Veggie Quesadillas

It has been quite a while since I posted last...pregnancy has played quite a roll in my lack of attendance in the kitchen. First it was the 4 months straight of morning sickness, now its the sore back, tailbone, and swollen feet from standing too long. Its a little detouring, but I'll make it back eventually. For now I'm all for quick and easy meals. Ones that don't require too much effort - or at least standing over a hot stove. Tonight I made veggie quesadillas. This is one of those recipes that I make when I have to just make due with what I might have in the kitchen...or when I'm feeling lazy...both of which are the case tonight. You really can add whatever you want to these. I don't think I've ever made it exactly the same every time.

• Flour tortillas
• Bell peppers, julienned
• Grated cheese (preferably Monterey Jack, but mozzarella or cheddar work too)
• Corn (canned, fresh or frozen)
• Black beans
• Lime Juice
• Olive oil
• Cayenne Pepper

Heat oil in pan. Add bell peppers and cook until soft. Add black beans, corn, lime juice, and cayenne pepper (all to taste). Simmer until heated through. Brush one side of tortilla and sprinkle with cheese. Top with another tortilla, facing the oil side up (away from the mixture). Cook until browned on each side and cheese has melted.

Chicken Croissant Rolls

Tonight I needed something quick, easy, and something that I had all the stuff for. So I made Chicken Croissant Rolls. I haven't made them in forever and I forgot how much my kids love them. I thought "Chicken Croissant Rolls" was too boring, so I asked my 6 year old what we should call them. His first response, "Death Balls." Well I supposed they are a heart stopper, but doesnt' sound too appetizing. So he changed it to "Chicken Balls." A little more pleasant I guess, but I think I'll just stick to the original name. This recipe calls for a sort of gravy made of Cream of Mushroom and milk. It's good, but I prefer to go a little more fatty, tasty, and easy. I prefer Country Gravy. I just use the McCormick's Country Gravy pack that you just add water to. Its great for Biscuits and Gravy too (not as good as the homemade stuff, but what packaged food is?). I like it anyway. I don't ever eat more than 1, 'cause they're too rich for me, but my son just downed 2 1/2! I guess he likes 'em!

• 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or 2 cans chunk chicken)
• 1 (8 oz) pkg. cream cheese, chive & onion (or regular cream cheese and add some chives and chopped onion), softened
• 1 pkg refrigerated croissant rolls
• Seasoned bread crumbs
• Melted butter
• 1 can cream of chicken (or mushroom)
• About 2 cups milk

Preheat oven to 375°. Cook the chicken until tender. Cool and shred. Mix chicken with the softened cream cheese in a small bowl. Roll out the croissant rolls, put a spoonful of chicken mixture at the wide end of the roll, fold over the sides and roll to seal mixture in. Roll in melted butter and then in the breadcrumbs (I like to add a little grated Parmesan to the breadcrumbs). Put in a muffin pan and cook for 20-25 minutes. While chicken rolls are cooking, heat up the cream of chicken (or mushroom) soup and the milk together, adding more milk if you want it runnier and less milk if you want it thicker. To serve, spread the soup mixture over the rolls like gravy.

Spicy Avocado Sauce

Its been too long since I've made this. It originated with a crab cake recipe from Gourmet Magazine. The first time I made this, my hubby and I were living in Palm Springs and I was big o' 8 months pregnant with my first. And it was stinkin' hot!!! It was the beginning of May and already it was 115° out and probably 99° in our apartment (the AC stunk!). So in pregnant terms, thats about 130° out...not fun. Anyway, we found this recipe for crab cakes. Well they weren't that great. Maybe it was the crab we got, or maybe it was the recipe, but nothing special. But this sauce was mighty tasty! You can definitely serve it with crab cakes, but its also good on tacos, fish, chicken, or you probably could even have it over salad. Mmm, I need to make this again real soon!

• 1/2 medium, ripe California avocado, pitted & peeled
• 1 Tbsp low-fat mayonnaise
• 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp sugar
• 1 fresh jalapeño or serrano (including seeds...or not if you don't want it so spicy), stemmed & quartered lengthwise
• 1/4 cup fat-free (skim) milk

Pulse avocado with mayo, lime juice, salt, sugar, and 1/4 of the chili in a food processor until chili is finely chopped. Add milk and purée until smooth. Add more chili if desired, processing until smooth. Transfer sauce to bowl and chill, covered.

