Green Smoothies

Green smoothies are all the rage right now, and it's easy to see why! They're packed with nutrition, taste fantastic, and are ridiculously easy to make. I have one for breakfast nearly every day. My morning routine is pretty consistent: wake up, drink a glass of water while standing at the sink, followed by coffee (with half and half and maybe 1/4 teaspoon brown sugar). Then in the mid-morning, around 9, I have a green smoothie. There are lots of different combinations of fruits and veggies you can use in them, and I'll share my favorites here. It's really more about a method than a recipe, per se.

Using plastic wrap, I bundle up the fruit I want to use into little packets. Several of those fit in a quart freezer bag. I like to make a few different combinations and keep them in separate, labeled bags. If you make all the same kind it's easier to put them all in a gallon-size freezer bag. When you want to make a smoothie, you have a couple of options. 1) Place the packet in the microwave for 15 seconds at half power or 2) Let it sit out on the counter for 5-10 minutes. This softens the fruit just enough to make it easier to pack into the blender cup. I place the fruit/veggies in a blender cup and add just enough orange juice or almond milk to come up halfway. Blend until smooth; drink up! The amount of liquid will vary a little depending on the fruit you used and how frozen solid it is.

(Generally, I freeze only fruit in the little bundles. I keep a bag of frozen kale and a bag of fresh spinach on-hand to add into the smoothies. To freeze kale, wash and dry it well, then place in a freezer bag. Remove every ounce of air and seal. Toss in the freezer. I have been told you can freeze spinach like this, too, but I haven't done it.)

Kitchen Sink smoothie, before adding OJ and blending.

Green Sunshine
pineapple
banana
mango
spinach
kale
OJ

Berry Blend
assorted berries: strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, blackberry
banana
spinach
kale
almond milk or OJ

Simple Green
banana
mango
strawberries
spinach
kale
OJ

Kitchen Sink
banana
pineapple
blueberries
strawberries
mango
spinach
kale
almond milk or OJ

Creamy Spinach Soup

A few years ago, The Pioneer Woman had a Spinach Soup recipe on her blog. Intrigued, I decided to give it a shot. It was love at first spoonful! I have since forgotten what her original recipe looked like, and it's no longer on her blog, so I decided to type up the version I make for y'all to enjoy! Now, despite the fact that this soup is mostly spinach, it's really probably not that great for you ... but please don't tell my tummy that. I ate it twice this week because I love it so much! This soup will make two hearty servings, so I make it by half to have for my lunch.

Creamy Spinach Soup

1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (to taste, really)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 package (6 ounces) fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1/4 cup half-and-half
salt and pepper to taste
Optional: feta cheese

In a medium saucepan, saute the onion for 2-3 minutes. Add in the garlic and red pepper. Saute for 1-2 more minutes; add in the spinach. Once spinach wilts down, pour in the broth. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and let simmer for a few minutes. Remove from heat and pour mixture into a blender. (Leave uncovered and do not process right away!) Return the empty saucepan to medium heat and melt the butter. Sprinkle in the flour and whisk for 2-3 minutes, until it just begins to take on color. Put the lid on your blender and blitz the spinach mixture until smooth. Pour into the saucepan, whisking as you go. Allow to cook for 2-3 minutes until thickened. If it's too thick, splash in some more chicken broth. When thoroughly heated, stir in half-and-half, salt and pepper. Divide the soup into bowls and top with the feta cheese, if desired.

My Lunch

For lunch today, Little One and I shared Quinoa Cakes. They were fabulous as usual! I made the cakes with chopped broccoli and shredded carrots. I served hers plain, but I made a Greek dipping sauce for mine. I simply combined sour cream, a touch of mayo, salt, pepper, crumbled feta, lemon juice, chopped rosemary and chopped oregano in a small bowl.

Little One made short work of hers!

Broccoli Rice Casserole

A general rule of thumb to go by when feeding my family is that, with very few exceptions, there must be at least one dissenter to the enjoyment of each item at the table. I've related this weird family quirk to y'all before, and it hasn't changed! I knew when I chose to make Broccoli Rice Casserole (for the first time, I might add!) some of my family wouldn't appreciate it. Out of the six of us - our family plus a good friend - this side dish received 3 thumbs up, one thumb sideways, and 2 thumbs down. I also made Fried Chicken Fingers, Roasted Rosemary Potatoes, and Sweet and Spicy Carrots (in the cookbook).

