Bountiful Baskets

At a church activity I recently found out about a food co-op called "Bountiful Baskets" where you donated $15 at the beginning of the week and at the end of the week you go pick up a basket full of fresh produce! You typically get 6 fruits and 6 veggies.

We decided to give it a go and get some fresh food for Easter. We signed up for a typical basket, a "hostess" basket (full of good Easter type food - additional $13), and then they had a special of 8 lbs of strawberries for $13.

Okay so maybe I went a little button crazy and signed up for more than we had planned... because this is what resulted:

For those with bad eyesight here's the list: a bell pepper, pears, bananas, zucchinis, grapes, a pineapple, 5 lbs of red potatoes, green apples, yellow onions, cucumbers, mushrooms, lettuce, potatoes, 10 lbs strawberries, lemons, avocados, radishes, fresh dill, and fresh rosemary!

So the obvious question now is "What the heck do you do with 10 lbs of strawberries?!?" 

1. Give 2 lbs away to the neighbors at Easter dinner

2. Dry some in the oven for a great snack

3. Wash some and get ready for strawberry shortcake:

 4. Dip and cover a few with chocolate:

5. Mash some up and create strawberry sauce 

6. Freeze some to use later in smoothies and shakes. 

It took a whole day but the results were well worth it! In fact when all was said and done I was thinking I should buy some more and try out a few more recipes... but then this week when it came time to sign up for Bountiful Baskets they had the same deal on strawberries and I quickly decided to pass. Maybe once we eat all the ones we already have :)