RHUBARB STRAWBERRY CRISP

The rhubarb in the garden started to come up in April and I have been watching to see when we would get our first pick of the season.  I can't remember picking it by the May long weekend.   But that is what I did on the Friday night.  I picked big stalks and picked more than what I could use to make a large pan of rhubarb strawberry crisp.  I used frozen strawberries that we had picked last summer at a local U-Pick farm.  These strawberries are much sweeter than what I would ever buy at the store.  I like the combination of rhubarb with strawberries and also rhubarb with apples.  The following two photos show the topping being added to the unbaked crisp and then the finished product.  Of course I had to have the crisp with some homemade ice cream.

RHUBARB STRAWBERRY CRISP

INGREDIENTS:

Filling

8 cups rhubarb, chopped into small pieces

2 tbsp cornstarch

2-3 cups frozen or fresh strawberries

¼ cup flour

2/3 cup splenda or sugar

Topping

1 ¼ cups rolled oats, not instant

½ cup brown sugar

4 tbsp flour

2 tsp cinnamon

3 tbsp melted butter or margarine

DIRECTIONS:

In a large bowl, mix the rhubarb with the cornstarch.  Add the strawberries, flour and sugar   Mix well.  Pour into a 9 X 13 inch baking dish.  I spray the baking dish with Pam beforehand. 

Into the empty bowl, mix together all of the topping ingredients.   Spread the topping over the filling that is in the baking dish.  Bake at 375 degrees F for 40 to 50 minutes until the filling is bubbly and the topping is brown.  If the topping is browning too quickly, lower the temperature of the oven to 350 degrees.