Homemade Strawberry Syrup

Hello y'all!!
It's me ... Angie ... from Call Her Blessed!

Thought I should introduce myself cause it's been soooo long.
For heaven's sake.

I did not intend to be MIA for an extended period, but life happened ... just like it always does ...
just like it always should.

So, no apologies from me.
I've been having way to much fun to apologize.
I will try to do a 'here's what we've been doing blog' coming up, but for today,
I just want to share this amazing recipe I just found & tried this week!
It's starring one of my very favorite summer treats:  STRAWBERRIES!
Aanndd, it only has 4 ingredients.
Without further ado, here's a great recipe for Homemade Strawberry Syrup!

So I took advantage of a great deal on strawberries {.77 a pound} at a brand new store
that just opened in our area {Fresh Thyme ... I'm ganna like this store!}.
We ate more than our share of these beautiful berries just plain,
& I also made fruit salad & fruit skewers ... but I still had several packages left.
Lucky for me, I remembered pinning a recipe for strawberry syrup just a few days before.
Perfect timing.

After rinsing & cutting off the tops, I quartered them up, getting about 7 cups in total.
I put the strawberries in a large kettle & added 2 cups of stevia  & lemon juice ...
{the original recipe calls for sugar, but I opted for stevia to cut calories & to make them sugar-free}.

You bring the strawberries to a boil & then reduce heat, simmering for about 15-20 minutes.

I smooshed my strawberries a bit as they were boiling, just to break them down into smaller pieces.
{Next time, I may chop them a bit smaller in the beginning.}

After removing from heat, add in the vanilla & stir.

Let it cool down & then pour it into a jar ... or whatever you have on hand.

You can also put this syrup into containers & freeze it.

Now, I'd say there are probably 150+ ways to use this delicious syrup!
You could serve it over ice cream for a strawberry sundae,
spoon it on toast ... or on french toast or pancakes.
It would be delicious on a bagel drizzled over top of cream cheese.
You could also serve it on angel food cake or even cheesecake!
I made one of our favorite desserts, Strawberry Refrigerator Cake,
& this sauce was perfect in that recipe.
I'll share it tomorrow.

Isn't this recipe just fantastic?!
4 ingredients & done in less than a half hour, tops ... you just can't beat that with a stick ;)

Here's exactly what you need:
{I doubled the recipe}

• 3 cups strawberries, diced
• 1 cup granulated sugar  **{I used stevia}
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon vanilla

Combine strawberries, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for approximately 15 - 18 minutes, stirring occasionally, until strawberries
are soft and the syrup is thickened and reduced down by about half.

You know what?
I just thought of another use for this versatile strawberry syrup!
I'm ganna go stir a heaping spoon or two or three into a glass of lemonade.
Wow.
I just impressed myself ;)

Happy Summer y'all.
I'll try not to stay gone so long, ok?

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Who doesn't love a good party?!
You can find me here linking up with these great blogs.
Monday     The Girl Creative     C.R.A.F.T      The Dedicated House      The Modest Mom
Tuesday     A Delightsome Life   A Bowl Full of Lemons    Titus Tuesday      A Stroll Through Life
Wednesday   Raising Homemakers        Savvy Southern Style         Adorned From Above
                    The Thrifty Home  The Dedicated House    A Wise Woman Builds Her Home
Thursday    Between Naps on the Porch   Serving Joyfully     Lamberts Lately
Friday      Rooted in Thyme  The Thrifty Groove   Farm Blog Hop  Best of the Nest
               French Country Cottage
Sunday    Nifty Thrifty Things    Suburbsmama    Sew Many Ways