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

Pomegranate-Strawberry Smoothie

I'm sharing someone else's recipe today ... my Oldest Girl's! She loves to experiment with smoothies for breakfast or snacks. She also has developed a real love for pomegranate. This is one of her favorite smoothie recipes:

Pomegranate-Strawberry Smoothie

2 containers (5.3 oz each) pomegranate Greek yogurt
1/2 cup frozen strawberries
1 tablespoon honey
splash of milk

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Serves one!

Piña Colada Shakes

My kiddos adore what I've always called shakes. A more popular term would be "smoothies", I suppose, but no matter what you call them my kids love 'em. They're very versatile  - I usually just throw together whatever I have into the blender and they drink it right up. Even Little One comes running when she hears the blender going. I've posted about them before, and here's a different take on their favorite treat:

Piña Colada Shakes

2-6 ounce cups orange creme yogurt
1 banana
1 cup frozen pineapple chunks
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
1 cup milk

Combine all the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.

Sunday Night Review 10/2

Last night the menu was BBQ Chicken Sandwiches, Twice-Baked Potato Casserole, and Strawberry-Limeade Punch. The chicken was just a mix of light and dark meat mixed with Spicy Honey barbecue sauce and cooked in the slow cooker for several hours.

Twice-Baked Potato Casserole 

5 lb russet potatoes 
8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted 
1 cup sour cream
1 green onion, chopped
1-1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 350° degrees. Peel potatoes, and cut into chunks. Place in a large saucepan, and add enough cold water to cover by about 2 inches. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and reduce to a simmer. Cook until tender and easily pierced with a paring knife, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a colander to drain; return to pan.

Mash the potatoes in pan until light and fluffy. Add the cream cheese, butter, and sour cream, and stir until combined and smooth. Add the green onion, 1 cup cheddar cheese, half the bacon, salt, and pepper. Stir until well combined.

Transfer to a buttered 9 x 13 baking dish. Top with remaining 1/2 cup cheddar cheese. Bake until top is slightly golden and potatoes are heated through, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven; garnish with remaining bacon. Serve immediately.

Ginger Tea

Nothing says "It's Fall!" like cold and flu season! Though my kids are homeschooled, I get a sore throat at the beginning of the school year every fall just because of all the instructing/reading aloud I'm doing that my voice is not used to. And inevitably we get those winter sniffles.

This year, though, I have a "secret" weapon! People have told me for years to use honey, ginger, garlic, etc. to fight colds and I'm doing it this go-round. Today, I made peppery, sweet, surprisingly scrumptious Ginger Tea to soothe the sore throat that's been creeping up on me.

Ginger Tea

1-1/2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and shredded
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon honey

In a small saucepan, bring two cups of water and the ginger to a boil. Simmer the tea for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, pour the lemon juice and honey into a mug. When the tea is ready, strain it into the mug. Enjoy!

(You can certainly adjust the lemon and honey to your taste.)

Smooth Strawberry Soup

If you like strawberries, you will LOVE this soup. It is sweet, cool, creamy, pink, and divine! It's a wonderful special treat for our family. The blend of flavors is perfect.


Smooth Strawberry Soup

1 quart strawberries, halved 
2 cups apple juice (natural, unsweetened)
1 cup (8 ounces) reduced-fat sour cream 
1/4 cup packed brown sugar 
1/2 cup honey 
2 tablespoons lemon juice 
1-1/2 cups half-and-half cream 
3 tablespoons orange juice

In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Place half of the mixture in a blender; cover and process until pureed. Transfer to a large bowl. Repeat with the remaining strawberry mixture. (At this point you can strain the mixture to remove the strawberry seeds, but it's not necessary.) Stir in cream and orange juice. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Party Snacks

Friday night we had a get together with our college folks - a photo scavenger hunt. This was the third one we've done, and everyone seems to love it. We put crazy stuff on the list like a rotary-dial telephone, a walrus and a Disney VHS tape, along with fun bonus pictures such as "I can't believe we all fit in there!" Anyway, this year we made the finish line a surprise and they had to follow hidden clues to get there. When they arrived, we had snacks set out for them to munch on while we waited for each team to make it to the finish line.

We had eaten dinner earlier that evening, so I really just wanted to have popcorn and sweets. I made Mint Chocolate Softies and Key Lime Bites, Watermelon Sorbet, and provided a few seasoning mixes (Italian Parmesan, Cinnamon Sugar, and Spicy) for people to sprinkle on their popcorn. For punch, I mixed Fresca and orange juice and stirred in scoops of orange sherbet.

Strawberry Limeade Punch

Need a yummy punch for a summer party? Look no further!

I am addicted to  Sonic's Strawberry Limeade: it's so good! When I saw that Sonic had sought to improve the Strawberry Limeade by offering it in smoothie version I had to try it! It was so delicious I knew I had to make it  into a punch. This makes a big batch! If you don't have a really big  punch bowl, you might want to start with half the ingredients and add  more later.

16 ounces fresh strawberries, hulled and halved
12 ounce can frozen limeade concentrate, partially thawed
1-1/2 quarts vanilla ice cream
2-2 liter bottles Sierra Mist

Give the strawberries and limeade concentrate a whir in the blender (you may need to do two batches). If you need some liquid, add a touch of milk. Pour this mixture into your punch bowl; stir in the ice cream until it's partially melted. Add in the Sierra Mist slowly, stirring gently as you go -- it will foam up a LOT. And there it is. Deliciousness.

Also, you can use frozen whole berries - just thaw them slightly before blending.

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.

Perfect Pairs -- Cranberry Spritzer

At our homeschool Thanksgiving party this year, one of the moms introduced me to a wonderfully simple little drink. Simply combine equal amounts of Sprite and cranberry juice! Of course, you can adjust the amounts either way if you like it sweeter or tangier. Yum!

Mocha Punch

I get requests for this punch all the time! I made it for a ladies' meeting at church several years ago, and people still talk about it. It tastes like a chocolate shake with a mild coffee flavor in the background. Need a stunning punch for a party? This is the recipe you've been looking for!

Mocha Punch

6 cups water
1/2 cup instant chocolate drink mix
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup instant coffee granules
1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream
1/2 gallon chocolate ice cream


In a large saucepan, bring water to a boil. Remove from the heat. Add drink mix, sugar and coffee; stir until dissolved. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
    About 30 minutes before serving, pour mixture into a large punch bowl. Add ice cream by scoopfuls; stir until partially melted.

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!

Hot Cocoa

My family loves having hot cocoa together on movie night. (It was The Glenn Miller Story last night!) Here's our favorite recipe:

1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup baking cocoa
dash of salt
1/3 cup brewed coffee
4 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

Whisk all ingredients together in a medium saucepan and slowly heat through. Serve in mugs over mini marshmallows.

Spiced Apple Cider

 I learned something new last year that I thought I'd share with y'all. Apple juice, apple cider, and spiced apple cider are all different things! Apple cider is what is produced when the apples are mashed and pressed into a liquid. Juice is produced when cider is filtered. Often sugar is also added. Spiced apple cider is just what it sounds like -- cider that has had spices added to it. It can be served hot or cold. "Hard" cider is the one you want to stay away from, as it's alcoholic!

1 gallon natural unsweetened apple juice (or cider)
1/2 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Combine all; heat through and serve. I like to use the slowcooker for mine. It's ready after about 3 hours on low.