Smoothie Talkin' :)

Previously, I talked about making smoothies HERE.

How much I enjoy a good smoothie. :)


Here is my latest version:
1.5 c. frozen* strawberries (might want to let them thaw a little; sometimes hard to process if totally rock-hard solid)
1/2 c. frozen* blueberries
1/4 - 1/2 c. plain greek yogurt
dash of honey (optional)

*Notice how I don't add ice in my smoothie? It's b/c I get the frozen component from frozen fruit.

Lately, I've been adding some SURPRISE ingredients:
1/2 c. cooked sweet potato (usually left over from dinner)
-OR-
handfull of baby carrots

The sweet potato gives lots of extra nutrients w/o adding flavor. The carrot, you can taste it a bit more. There is virtually no color change b/c of the strawberries/blueberries.

Put into food processor, blend until smooth. This makes about 3-4 servings, depending on size.

Favorite toppings/sides/mix-ins:
walnuts
graham cracker squares (dip + eat)
granola
crushed almonds
Teddy Grahams (for kids)
The crumbles in the bottom of your bag of cereal.

Some of my friends have more adventuresome tastes.


Yes, that smoothie is GREEN.

I've heard these are good combos:
Frozen mango/pineapple/tropical fruit mix
about 1 c. fresh spinach
orange juice

The word on the street is that you taste the tropical part and not the spinach. I might even add some mint into mine. Just b/c it's green :)

Some other fun smoothie add-ins: mangos, papayas, cherries and peaches. You will notice I omitted bananas. It's not because I'm a hater; it's because my body doesn't process them well. :( They're a great add-in for smoothies, too, though.

I'm curious how other veggies might go in. I'd probably stick with ones that wouldn't add too much flavor/taste, wuch as: cooked sweet potato or cooked cauliflower .... any other suggestions for veggies I could add in here?

Roasted veggies w/ chickpeas

Thanks to my friend, Sarah, I've been trying to branch out and use items I wouldn't ordinarily use in recipes.


Case in point: I came across THIS recipe for roasted veggies + chickpeas and decided to give it a spin.

Not only did it smell wonderful when cooking, but it was really tasty! Absolutely worth a try!

Peach pancakes :) :) :)

OOOOh, let's talk about this.


Use your favorite pancake recipe. Cut a peach into rings (pretty thin ones). Push it down into the batter, cook as you normally would.

Tasty, tasty, tasty!!!

I did this quite a bit in Aug/Sept when we had a lot of fresh peaches. :)

Yogurt update

I've had several questions about my yogurt-making, so I updated the original post HERE about it. Shout if you have any questions.

Thanks!

Shout out to Sarah!

OOOOH, my oldest friend, Sarah, has started a sort-of blog (I say sort of because I'm not young and hip enough to exactly know how to define tumblr).

Anyhow, she has taken to posting weekly menus + recipes. I pay her homage for being disciplined enough to do that (because I am not so disciplined).

Even though I've never before eaten Tabouli or a Falafel, I intend to give her recipes a try :)

Sarah, keep posting so I can ride your coattails!

Grilled Tilapia

Erik has made THIS recipe a few times .... and it's INSANELY good!!!! He grills it instead of cooking it in the oven, though.

It's a party in your mouth. I promise.

Cherry, dark chocolate ice cream

Ok, here's the skinny. I made this ice cream last week, and it ROCKED!

I made the basic vanilla, per instructions from my ice cream maker's manual. I then added the following:

2 c. frozen dark cherries, halved
1.5 bar dark chocolate, chopped in chunks

I would add about 1 c. of the cherries to the mixture as it's being made. Then once the ice cream maker is "done" I'd add in the other cup and chocolate.


When I made it, I added it all in, and the cherries and chocolate chunks got a bit stuck in the paddle/blade. It's still soft enough immediately after it's finished to stir in some extra goodies :)

Beans + Rice

Last night, I had an array of odds and ends in the fridge, with no idea what to do for dinner.

Hmm. A local restaurant makes these rice bowls with beans, so I decided to give it a go.


I took leftover brown rice (about 1 c. cooked) and added in some leftover black beans (probably 3/4 c. cooked). Just mixed them together.

Then added about 1/2 tsp. cumin and a little salt to taste. Oh, and a sprinkle of dried parsley for color.

