The Produce Box

Nothing like strawberry season!  YAY!  Love fresh strawberries! I made mini pies and as I thought they would be more fun :-)  You could also make one large pie if that suits your fancy.. Pastry Crusts: 1/8 cup powdered sugar 1 package refrigerated pie crusts (feel FREE to use your favorite pie crust recipe - I just know that everyone is busy and so using a pre-made crust speeds things up!) Lemon Filling: 1 8oz package cream cheese, softened 1 tsp sour cream 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1 1/2 tsp lemon zest 2 tsp fresh lemon juice Strawberry Topping: 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped fresh strawberries 1/2 cup granulated sugar 2 Tbs cornstarch 1 Tbs butter 10 cups hulled fresh strawberries Whipped cream topping (optional!) Directions: 1) Prepare Crust Preheat oven to 425.  Sprinkle work surface with 1 Tbs powdered sugar.  Roll 1 piecrust into a 14'  inch circle.  Cut into 4-6 inch rounds.  (The last one has to be pieced/re-rolled.)  Fit 6" rounds, sugar sid

There's *NOTHING* like crispy bacon.  Yum yum YUM! However, cooking it - as we all know - is a royal pain!! I make mine in the oven - this is the easiest way to cook it and it turns out perfectly every single time.  It frees up your stove for other things - and unless you leave it in forever - you really can't burn it.  LOL! Preheat oven to 425.. Take a large jelly roll pan (a pan with sides) and line it with parchment paper.. Spread bacon onto the lined pan, not too closely or it won't get crispy (if you love extra crispy bacon like I do!) Bake approximately 20-30 minutes - depending on how crispy you like the bacon.. Remove from the oven, take the bacon off the pan and place on a paper towel on a plate.. This is the BEST!  In this case I used the bacon for Eggs Benedict (with bacon instead of ham!)  Recipe to follow :-) Enjoy!

I have never made carrot cupcakes before.  They are now on my fav list!  Yummy! Cupcakes: 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour 1 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp salt 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1/4 cup canola oil 2 eggs 1 1/2 cups (about 5 medium) carrots, finely shredded 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce 1/2 tsp vanilla extract Frosting: 4 oz cream cheese, room temperature 2 Tbs unsalted butter, room temperature 1 1/4 cups confectioners sugar, sifted pecans, chopped (for decoration) Preheat oven to 350. Line 12 standard muffin cups. Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. In a stand mixer (or large bowl using hand mixer), beat sugars, oil. and eggs for about 2 minutes.  Mix in carrots, applesauce and vanilla extract.  Add dry ingredients, mix until just combined.  Use a 1/4 cup batter scoop to divide dough evenly between 12 muffin cups.  Bake 20-25 minutes.  Test with toothpick, it should come out cl