Good served with crab cakes, fish, tacos, chicken, salad, or whatever else your heart desires!

Serves 4.

Spicy Peanut Salad

Its been way too long since I've posted any recipes and to be frankly honest I really haven't been making anything new. Actually I haven't really been cooking much at all. Its been too hot. When its hot the last thing I want to do is heat up the stove or the oven. It just makes things worse! I have a bunch of old recipes I want to share, but was kind of waiting until I made it to take pictures, but I think I'm gonna have to just post some.

In the mean time, here's a recipe I actually picked up at Trader Joes. For those of you who've never stepped foot into a T.J.'s (poor souls!), they have a corner in their store where they always have some product you can test. Yesterday they made this cabbage salad to test out their Asian-style Spicy Peanut Vinaigrette. It was surprisingly tasty. I'm not a fan of peanuts. I like Thai peanut sauce with noodles, but thats about it...no peanuts, no peanut butter, no peanut butter cookies. These went great with TJ's Coconut Curry Chicken Stix (they're like Asian taquitos). This is a semi-homemade recipe...nothing much to it, but its tasty. I think it tastes best when you let it sit a little bit so the cabbage and carrots can soak up the dressing and soften up a bit.

• Shredded cabbage
• Shredded carrots
• Salted blister peanuts (I don't like peanuts, so I left this out...cashews might work too)
• Seedless raisins (or I used craisins...dried cherries would work too)
• Asian-Style Spicy Peanut Vinaigrette (from Trader Joes...I'm sure there is an equivilant at your nearest grocery or Asian food store)

Combine cabbage, carrots, peanuts, and raisins in a large bowl, mixing all ingredients. Add Spicy Peanut Vinaigrette to taste, tossing well to combine (I like to let it sit for a little bit so the cabbage can soften up a bit and soak some of the vinaigrette). Serve and enjoy!

Chewy-Gooey Bars

This recipe is another delicious Tasty Kitchen find. It is oh so chewy and gooey...just the way I like it! And oh the smell when the oven is first opened...simply heavenly!

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup butter
• 12 oz (about 1 1/2 cups) chocolate chips (asks for semi-sweet, but I'm a milk chocolate girl!)
• 1 (14 oz) can sweetened, condensed milk

Preheat oven to 350°. In a medium bowl, combine brown sugar, salt, baking soda, oats, and flour. Add egg and butter. Combine mixture using a pastry blender or two forks. Press about 2/3 of the mixture in a 9x13" pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips over the top, and then drizzle sweetened condensed milk over the top. Sprinkle with reserved crust mixture. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until crust is golden. Let cool slightly before cooling.

KFC Coleslaw

I can't believe I haven't shared this recipe yet. Its a must! I used to hate coleslaw. I've found that a lot of people over do the onion and I don't like raw onions (although I do LOVE caramelized onions!). KFC's is good, Mo's is good (especially with their shredded pork sandwiches!)...this recipe is good. The key really is to let it sit in the fridge for some time after you make it. It says refrigerate for 2 hours, but its even better if you do it over night. This goes great on (or on the side of) a burger. I made it today to go with our slow-cooked bbq pork ribs...mmm! Now thats some good summer southern comfort food for ya!

• 1/2 cup mayonaise
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 2 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 1/2 Tbsp white vinegar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 8 cups (1 head) finely chopped cabbage
• 1/4 cup shredded carrot (1 medium or a handful of baby carrots)
• 2 Tbsp minced onion

Be sure cabbage and carrots are chopped up into very fine pieces (about the size of rice - use a food processor). Place in a large bowl. Combine the mayonnaise, sugar, milk, buttermilk, lemon juice, vinegar, salt, and pepper in a smaller bowl and beat until smooth. Add to cabbage, carrots, and onion; mix well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving (overnight is best).

Serves 10-12.