I added a bit of shredded cheese and melted it in the microwave ... done.

Sounds a bit odd, but it was actually pretty tasty.

Now I'm thinking of what other sorts of variations I could do on this. I already use brown rice, but I could switch things up with Jasmine Rice.

Also, I'm wondering how diced cooked sweet potatoes with chicken would be.

Erik said he'd like to see an option with corn.

I think the nice thing about this is I'll be able to make a huge amount of rice in the rice cooker, have a big amount of beans, so just re-heat those items, then only cook the items I'll add extra onto this.

So we'll see where this takes us ... how about you .... any ideas?

Red Sauce

Alrighty, per my friend, Mary's, request, here's the "recipe" for the red sauce I made this week.

Let me start by saying I wanted to make lasagna. OK, but most of the jarred sauce has added sugar. So I decided to make my own (honestly, the noodles are "probably" a no-no, but I need some variety on my plate, so I can deal with this).

I'm a "toss it all into the pot" kind of cook, so here goes.

3 cans tomato paste
6-8 cans water (more if you like it watery, less if you like it thick/chunky)
2 tsp. parsley
2 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp onion powder
2 Tbsp garlic powder
1/4 c. olive oil
1/2 to 1 c. cheap red wine
(if you have a can or two of crushed tomatoes, you could add those, too. I didn't have any, so I didn't add them)

Toss into a pot and stir. Honestly, I was throwing flavors in ... so the "2 Tbsp onion powder" is just a guess. I couldn't taste the flavor too much, but Erik said he really liked it. I'd start with a little, taste and keep adding to suit your taste buds. :)

Of course, then made "traditional" lasagna. Add meat or not.

This recipe makes A LOT of sauce .... so I have a jar in the fridge for spaghetti in the near future and another jar in the freezer for the distant future when I don't feel like/have time to cook. Now, if I could find the time to make some meatballs, we'd be golden.

Blog friends/cake in a cup

Some people get freaked out by "online friends."

I get it. Really. I do.

But I reserve that for certain situations.

There are several "friends" I've made/met through other friends' blogs. And it doesn't freak me out.

Monica found me through our mutual friend, Erin's blog. I'm guessing the same goes for her sister, Michelle? I sort of know them in the abstract, but we have never met.

It's sort of funny b/c I've watched their kids grow up and feel like a member of the extended family (even though we've never met). I can hardly wait to see what G will say. (Really, I need a life).

I've even had friends of mine connect w/ these awesome ladies and expand the friend network/web. It's pretty cool. I might not be explaining well. Oh well.

Anyhow, the purpose of today's post is to direct you to this totally yummie chocolate cake recipe that you can make in a cup in the microwave that Michelle blogged about. I honestly think it's a little genius and am thinking about giving it a shot. Soon.

EDIT: I could only hold off for 40 minutes after posting this before giving it a try. Um, yes. Life-altering. The thing I like is that it makes a nice portion. Not too much (w/ only 2 of us in the house, I hesitate to make big desserts b/c I don't want it sitting around all week). SUPER TASTY! Thank you Michelle for posting this. I made 1 alteration. I had broken Andes mint pieces and used that in place of chocolate chips. Still tasty!

Irish Soda Bread

Several months ago, I was throwing myself a pity party, commenting on how much I missed eating bread (it has yeast in it, which is a no-no). My friend, Mary, made the comment "Can you have soda bread?"


I thought it was like beer bread, and said as much.

No, she said. It uses baking soda as leavening. Or a little leavening. ;) Oh how I love thee, Mary!

About a week ago, I made soda bread using THIS RECIPE. Since I'm supposed to have no sugar, I researched a bit and decided to just leave the sugar out.

I made 2 loaves, and they're not 100% perfect (yet), but it's a darn good start on this adventure.


I even went a little liberal and made one loaf with raisins in it. But I soaked the raisins in water first to get them nice and plump. It's a great morning treat. And because I used a mix of white flour and whole wheat flour, I feel pretty guiltless about eating it.

French Onion Soup!

Confession: As a waitress in high school, I SERVED a lot of French Onion Soup, but until yesterday had never tasted it.

Growing up, there were not a lot of onions incorporated into the menu, which was fine. I was basically never exposed.

I was watching Melissa's show and thought "I can have most of the ingredients!"


