Strawberries and Cream Cheesecake

 As much as possible, I try to bake and create using seasonal ingredients, not only because I think it's probably healthier to eat this way, but also because it's more economical.  And right now, it's strawberry season in these parts.  YUM!  We visited our local pick-your-own farm and market on Monday to reap some of nature's bounty and I promised to follow up with a new strawberry recipe for ya, so here it is!

 

By the way, this is a Sassy Pants original, born more out of desperation than inspiration because it seemed like I was missing at least one ingredient from any of the recipes I found while combing the web for something new.  It's sort of a combination of two or three different recipes, and a few alterations my MIL and I decided to make along the way.  Never the less - voila!

 

Strawberries and Cream Cheesecake

 

1 'Shortcut Shortbread' Crust

2 packages softened cream cheese

1 envelope unflavored gelatin

1/2 C milk

1/2 C sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 1/2 - 3 cups crushed strawberries

4-5 sliced strawberries

whipped cream

 

For complete instructions on making your own 'Shortcut Shortbread' crust, go here!  Then press your 'Shortcut Shortbread' crust into the bottom of a springform pan and bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees.  Cool completely while preparing filling.

 

For filling, empty one envelope of unflavored gelatin into 1/2 C milk and heat in small saucepan on low for 2-3 minutes until gelatin is completely dissolved.  Pour over two packages softened cream cheese and blend well.  Add vanilla and sugar.  Add strawberries and mix well.  Mixture will be fairly runny.

 

Line the sides of your springform pan with cooled crust with strawberry slices approximately 1/4" thick.  Pour filling into pan.  Refrigerate overnight or until firm.  Remove sides of pan and garnish with strawberries, whipped cream, mint sprigs as desired!

 

This recipe is quite yummy and would be a perfect ending to Easter brunch.  However, it doesn't taste like cheesecake to me.  Instead, it reminds me of strawberry jello salad, which is basically what I ended up with after tasting it and rereading my ingredients.  But what a beautiful alternative to jello salad's traditional presentation!  And the 'shortcut shortbread' crust elevates this dessert to something truly heavenly!

 

 

So why not give it a try when strawberry season arrives and let me know you think!

 

Sharing this Sassy Strawberry Recipe @ Sunday Showcase, Mop It Up Mondays, Meet Me Monday, Made by You Monday, Debbie Doo's Newbie Party, What's In the Gunny Sack, Take-A-Look Tuesday, Tuesday Tutorial, Wow Us Wednesdays, {Wow Me} Wednesday @ Gingersnap Crafts, Cowgirl Up, Off the Hook, I Gotta Create, Whimsy Wednesdays, Pin It Wednesday, Show and Share, Semihomemade Mom, Overflowing with Creativity, House of Hepworth, Off the Hook, Finding the Pretty and Delicious, Creative Me, Made U Look, It's a Hodgepodge Friday, Kitchen Fun with My Three Sons, Saturday Show & Tell, Weekend Showoff Party, Pin It Party @ Debbie Doo's, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Tatertots & Jello

Froberg's Family Fun!

 

After a last-ditch effort at winter over the weekend, Monday arrived sunny and warm.

 

Ahhhh, spring!

 

March is strawberry season around these parts and we were more than a little excited to head out to our local pick-your-own farm in Alvin, TX to sample some of the state's sweetest!  Picking strawberries at Froberg's has been a family tradition since at least 2009 and like our family, it's grown and changed over the last five years as well!  Although we were surprised by the swanky new entrance (Ooooo-we - paved and everythang), we were happy to see the fields just as green and red and bountiful as ever!  And our favorite oak tree still stands in the center, inviting visitors to take a deep breath and stay awhile.  Since we visited after school on Monday, we didn't have time to stop and enjoy the picnic tables that were added a few years ago, but we were able to enjoy the farm in relative solitude at that time of day and it was heavenly.  These days my very-experienced field hands can fill two buckets with strawberries pretty darn quickly, so we did manage to squeeze in a little playtime and snap a few pictures before heading back home.  You can find your own local, 'pick-your-own' farm in both the United States (and other countries!) and enjoy an afternoon outdoors by simply heading on over to www.pickyourown.org.  We made 'smashed strawberry preserves' this afternoon, and another strawberry surprise I will be sharing with you soon!  In the mean time, I hope you enjoy this first taste of spring as much as well do!

 

Heading out!

This year we decided to head all the way out and work our way back toward the oak tree.

The infamous cheesy smile!

Fill 'er up!



Wow!  Check out this mutant giant strawberry!  And yes, we picked it!



"I got it!"  My big man!

 

"See!"



Time to play!

Where's your shoe?!

 . . . and relax.



On the other hand, who needs strawberries when you've got something this sweet?!

I hope you love each other this much forever!

- Mom

  

 Sharing this Sassy Idea @ Sunday Showcase, Mop It Up Mondays, Meet Me Monday, Made by You Monday, Debbie Doo's Newbie Party, What's In the Gunny Sack, Take-A-Look Tuesday, Tuesday Tutorial, Wow Us Wednesdays, {Wow Me} Wednesday @ Gingersnap Crafts, Cowgirl Up, Off the Hook, Whimsy Wednesdays, Pin It Wednesday, Show and Share, Overflowing with Creativity, House of Hepworth, Off the Hook, Finding the Pretty and Delicious, Creative Me, Made U Look, It's a Hodgepodge Friday, Saturday Show & Tell, Weekend Showoff Party, Pin It Party @ Debbie Doo's, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Tatertots & Jello

 

Strawberry Icebox Pie

Even the name sounds delicious, doesn't it?!