An Amazing Quesadilla

I just finished an absolutely delicious quesadilla. I couldn't even wait to blog about it! This is one of the new recipes I found on Tasty Kitchen. Its from Red Velvet. Red Velvet, you're the best! Wow, it was good. It has caramelized onions, sun dried tomatoes, spinach, and goat cheese...whats not to love? The sweetness of the onions and the tartness of the goat cheese & tomatoes go so great together. And the spinach I didn't even notice, but I know its doing my body good. :) My little sister kringed when I told her I was gonna try it...I'm SO glad I listened to my stomach and not you! Just a little forewarning - be careful when you flip your quesadilla...I almost lost my innards to the frying pan. For those of you who know your kids won't eat it, I just made a plain ol' boring quesadilla for my 6 year old...my 2 year old LOVED it!

• 2 whole tortillas (fat free if desired)
• 1/2 whole sweet onion
• 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes
• Few handfuls fresh baby spinach
• 3 Tbsp goat cheese (give or take)
• Cooking spray, olive oil, or butter (depends on how healthy you wanna get)

Slice the onion into long, thin strips. Heat a saute pan over medium-high heat and coat with cooking spray (or olive oil, or butter). Add onion and saute until lightly browned (about 10 minutes).

While onions are cooking, spread goat cheese on each tortilla in an even layer.

When done, remove onions from pan. Put onions on top of goat cheese on one tortilla. Add layer of sun-dried tomatoes and spinach. Place over tortilla on top (goat cheese facing in). Add more cooking spray to pan (I used the olive oil spray). Put quesadilla in saute pan over medium heat and warm through (about 2-3 minutes per side). Cut into small wedges and enjoy (and boy did I!)!

Makes 1 quesadilla.

Texas Potatoes

There are so many variations of this recipe.  Some people call it Potato Casserole, some Funeral Potatoes, but I've always known them as Texas Potatoes.  This was a recipe my mom got from a lady at church many, many years ago.  It goes great with Individual Meatloaves...my husband LOVES the combo!  I usually double the cornflake topping for a crunchier bite and since we have a smaller family, I usually put it in 2 8x8 pans and freeze the 2nd pan for another day.  I forgot to take a picture before it was devoured...can you tell my boys like these potatoes?

• 1 (32 oz or 2 lb) bag frozen potatoes, cubed
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 tsp salt (optional)
• dash of pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped onions
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 3/4 cup cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 (16 oz) carton sour cream
• 2 cups cornflake crumbs mixed with 1/4 cup melted butter (I double this, so 4 cups cornflakes & 1/2 cup butter)

Preheat oven to 350°.  Combine potatoes (it cooks faster if you defrost the potatoes first), onions, and cheese in a large bowl.  Combine soup with butter and heat until butter is melted.  Remove from heat and stir sour cream into soup mixture.  Pour over potatoes and blend carefully.  Pour into 9x13 pan (or 2 8x8 pans) and top with crumb mixture.  Bake uncovered for 45 minutes.

Whole Wheat Pancakes

My family (including myself) are horrible about eating breakfast.  I just don't like most breakfast foods, or at least don't enjoy them much and my boys (hubby included) love breakfast foods, but just don't like to eat within the first 2 hours they're awake.  But by the time they do eat, they're cranky and starving...its frustrating.  This is a real struggle for me.  So I've been trying to find new yummy (but quick and easy and healthy) breakfast foods that they'll like and eat.  So I tried out this recipe for whole wheat pancakes - it came from a friend of a friend.  I admit I'm NOT a pancake fan.  I've never really liked them...I'll choke them down if needed, but I pretty much avoid them.  Love waffles...hate pancakes...weird, I know!  The batter seemed a bit runny, which made the pancakes pretty thin, but I actually liked it better that way.  All in all it turned out great.  The boys all ate and liked it and it was even healthy...yay, can't get better than that!

• 3/4 cup whole-kernel wheat
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 egg

Combine ingredients in blender; blend on medium to high speed for 4 minutes or until wheat mixture is smooth and creamy.  Then add:

• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 2 Tbsp oil
• 2 tsp baking powder (the recipe says 2 tsp, but I think it might be 1/2 - your call)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda

Add ingredients to wheat mixture and mix only until blended.  Bake immediately on hot griddle.

