Foodie Friday: Strawberry Bread

So I'm certain that you're all shocked that I am writing two days in a row. 

I'm not really certain how it happened, and frankly am more surprised than you, I assure you.

But time being what it is, I won't prattle on.

Much.

Today the PBA’s Life Skills food was Strawberry Bread.

I use the words "Strawberry" and "Bread" loosely at best.

You'll soon see why...stick with me.

To be fair, this wasn't even on my original list. Today was supposed to be Chicken Noodle Soup...but a) that seemed too ambitious for the week I’d had, and b) my 13yo had been reminding me of the "tradition" of strawberry bread on the first morning of vacation.

Let me explain...when we go on vacation we drive 95% of the time. And we leave early. And stop at a rest stop to have breakfast.

Clearly we bring our own b/c I am too cheap to eat from a vending machine. And that stuff will kill you.

Not that I am above eating junk, but I TRY not to do it right out of the shoot in the morning.

And most of the time (I don't think it's every time) I bring a quick bread for our rest stop buffets.

I used to bring Lemon Poppy seed. And one time I apparently decided to mix things up and bring strawberry.

I would venture to guess that I did not have the ingredients for Lemon but had them for Strawberry; in fact, that's probably the whole reason, b/c Lemon is WAY better than Strawberry.

My blog, my opinion.

But my 13yo (apparently) fell in love with the strawberry so that's what he always asks for.

And being the dutiful mom that I am, I acquiesce to his desires. (I actually don’t care very much what kind we have and since he has expressed an opinion, while no one else has, I’ll go with it.)

So…before I begin, I must explain that this recipe can be made in any flavor, just depending on what flavor cake mix you use.

Yes, I said “cake mix”.

I warned you that I used the term “bread” loosely.

One more thing while we're making true confessions, if I’m using a cake mix for the flavoring, it clearly does not contain the fruit listed in the title either.

Yes, I am serving cake to my family for breakfast and calling it bread.  And clearly I'm not above eating eating junk right out of the shoot, as I had touted just a few lines above.

Don’t judge.

So this recipe was originally for my Lemony Poppy Seed Bread, but I have adjusted it here to make Strawberry.

If you prefer lemon poppy seed (such as I do), just use a lemon cake mix, and add 2Tablespoons of poppy seeds.

One other thing…I pretty much let the PBA take the reins on this Life Skills lesson…so if it doesn’t turn out well, I am totally throwing them under the bus.

AND (and this is B.I.G.) it was their maiden voyage with my Beloved.

By “Beloved” I mean my KitchenAid Stand Mixer.

I never knew how much I could love a kitchen appliance…and I don’t even use it for nearly half the things I could.

Mostly just mixing, in fact.

But it’s just so pretty, sitting there on the counter…all red and shiny.

Begging me to make a cake (like I need someone to beg me to make a cake…)

I kind of love her.

Don’t judge.

They had never used it, so in addition to making this “bread”, they got their first lesson in the mixer.

I may or may not have hovered over it like a mama with her newborn babe.

Don’t judge.

But they did ok…not quite as gentle as I would be, but it was ok. They even remembered to wipe her down when they cleaned up the counters.

Bonus points for them. I mean they’re not ready to use it unattended, but it was ok.

Anyway…I have digressed. And the hour is getting late.

Without further delay, here you go:

Strawberry Bread

Ingredients

• 1 box strawberry cake mix
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• ½ cup oil
• 4 eggs

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour bottom of 9x5 loaf pan. If you don’t have a loaf pan that big, you can spoon out some of the batter into muffins (some may call them “cupcakes”) and bake them for 20 minutes each.
• In a large bowl, blend all ingredients on low speed until moistened. Then beat 2 minutes on medium speed.
• Pour batter into pan. Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes.
• Cool 15 minutes in pan. Run a knife around the inside edge of the pan to loosen the loaf and remove from pan.
• Wrap tightly and store in fridge, or freezer.

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