Start with 6-8 C fresh strawberries.

We picked ours at Froberg's Farm on Monday and while they are THE yummiest, fresh picked strawberries won't last any time in the frig, so it's a good idea to have some recipes lined up!  This is one of our family's favorites!

To determine how many strawberries you need for the pie, fill your empty pie pan up with strawberries and consider there will be a little more room in there once they are washed and hulled.  I also like to really pack mine down as much as possible, so I throw a few more in for good measure!

In your 8-9" pie pan, cook a single pie crust according to the recipe. 

This morning I decided to try a new (to me) pie crust recipe I came across in a Junior League cookbook my aunt passed on to me.  If I like it,  I'll be sure to share it with you here!  Set the cooked crust aside to cool completely before filling.

Wash and hull your strawberries and set aside to air dry while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Place your remaining strawberries, that have also been washed and hulled, into a saucepan with:

1/4-1/2 cup of sugar

1/4 C water and

1 tablespoon of cornstarch. 

Mash your strawberries in the saucepan (which gets easier to do as the mixture heats up) and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens, usually 5-10 minutes depending on how much juice your strawberries made when you mashed them!  once mixture begins to thicken, remove from heat and set aside to cool.  if you're in a hurry, you can pop it into the freezer to speed things along!

**Notice that you are cooling everything completely before putting the pie together. 

This will help keep your fruit from weeping too much, which can make your pie filling runny.

Once your pie crust is cool, spread softened cream cheese over the bottom to keep your crust from getting soggy.  Then add your strawberries.  As I mentioned before,  I like to really cram mine in there so my filling is packed with fruit!!  Spread your cooked AND cooled strawberry mixture over the top, letting it run down between the whole berries.  Return the pie to the 'icebox' to set up, which takes about an hour.  As the name implies, this pie is served chilled!

Top with whipped cream and enjoy!

 

'Smashed' Strawberry Preserves

I LOVE these strawberry preserves!!

They are so sweet and yummy and FRESH!  Mainly because her recipe uses fresh, not cooked,  strawberries!  It's an interesting and oh-so-yummy twist on traditional strawberry jam!  These preserves taste great over biscuits, ice cream (my personal favorite) or straight out of the jar!!

After years of enjoying this tasty treat, I decided it was high time to learn how to make them myself, so I offered Gram a trip out to our local strawberry farm and farmer's market in exchange for a lesson in the kitchen!  Turns out her preserves are not only delicious but easy and fun to make too!  I mean, how many times have you told your children to STOP smashing their food?!  Well, now they can!  So grab your kiddos and get smashed!

Start with the freshest strawberries you can find! 

We picked ours yesterday on the opening day of strawberry season at Froberg's Farm!

Make sure you wash them and cut the stems off, as close as you can.

You don't want to waste any of these beauties!!

SMASH 'em up!  The potato masher made quick work of this!

For a full recipe, you're going to need 4 cups of fresh, smashed strawberries, so just keep cutting and mashing until you have enough!  It only takes a couple of minutes and they will look like this!

In a separate bowl, mix 1 packet of Ball Instant Fruit Pectin with 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar.

Gram gets her pectin at Wal-Mart in the gelatin section, but she has seen it near the canning supplies at other grocery stores as well.  Make sure is says NO COOK!

Once your pectin and sugar are well blended, add to your strawberry mash!

Now set your timer and stir for 3 minutes!

Pour into jars and you're done!  Now how sweet is that?!

Fresh strawberry preserves can be kept in the refrigerator for 2-3 weeks

and in the freezer much longer than that!!

Well, what are you waiting for?!  Go pick some strawberries and get smashed!!

Strawberry Season Starts!

Yesterday was opening day at our local Pick-Your-Own Strawberry Farm and Market and as luck would have it, the kids were out of school!  What a great way to spend the afternoon!  This is our 6th year to pick strawberries at Froberg's Farm and if you live in the area and haven't been - well, you're missing out!!  It's a great way to get outdoors and teach AND kiddos about food and where it comes from at the same time!  And for us, it's become a rite of passage for Spring!  Yes, I said Spring!  Froberg's strawberry season usually begins a little later, but because of all the rain we've had this winter, they were able to start the season about 2 weeks early.  What does that silly ol' groundhog know about Texas weather anyway?!

My mother-in-law makes the best strawberry preserves in two counties (It's true!) - and I was hoping she would teach me how.  I thought maybe I could coax her into it if I took her out to Froberg's, so we grabbed Gram and headed out!  Some of us got a leetle distracted . . . but it's all part of the fun at Froberg's!

The strawberries looked good enough to eat . . .

And we did!

We did manage to pick a few too!

After a little instruction, even Snacks was picking like a pro!  See for yourself!

With full buckets (and bellies), we decided to head home!

But not before we stopped for one last splash!!

Lucky for me, my plan worked!!  I have been wanting to learn Gram's secret for strawberry preserves and she agreed to share it - not just with me, but with all of you too!!!  Isn't that exciting!!   You can get the recipe and step-by-step instructions here!  In the mean time, I'd love to hear what you make with fresh strawberries, so leave a comment and let me know!