A friend of mine sent me some recipes for some "green" smoothies. The idea is that you can tastefully drink your healthy (but sometimes not so tasty) greens in a fruit smoothie. These are not my recipes, but I wanted to share them for anyone who is interested in making them. I tried the Orange Cream and loved it! It was SOO much better than the ones I had come up with on my own. Disclaimer: It isn't going to taste like a normal smoothie so don't expect it to. BUT it is very healthy and I personally feel, tasty. I used regular vanilla soy, but the Very Vanilla from Silk might be mighty fine.... You could probably use regular milk or vanilla almond milk.
Combine ingredients into a bender. Blend until smooth (really smooth - you don't want to see green flecks floating around in it. A quality blender is helpful. Mine is a Kitchen Aid 5 speed and it does a great job)
Orange Cream Kale
2 cups vanilla soy milk
3 whole kale leaves
1 ½ cups frozen tropical fruit
Fruit of 1 fresh orange or one 7-oz can mandarin oranges, drained
¼ cup dry milk
6 oz (½ of can) frozen orange juice concentrate
6 oz vanilla yogurt
Blueberry Lime Kale
2 cups soy milk
3 whole kale leaves
1 ½ cups frozen blueberries
½ cup pineapple chunks
6 oz blueberry yogurt
4 Tbsp lime juice (lemon is nasty with kale)
Berries & Kale
2 cups soy milk
3 whole kale leaves
1 ½ cups frozen mixed berries
½ cup frozen tropical fruits
2-3 Tbsp dry milk
6 oz (1/2 of can) frozen juice concentrate of apples or any berries
6 oz mixed berries yogurt
Strawberries & Cream Kale
2 cups vanilla soy milk
3 whole kale leaves
1 ½ cups frozen strawberries
½ cup frozen tropical fruits
¼ cup dry milk
two 6 oz cups strawberry yogurt
Tropical Kale
2 cups soy milk
3 whole kale leaves
2 cups frozen tropical fruits
6 oz pineapple yogurt
4 Tbsp lime juice (not lemon!)
The following is taken from http://www.everynutrient.com/healthbenefitsofkale.html
"Kale provides an excellent source of vitamins B6 and C, carotenes, and manganese. It is also a very good source of vitamins B1, B2, and E, fiber, iron, copper, and calcium. Kale has almost three times as much calcium as phosphorus. This is a beneficial ratio because high phosphorus consumption has been linked to osteoporosis since it reduces the utilization and promotes the excretion of calcium. Kale and collard greens exhibit the same anticancer properties as other members of the cabbage family. "
Nov 3, 2010
Oct 28, 2010
Greenbrier Chicken Salad
This is my FAVORITE chicken salad ever! I can't believe I finally have the recipe! The Greenbrier posted it on facebook so I would assume it is authentic. I can't believe how simple it is. I usually put yummy things like grapes and almonds into my chicken salad but really this on some sour dough with lettuce and tomato.... I am drooling thinking about it. **Update: when I made this it didn't hit me like when I've had it at the Greenbrier. I don't know if that is because I wasn't sitting on a a patio overlooking the golf course with the summer breeze blowing on my face or if I didn't use enough salt... Not sure. Anyone have any tweaks??
Dorothy's Chicken Salad (The Greenbrier's chicken salad)
2 lbs cooked chicken (white meat)
l cup sour cream
l/4 cup mayonnaise
3/4 cup finely diced celery
Salt & white pepper to taste
Cider vinegar (½ tsp or to taste)
Mix all ingredients together. Place in refrigerator to chill.
Dorothy's Chicken Salad (The Greenbrier's chicken salad)
2 lbs cooked chicken (white meat)
l cup sour cream
l/4 cup mayonnaise
3/4 cup finely diced celery
Salt & white pepper to taste
Cider vinegar (½ tsp or to taste)
Mix all ingredients together. Place in refrigerator to chill.
Oct 27, 2010
Scalloped Poatoes with Ham
I got the original recipe for this meal from foodnetwork. However, reading it over was all it took to realized someone published it in a hurry. The amount of ingrediants seemed off, there was no indication of how much it made or even what size casserole dish to bake it in, and the seasonings were... lacking. Eric and I tinkered with it and I think we've got a creamy, delicious way to use up extra potatoes or ham.
