Fun Finds Friday

these are just too much fun not to share....TGIF

Strawberry Bread

Tis the season for fresh,delicious strawberries. Here's a recipe that's perfect for breakfast,snack or dessert.

3 cups fresh,ripe strawberries
3 1/8 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs,beaten
1 cup chopped pecans* optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two 9 x 5 inch loaf pans.
Dice strawberries and place in medum sized bowl. Sprinkle lightly with sugar and set aside while preparing bread mixture.

Combine flour,sugar,cinnamon,salt and baking soda in large bowl; mix well. Blend oil and eggs into strawberries. Add strawberry mixture to flour mixture, blending until until dry ingredients are just moistened. Stir in pecans. Divide batter into pans.

Bake for 45-50 minutes or until tester comes out clean. Let cool in pans on wire rack for 10 minutes. Turn loaves out and cool completely.....yummm

Christmas in July

Team EEAT is celebrating Christmas in July!
July 6-11

Come WIN PRIZES in our scavenger hunt,
or just take advantage of shop discounts!
(But we know you want to do the scavenger hunt...the prizes are too good to pass up!)

PRIZES!

Grand prize: A Team EEAT Sampler Box! ($50 value)
1st Place: $10 Gift Certificate from Double Dipped Sweets
2nd Place: $5 Gift Certificate from JustBakin'
There might be more prizes, depending on # of entrants!

How to Play:
Look for the image above in the shops listed here. They will be hidden in an item listing! One listing per shop.
Email 5 of the listing Id's where you found the picture to teameeat@gmail.com
DO NOT put them in the comments please!!!

A winner will be chosen on the 12th.

Additional entries:
Go shopping! Every item purchased from a team eeat store gets you 3 entries!
Tweet or Facebook- 1 entry! Leave a comment below
Blog: 2 extra entries!

Find 5 pictures in these shops: (1 per shop)
Also- many of these shops are offering discounts!
(All discounts are before shipping)

Double Dipped Sweets - 15% discount
Just Bakin' - 10% discount
Lucky Dog Treat Company
Del Alma Bakery - 10% discount
A Thyme To Bee Comforted - 10% discount
Bears Baked Goods - 15% discount
Fancy That Cookies - 20% discount
Sweet Treats by Maryann - 10% discount
Little Snowflakes - 15% discount
Nicole's Homemade Treats - 10% discount (please wait for revised invoice)
Megs Creations - 10% discount


Other shops offering discounts only!
(no hidden pictures)

Fat Daddy Sweets - 10% discount
A Sugar Affair - 15% discount
Cakes By Sugarplums - 20% discount

The Perfect Sunday

These days everything has become so hectic; my family and I have decided to take one day a week to just "re-energize" for the coming week. Here's my favorite way to spend a Sunday.

Step one; sleep in, well at least until 8:30. Normally around this time my head starts working on all kinds of ideas....see step two

Step two; whip up something really yummy (and probably not so healthy) for breakfast. This morning's recipe to follow.

Step three; brew a large pot of coffee to go along with reading the paper.

Step four; by this point I have come up with lots of new recipe ideas and head off to the grocery store to get ingredients

Step five (my favorite); head to the kitchen. Isn't it funny how many people can actually fit into one kitchen? My company consists of three very hungry and curious kids, two dogs and one very "supportive" husband :O)

As promised here is the very simple recipe that I made this morning.

Cinnamon Rolls

1 can Pillsbury Crescent Rounds
cinnamon/sugar mixture

Frosting: powdered sugar
milk

Apple mixture: large apple of your choice
2 TB butter
cinnamon/sugar mixture


Open crescent rounds and unfold, sprinkle liberally with cinnamon and sugar then roll back up. Sprinkle more cinnamon and sugar on top. Bake as directed.
Drizzle with frosting after removing from oven. Serve....

*cinnamon and sugar mixture: usually a 3/4 to 1/4 mixture of simple white sugar and ground cinnamon You can adjust to your own personal taste.

