strawberry fields forever

It's the beginning of may,
and with that means summer is right around the corner.
( and of course, my birthday. wink wink.)

Yesterday my mom and I went to a local produce store and they were selling strawberries for .50 a package ! I just love love love strawberries.
Now last year my Grandma had bought some Michigan strawberries from a farmers market
and they were by far the best strawberries that I had ever had,
and at the same time I was mad because it ruined strawberries for me.
I expected every berry to taste just as wonderful.

I digress.

My first thought to use the strawberries was a traditional strawberry pie,
but my dear love doesn't like flour crusts. So I was trying to figure out something with a graham cracker crust and that's how this fluffy strawberry cream pie was born.

Here's what you need.

1 cup of strawberries diced
1 cup of strawberries sliced
1 container of cool whip
1 package of strawberry jello
1 graham cracker pie crust
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup water
ice cubes

Just look at how juicy red they are. mmmmm

in a large bowl, add your strawberry jello, and 3/4 cup of boiling water.
whisk until jello is completely dissolved.

take one cup of cold water and add enough ice to make it 1 cup

Like so.

Add the icy water to the jello,
whisk for a minute or two,
and remove any ice that didn't dissolve.
Add your diced strawberries.

Start adding your cool whip.
add about a 1/4 of it at a time so you can blend it in.
you want it to be smooth and creamy.

pour it in your pie shell.
Since I added probably more than 1 cup of diced strawberries,
it didn't all fit in the crust.
I just poured whatever didn't fit into some ramekins.

Cover the pie, and refrigerate for 2-4 hours

After its been chilling, go ahead and add your sliced strawberries.
If you add the strawberries before its chilled, the strawberries may sink :(
 

Slice it up and sip on some iced tea with a lemon wedge
and think about summer ahead.

I promise you'll love it.
I will surely be making it again, and probably with different variations.
maybe pineapple, raspberry, or peach.


Hope every one has a wonderful weekend.

 

an eggcellent quiche

I know I promised this almost two weeks ago, but where does the time go?
I worked seven straight days in a row and everyday i came home I was too tired to think if ya know what I mean. I made this actually the same day I made these.

This is a super easy quiche that you can put ANYTHING in.
You can use just veggies, or ham, feta cheese, spinach.
Just use whatever you have on hand.   :)
If you remember back to the bananas foster bread pudding
there were 3 egg whites I saved.

This is what I used

2 red potatoes, cubed

4 - 6 slices of bacon, cooked

1 (8 or 9-inch) premade pie shell in foil pan

1 cup shredded cheese

2 eggs + 3 egg whites or you can just use 3 whole eggs

1/2 cup heavy cream or you can use 1 cup of milk

1 teaspoon all-purpose seasoning

Preheat your oven to 400
Cube your potatoes, and season with your all purpose seasoning & salt and pepper
you could use any seasonings you want, rosemary, basil, or even some herb de provence.

 Place in microwave safe bowl. Cover potatoes with a damp paper towel and microwave for two minutes. Potatoes should be tender but not falling apart.
Just poke a couple with a knife.

 In your pie shell spread a little of your crumbled bacon & cheese.
I used a "Mexican blend" cheese. I had a giant bag left from taco night.
You could use cheddar, Swiss, or even crumble some American cheese singles.
whatever tickles your fancy.

 Go ahead and put in some of your potatoes and more bacon and more cheese.
just layering a little so you get potato and bacon in each bite.

Whisk up your eggs, and cream and a pinch more seasoning.
If you like a lot of cheese you can add more cheese to the egg mixture,
it's all up to you.
Pour into your pie shell.
Depending on your pie shell the whole mixture may not fit, that's okay.

 Just fill it right up to the crust.

 Place on a baking sheet.
 (just in case you I spill it putting it in the oven.)
Bake 35-40 minutes or until eggs have set.

and  enjoy !
I made this for dinner with homemade chicken noodle soup.

I know every ones weather has been warm lately,
but it was cold and chicken noodle soup always taste good when it's cold.
Here in Michigan our weather is CRAZY !
It went from the 50s to the high 80s within a week.
Lovely I know.