Mimi – Page 19 – Unlikely Martha

Food

Strawberry Butter

This post was sponsored by Fresh From Florida as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central, however all opinions expressed are my own

Going strawberry picking as a kid signaled two things for me: spring was coming, and my mom was going to cut and freeze the strawberries we picked to eat on throughout the year. I’ll never forget the year that she insisted on getting into canning them for jellies. This is why I know as much as I do about Ball jars, and something or the other about sealing the tops with a special pressure pot that she boiled them in.

Listen, I’m not there yet… at least not with the canning part, but we have strawberry picked, and I’ve had the kids clean and store them in freezer bags for smoothies and such. One of her recipes to quickly make use of our over abundance of strawberries was strawberry butter.

Even with a strawberry patch right down the road, our strawberries in Georgia aren’t quite ripe for picking, however Florida strawberries are in season, and popping up in our grocery stores!

If you live in a cold climate you already know locally grown fruits and produce are only available at certain times of the year. Fresh from Florida farmers offer us the luxury of having fresh produce year-round. When I saw strawberries in the store recently, for some reason I thought of my mother’s strawberry butter recipe and thought I’d give it a whirl.

This recipe is super simple. Butter is involved… a whole cup to be exact. Then there are strawberries and honey. That’s it.

Strawberry Butter

8 Sliced Strawberries
1/4 Cup Honey
1 Cup Softened Butter

Beat softened butter on high until fluffy. Will take about 2-3 minutes depending on how soft it is.
Smash strawberries with a fork while beating the butter.
Once the butter is fluffy, pour the strawberries in. Include the juice if there is any.
Once the strawberries are well mixed with the butter, add in the honey and beat for another 2-3 minutes.
Once the mixture is fully mixed, add to a jar and store in the refrigerator.

Strawberry butter can be used on a number of things. I prefer it with breakfast, it melts beautifully on a warm croissant, bagel, or piece of toast. That’s the thing about strawberries, their sweetness makes them great for a multitude of things. The Fresh from Florida site has some simple and tasty recipes that I can’t wait to try.

No matter where you are in the U.S. keep a look out for food, produce, seafood and strawberries with the Fresh from Florida label. And if you need some recipe inspiration for everyday meals or entertaining, follow Fresh from Florida on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

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Food

Cheesy Herb + Bell Pepper Quiche

During Kwanzaa one of my neighbors hosted a pot luck gathering and I signed up to bring a quiche. In all honesty, I originally planned to purchase one until I found myself on New Year’s Eve searching for a heat and eat option with no luck. Instead of showing up empty handed, at the last minute I thought it noble of me to make one from scratch.

I’ve spoken before about the many recipes my other left me. I dug in and found one for a very simple quiche. I have since made this recipe no less than three times.

Cheesy Herb + Bell Pepper Quiche

1 Large Onion
1 Bell Pepper
2 Cloves Garlic
4 Large Eggs
3/4 Cup Whole Milk
1/2 Cup Sour Cream
1/4 tsp. Nutmeg
Kosher salt + Pepper
1/4 Cup Fresh Flat Leaf Parsley
4 Oz. Grated Sharp Chedder
1 TBSP Olive oil

Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Add your pie crust to a standard 9 inch pie pan. Bake the pie crust until lightly golden. Should take no more than 10 minutes. Remove, and let cool. Reduce oven heat to 375 degrees F. (please don’t forget this step… ask me why)
While the pie crust is baking, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté onions for about 5 minutes, then add in chopped bell pepper and cook until just tender, 3 to 4 minutes more. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute; remove from heat.
Whisk together your eggs, milk, sour cream, nutmeg, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Stir in the parsley and Cheddar.
Pour the onion and bell pepper mixture into the bottom of the crust. Next, pour the egg mixture on top and bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes. (Before removing, stick a fork in the center to make sure the egg is fully cooked.)

As if this one isn’t tasty enough, my girl MJ made a Bacon Mozzarella Quiche with Sweet Potato Crust. I can’t wait to try that one, but you don’t have to wait on me. Get her recipe here!

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Living

Project 52 | My Favorite

This week’s project 52’s prompt was “My Favorite.” Outside of my obvious favorites like God, my family, and friends I thought I would use this week’s post to highlight some of the items that are currently on my faves list.