Roasted Red Pepper Pasta

Yay, I'm back online! I apologize for the great lack of posts, but my internet has been down for way too long and I FINALLY have it all sorted out and back up and running again...hip-hip-horray! I'll try to back track and see if there's anything new and delicious I've made in the past few months, so we'll start with this one. It is (again, I know, I know) a Pioneer Woman masterpiece (I can't help it...her stuff is awesome, but I do have to add that my husband has decided he needs to hire her as one of his chefs when he becomes uber rich...but in the mean time I've had to put a limit on PW recipes - 1 a week - our hearts can't handle too much more than that!). So on to the recipes.

I love roasted peppers...my esophagus doesn't always love me for eating them (peppers give me crazy heart burn), but my taste buds rejoice. And of course you can't go wrong with cream, so naturally when I saw this recipe I knew I'd love it (the PW hasn't failed me yet!). I was right. I made it for my hubby for Father's Day 'cause I knew he'd like it too...and oh did he! This pasta has the yumminess of a cream sauce, but the tang and lightness of a red sauce. The only complaint I had was I didn't have orecchiette pasta on hand so I used a fusilli-type pasta which we both agreed was a little too heavy for the sauce...a little too much pasta that is. So next time I will most definitely hunt down some orecchiette. This sauce would even be great drizzled on fish or chicken or something. Try it...it's super yummy!

• 3 red bell peppers
• 2 Tbsp pine nuts (optional)
• 1/2 medium onion, finely diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• Flat leaf parsley, finely minced
• Fresh Parmesan, shaved or grated
• 1/2 to 1 lb pasta (orecchiette, penne, fusilli, etc.)

Roast red peppers*. Whether its under the broiler or on the grill, you should blacken them for about ten minutes, then remove them and set them on a plate for a few minutes. Next, place them in a Ziploc bag to allow to sweat. Peel the charred skins from the peppers, then remove seeds & stems. Set aside.

Lightly toast pine nuts in a skillet over medium-low heat for about five minutes. Keep them moving by jiggling the pan now and then. Set aside.

In a blender or food processor purée the peppers with pine nuts. Set aside.

Cook pasta according to package directions.

In a skillet or pot over medium heat, drizzle in olive oil. Add diced onions and garlic and cook until soft. Pour in pepper purée and stir together. Add plenty of salt. Just cook the mixture over medium to medium-low heat while the pasta cooks, stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn't burn.

Pour in cream and stir to combine. Taste and add more salt, if necessary. Add cooked pasta, then stir together. Place pasta into a bowl, top with chopped parsley and plenty of shaved Parmesan.

*Click here if you'd like step-by-step photographic instructions

Graduation Fun!

We've had lots of graduations in our family this month.  My little sister graduated from college, my youngest sister graduated from high school and my son is graduating from kindergarten this week.  Exciting times.  So here's a fun little snack (courtesy of Bakerella) for the grads.

Bakerella's Candy Cake Pops

Easter Dinner

We had a wonderful Easter feast!  I spent hours cooking the night before, but it was much worth it!  I wanted to share with you 3 of the recipes I made (yes, I made more than this...I'm telling you I was a cooking maniac Saturday night!).  They're not mine, they're the Pioneer Woman's.  I felt a bit like her apprentice or something, but man, can she cook some good comfort food!  I made her Bacon-Wrapped Jalapenos, Twice Baked Potatoes, and Homemade Mac & Cheese.  The potatoes turned out awesome, but I messed up the Mac & Cheese.  First off I doubled the recipe, then I let it sit in the refrigerator all night before I baked it, which wasn't such a good idea.  The noodles soaked in the sauce, so when I baked it, it turned out kind of dry and rather bland.  I will definitely make it again, but do it fresh and right next time!  The Jalepenos were amazing!  I'm addicted!  I can feel myself getting fatter and fatter as I eat them, but I didn't care...not today anyway.  They were just too good not to pop in my mouth!  This is my first time making them, so I was a little paranoid about them being too hot, so I cleaned those suckers out, removing ALL the seeds and membranes.  Next time I'll leave a little, 'cause they didn't have much kick to them, but they were still absolutely heavenly!  Thank you Pioneer Woman (again!) for making our Easter delicious!  Here's the links to the recipes:

Bacon-Wrapped Jalepenos

Twice Baked Potatoes

Homemade Mac & Cheese

Another Delicious Sandwich

Pioneer Woman has done it again!  She has created a most wonderful meal that the entire family enjoyed and has my husband left in awe.  I made this sandwich tonight (knowing perfectly well it was right up my hubby's alley) and, ya know, he said something along the lines of "wow Julie, you have really become such an incredible cook!  I mean, I'm speechless."  Gee-wiz!  Tuning into the Pioneer Woman has certainly not been good for my caloric intake or my arteries, but it has most definitely done wonders for my marriage :)  This really is a delicious sandwich (not for those on diets though)!

