So, I may be letting this whole “assign the kids to make breakfast” thing go to my head some. I mean, it is really nice to have the tables turned for once. Instead of the constant berating from my kids about where their breakfast is, I get to be the one harping on them.

Kelly is taking on our summer breakfast project like a champ, even when we are all bugging her to get moving and get some food on the table. She’s definitely got the morning person gene I lack. And she manages to be nice without coffee! She’s pretty much a saint….

Read More

The post Yo! What’s for Breakfast? {Recipe: Homemade Strawberry Milk} appeared first on Dine and Dish.

I always feel a bit self conscious drinking Strawberry Daiquiris. Do you? I don’t really know why I feel that way, but I do.

Perhaps it’s because my very first ever alcoholic drink was a Strawberry Daiquiri. I’ve always felt like it was the “safe” “foo-foo” drink… and at my old age I thought if people saw me drinking a daiquiri they would just assume I wasn’t mature enough to handle a real cocktail. I mean, real women drink things like gin and tonic and Manhattan’s… not foo foo Strawberry Daiquiris, right?

Finally I began to realize…I really doubt anyone out there is talking about my choice in cocktails. Who cares if we’re out in a fancy nightclub and I order a foo foo Strawberry Daiquiris instead of a womanly G&T? Well, I would actually care because I never go to fancy nightclubs so I’d kind of wonder how I got there in the first place…but anyhow……

Read More

The post Too Old For Foo-Foo? {Recipe: Lemon Grass Strawberry Daiquiri} appeared first on Dine and Dish.

Strawberry Lemonade Spritzer

I consider myself very lucky to have a mom who I can also call my best friend. I love many things about my mom, but I’ve managed to sum up a few of my favorite things about her that make me smile.

1. It’s the thought that counts. My mom isn’t a big card sender and coincidentally, neither am I. When I was growing up my mom and I would be in a department store and I’d hear her calling my name.. “Kristen, come here!” I’d walk over and she’d have a card in her hand and would say “Now, if I were the card buying type, this is the card I’d give you for your birthday.” Although she didn’t buy the card, she thought of me when reading a card and in my opinion, that was good enough. I have so many great memories of my mom and I, standing in the card aisle, laughing and crying over cards we would give each other if we were the card buying type.
2. Never underestimate the power of Midol. No matter what, when I call my mom and am being overly emotional or unreasonable about something, she’ll say “Honey… what time of the month is it?” I usually am annoyed and dismiss her thoughts that everything irrational in my life is PMS. Then, sure enough, a couple days later she is proven right.
3. Choose your friends wisely. One thing my mom drilled through my head growing up was to choose my friends wisely.  She would often remind me the people I associated myself with determined what other people might think of me. I now spend a lot of time teaching this life lesson to my kids and have to remind myself of this lesson often as an adult. Choose your friends wisely as they are a huge part of shaping who you are and who you become.
4. Be spontaneous. When I was a senior in high school, in the dead of winter, I woke up to this note on the kitchen table “Went to find the sun… be back on Sunday”. My parents were tired of the winter and decided that instead of complaining about it, they would do something about it. They packed up their Mustang convertible and headed south in search of warmth.  My mom has always had a bone of spontaneity about her and I admire that so much. It’s hard with younger kids, but I can’t wait until I can take after my parents when it comes to being spontaneous.
5. Sing like no one is watching. I can’t hear the song “How Great Thou Art” without thinking of my mom. When that song is played, I am immediately taken back to Sunday morning in church and my mom’s beautiful voice booming over the entire congregation. When you are moved by a song, you’ve got to sing it and sing it loud… like no one else is around.

I could go on and on, but I’ll save the rest for another day. Mom – if I were the card buying type, my card would say something like “Thank you for being my mom… in good times and bad, I know I can always turn to you for love, advice and support. I admire you, treasure you and love you.”

This recipe for Strawberry Lemonade Sprtizer is something I’d love to share with my mom today. She loves lemons and can eat strawberries again after a long respite. Cheers to you, mom, and all the other mamas out there doing the most difficult job in the world. I’ll add a little spike of vodka for those of you who have toddlers or teenagers. You deserve it!