Broccoli Rice Casserole

1 small head broccoli, trimmed and finely chopped
1 cup dry rice, prepare according to package directions
6 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
1 (10-3/4 oz.) can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream
Salt and pepper to taste
12 butter-flavor crackers (I use Club), crushed
2 tablespoons butter, melted

In medium-sized bowl, combine broccoli, cheese, soup, sour cream, salt and pepper. Add in rice; mix well. Pour into a greased 9 inch square baking dish. Combine the cracker crumbs and butter, then sprinkle over the broccoli-rice mixture. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until crackers are golden-brown and casserole is bubbly.

Tip: Any time I need a smallish amount of crumb topping like this, I use this method: Place crackers in a small zip-top bag. Crush the crackers with the back of a spoon, a measuring cup, whatever's handy. Then pour the melted butter directly into the bag, smushing it all around to coat the crumbs evenly. Then pour the crumbs out over the casserole!

Butternut Squash Rolls

One easy way to round out a meal is to serve bread. With picky kids I can't always be sure that they'll eat the main course, or even the sides, so it's nice to know that at least they'll have bread and milk! I make all kinds of breads at different times, but I prefer the bread to have some nutritional value if possible. The recipe I'm sharing today makes incredibly delicious yeast rolls, and it's truly not complicated. I used to be scared of yeast rolls, thinking it was too much trouble, but now that I've made them so many times I'm not sure why I was hesitant to get started!

Butternut Squash Rolls

1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast (2-1/4 teaspoons)
1 cup warm milk (110° to 115°) (or buttermilk)
1/4 cup warm water (110° to 115°)
3 tablespoons butter, softened
2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup brown sugar or honey
1 cup mashed cooked butternut squash
2 cups whole wheat flour
3 to 3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided

Directions

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in milk and water. Add the butter, salt, sugar, squash, wheat flour, and 1 cup all-purpose flour; beat until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.
Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
Punch dough down. Form into rolls; place in two greased 9-in. round baking pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Yield: 2 dozen.

Honey Butter - combine equal amounts honey and softened butter. (You can also add a dash of cinnamon!)

(Especially when I made baby food, I would always have cooked squash in the freezer. Nowadays I just buy the frozen cooked, mashed squash or bake an acorn squash to use for this recipe.)

Apple-Carrot Muffins

Apple-Carrot Muffins

1 cup all-purpose flour
1-1/3 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup quick-cooking oats
1 cup old-fashioned oats
2 Tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup unsweetened apple juice
2 eggs
2/3 cup melted butter
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups finely shredded carrots
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and shredded.

In a large bowl, stir together the dry ingredients until well blended. In a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients, including carrots and apple. Add the wet to the dry, stirring just until everything comes together. (If you overstir, your muffins will be tough.) Fill greased or lined muffins cups 3/4 full. Bake at 375 for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool slightly before removing to a wire rack. Yield: 2 dozen muffins

Delicious Lunch - Tomato Soup

I had a very tasty, surprisingly filling lunch yesterday! I had taken a chance at Kroger the other day and bought a carton of tomato soup from the organic section, and it seriously paid off. I spent about $3 on the carton of Imagine Garden Tomato Soup, compared to about $1 on the standard Campbell's Condensed Tomato Soup. Keep in mind, though, that I'll get 3-4 servings from the carton, and the can would only be 1 serving. Continuing the comparison:

Imagine
80 calories
300mg sodium
16g carbs
2g sugar
2g fiber
2g protein
15% vitamin A
30% vitamin C
2% calcium
4% iron

Campbell's
90 calories
480g sodium
20g carbs
12g sugar
1g fiber
2g protein
8% vitamin A
10% vitamin C
0% calcium
4% iron

To boost the flavor and  nutrition, I added 1/2 cup roasted red pepper puree, fresh-ground black pepper and a sprinkling of feta cheese. For the puree, I roasted two peppers in my oven until they were blackened. Immediately after removing from the oven, I covered them tightly with foil and let them steam. Then I removed the skin (it slips off pretty easily!), seeds and stems. The meat of the pepper went straight into the blender along with the juice from the steaming packet and a couple of tablespoons of water. I pureed it, pouring some into the pot with my tomato soup, some into the carton with the rest of the soup, and the remainder went into freezer containers for another time!