Scalloped Potatoes with Ham
serves 8-10
4 TBS butter
4 TBS flour
3 cups milk
1 1/2 tsp salt (or more to taste)
1/4 to 1/2 tsp pepper (or to taste)
Remaining ingredients:
6-8 small russet poatoes peeled and thinly scliced (circles)
1 LBS ham, diced (pre-cooked either from left overs or pre-packaged. I love having some pre-slicedham in the freezer)
8oz block cheddar, grated (half white and half orange is nice- Cabbot Seriously Sharp is YUM)
1. Grease 9X13 with butter. Preheat oven to 375
2. Melt butter for onions in a large pot over medium heat. Add sliced onions. Stir occasionally, adding a few sprinkes of salt. These will take a while to cook. You want them to carmalize - which means turn light brown. They will cook down (reduce) significantly. When they are done, remove from heat.
3. While the onions are cooking, make your sauce. Heat the butter in a large sauce pan on medium heat until just melted. Add flour, stiring constantly for 1 minute. You might need to turn the heat down a little bit - if it turns light brown that is OK, but by reducing the heat will help. Remove sauce pan from heat and whisk in milk. Return pan to heat (medium) and whisk until it starts to thicken, remove from heat. Add salt and pepper. You'll want to do this right before you assemble because the sauce will thicken and be hard to spread as it cools.
4. Spread 1/3 of the sauce in a 9X13 pan. Top with half the potatoes, half the onions, half the ham, and 1/3 of the cheese. Repeat ending with cheese. This will be your layering:
sauce, potato, onion, ham, cheese, sauce, potato, onion, ham, cheese, sauce, cheese.
5. Bake in a 375 degree oven for about an hour. I covered mine with foil for the first 1/2 hour as it was really stacked high and I wanted to help the potatoes cook and didn't want the cheese to burn.
Scalloped Potatoes with Ham
serves 8-10
Onions:
2 medium onions, thinly sliced (I thought this was perfect, Eric thought it was a little too much)
2-3 TBS butter
4 TBS butter
4 TBS flour
3 cups milk
1 1/2 tsp salt (or more to taste)
1/4 to 1/2 tsp pepper (or to taste)
Remaining ingredients:
6-8 small russet poatoes peeled and thinly scliced (circles)
1 LBS ham, diced (pre-cooked either from left overs or pre-packaged. I love having some pre-slicedham in the freezer)
8oz block cheddar, grated (half white and half orange is nice- Cabbot Seriously Sharp is YUM)
1. Grease 9X13 with butter. Preheat oven to 375
2. Melt butter for onions in a large pot over medium heat. Add sliced onions. Stir occasionally, adding a few sprinkes of salt. These will take a while to cook. You want them to carmalize - which means turn light brown. They will cook down (reduce) significantly. When they are done, remove from heat.
3. While the onions are cooking, make your sauce. Heat the butter in a large sauce pan on medium heat until just melted. Add flour, stiring constantly for 1 minute. You might need to turn the heat down a little bit - if it turns light brown that is OK, but by reducing the heat will help. Remove sauce pan from heat and whisk in milk. Return pan to heat (medium) and whisk until it starts to thicken, remove from heat. Add salt and pepper. You'll want to do this right before you assemble because the sauce will thicken and be hard to spread as it cools.
4. Spread 1/3 of the sauce in a 9X13 pan. Top with half the potatoes, half the onions, half the ham, and 1/3 of the cheese. Repeat ending with cheese. This will be your layering:
sauce, potato, onion, ham, cheese, sauce, potato, onion, ham, cheese, sauce, cheese.
5. Bake in a 375 degree oven for about an hour. I covered mine with foil for the first 1/2 hour as it was really stacked high and I wanted to help the potatoes cook and didn't want the cheese to burn.
Sep 1, 2010
Spinach Patties
I got this recipe from one of my good friends. Although I liked it, I thought it could use a little something extra. These are easy to make and mostly healthy and pretty cheap. Not to mention, you probably have what you need to make them already, and who doesn't love that?
Spinach Patties
1 box frozen spinach
1 1/2 cup cooked rice
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs
1/3 cup diced onion (more or less depending on your taste - it will be raw so keep that in mind)
1-2 TBS cream cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Put spinach in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for about 3 minutes. Stir with a fork. Microwave for an additional 1-2 minutes. Then using clean hands, squeeze out the liquid from the spinach into the sink and transfer dry spinach to another bowl (one handful at a time).
Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
Heat on the stove top about 1/4 cup vegetable oil in a 10inch skillet to med-high to high heat (you know how well your stove works).
Form the mixture into small patties, about 1/4 cup, using clean hands. Drop CAREFULLY into the hot oil.
Cook about 2-3 minutes on each side - until light golden brown and crisp. Place cooked patties on a plate lined with paper towel.
Serve with white sauce, recipe follows...