The adorable straws in these photos are from one of my favorite sponsors, Hey Yo Yo on Etsy. Make sure to check out their store for festive paper straws, cupcake liners nut cups and more.

Strawberry Lemonade Spritzer from Delish

Print

Strawberry Lemonade Spritzer

Author Dine & Dish

Ingredients

• 3 cups strawberries hulled
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 8 cups prepared lemonade I used Country Time, but fresh or frozen will do as well
• Club Soda
• In a food processor combine strawberries & sugar. Puree until smooth.
• Add lemonade and mix. Refrigerate for at least one hour.
• Right before serving combine lemonade & club soda (2 parts lemonade and 1 part club soda)

Instructions

• cups strawberries, hulled
• Tbsp sugar
• cups prepared lemonade (I used Country Time, but fresh or frozen will do as well)
• Club Soda
• In a food processor, combine strawberries & sugar. Puree until smooth.
• Add lemonade and mix. Refrigerate for at least one hour.
• Right before serving, combine lemonade & club soda (2 parts lemonade and 1 part club soda)

The post 5 Things I Love About My Mom {Recipe: Strawberry Lemonade Spritzer} appeared first on Dine and Dish.

Written for the February issue of Her Life Magazine and for Meeta’s Monthly Mingle

It is February and the frenzied holiday season is now behind us. We may look back over the past months and remember the joyous times of giving gifts to others, celebrating the true meaning of the season, spending time with family and friends, and the food… the overflowing, endless amounts of food.

During the holiday season our kitchens are bustling with activity. Cookies, candies and baking mixes galore are leaving our homes and are being sent on as gifts to ones that we love. At the same time, similar tokens of love and appreciation are being given to us from friends and family. Come January 1^st, eating yet another cookie or popping another chocolate into our mouths is about the last thing that we want to do.

The unfortunate fact is that not everyone was spoiled with loving gifts of food and goodies over the holiday season. There are individuals displaced from their homes who felt blessed if they simply had one hot meal over the holiday season. A gift of home baked goodness is a luxury they cannot afford.

With Valentine’s Day quickly approaching we have another chance to provide those less fortunate with something home baked with love from our kitchens. Lydia Walshin founder of the organization Drop In & Decorate Cookies for Donation encourages people to bake with love throughout the year, not just during the holiday season.

Drop In & Decorate Cookies for Donation is a simple, yet novel idea. Bake some cookies. Invite friends, family, co-workers, or neighbors to help decorate. Donate your cookies to a local agency serving people in need (such as a soup kitchen, domestic abuse shelter, senior center), and “give back” while having fun.

Lydia has been touched by how her organization has taken off around the world and how the concept has blessed so many lives. Recalling the start of it all, Lydia explains. “ I did not set out to start a tradition, but that’s the thing about traditions: you do something once, and it is so much fun that you want to do it again and again. That is how Drop In & Decorate started. A friend and I wanted to try to decorate cookies with a new icing technique. Since neither of us are cookie eaters we made a plan to give the cookies to a local shelter. We started with a few dozen cookies. By the time we got the hang of the icing technique, we realized our cookies didn’t look wonderful. I decided to invite a few friends over to come and help us redecorate. Those first cookies had two layers of icing, but in the end they looked beautiful! We wrapped each cookie individually, with lots of ribbon, and delivered them to a family shelter. We had such fun doing the decorating, and everyone who saw those first cookies broke out with a huge smile.”

“Afterwards, my friends asked when we were going to do it again, and I realized that decorating cookies for donation would become an annual tradition. It was the smiles that inspired me…the smiles on the faces of the friends who helped decorate, and the smiles on the faces of those who received the cookies. Through the simple gift of cookies, people are making connections and are learning about the work of agencies in their own communities.”

Getting involved and hosting your own Drop In & Decorate event is easy. On Lydia’s website, www.ninecooks.com, there is a complete guide to getting started. This guide includes a delicious cookie recipe, a list of supplies you will need, information about how to donate the cookies once decorated, and more.

