Strawberry Sorbet

My favorite part of June is all the fresh strawberries. I just love going to the farmer's market on Wednesdays and getting a bucket of fresh berries! The problem is, I have this habit of buying strawberries every time I see them. It's just a reflex at this point. So it stands to reason that eventually I'll end up with more strawberries than I can eat, and we certainly cannot waste them! Last year, I made strawberry ice cream. I was going to do the same again this year, but my lactose intolerant friend was coming over, so I thought I'd try strawberry sorbet instead.

What you'll need:
1 1/2 lbs strawberries
1/3 c sugar
1 c water
lemon juice
crushed mint


Start by stirring the water and sugar together in a small pan until dissolved. Heat until boiling. Remove from heat and chill. While the simple syrup is cooling down, wash and stem the berries. In a food processor, blend the strawberries, about a tablespoon of lemon juice, and mint to taste.

When the simple syrup is chilled, mix it in with the strawberries and freeze in your ice cream maker according to its directions.

I like to pour these kind of desserts into single serving dishes (yes, in this case they are double shot glasses) because it makes them easy to serve and provides a bit of portion control.

Strawberry sorbet was definitely what we needed on a warm summer night!

Super Easy Quick Chocolate Treat

 Strawberries have been on sale everywhere lately, so we've had a fridge full of strawberries for the last few weeks. Quite honestly, you can only have so many strawberry shortcakes, banana split brownies, strawberry-mango crisps, strawberry mango muffins, and triple chocolate strawberry cakes. Time for something different!

To make these awesome little treats, here's what you'll need:
Strawberries: washed and hulled
Chocolate chips (mini chips works best)
Whipped Cream

After washing and hulling the berries, cut just a little off the bottom so they'll stand up in a baking dish. Fill the berries with a few chocolate chips. Bake at 375 until soft, but not mushy--about 10 minutes. Top with whipped cream and serve!

Yep, it's THAT easy! I garnished these with some fresh berries as well for a little different texture.

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