WHITE SAUCE
There are many ways you can make a white sauce. You can make a plain roue:
1 cup milk
1 TBS butter
1 TBS flour
Heat on stove top over medium/medium-low heat until thickened. (bland in my opinion)
You can make it a cheese sauce by adding your favorite shredded cheese to the above mixture and stirring until melted. You would do this as a start to a home made mac and cheese, BTW.
OR --- you can make an Alfredo sauce...
Basic Alfredo
1/2 cup milk (cream works best if you have some, don't use anything less than 2%)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1-2 cloves garlic, pressed with a garlic press
Heat over medium heat, whisking constantly until thickened. You can add milk and parm to reach the taste and consistency you desire.
Spinach Patties
1 box frozen spinach
1 1/2 cup cooked rice
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs
1/3 cup diced onion (more or less depending on your taste - it will be raw so keep that in mind)
1-2 TBS cream cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Put spinach in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for about 3 minutes. Stir with a fork. Microwave for an additional 1-2 minutes. Then using clean hands, squeeze out the liquid from the spinach into the sink and transfer dry spinach to another bowl (one handful at a time).
Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
Heat on the stove top about 1/4 cup vegetable oil in a 10inch skillet to med-high to high heat (you know how well your stove works).
Form the mixture into small patties, about 1/4 cup, using clean hands. Drop CAREFULLY into the hot oil.
Cook about 2-3 minutes on each side - until light golden brown and crisp. Place cooked patties on a plate lined with paper towel.
Serve with white sauce, recipe follows...
WHITE SAUCE
There are many ways you can make a white sauce. You can make a plain roue:
1 cup milk
1 TBS butter
1 TBS flour
Heat on stove top over medium/medium-low heat until thickened. (bland in my opinion)
You can make it a cheese sauce by adding your favorite shredded cheese to the above mixture and stirring until melted. You would do this as a start to a home made mac and cheese, BTW.
OR --- you can make an Alfredo sauce...
Basic Alfredo
1/2 cup milk (cream works best if you have some, don't use anything less than 2%)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1-2 cloves garlic, pressed with a garlic press
Heat over medium heat, whisking constantly until thickened. You can add milk and parm to reach the taste and consistency you desire.
Jul 26, 2010
Sweet Sausage Rolls
A friend of mine made these at an engagement party for her sister and they were so scrumptious! I, shamefully, couldn't get enough! They would be great for any party - baby shower, bridal shower, brunch, birthday, New Years, Christmas/Holiday - where finger or toothpick foods are desired.
Sweet Sausage Rolls
1- 8oz tube cresent rolls
24 mini smoked sausage links (lil smokies)
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup chopped nuts (pecans)
3 TBSP honey
3 TBSP brown sugar
Unroll dough. Cut into 3 or 4 pieces. Roll up sausages in dough. Combineother ingredients in a 11x7x2 baking dish. Place sausage rolls, seam sidedown, in butter mixture. Bake uncovered 400 for 15-20 min.
Serve with little toothpicks.
Sweet Sausage Rolls
1- 8oz tube cresent rolls
24 mini smoked sausage links (lil smokies)
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup chopped nuts (pecans)
3 TBSP honey
3 TBSP brown sugar
Unroll dough. Cut into 3 or 4 pieces. Roll up sausages in dough. Combineother ingredients in a 11x7x2 baking dish. Place sausage rolls, seam sidedown, in butter mixture. Bake uncovered 400 for 15-20 min.
Serve with little toothpicks.
Apr 30, 2010
Chicken and Rice Skillet
We love this go-to recipe for adults and kids alike!
Chicken and Rice Skillet
serves 4-6
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2 cans broth or 2-4 cubes bouillon
2 1/2 cups diced carrots
1/2tsp pepper
1 can (12.5oz) chicken
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley (or half if using dried)
1 cup regular (non-instant) rice
Melt butter on medium heat in a large skillet or pot (needs a lid). Saute celery and onion in melted butter until tender. Add enough water to broth to make 4 cups liquid. Add to skillet measured liquid, rice, carrots, pepper. Cover and simmer 15 minutes. Add chicken (use a fork to break apart chunks) and parsley. Cover and simmer another 15 minutes.
Serve with rolls or French bread and a salad.
There ya go. With one of those chopper tools like "all of us" have from Pampered Chef, this recipe is a cinch.
Chicken and Rice Skillet
serves 4-6
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2 cans broth or 2-4 cubes bouillon
2 1/2 cups diced carrots
1/2tsp pepper
1 can (12.5oz) chicken
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley (or half if using dried)
1 cup regular (non-instant) rice
Melt butter on medium heat in a large skillet or pot (needs a lid). Saute celery and onion in melted butter until tender. Add enough water to broth to make 4 cups liquid. Add to skillet measured liquid, rice, carrots, pepper. Cover and simmer 15 minutes. Add chicken (use a fork to break apart chunks) and parsley. Cover and simmer another 15 minutes.