Since it's been super-cold lately, I decided I'd give it a try. HERE is the recipe.

Actually, looking back at it. I forgot to add the bay leaf, lemon juice and thyme. Oh well, it was still supremely tasty!!! I actually used white onions (I didn't look at the recipe before heading to the store; I was running errands and wanted to just run in).

Honestly, the soup is SOOOO super sweet. And there is NO added sugar. Stunning!

We top it off with these cruton-like items. They're onion-poppy sticks. Made with whole wheat. Extra tasty!

The secret to silky hummus

Last night I was in a dizzy tizzy, trying to not freak out too much. I REALLY wanted to get to bed early, but no such luck. One of the reasons was I was making hummus.

I don't want to brag, but I get a lot of compliments on my hummus. Which got me to thinking about it. What did people like so much about it? I think it's the texture. Which is interesting, because the last time I made hummus, I was in a bit of a hurry and wasn't completely satisfied with the results.

So here's my secret: I use the dry beans and of course soak over night. Then on the cooking ... the recipe says about 1.5 hours, but I don't think it's quite long enough. Last night, I cooked my chickpeas for a little over 3 hours. No joke! But the result was silky divinity! Of course, you have to keep adding water as it cooks. But the results were sensational!

Oh, and about yesterday's crazy list. I've decided since it's just a few days until Christmas and I haven't put out the Nativity set, it's just staying in the box this year. I am a lazy bones about putting them away, so the Advent wreath will have to do. Besides, we got a new painting of the holy family in the Nativity scene, so it's represented in some way.

Another way to use homemade yogurt!

Oh heavens ... pull up a chair because this is GOOD!

Those of you who know me know I love. Mashed potatoes. Luuuurve them. I'm an unofficial connoisseur of them.

So last week, I was making mashed potatoes in a bit of a hurry. I didn't even have time to mash garlic to put in them. When it came time to mix them, instead of using milk, I used homemade yogurt. This batch was a bit tangy, so it really punched the flavor up!

Add in some garlic salt and life can't get any better. I promise.

I know some people who use cream cheese, and this stuff is much easier to stir in, and when you put the blender in, out comes creamy goodness!

Cheers.

Guacamole recipe

I now interrupt these vacation/travel posts to bring you my guacamole recipe. Erin asked how I made mine, and I think I have it to a fine art ... so I'll share.

Guacamole ingredients:
2 avocados
1/4 of an onion
1 small roma tomato
lime juice
sea salt

Here's how I start. I take the avocado and cut it on open. I squeeze out the green goodness into a small bowl.


Then (before adding anything else), I mash it up. I squeeze in some lime juice during this time. I mash it and mix it. It basically becomes a paste.


Let me take a brief second to say I use a Rada knife to do the job .... and I LOOOOOVE my Rada knife. It seriously is the most amazing knife I've EVER used. I think it was a gift. I'm not sure who gave it to me, but I LOVE my Rada set. The smooth blades slice through an avocado like a hot knife through butter. Oooooh, I'm in love!

IMPORTANT TIP: Save the avocado pit/seed. You will want/need it later.


Next, I cut up about 1/4 of an onion into very fine pieces. If you want to use a sweet Videlia onion, go ahead! Whatever you want to use. The Rada knife rocks out onion chopping, too!

I add that to the pasty avocados.

Then, I use a serrated knife (sadly, I don't own a serrated Rada knife, because if I did, I'd surely use it!) to cut up my tomato, and toss it in, too.

I then salt to taste with sea salt. At this time if you want, you may add more lime juice for extra zing. ;) Some people add cilantro to their guac ... and if you want to, by all means, go ahead and do so!


Ok, back to the avocado pit. I toss them into the guacamole. Why? Well, somewhere along the way, I picked up that if you do this, your guacamole won't go bad/turn brown as quickly. It seems to work ... of course, I can eat this entire recipe in one sitting, so it's not like guacamole lives in our house long enough for me to find out .... Erik is annoyed with the pits/seeds because he says it gets in the way of his dipping. Dude, man up! ;)

I seriously have made this half a dozen times this summer! I can't get enough of it!

Here's the thing that shocked me about avocados, though: they're FULL of fat. But a good fat (as read in book below).


