Strawberry Jello Cups

I saw this recipe in the Kraft recipe emails and flagged it because my oldest loves strawberries. We took them to a dinner with some friends and they were enjoyed but all. They were very easy to make. The only catch I found was that they really need to be kept in the fridge until ready to serve, the 5 minutes they were out of the fridge getting to dinner left them a little 'melted'. Also, you might want to plan on 2 per adult because they were a little small for a full serving.

*1 1/4 c. graham cracker crumbs

*1/4 c. butter, softened

*1 c. boiling water

*1 (3 oz.) pkg. strawberry Jell-O

*2 c. ice cubes

*24 fresh strawberries, divided

*2 c. Cool Whip, thawed

*1/3 c. strawberry jam (optional, see my note below)

Heat oven to 350. Mix crumbs and butter and press 2 TBSP. onto bottom and up the sides of 12 muffin cups that have been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake 5 minutes and let cool. Meanwhile add boiling water to gelatin in a medium bowl. Stir 2 minutes until completely dissolved. Add ice and stir another 3-5 minutes until slightly thickened. Remove any unmelted ice. Crush 12 berries and stir in with Cool Whip. Whisk until well-blended. Spoon into cups and refrigerate 3 hours until set. Slice remaining berries and fan on top of each cup (OR microwave jam and stir with strawberry slices and spoon on top).

Strawberry Rosemary Scones

I've got loads of rosemary growing in the backyard, so I've been keeping an eye for recipes to use it. I flagged this one and decided to make it when my neighbor brought over some fresh strawberry-apricot jam.

*2 c. flour
*1/2 c. sugar
*2 tsp. baking powder
*1 TBSP. fresh chopped rosemary
*1/4 tsp. fine sea salt
*6 TBSP. unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
*1 c. heavy cream
*1/3 c. strawberry jam

Move oven rack to center and preheat oven to 375. In a food processor, pulse flour, sugar, baking powder, rosemary, salt and butter until it resembles coarse meal.
Transfer to a medium bowl. Stir cream in until dough forms. On a floured surface, roll out to 1/2 inch thick. Use a 3" cookie cutter (heart) to cut out. (I used heart and flower cutters and thought the flowers were very cute. I also have no idea how to measure a cookie cutter because the flower one I thought was 3" and it would have only made about 10, as it was I made 7 flowers and 8 about 2" hearts). Re-roll and re-cut any scraps. Place scones on parchment lined baking sheet and use a finger or spoon to make indentations in the center of each. Spoon 1/2 tsp. jam into the indentation. Bake 18-20 minutes. Cool on baking rack for 30 minutes. Drizzle with glaze and let set 30 minutes.Glaze: 1/4 c. lemon juice, 2 c. powdered sugar, 1-2 TBSP. water. Whisk to combine.

Strawberry Salad

I forgot to take pictures, but here is the recipe we used at the birthday party for a green salad. It is very easy and a hit because one of the birthday girls truly could live on strawberries.

*1 head red leaf lettuce
*1/2 -3/4 lb. strawberries
*3/4 c. sunflower kernels
*poppy seed dressing

Wash and chop the lettuce into bite-size pieces. Wash, hull and slice the strawberries. Toss lettuce, strawberries and kernels with dressing right before serving. Brianna's dressing seems to work best here. I have tried the Kraft and it is ok, but not our preferred. This will serve about 8 people. When cooking for a group plan for 2-3 oz. of salad per person.