. Think about it -chocolate. Strawberries. Sugar cookie dough that doesn't have eggs and melts in your mouth. Oh, and it has strawberries and chocolate. Did I mention that already?

These are sinful.  I could not stop eating them.  The cold chocolate that crunches when you bite into it and the sweet fruit and the cool smooth cookie dough.  Arguably the best frozen concoction I've tasted.  Exciting, exciting stuff.  *happy, happy sigh*

Strawberry Sugar Cookie Reese's
Recipe Source: The Sweet Tooth Life
Yield: 12 regular sized cups, about 36 mini cups

24 oz. melted dark chocolate chips

1 stick butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup flour
1-2 tbsp. milk

10-12 strawberries, finely chopped

In a food chopper, chop strawberries until finely chopped (or chop by hand, just a lot more time consuming.)  Set aside.

For sugar cookie dough: Beat butter and sugar together until creamy.  Add vanilla and salt and beat.  Add flour and beat well.  Add milk tablespoon at a time until desired consistency.  (Don't do more than two tablespoons.)

Assembly:  Line cupcake pans with cupcake liners.  Melt chocolate and pour enough to coat bottom and sides of liners.  Place in freezer if necessary to firm up the chocolate. 

Remove pans from freezer and spread a tablespoon or two of cookie dough on chocolate and layer strawberries on top.  Pour enough chocolate to cover dough and strawberries.  Return to freezer for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Notes: You may or may not need more chocolate depending on if you use mini or big cupcake pans.

 

Shared with A Peek into My Paradise, Chef in Training and nap-time creations.

Strawberry Dark Chocolate Granola Parfait - Chopped Result

Okay, I said I was going to make pie.  But that didn't happen.

After a fail, a lack of time, and nobody to eat it, I decided to go with Hannah's idea and make a parfait.  Except I added chocolate.  Because, you know, everything is better with chocolate.  (Well, most of the time.)

So I made my chocolate shredded wheat granola and then stirred my pudding with yogurt and layered slices strawberries with it all.  I myself was surprised by how much I liked the result.  In fact, instead of being an experiment, this is going onto my repeat list.  I knew I would get good ideas from you guys!

We have smooth yogurt pudding with crunchy, mildly sweet dark chocolate granola.  Add strawberries and we have a elegant, fast, delicious parfait.  I mean, you could even eat this for breakfast!  It is lovely for dessert as well.  Whatever floats your boat, er, parfait glass.

Strawberry Dark Chocolate Granola Parfait
Recipe Source: The Sweet {Tooth} Life
Yield: 3 servings

Granola
1 tbsp. coconut oil, melted
1 tsbp. honey
2 tsp. dark cocoa powder
1/3 cup shredded wheat (about 7-8 bite sized)
1/3 cup old fashioned oats

Yogurt Pudding:
1 pkg. vanilla pudding
2 cups milk
1 cup yogurt (plain or vanilla)

6-8 large strawberries, sliced or chopped

For the granola: Preheat oven to 350.  Stir together oil and honey until smooth.  Add cocoa powder and stir until there are no clumps.  Crush shredded wheat and add to oil, honey, and cocoa powder.  Stir in oats.  Place granola mixture on baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.  Stir and continue baking for 5-10 more.  Let cool for 30 minutes before using.

For the yogurt pudding: Whisk pudding mix with milk according to package directions.  Chill.  Before serving, stir in yogurt.

Layer yogurt and strawberries until parfait glass is full and top with granola.  Serve immediately.

Notes:  You will have leftover yogurt pudding. 

Strawberry Yogurt Scones

**Two more days to tell me what you would make with the three mystery ingredients!  Head over and tell me in the comments!**

Kids say the funniest stuff.

Good thing I live with a lot of them.

They tend to call things as they are.  Plain and simple.

We were playing a version of London bridges but we were bridge with both our hands and feet on the ground.  I had my big sweatshirt on and while John Caleb was crawling under me, he stopped and cried, "Pull up your shirt tummy!"  (He's two and can get away with it.)

Or when I'm trying to straighten my hair with my flat-iron.  One of the boys asked how it worked.  After I explained it, he shrugged and said, "Only girls would try to bake their hair into a certain shape."

And when I was giving Elizabeth a bath last night, she was pretending to be a robot.  While I was  brushing the tangles out of her hair, she asked me, "Could you puh-lease stop pinching the robot's hair?

Well, when I made these scones for lunch, I was curious to see what they would say about them.  We never have scones (I'm not sure why) but it's been several years.  Pretty sad, huh?  Abigail took one bite, rolled her eyes and stuck out a thumbs up. 

That's pretty good in my book.  I think these even compensated for pinching the robot's Elizabeth's hair.  And I think the boys agreed scones were a better baking subject than hair.

Scones are typically much dryer than a biscuit or muffin and they usually come in wedges.  These scones are cut into wedges, but they are much softer than a traditional scone, due to the greek yogurt.  Uh score for me!  I don't really like dry baked goods.   Shortbread can be an exception.  And even then, those weren't very dry. The moist and juicy strawberries add a lot of flavor and sweetness.  I probably could've chopped them smaller, but we all liked the big chunks!  It paired very well with the lightly sweetened and tender scone.

They aren't very dense, which surprised me considering the yogurt.  Instead they were soft and a little fluffy (I don't like describing my food that way, but whatever.)  Describe 'em how you want, but I know it will be good.  Plain and simple.  Or you could just roll your eyes and give me a thumbs up.  That works, too.

Strawberry Yogurt Scones

Recipe Source: Adapted from Chobani

Yield: 8 scones

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup all purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

4 tsbp. cold butter, cubed

3/4 cup plain yogurt (greek or regular)

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 cup chopped strawberries

Preheat oven to 425.

Stir together flours, sugar, and salt.  Cut in butter.

In another bowl, whisk yogurt, powder, and soda until frothy.  Stir into flour mixture until just combined.  Add strawberries.

Knead on floured surface 3-4 times and then shape into circle.  Cut into 8 wedges and place wedges on baking sheet.  Bake for 12-14 minutes or until tops are golden.  Serve warm.

Notes:  These are best if eaten within a day or two. If serving the next day, store in airtight container.  To reheat, set scones in a preheated oven (about 350) for 2-3 minutes.