Share the love this Valentine’s Day by giving those less fortunate something to smile about. A heartfelt gift of homemade and beautifully decorated cookies from your kitchen could be just the thing to fill a tummy and a heart this Valentine’s day.

The post Strawberry Valentine Cookies appeared first on Dine and Dish.

There is nothing out there that is quite as gratifying to me as smashing, kneading, chopping, beating, etc. the heck out of food. When I am stressed, give me a recipe that calls for doing something inhumane to the ingredients and by the time I have an end product, my stress is gone.

This morning, my kids were not getting along at all. From the moment they woke up they were bickering with each other about every little thing. They were apparently frustrated with each other and needed a quick intervention. I decided to try to distract them some. They could help me make breakfast, and while doing so, they could relieve some of their obvious stress by smashing some strawberries. I got out two bowls and divided the berries among them. I gave them each a vegetable smasher and they went to town destroying their own little bowl of berries. Instead of fussing and arguing, I heard giggling and laughing. Before I knew it, the first step to our breakfast muffin recipe was done and the mood of my children had changed dramatically.

Together we finished adding the ingredients, stirring it up and making the muffins. We ended up having a lovely breakfast of delicious Berry Smash Strawberry muffins. The kids were so proud of their part in making breakfast and I was just thrilled to have a morning where the bickering was squelched from the start.

For your own at home therapy session, give this recipe for Berry Smash Strawberries Muffins a try.

Print

Berry Smash Strawberry Muffins

Course Breakfast

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 18 minutes minutes

Total Time 33 minutes minutes

Author Dine & Dish

Ingredients

• 1 2/3 cups fresh strawberries
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups Gold Medal all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

• Heat oven to 425 F.
• Put a paper baking cup in each of 12 regular-size muffin cups, or grease just the bottoms of 12 muffin cups.
• Slightly smash strawberries in large bowl, using fork.
• Stir in sugar, oil and eggs until mixed.
• Stir in other ingredients just until moistened.
• Spoon batter into muffin cups.
• Bake 15 to 18 minutes or until light golden brown or toothpick poked in center comes out clean.
• Cool 5 minutes.
• Loosen sides of muffins from pan if needed, and take them out of the pan.
• Makes 12 muffins.
• Tip: If you do not have fresh strawberries, you can use frozen strawberries that you have thawed and drained.

The post Smashed Strawberry Muffins Recipe appeared first on Dine and Dish.

I love Trifles. They are one of my favorite desserts to make because they are always delicious and they always make a beautiful presentation. The problem with trifles is that they are almost too pretty. When it comes time to serve them, the very thought of scooping into the big trifle bowl to tear apart the creation is enough to send shivers down my spine. Isn’t it good enough to just sit and look at the pretty dessert without destroying it? Apparently not…for some odd reason people actually want to eat the trifle. Admiring the beauty just will not do.

Last evening, my good friend Sara had my family and another friends family over for Easter dinner. My assignment….bread and dessert. We enjoyed a wonderful meal, with a Martha Stewart worthy table setting and friendly conversation. Once it came time for dessert, Sara pulled the trifle out of the fridge and handed it to me. “You serve it,” she said. “No…this is your house, you are the host… you serve it.” “I can’t bring myself to cut into it…it is just too pretty,” she said. Reluctantly, only because I knew the guys would not understand not getting dessert because it was too pretty to cut in to, I picked up the spoon and scooped out the first serving.  Trifles are not nearly as beautiful plopped down on a plate, are they? At this point though, appearance doesn’t matter. One you have the first spoonful of this trifle in your mouth, you will not care at all what it looks like or the beauty you destroyed. Trust me when I say this…cutting in to any trifle is well worth mutilating it in the process. Very well worth it.

To create a trifle for your own mutilating pleasure, follow this recipe. Light versions of all of the ingredients can be used without sacrificing flavor.

The post Strawberry Cheesecake Trifle appeared first on Dine and Dish.