They also are chalk-full of awesome vitamins: Vitamin A, C, D, E, B6, B12 and so many more.

Seriously, after writing this post, I think I need to go make another batch!

Yum!!!!

The other day, I was flipping through a back issue of Better Homes & Gardens, and a recipe jumped off the page at me. Tonight, I thought "what the heck?" and made "Nutty Meatless Loaf."

Don't be fooled by the name. It's not actually a loaf, so I'm not sure why they call it that .... but boy is it tasty. With a big glass of milk and an apple!

Growing up, we didn't really utilize beans or lentils as a protein source, but I have to admit, I love them! Because A) they're easy to store. B) they don't spoil and C) they're way cheap compared to meat.

On THE RECIPE, I didn't do the chutney because it's not "Karen friendly" at this point in my life, but gosh does it sound good. Even without the chutney, it was really flavorful. A bit crumbly, but that's what you get when you forget to spray the pan and then try to wrestle it out in one piece. Oh well. :)

Recipes

This post is for you, Mary!

A friend of mine asked me to put my recipes all in one place. Well, I'm going to be lazy about it. ;) When I make a post, I apply a few labels/tags to it. So, here are my labels for recipes:

Recipes (this is a general, catch-all place). CLICK HERE to check them out.

Meatless Recipes (Erik and I eat meatless at least once a week. Sometimes it's rough to be creative. There are a lot of good ones here). CLICK HERE.

Drink Recipes. I actually was looking back through my recipes and saw I have a few drinks on there ... so CLICK HERE.

Also, during my 101 in 1001 project, I kept all of the recipes in one place. CLICK HERE. (My favorite peanut butter fudge recipe is in here!!!!)

Homemade Hummus!

'Scuse me .... I'm in a coma right now. A hummus induced coma.


For the longest time, I've had a bag of chickpeas in the cabinet. I have meant to make hummus from it, but just never got around to it. Until today. MMMMmmmmmmmmm ..... Yeah. I am not sure I'll be able to go back now. Wow. This stuff is utterly UUUUUH-MAAAAZING!

Because I had dried chickpeas, I used THIS recipe.

It doesn't specify an amount of water to reserve, but I'd use about 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup. I pulled out a bit more than a cup (I was doubling the recipe).

Oh, and for the blondes in the audience, be careful to not mix up the pepper with the cinnamon. We were in a hurry and I was rushing around, and yup, I grabbed the cinnamon instead of the pepper. Not a outrageous error, but there is a *hint* of cinnamon to our hummus. But it's mostly garlic-ey goodness. :)

PS- be sure to read THIS POST about how to make your hummus extra silky!

My new favorite thing!

My friend suggested I make some puff pastry twists .... and so I finally gave it a try. When I was looking at the back of the box, there were directions about how to make spinach pinwheels.


Ohhhhh yuuuuuummie!!!!

I adjusted the recipe a bit, and opted to use fresh spinach. :)

Ingredients:
1 sheet of puff pastry (you'll find this in the freezer section, next to the frozen pies)
1 egg
1 T. of water
1/3 c. parmesean cheese
1/3 c. fresh spinach, cut up
1/4 c. green onions ... snipped
garlic salt

Defrost your pastry, roll it out.

In a bowl, mix the egg and water. Then brush it onto the pastry.

Mix cheese, onions and spinach, spread onto the pastry.

Sprinkle LIGHTLY with the garlic salt.

Roll the pastry into a log, cut into about 1/2 inch slices and place on a greased cookie sheet. Bake in the oven at 400 for about 15 minutes.

Um...yeah, now I think I need to go upstairs and have another one. :)

# 89 — Make a batch of lemonade FROM SCRATCH

..... CHEEEEECK! :)


Last night, I figured I better knock this one out before I run out of time!!!!

Here's how to make it .....

lemon syrup:
1 c. water
1 c. sugar
zest from 1 lemon

Combine over medium heat until boiling, then let sit/seep for 15 minutes.

Combine with 1 c. freshly squeezed lemon juice AND 1.5 c. water; chill before serving.

Ummmmm.......yeeeeeeeeeeah. It is tasty stuff! It tastes like lemon candy. It's yuuuuummie! :)

EDITOR"S NOTE: The above recipe is the one I snagged from the newspaper ... if/when I make it again, I'll probably cut the sugar in half ...