Strawberry Upside Down Cake - Strawberry Melon Salad in Cinnamon Tortilla Cups - Apple Salsa w/ Cinnamon Tortilla Chips

Carol and I are so sick of the crappy weather here in the Northeast that we decided to make this post all about spring and the beautiful fruits and colors it brings. I can't wait to see some green outside!!! We are anxiously awaiting the fruits of summer in all they're juicy splendor. I made a Strawberry Upside Down Cake and Carol made a Strawberry Melon Salad in Cinnamon Tortilla Cups and Apple Salsa with Cinnamon Tortilla Chips, say good bye to Old Man Winter!!!!



Strawberry Upside Down Cake



This is a wonderful little cake that takes practically no time at all to make and the results are outstanding. After all , who wants to spend all that time in the kitchen when you could be outside! The cake is soft and luscious and the strawberries , OH the strawberries!! I had no probably with this cake, just turn it upside down after it comes out of the oven and decorate to your hearts content, fresh whipped cream is the first thing that comes to mind. I could see this cake being made with any fresh berries you have, how pretty would this be with blackberries!! Enjoy the season and the fruits!

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Strawberry Upside Down Cake
e-How


Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons butter (for the topping)
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Cup of Sliced Strawberries
1 1/3 Cup All-Purpose Flour
2/3 Cup Sugar
2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
2/3 Cup Milk
1/4 Soft Butter (for the cake)
1 Egg
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
9 inch round cake dish


Directions:

Topping ?

In a 9 inch round cake dish, melt the 2 tablespoons of butter, mix in the brown sugar, add the strawberries, and then set it to the side.

Cake Mix ?

In a mixing bowl stir the flour, sugar, and baking powder together. Then add the milk, butter, egg, and vanilla. Mix with a mixer until smooth. Then gently pour over the fruit in the cake pan. You may want to use a larger spoon. The key is for the fruit to stay on the bottom, and not to mix with the batter.

Baking/Serving ?

Pre-Heat the oven to 350. Bake in the oven at 350 for 30 to 35 minutes. Check the middle of the cake with a toothpick or knife to see if it?s done. When done remove from the oven and place on a rack to cool for 5 to 10 minutes. Then flip it over on to a serving plate, and remove the pan.








Strawberry Melon Salad In Cinnamon Cups



It's that in between time of year here in the Northeast....we have days that are flirting with spring-like temperatures, then BAM....winter comes back. It was cold, damp and rainy and damp the other day and I REALLY wanted warm, sunny and dry weather. Since I couldn't have it outside, I thought I'd bring it inside with a couple recipes. All of the fruit looked GREAT at the grocery store the last time I went so when I saw the beautiful melons and strawberries, I knew JUST what I wanted to make. I copied the recipe out of an OLD Pillsbury cookbook, you know, one of the ones you get at the checkout stand? Unfortunately, I no longer have the book here and can't for the life of me remember the title.This is a wonderful salad that is great for a special occasion, or just when you want to bring some sunshine into a meal. The combination of melons is so good, then add strawberries and top it with the lemon yogurt sauce and you've got a winner! Feel free to use any fruits you like-the lemon sauce blends well with just about everything.Now for the tortilla bowls.....what FUN these are! And imagine the possibilities with this simple "edible bowl". Switch up the seasoning on the outside and you can get a lot of mileage out of these.....use some Mexican seasoning and fill the bowl with Taco Salad.....sprinkle some garlic powder and grated Parmesan cheese on and fill them with Caesar Salad.....use Italian seasoning and heap in some Antipasto Salad. See what I mean? Wouldn't the kids love eating their salad out of one of these??? They can eat what's on the inside, then eat the bowl too!Have some fun playing with your own combinations and see what you can come up with!




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STRAWBERRY MELON SALAD IN CINNAMON TORTILLA SHELLS
(from an old Pillsbury cookbook)

SHELLS:
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
4 (8") flour tortillas
1 Tbsp. butter or margarine, melted

Lightly grease the outsides of 4 (10 oz.) custard cups. Place inverted cups onto two 15x10" pans. In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon. Brush one side of each tortilla lightly with butter; sprinkle with sugar-cinnamon mixture. Place sugar side up over inverted custard cups. Tortillas will mold to cups when baking. Bake @ 400 degrees for 5-8 minutes or until crisp and light brown. Remove from cups and cool.

SALAD:

1/2 c. lemon yogurt
1/4 tsp. lemon juice
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
Leaf lettuce
2 c. watermelon balls
2 c. cantaloupe balls
1 c. halved strawberries

In a small bowl, combine yogurt, lemon juice and cinnamon; mix well. Just before serving, line tortilla shells with leaf lettuce. Arrange 1/2 c. watermelon balls, 1/2 c. cantaloupe balls and 1/4 c. strawberries in each shell. Drizzle with yogurt mixture. Garnish as desired. 4 servings.




Apple Salsa with Cinnamon Tortilla Chips




This is a wonderful-and different-snack sure to please everyone in your family. The salsa goes together in a snap, and the cinnamon chips do too......and OH do they taste good together. I've used regular flour tortillas, fat free flour tortillas and even the whole wheat tortillas for the chips-they all work great! In the picture, there's a mixture of both whole wheat tortillas and fat free flour tortillas.Like the Strawberry Melon Salad above, just about any fruit goes well in this.....I've used peaches in place of the kiwi...added cantaloupe to the mix....it's all good! This is a BIG hit at get togethers too....if you're asked to bring an appetizer...wow the guests with this one-I guarantee people will be asking for the recipe! The little kids AND big kids are gonna love this one too (notice in the picture below that my husband Bob couldn't wait for a sample)!!!

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APPLE SALSA WITH CINNAMON CHIPS
(From Best of Country Cooking 1999 cookbook)

SALSA:
2 medium tart apples, chopped (I peel them, but you don't have to)
1 c. chopped strawberries
2 medium kiwifruit, peeled and chopped
1 small orange
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. apple jelly, melted

CHIPS:
8 flour tortillas (7 or 8 inches) (I've used the regular as well as the 98% fat free ones and the whole wheat, or multi-grain ones-all with good results)
3 Tbsp. melted butter or margarine (I always use the butter spray like the Parkay or I Can't Believe It's Not Butter ones...saves TONS of time!)
1/4 c. sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon

For Salsa:

In a bowl, combine apples, strawberries and kiwi. Grate rind from orange to measure 1 1/2 teaspoons; squeeze juice from orange. Add peel and juice to apple mixture. Combine brown sugar and apple jelly; stir into apple mixture.

For Chips: Brush (or spray) tortillas lightly with butter. Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over tortillas. Cut each tortilla into 8 wedges. Place in a single layer on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake @ 400 degrees for 6-8 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool. Serve with salsa. Yield: 4 cups salsa.