(Photo from PW Cooks)

Marlboro Man's Favorite Sandwich

Perfect Hard-Boiled Eggs

(photo from Sidetracked Moms)

Since Easter is just around the corner and we have not yet dyed our Easter eggs, I am (as I type this) boiling my eggs so that we can have a little Easter egg dying party tomorrow...well me and my boys anyway.  I've never been very good at boiling eggs.  I always forget how to cook them and usually boil the water, then put the eggs in, causing them to crack and all that fun stuff.  I'm never really very successful, thus I'm usually not in charge of making them.  This year I did my research and so far it has definitely paid off!  I found some awesome directions on "How to Make Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs."  My first 3 dozen (my 4th is on the stove right now) have literally turned out perfect.  Out of the 36 eggs I only found 2 or 3 slightly fractured shells.  Now that is a record for me!  Usually they have gaping crevices with egg white flowing out of them.  

The key to keeping the eggs from cracking is really to put the eggs in a cool pan, cover with cold water, therefore bringing the temperature up slower.  Its when they go from extreme cold to extreme hot that they crack (or when you drop them to the bottom of the pan...that's not real good either!).

One trick I learned long ago (but never remember to do until I'm ready to cook them) is to place the eggs sideways (as opposed to up and down) a couple hours before you actually boil them.  This is supposed to cause the yolks to be more centered so that when you peel them the yolk isn't so close to the white that it falls all apart...you know what I mean!

All of you boiling eggs this weekend....good luck to you!

Sauteed Shrimp

My 5-year-old LOVES shrimp.  In fact if you ask him what his favorite food is, every time he'll answer "shrimp."  That SO comes from his father's side, 'cause I am not a shrimp fan at all (unless its a shrimp taco with chipotle cheese sauce from Garibaldi's in Guadalupe, then I like shrimp!).  Whenever he comes with me to Trader Joes and I offer him ONE treat, he doesn't pick cookies or chips or ice cream, he chooses frozen shrimp (and my 2 year old chooses blueberries...what's wrong with these kids?).  Since he's been sick I thought I'd make him something special (and since I haven't been shopping for a while, I didn't have much of a choice), so shrimp it was.  I'm gonna give you 2 recipes - the first the recipe I ended up making and the second the recipe I started following, but got side tracked (me, side tracked?...never!).

My Sauteed Shrimp

• 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
  
• 1 to 1 1/2 pound bag pre-cooked shrimp, peeled and de-veined
  
• Pinch of crushed red-pepper flakes
• Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Italian seasoning

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add garlic, and cook until soft but not browned, 1-2 minutes.  Add shrimp, red pepper flakes, and Italian seasoning; cook, stirring frequently, until shrimp is heated through.  Remove from heat; season with salt and pepper.  Serve hot.

Original Recipe for Sauteed Shrimp

• 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 lbs large shrimp, tails on, peeled, and de-veined
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano
• Pinch of crushed red-pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup dry white wine (or chicken broth)
• Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Lemon wedges, for serving

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add garlic, and cook until soft but not browned, 1-2 minutes.  Add shrimp, parsley, oregano, and red-pepper flakes; cook, stirring frequently, until shrimp are bright pink and opaque, about 2 minutes.  Raise heat to medium-high and add wine.  Continue cooking until most of the liquid has evaporated.  Remove from heat; season with salt and pepper.  Serve hot, with lemon wedges on the side.

Tastiest Spaghetti EVER!

Last night my hubby decided to help me cook and what we created was a masterpiece...no really, it was!  I just had some leftovers for lunch and, oh man, it was even  better than last night...incredible!  Its those deliciously wonderful caramelized onions again (I really could eat just a bowl of these alone!)!  We made this as we went, so I'm sorry the directions aren't exact, but hopefully it will get you on the right track to improving your spaghetti.

