What do you do with a tray of strawberries?

Our cousins gave us a whole tray of strawberries. I was very excited because I wanted to make jam. Yolanda came over to help make jam and between the two of us we made 6 batches of yummy strawberry freezer jam. However, that only used up about a third of the berries. So I sent a bunch home with Yolanda and her family to eat. But I still had a 9x13 pan overflowing with strawberries! I didn't want them to go to waste, so I went online to search for ideas. I found two great recipes on www.joyofbaking.com. The first recipe is strawberry banana muffins. They are delicious! I made them while the kids were at school. When they got home the whole house smelled so good. They walked in the door and immediately their mouths watered and they had to eat a muffin!

1/2 cup (1 stick) (113 grams) unsalted butter, melted

3/4 cup (160 grams) light brown sugar

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon (4 grams) pure vanilla extract

2 large ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)

1 cup (240 ml) fresh or frozen blueberries or strawberries (cut into small pieces)

2 1/4 cups (315 grams) all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons

baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon (4 grams) ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon (2.5 grams) salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C). Position rack in center of oven. Line the muffin pan with paper liners or grease with butter or a vegetable spray. Set aside.

In a small saucepan melt the butter. Set aside.

In a medium sized bowl whisk together the brown sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and mashed banana. Add the melted butter to the brown sugar mixture and stir to combine.

In another large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Gently fold in the berries, making sure they are coated with flour. This helps to prevent the berries from sinking during baking. Do not over mix or the blueberries will end up coloring the batter blue. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir only until the ingredients are just combined. Do not over mix the batter or tough muffins will result.

Fill each muffin cup about two thirds full of batter, using two spoons or an ice cream scoop. Fill any unused muffin cups halfway with water to prevent warping of the pan and/or over browning of the muffins. Place in the oven and bake until a tester inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Makes 12 regular sized muffins.

The next recipe is for strawberry bread. It makes your house smell just as good as the muffins. However it takes an hour to cook, so your taste buds have to be patient for this one!

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter

3/4 cup

(150 grams) granulated white sugar

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups (280 grams) all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup sour cream or plain yogurt

1/2 cup (55 grams) toasted walnuts or pecans, coarsely chopped

1 1/2 cups chopped fresh strawberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place the oven rack in the middle position. Butter and flour (or spray with a non stick vegetable/flour spray) the bottom and sides of an 8-cup loaf pan (9 x 5 x 3 inch) (23 x 13 x 8 cm). Set aside.

Place the walnuts (or pecans) on a baking sheet and bake for about 8 minutes or until brown and fragrant. Remove from oven and let cool completely before chopping coarsely. Set aside.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until softened (about 1 minute). Add the sugar and continue to beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture (in three additions) and sour cream (in two additions) alternately, starting and ending with the flour. Mix only until combined. Gently fold in the chopped strawberries and walnuts.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake about one hour, or until the bread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool and then remove the bread from the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 1 loaf.

Read more: "Strawberry Bread Recipe With Picture - Joyofbaking.com" - http://www.joyofbaking.com/breakfast/StrawberryBread.html#ixzz0DwLCVFHr&A

Read more: "Strawberry Bread Recipe With Picture - Joyofbaking.com" - http://www.joyofbaking.com/breakfast/StrawberryBread.html#ixzz0DwK3TA1z&A