Pizza Burgers

 I made the brave (crazy?) decision last week to allow my two oldest kids to each choose a menu that they would help prepare this week. The experiment actually turned out really well! The Boy is the one who chose our pizza menu for Sunday night, and today I'll be sharing about the menu our Oldest Girl chose. She combined two of our family's favorite foods and decided on Pizza Burgers. As a side, she wanted to make Creamy Parmesan Pasta. The burgers were a definite hit, and though we decided the pasta could have used more sauce, we really liked it, too.

Pizza Burgers

1 pound ground beef (85/15 for burgers)
1/4 cup finely chopped green pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup marinara sauce
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
4 hamburger buns

In a small skillet, saute the green pepper, onion and garlic in a drizzle of olive oil until veggies just begin to soften. In a large bowl, combine veggies, beef, salt, pepper, Parmesan and 2 tablespoons marinara. Divide into four patties and grill/fry on stovetop until they reach desired doneness. Just before they're done, top with marinara and mozzarella, cover until cheese is melted. Serve on buns.

I used string cheese, cut in slices, since I was out of shredded mozzarella.

If I'd had pepperoni, I would have chopped some up and added that to the beef mixture. You could also sub Italian sausage for all or part of the beef.

I'll share the Creamy Parmesan Pasta recipe tomorrow!

Turkey Ranch Quesadillas

My kids are picky in weird ways - they will eat spinach but not rice, cottage cheese but not potatoes, pineapple but not beef ... In short, the stuff that other kids live off of, they won't touch! Some of those choices are good, and some are not. I guess I just do what every mom does and hope for the best! The recipe I'm sharing today is a guaranteed hit with my kids. It combines many of their favorite ingredients so they're sure to gobble it up!

Turkey Ranch Quesadillas

4 thin slices smoked deli turkey
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
4 tablespoons Ranch dressing
1/2 cup fresh spinach leaves
Half and apple, your favorite, cored and thinly sliced
4 flour tortillas, fajita size

Spread Ranch dressing on two tortillas, sprinkle with half the cheese. Cover with spinach leaves, layer with turkey, apple slices, and remaining cheese. Top with remaining tortillas. Heat a medium skillet over medium hat. Add quesadilla, cook for 3-4 minutes per side, until heated through. Cut each quesadilla into quarters and serve warm.

Summer's Bounty

Ah, summer ... the time of year when all manner of veggies and fruits are in season! Of course, in today's world our diet can be more varied than ever before, with nearly every type of produce imaginable being available year-round. But, there's nothing like being able to get fresh, local fruits and vegetables in the summer.  The problem I find is that we can't eat it all fast enough! Often I find myself scrambling to use up that lone zucchini or the handful of grapes or the solitary kiwi before it's too late. There are lots of ways to make your produce last, though, so be proactive and plan ahead not only what recipes you'll use the produce in, but what you'll do with the leftovers.

Canning - I'm not a "canner" myself (too lazy!), but I know lots of people who are, and it's a great way to preserve summer's bounty.

Freezer Jam - A delicious, simple way to use berries and other fruits. My favorite is Strawberry Freezer Jam.

Creative Salads - "Lettuce, tomato, cucumbers and Ranch" doesn't have to be where your salad ideas end! Think outside the box with different combinations of veggies, fruits and dressings.

Smoothies - A great way to use up not only fruits, but vegetables, too!

Freezing -  The link I've provided leads to a really comprehensive site on freezing all kinds of produce! It's a good site, overall, too, and is the same one I recommended for canning.

I hope these suggestions help you make the most of the beautiful, delicious abundance of summer!

Sweet Potato Stacks

My mother-in-law makes a fabulous Sweet Potato Souffle. It's so good, and so NOT good for you. I've spent a lot of time trying to come up with a recipe that captures the flavor yet doesn't have quite so many calories. Her casserole calls for a delicious smorgasbord of butter, eggs, pecans, and brown sugar, and it's hard to re-create the taste while taking out those ingredients.

The best I've come up with is Sweet Potato Stacks:

2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced (as thin as you can manage!)
1 small apple, cored, peeled and thinly sliced (preferably a sweet but firm one like Gala or Honeycrisp)
3/4 cup apple juice or orange juice
1/3 cup butter (approximately)
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup brown sugar

In a small bowl, combine the oats, cinnamon and sugar. In each of 12 muffin cups, place about a tablespoon of juice. Layer with a couple of slices of sweet potato, a couple of slices of apple, about 2 teaspoons of the oat mixture, more sweet potato (to top off cup), more oat mixture, and a half-tablespoon of butter. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife. You will need to remove the stacks from the cups while still hot, or they'll stick to the pan.