• Noodles (we used angel hair, but any kind of your liking is good)
• 1 jar spaghetti sauce (we used T.J.'s)
• sweet onions, sliced
• butter
• olive oil
• 1/2 jar roasted red peppers
• Italian sausage (the good stuff from the butcher!)
• salt to taste
• cayenne pepper if you want to give it a little more kick

Start your water boiling for the noodles.  In the meantime cook up the Italian sausage in a little bit of olive oil.  In another heated pan, poor some olive oil and melt some butter.  Add onions and saute until nice and soft; add a little salt (taste them and if they don't have a slight sweet taste, you can add a little spoonful of sugar).  When sausage and onions are cooked, drain fat from sausage and add jar of spaghetti sauce (in the meantime, if your water boils, add noodles and cook until done).  Add desired amount of peppers and onions to sausage sauce.  Cook on medium heat until starts to bubble, then reduce to a simmer and simmer for a little bit just to let the flavors mesh.  Serve on noodles and enjoy!

Salsa Enchiladas

I made these this weekend.  They're one of my favorite "quick and easy" meals.  They're easy to have the ingredients on hand and so fast to make!  This is a great recipe to to make when you're in a hurry or don't feel like cooking, but need to make something for your poor starving family.  Or if you need to bring someone a meal, these are great too.

• 1-2 lbs ground beef or turkey
• 4 cups salsa (more or less)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (I use the Mexican blend)
• 1 (12 count) pkg corn tortillas (white corn are the best!)
• 1 (19 oz) or 2 (10 oz) cans enchilada sauce (preferably Verde/green sauce)

Heat oven to 375°.  Brown ground beef or turkey over medium-high heat until thoroughly cooked, drain.  Stir in salsa and 1 cup cheese.  Spoon enchilada filling into tortillas.  Roll up and place seam-side down in lightly greased 9x13" baking dish.  Pour enchilada sauce over top; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese.  Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Serves 6.

Cocoa Crispy Treats

I made these a couple days ago and they're so good.  They're the same as making regular rice crispy treats, but you use cocoa rice crispies instead.  They're the perfect gooeyness and the cocoa makes them even better.

• 1 (10 oz) pkg regular marshmallows (or 4 cups mini marshmallows)
• 3 Tbsp butter or margarine
• 6 cups cocoa rice crispy cereal

In a microwave-safe bowl, heat butter or margarine and marshmallows on High for 3 minutes, stirring after 2 minutes.  Remove from microwave and stir until smooth.  Add cocoa rice crispy cereal.  Stir until well coated (I recommend stirring with a buttered spoon).  Using a buttered spatula or waxed paper, press mixture evenly into a 9"x13" pan coated with cooking spray.  Cool.  Cut into 2" squares and serve.

Makes 24.

Green Smoothie Recipes

I thought I'd post a few our family-favorites! You may need to add less greens in the beginning (especially for the kiddos) and more fruit, but as you do this more and more, they will be able to drink more greens and like them! I sometimes sweeten their smoothies with a little agave nectar or raw honey. However, that's not really necessary if you use very ripe fruits. I hit the sales on super ripe bananas or day-old strawberries and freeze them in large batches. Frozen grapes are really good for smoothies too.

Smoothie #1

• 3 bananas
  
• 1 cup of papaya
  
• 4 big handfuls of baby spinach
  
• 2 cups of water
  

Smoothie #2 (similar to #1, but very still a hit)

• 3 bananas
  
• 3 huge handfuls of baby spinach
  
• 2 cups of water
  

Smoothie #3

• 2 bananas
  
• 6-7 strawberries
  
• juice from 2 oranges
  
• 2 handfuls of romaine
  
• 1 cup of water
  

Smoothie #4

• Half a head of green leaf lettuce
  
• 2 bananas
  
• juice from 2 tangelos
  
• 1/2 a bag of frozen mangoes
  
• 1 pear
  
• 1 cup of water
  

Smoothie #5

• 6 ounces of orange juice
  
• 1 cup of pineapple
  
• 1/2 cup of coconut milk (this is the best if you get a Thai coconut and use the water and meat, but the canned stuff works too)
  
