Strawberry Vanilla Sauce

from ButterYum

makes about 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients

• 16 ounces fresh or frozen strawberries, chopped

• 6-8 tablespoons granulated sugar (depends on how sweet the berries are)

• 1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped (or equal amount of vanilla bean paste or extract)

• Zest of half a small lemon

Directions

1. Place fresh strawberries, sugar, and vanilla bean seeds in a bowl and mix together; rest for 30 minutes, until berries begin to give off their juice (skip this step if using frozen berries).

2. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine strawberries, sugar, and vanilla bean seeds (if using vanilla bean paste or extract, add after mixture is removed from the heat); heat until sugar dissolves completely, stirring frequently.

3. Remove from heat and stir in lemon zest. Serve warm or cold. Chill leftovers for up to a week.