Fruit Smoothies

One treat my kids always look forward to is fruit smoothies. The variations are endless, and it's pure nutrition they're getting! I usually make a batch in my blender, serve them their drinks, and use the rest to fill up popsicle molds. Later, they have delicious frozen treats with very few empty calories. Here's a basic recipe:

1 banana
½ cup frozen berries
1 cup (8 ounces) yogurt, your favorite flavor
¼ - ½ cup milk

View full recipePlace all ingredients in blender; process until smooth!

Variations:
* Use strawberries and banana, adding a spoonful of chocolate drink mix/syrup
* Use peaches in place of the berries, with peach yogurt
* Use orange juice instead of milk

Basically, you can combine any of your favorite fruits to make these. My kids' favorites are Banana-Berry and Orange-Peach. Even The Boy, who will pretty much eat only apples, bananas and pineapples is very adventurous in the smoothie department. Just the other day he begged me to buy the special ingredient we needed to make Mold Shakes.

Lightening Up Baked Goods, Part 2

Well, here's Part 2, as promised! I have lots more to share with you, and I hope you find this a helpful reference.


Liquid -- Baked goods usually call for some sort of liquid. This substitution doesn't necessarily save calories, but it certainly boosts flavor: use juice or coffee in place of water/some milk. I use orange juice and apple juice frequently in my baking. Anything chocolate is good with coffee as the liquid! Be creative and use your family's favorites.


All-Purpose Flour -- I substitute about half the flour in a given recipe with whole-wheat flour. It boosts the fiber and vitamins and gives the baked goods a deeper flavor. Going higher than half with the whole wheat may make the texture too dense for your family, so go easy until you learn what everyone likes. P.S. Store your whole wheat flour in the fridge!

Chocolate Chips -- Sometimes, you just can't leave these out, they're so good! But you could reduce the amount used and replace them with diced fruit or even nuts. (Nuts are high in fat, but it's usually the good kind.) Alternately, you could use dark chocolate, since studies have shown it to actually have a few redeeming qualities.

Nuts -- Leave them out altogether or reduce the amount slightly if you're serious about saving a few calories! 


Here are some alterations that I frequently employ in my baking:

Use diced fruit such as apples, pears, or bananas to help fill out muffins and breads. Don't overlook shredded or pureed veggies either, like zucchini, pumpkin, butternut squash or carrots. Dried fruits are also a tasty addition, but be careful, as many of them have a high sugar content.

Make your usual muffin recipe using a mini muffin tin instead. Three minis equal one regular-sized muffin, and will help you feel like it's more of a treat. Of course, the danger of that is popping six or eight delicious little bites in one sitting! But even if you eat four or five, it's still less than 2 whole muffins. And all that leads to my next suggestion ...


Freeze half right away to avoid temptation! If you have a big family, they may eat a whole batch in a day or two. But if not, then it may be wise to go ahead and freeze that second loaf of bread or that other dozen muffins for another day.

Spice it up! If your family really likes cinnamon or nutmeg or vanilla or any one of the other flavors in muffins or bread, don't be afraid to use it. Increasing the amount of spice or citrus zest in a recipe will help your family adjust to the denser texture typical of baked goods using whole wheat flour.

Now, go bake some muffins already!

Orange-Zucchini Muffins

Just the other day, there was an unfortunate accident on the interstate involving a tractor-trailer. No one was injured; the only casualty was the cargo: tangerines and strawberries! Since the fruit could no longer be sold after being spilled across the interstate, the carrier gave everything that wasn't ruined to all the first-responders. One of the police officers to be the recipient of some fruit sent a bag of tangerines over to our house with her son. I immediately thought of these muffins. I seriously love these things! Sadly, the recipe only makes 10, but it's easily doubled.

Orange-Zucchini Muffins
1 cup shredded zucchini
3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
dash of ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped pecans

1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Squeeze zucchini until dry; set aside. In a large bowl, combine the flour, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In another bowl, beat the eggs, brown sugar, oil, applesauce, orange juice, orange peel and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in pecans and reserved zucchini.

Fill paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over batter. Bake at 350° for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm. Yield: 10 muffins.

Pumpkin Dip

I got this recipe from one of our sweet older ladies at church. She's such a funny lady, too -- as we say here in the South, she's a hoot!