Apple mixture: in a small saucepan melt 2 TB of butter,add diced apple and sprinkle liberally with cinnamon and sugar. Simmer on low heat until the butter and sugar mix start to bubble and reduce down. I put apples on top of my cinnamon roll instead of frosting, de-lish

Enjoy your Sunday!

For the Love of Ice Cream

Summer is here! My all-time favorite treat is ice cream, you know the good kind with all the creaminess and fat.Add some homemade caramel on top and I've died and gone to heaven. Move over treadmill here I come....

Custard Ice Cream Base Recipe

This custard base is used for nearly all custard ice cream recipes.

1 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cups of milk
1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar (the 1 tblsp. sugar may be excluded if a lighter ice cream is desired.)
2 egg yolks (recipes often call for 3 egg yolks, some people enjoy a heavier/ eggier taste, while others don't. It's really just preference)

1) Heat the milk, cream, and 1/3 cup sugar in a saucepan. Stir until mixture is hot and
all the sugar has dissolved

2) Whisk the egg yolks and 1 tablespoon sugar in a seperate bowl. Add one cup
of the hot liquid to the egg yolks (making sure to poor slowly and stir / whisk) Then, pour the mixture back into the sauce pan while continually stirring the mixture (all the stirring is so that the eggs don't cook, you don't want little pieces of scrambled eggs in your ice cream!)

3)Cook the mixture over medium heat until it thickens slightly and coats the back of a wooden spoon (stir constantly and do not allow to boil, or mixture will curdle). Mixture should take around
5 minutes to thicken. (warning!! 5 minutes is a very rough approximation, it may just take one minute. One tip for knowing when it has thickened is by leaning the pan to the side a little, so you can see the bottom; drag your spoon against the bottom / side, and you should be able to see if the mixture has thickened if a clean streak remains. Don't worry if you notice quite a bit of curdled mixture on the bottom, it will be able to be strained out. This is the hardest part of making a cream based ice cream, and it just takes a little practice.) Now strain the custard ice cream base into a clean bowl and use as directed in recipes.

-This ice cream base can also be made into a simple ice cream with no additional flavorings.
-the milk to cream ratio can be adjusted depending on if you want your ice cream to be more
or less rich.

Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe

1 recipe custard base
1 vanilla bean(split), or 1 tablespoon vanilla extract.

Add the vanilla bean to the milk, cream, and sugar when making the custard base. After
straining the whole mixture scrape in the vanilla seeds.If using extract just add to the end of the cooking procedure.

Asparagus the "New Green"

I came across asparagus for the first time two years ago at a wedding. I had never tried it before but figured it was about time. That's when my love affair started.

Here are some facts about this yum,yum,yummy veggie:

Asparagus is a nutrient-dense food which is high in folic acid and is a good source of potassium, fiber, vitamin B6, vitamins A and C, and thiamin.

Asparagus has no fat, contains no cholesterol and is low in sodium.

It takes two years before you can harvest any crop from an asparagus plant.

Asparagus is a member of the Lily family.

The larger the diameter; the better the quality.


Read on for a delicious recipe....

Asparagus Avacado Medley
*courtesy of Allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS
1 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
8 fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 large ripe avocado, peeled and cubed
1 medium zucchini, diced
1 large tomato, seeded and chopped
1 medium red onion, sliced
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive or canola oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper



DIRECTIONS
Place asparagus and 2 tablespoons water in a microwave-safe dish. Cover and microwave on high for 3-6 minutes or until crisp-tender, stirring once; drain and cool.
In a large bowl, combine the asparagus, mushrooms, avocado, zucchini, tomato and onion; toss gently. In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine the remaining ingredients; shake well. Pour over salad and toss gently to coat. Cover and refrigerate until serving.
FOOTNOTES
This recipe was tested with an 850-watt microwave.

Just Added

for your tummy's pleasure

Simply Lime Cookies

Double Chip Cookies
Maryann

Sweet Treats by Maryann

http://sweettreatmaryann.etsy.com/