Books.

These are the books I’m reading right now, and I won’t talk about the rate that I keep adding books to my to-read list as if I have tons of time. I recently joined a book club in my neighborhood, so I’m hoping to finish “Becoming” at within the next week so I can get started on our book club selection in time for our next meeting.

Red lipstick.

I love a good red lipstick. For months my old favorite has been Missy and Fierce (930B) from the Wet and Wild Liquid Catsuit line. It’s about $2.99 at the drugstore. It’s absolutely amazing, it’s the one you more than 9 times out of 10 see me wearing. I’ve recently fallen in love with NYX (SMLC10) Monte Carlo in soft matte. I keep no less than 4 red lipsticks in my purse at all times.

Copper tea kettle.

Thanks to a few good friends, I’ve fallen in love with pour over coffee. I figure it would taste better if I got myself a fancy kettle to boil my water in. Grabbed this one from Amazon and I LOVE it. It’s so pretty. I almost feel like I need to get into loose-leaf tea to get more use of it.

Mrs. Meyer’s products in the scent Basil.

I’ve recently fallen in love with any Mrs. Meyer’s product in the “Basil” scent. While I’m not new to the product line, I discovered the scent when my favorite, which WAS lemon wasn’t available. I’ve recently ordered a variety of scents from Grove Collaborative so stayed tuned. There may be a new favorite on the horizon. But for now Basil is it.

Fine-Liner pens.

For Christmas I received two sets of these fine-liner pens. I put them on my Elfster list for a few gift exchanges I participated in, and lucky for me I got the exact same gifts twice! I absolutely love these pens.

Gold earrings.

Cute earrings are high on my list of must haves. I picked up the smaller pair from Burlington, and the thin hoops from Ross. Combined I paid no more than $10 for both pairs, I’m sorry if you are tired of seeing me in them. I love them.

Dollar Tree precision ink pens.

Nothing makes my heart happy like a good ink pen. Those fine-liners above aren’t perfect for everyday writing, but these precision ones from Dollar Tree are. The fact that these come 2 in a pack for $1 make them even better. If you pick some up, make sure you get the ones that say “precision” there are ones that look similar but they are NOT the same. These hands down are on par with a few of the more expensive pens. They only carry these a few times a year. Stock up.

As of right now, these are 7 of my absolute favorite things. While simple, they bring me joy daily. What are some of your favorite things? I’d love to give them a try.

This post contains a few affiliate links. If you purchase from the links I will make a few coins.

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Living

Project 52 | Morning

One of my gain goals for 2019 is to get back to honing in on my creative gifts, to include photography and writing. I didn’t buy a fairly expensive new camera, and stalk the UPS man for what seemed like an eternity, but was more like a week to have it sit on a shelf.

I’m committing to Lashawn’s Project 52 where I share a themed photo a week, and seeing as how my word for the year is “consistency” seems like a win-win situation… and exercise in discipline.

My goal is to come here weekly to share a photo, or a series of photos around the weekly prompt. You may get a book, you may just get a photo, but the idea is to pull out my camera and post here every Wednesday… or so.

Last week’s prompt was “Me in the beginning” and we’ll just count this post as my first week.

This week’s prompt was morning. Initially I hadn’t planned to come here and write a soliloquy about what my mornings looked like, until I found myself in another state of what I consider “stuckness.” It’s amazing how you can think everything is running smoothly: bills paid, money in the bank etc., and then your mind starts.

See living has never been about having things, in my humble opinion. It’s always been about being happy, that deep down happy. And while I’m in a place of joy for the aforementioned things along with a healthy and thriving family, I’m not feeling fulfilled on a personal level… so here I am in a period of awakening (morning, if you will)… AGAIN.

I used to subscribe to the theory of making my next move my best move until it came to me that moving is just that, it’s dynamic. If we’re not moving we’re not growing.

I hadn’t planned on starting 2019 on another soul search but here I am. Thankfully, thanks to the last soul search, I’m in a better place to hone in on, and be honest with my feelings. A place where my stress level will lean more on faith, trusting God again to map out my next journey.

If I might say, I’m a little excited to travel with just a carry-on instead of the Atlas truck I needed last time. May my next move, be a glow-up.

Here’s to strong coffee, and new mercies.

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