Strawberry Lemonade Bars

Strawberries are in season down in our neighboring state and they have been absolutely perfect and delicious the past couple weeks. We had some friends over for dinner and I decided a dessert with some sort of strawberry twist would be appropriate. I had 6 lemons that looked like they wouldn't last much longer, so I decided on these bars. They are a combination of a classic lemon bar with the added flavor of pureed strawberries.

My kids and our guests really liked these bars. I tried a small slice and thought they were very good. Not too sweet, lemony and the perfect way to end fun dinner.

Here is the recipe for Strawberry Lemonade Bars

Black-eyed Pea Hummus

I have a thing for making different kinds of hummus at home. I've come to realize that you can make any kind of hummus you want. I saw a recipe for Black-eyed Pea Hummus and it sounded really great. Over the past few summers, I have been able to try fresh pink-eyed peas and purple-eyed peas and have acquired a new love for any color of eyed peas. They are delicious fresh and cooked and I knew this hummus would be delicious.

I found a few containers of fresh black-eyed peas and cooked them to make this hummus. I just served it with fresh cut up veggies and it was delightful. When I tried it I thought that it might be my new favorite hummus. Try it and see what you think.

Here is the recipe for Black-eyed Pea Hummus

Whole Wheat Cornbread Muffins

I have fond memories of my mom making cornbread in a cast iron skillet when I was a kid. My siblings and I would enjoy a warm piece drizzled with honey. It was a special treat.
I don't get to eat cornbread very often now, simply because no one in my family really likes it and I don't want to eat an entire pan of it. And, it can be a very unhealthy food.

Because of all this, I was very excited when I spotted a recipe for Whole Wheat Cornbread in a recent issue of Food Network Magazine. It used whole wheat flour, a small amount of honey as a sweetener, and buttermilk. I made it a little bit healthier by swapping canola oil for the melted butter and I used nonfat buttermilk.

I decided to make these into muffins since those are easy to freeze and enjoy as a single serving. Much to my surprise my 5 year old really liked these. One by one, maybe I can get my family to like cornbread. This recipe is a great way to start that trend.

Here is the recipe for Whole Wheat Cornbread
* I used whole wheat pastry flour
* I subbed canola oil for the melted butter
* I used nonfat buttermilk
* I reduced the baking time by a few minutes