• 2 handfuls of romaine
  

Smoothie #6

• 1 stalk of celery
  
• 2 cups of blueberries
  
• 1 banana
  
• 2 cups of water
  

Smoothie #7

• 6 to 7 romaine leaves
  
• 1 cup of red grapes
  
• 1 medium orange (peeled, but whole, not juiced)
  
• 1 banana
  
• 2 cups of water
  

Smoothie #8

• 2 large grapefruits- juiced
  
• 6-7 frozen strawberries
  
• 1 cup of peaches
  
• 2 handfuls of lettuce
  

Smoothie #9

• 4 ripe pears
  
• 4-5 kale leaves
  
• 1/2 bunch of mint
  
• 2 cups of water
  
• (I would add sweetener on this one!)
  

Smoothie #10

• 2 bananas
  
• 2 large collard or chard leaves
  
• 1/2 pack of Trader Joes frozen "Mangolicious" blend (has frozen mango, raspberries, and blueberries in it)
  
• 1-2 cups of water or orange juice
  

**You can substitute water with any juice you like. The amount you put in depends upon the consistency you like. My kids like it thick like ice cream...I like it almost as thin as juice.

The possibilities are endless really. You can add greens to any of your usual smoothie favorites. It will change the color, but if you do it in a small amount, it shouldn't take away from the flavor much. You can substitute in these recipes for any greens you like. The greens we use the most are kale, collard greens, chard, spinach, romaine, and bok choy. I try to use the dark leafy greens that my kids won't eat on their own, cooked or otherwise. I sometimes also add ground flax or nuts/nut butter for added protein. Most of these recipes will yield a quart of green smoothies (32 oz). Hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

Holli W.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Other than wearing green so I wouldn't get pinched, I've never been big on celebrating St. Patrick's day.  My mom used to bake green bread and die our milk green and all that fun stuff, but thats about it.  I guess I just never really knew why we celebrated it in the first place.  Now that I have kids old enough to care, I'm big on holiday celebrations, so today I thought I'd find the real reason why we celebrate St. Patrick's Day (and since I'm not Catholic or a beer drinker, it might be a good idea).  Here's a few of the facts I found, so I'll pass them on to you.  You can go here or here or even here.  There's fun facts like the color of St. Patrick used to be blue not green (I personally think the green came from Ireland being so green...took a lot to figure that one out!) or that the shamrock was St. Patrick's way of teaching the people about the holy Trinity or that St. Patrick was said to have rid Ireland of all snakes (did you know that Ireland has NO snakes?), but really they think that the snakes meant Druids, who's symbol was the snake.  Anyhow, St. Patricks Day is (obviously) big in Ireland, but it seems that it came to the good ol' USA with the Irish settlers here.  I guess its a good thing I've got some Irish in me (I think) and that I like Ireland - I'd really LOVE to visit there some day and even though I can't understand 1/2 of what they say, I LOVE their accents! ;)

Alright, enough of the trivia and on with the food.  Of course I had to throw in some green food for the kids, but I wanted to make some good ol' Irish food.  I opted out of the Corned Beef & Cabbage because (gasp) I can't stand corned beef.  I know, I know.  My husband loves it, but everything about it just grosses me out.  Soooo, instead we had the following (oh and I didn't mention that we had green eggs for breakfast):

• Oven Baked Fish
• Colcannon - a traditional Irish potato dish.
• Pot O' Gold Jello - lemon (yellow) jello jigglers made in ice cube trays and stacked like gold bars.
• Irish Soda Bread
• Ginger Beer for my hubby (I can't stand the stuff).  It's not Irish, in fact its Caribbean, but the bottle was green and it gave us the feel for the Irish beer tradition without actually drinking beer...silly us!
• Sprite for the kiddies - those mini green cans were perfect!

For dessert we enjoyed:

• Shamrock Truffles from Bakerella of course!  I couldn't find Double Stuffed Mint Oreos, so I just used Mint Joe-Joes from Trader Joes and they turned out excellent!
• Leprechaun Pudding - Pistachio pudding topped with homemade whip cream.

I hope all of you had as tasty of a St. Patrick's day as we did!