Pumpkin Dip
4 cups confectioners sugar
1 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
1 teaspoon ginger
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 small can pumpkin

Mix all ingredients well, and serve with gingersnaps.

Sweet Potato Souffle

In the interest of Thanksgiving being right around the corner, I'm going to share with you my mother-in-law's recipe for Sweet Potato Souffle. Judging solely on the amount of butter and sugar it contains, you know it has to be good!

Sweet Potato Souffle

3 cups mashed sweet potatoes
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
½ cup butter or margarine, melted
1 tablespoon vanilla

Mix all ingredients and pour into a 9-inch square baking dish. Top with the following mixture:

½ cup cold margarine/butter, cut up into small cubes
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup self-rising flour
1 cup chopped pecans

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, until topping is bubbly and golden brown.

Gone Fishin'!

One thing my kids like to do is snack! I've had to get pretty creative with tricking them into eating a variety of healthful foods, but it often works. One simple thing was taking my pediatrician's suggestion to wrap a spinach leaf around a baby carrot. The kids already loved carrots, and surprisingly, they quickly began liking spinach, too!

Another simple snack for toddlers all the way to big kids is to let them go fishing. On a plate, place a dollop of peanut butter along with some fish-shaped snack crackers. Then you can get creative with "fishing rods". I've used pretzel sticks, celery sticks, and carrot sticks. They use the sticks dipped in the peanut butter to pick up the fish crackers. To make it even healthier, substitute or supplement the crackers with small cheese cubes or diced fruit.

Mold Shakes

After making my kids' lunch the other day, I called them in from playing outside. I told them that sometimes I had to be creative with leftovers in order to make the most of our groceries, so they had to just eat what they were given without complaining. (They're plenty used to hearing that!) Then I explained that I had found a container in the back of the fridge with mold in it and decided to make it into something special for them.

Both kids were giggling and tasting and trying to decide what it could be. Oldest Girl guessed sherbet. The Boy thought it was green tea. After they both drank every drop and admitted they loved it, I confessed what it really was.

Here's the recipe so you can gross your kids out, too!

Mold Shakes
1 avocado, peeled and sliced
1 cup milk
1 cup ice cubes
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons sugar

Combine all that in a blender and give it a whirl!

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

I didn't know bread was so important until I married my Sweetie. He grew up eating it at every meal. I learned quickly that if I didn't make bread to go with dinner he'd grab a slice of loaf bread. White loaf bread! The stuff that isn't worth eating unless it's slathered with butter and cheese, transforming it into a delicious grilled cheese sandwich! I remember thinking that the man had lost his mind. To make things worse, he didn't like cornbread. (Don't worry, I've since converted him.) Anyway, I had to find more and more bread recipes to satisfy his carbohydrate cravings and in the process I learned to like it more, too. Not that the following recipe is really bread. It's actually more like cake! Yum ...

Chocolate Zucchini Bread
3 eggs
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup unsweetened apple sauce
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups shredded zucchini
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
½ cup baking cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs, oil, applesauce, sugar and vanilla. Stir in zucchini. Combine dry ingredients; add to zucchini mixture and mix well. Pour into 2 greased 8x4x2 loaf pans. Bake at 350° for 1 hour. Yield: 2 loaves

*This freezes really well, too!

Here's the recipe made into muffins! Bake these for about 15-18 minutes. The recipe will make 2 dozen muffins.

Pumpkin Waffles

My Sweetie loves waffles. His favorite are Belgian-style, but these Pumpkin Waffles are pretty high on the list, too. I always make a few changes when I make waffles or pancakes from a basic recipe. I use whole-wheat flour in place of most or all of the all-purpose, I reduce the sugar if necessary, I add in chopped pecans (we're obsessed!), I use buttermilk if I have it, and I sometimes add in fruit flavors like shredded apple, mashed banana, or orange zest. Many recipes would adapt well to hiding veggies, too, by adding in a half to a whole cup of pureed carrots, pumpkin, or other squash, or shredded zucchini or carrots.

Waffles are so easy, too. Just mix up the batter, heat the waffle iron, and every three minutes you have two more beautiful waffles! Or one more, depending on your style of waffle iron. You get the point.

Another thing I love about waffles and pancakes is that they freeze beautifully. Layer them with waxed paper and place in a freezer bag -- then you can pull out just what you need to reheat. I usually do that in the oven at 350 for 10-12 minutes, flipping them over halfway through.