Happy Monday, friends! How was your weekend? Ours contained the perfect balance of productivity and fun. We walked down to the farmer’s market and spent some time out on Lake Monroe when we needed a break from getting settled into the house.

And, my goodness, it is hot out there. I don’t mind the heat, but the humidity kills me. By the time we got home from walking downtown on Saturday, we looked like we’d run a marathon. When it’s this hot out, there’s no reason to turn the oven on. All I want to eat is something that’s nice and cool — enter the smoothie bowl.

I’ve been living on smoothie bowls this summer. They’re an easy weekday breakfast that I can throw together in a matter of minutes and take to work with me on hectic mornings. I also love mixing one up as a healthy snack after intense workouts or when I’m craving ice cream.

The smoothie bowl combinations are endless, but I find myself coming back to this one over and over. It doesn’t get much better than the classic combo of peanut butter and jelly! If you don’t have strawberries or bananas on hand, you can substitute any other frozen fruit; blueberries are especially delicious in this smoothie.

The only thing better than the actual smoothie is the toppings! Like with fro-yo, the more toppings the better. You can use anything you have on hand, but I love topping my bowls with nut butter, fresh fruit and some unsweetened coconut.

Here’s to keeping cool during another hot week!

Peanut Butter Jelly Smoothie Bowl

[ingredients title=”Smoothie Ingredients”]

• 1/2 cup frozen strawberries
• 1 large frozen banana, cut into large pieces
• 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1 heaping Tbsp. natural peanut butter
• Ice (optional)

[/ingredients]

[ingredients title=”Topping Ingredients”]

• 1 Tbsp. natural peanut butter
• 1 large banana or 1/2 cup fresh strawberries
• 1 Tbsp. flaked, unsweetened coconut

[/ingredients]

[directions title=”Directions”]

1. Combine strawberries, banana, almond milk and peanut butter in blender. Blend until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the blender occasionally. If smoothie doesn’t appear thick enough, add additional frozen fruit or ice cubes and blend until smoothie is thick enough to eat with a spoon.
2. Pour smoothie into a medium-sized bowl and top with more peanut butter, sliced fresh fruit and coconut.

[/directions]

The post Peanut Butter Jelly Smoothie Bowl appeared first on The Broadcasting Baker.

There are some foods that just taste like summer. Corn on the cob. S’mores. Freshly-squeezed lemonade. But the food I associate most with my favorite season of the year is rhubarb.

My mom used to grow a patch of bright red rhubarb in our backyard every summer. She used it in countless pies, cobblers and crisps — and my brother and I always begged for seconds. Since then, no other summer dessert has come close to stacking up. My brother actually requested a strawberry rhubarb pie instead of a birthday cake this year. For us, it tastes like home and happiness.

While I love a good pie, this strawberry rhubarb crisp is my favorite way to enjoy the summer plant. It’s easier to tackle than a homemade pie crust, but equally as delicious. The butter, sugar and flour melt together and bubble up into a crispy, sweet crust. And it’s the perfect vessel for freshly-churned ice cream. If that doesn’t scream summer, I don’t know what does.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

[ingredients title=”Ingredients”]

• 2 cups rhubarb, chopped
• 2 cups strawberries, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/3 cup plus 1 Tbsp. cold butter, divided

[/ingredients]

[directions title=”Directions”]

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch glass baking dish and set aside.
2. Combine rhubarb and strawberries in a large bowl. Pour mixture into the bottom of the baking dish.
3. In a separate large bowl, whisk together sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt until combined.
4. Take 1/3 cup of butter and cut into pea-sized pieces. Use a pastry cutter or knife to combine it with sugar mixture, mixing until crumbly.
5. Sprinkle sugar mixture evenly over strawberry and rhubarb. Cut the remaining 1 Tablespoon butter into small pieces and sprinkle on top of sugar layer.
6. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until golden-brown and bubbling. Let cool at least ten minutes before serving.

[/directions]

The post Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp appeared first on The Broadcasting Baker.