tis the season...

for strawberries!! my most favorite fruit of all time is in season and i can't get enough. this year i've found so many good deals on strawberries i've been buying them by the truckload! usually i enjoy eating them plain, straight out of the fridge, but i decided this year i was going to actually cook with the strawberries. here are two of my favorite strawberry recipes that have gotten rave reviews, and are guarenteed to make you the most popular girl(or boy!)on your block.

easy as pie strawberry cheesecake
(ok,so you aren't actually cooking anything, and there aren't any strawberries IN the cheesecake, but there are strawberries involved, so it counts :)

you need:
1 box of jello no bake cheesecake
about 10 strawberries, sliced lengthwise

*make the cheesecake and graham cracker crust according to box instructions. add sliced strawberries on top in a decorative manner, and voila! instant popularity.

here's what mine looks like:


(for this cake i used a premade oreo cookie crust, but, being a traditional kind of girl, i actually preferred the graham cracker crust that comes with the cheesecake mix)

there are of course TONS of things you can add to dress up the cheesecake from adding more fruit to the inside, to using more/different kinds of toppings. i mainly chose to post this recipe because i posted the above picture on facebook a few weeks ago and got a few requests for a recipe...so...there it is! it looks all fancy shmancy, but it's literally "easy as pie"! you're welcome.

next up...my newest and current favorite cooking discovery...strawberry muffins!

i found the recipe on the site allrecipes.com. a tip: when searching for recipes online, make SURE and read the reviews that people have posted about that specific recipe. they will tell you whether it tastes good/bad as well as suggest things to add/take away from the original recipe posted that will actually make it taste better! which is what i came across when reading the reviews for these strawberry muffins. apparently the original recipe is too dry, so i made the "reviewer suggested" strawberry muffins and they turned out A-MA-zing! without further adieu...

spectacular spectacular strawberry muffins

1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cup chopped strawberries
1/2 tsp cinnamon

*Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) oil an 8 cup muffin tin, or use paper liners.
*In a small bowl, combine oil, vanilla, milk, and egg. Beat lightly. In a large bowl, mix flour, salt,cinnamon, baking powder and brown and white sugar. Toss in chopped strawberries and stir to coat with flour. Pour in milk mixture and stir together.
*Fill muffin cups. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 25 minutes, or until the tops bounce back from the touch. Cool 10 minutes and remove from pans.

the instructions say to bake for 25 minutes, but i didn't have mine in for any longer than 23 and they came out perfect, so just make sure you check them after about 20 or so.

also, this is the most basic form of the recipe. i think these would taste delicious with some kind of citrus-y glaze on top, or even a light layer of cream cheese frosting. if you have any other ideas on how to spice up my cheesecake and muffins, or recipes you'd like to share please feel free to email me, i'd love to try them out! bonamie21@gmail.com