Serve with rolls or French bread and a salad.
There ya go. With one of those chopper tools like "all of us" have from Pampered Chef, this recipe is a cinch.
Jan 14, 2010
Red Beans and Rice, and Corn Pudding
I often get recipes from http://www.ourbestbitse.com/. It is one of my favorite site! This recipe is from that site. My friend Kate is a Logan, UT girl living with her husband and kids in Louisiana right now. She posted about red beans and rice and I thought, hey I'll try it. My first attempt ended with a mush of flavorless, well, mush. I made two mistakes: 1) cooking it all day. Only cooking it for 5 hours on high worked MUCH better then all day on low. 2) I used Zateran's Creole flavoring instead of Tony's. Second time, used Tony's and it actually had flavor! So check out her recipe here:
Red Beans and Rice
http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/02/red-beans-and-rice.html
To go with the Red Beans and Rice, I threw together a Corn Pudding. Now, this is different from corn bread. It is tender and soft, yummy and sweet. I got the recipe from Paula Dean, but made some changes - mostly cut the amount of butter in half! I also lessened the sour cream.
Corn Pudding
1 can corn, drained
1 can creamed corn
1 box Jiffy corn bread mix
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup butter, melted
Set oven to 350. Combine ingredients in a large bowl. Grease a 9X13 casserole dish. Pour mixture into dish and bake for 45-60 minutes, until golden on top.
Red Beans and Rice
http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/02/red-beans-and-rice.html
To go with the Red Beans and Rice, I threw together a Corn Pudding. Now, this is different from corn bread. It is tender and soft, yummy and sweet. I got the recipe from Paula Dean, but made some changes - mostly cut the amount of butter in half! I also lessened the sour cream.
Corn Pudding
1 can corn, drained
1 can creamed corn
1 box Jiffy corn bread mix
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup butter, melted
Set oven to 350. Combine ingredients in a large bowl. Grease a 9X13 casserole dish. Pour mixture into dish and bake for 45-60 minutes, until golden on top.
Pumpkin Pancakes
As a mom, some days I just don't feel like doing much for dinner, but kids still need to eat. I often fall back to pancakes, but there is one problem: what's in a pancake? Nothing much of nutritional value, really. So sitting around my pantry was a can of pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling, just pumpkin). So I thought, hey, why not? Pumpkin is a vegetable packed with nutritional value (my friend Heidi confirmed this by looking up all the benefits of eating pumpkin). I got the base of this recipe from allrecipies.com. Use mine or make your own modifications. This is so much fun! And I am pretty sure it counts as a serving of vegetables.
Pumpkin Pancakes
2 cups all-purpose flour (or whole wheat)
3 TBS brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp allspice
2-3 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups milk
1 cup pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
1 egg
2 TBS vegetable oil (can substitute apple sauce)
2 TBS vinegar
1. Combine milk and vinegar in a bowl and set aside for at least 5 minutes.
2. Sift together dry ingredients and spices.
3. Add to milk mixture, 1 egg beaten, oil, and pumpkin. Mix well.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry, mixing only to combine.
Now with regular pancakes I would STRESS about not over mixing at this point. But this recipe is more flexible then regular pancakes, so if you over mix it isn't a big deal.
5. Heat large skillet over medium heat. Oil pan (even my best non-stick needed oil with these).
6. Once hot, pour about 1/4 cup batter for each pancake onto skillet. Cook for about 2 minutes each side. NOW with regular pancakes you wait for the bubbles on the up-side. Not with these. I waited too long with the first patch and had a burnt underside.
You can add chocolate chips if you want, although that kind of defeats the health factor. Serve with butter, or whipped cream, or Nutella, or apple sauce, or maple syrup. You can at this point keep them as healthy or not as you want!
Pumpkin Pancakes
2 cups all-purpose flour (or whole wheat)
3 TBS brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp allspice
2-3 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups milk
1 cup pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
1 egg
2 TBS vegetable oil (can substitute apple sauce)
2 TBS vinegar
1. Combine milk and vinegar in a bowl and set aside for at least 5 minutes.
2. Sift together dry ingredients and spices.
3. Add to milk mixture, 1 egg beaten, oil, and pumpkin. Mix well.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry, mixing only to combine.
Now with regular pancakes I would STRESS about not over mixing at this point. But this recipe is more flexible then regular pancakes, so if you over mix it isn't a big deal.
5. Heat large skillet over medium heat. Oil pan (even my best non-stick needed oil with these).
6. Once hot, pour about 1/4 cup batter for each pancake onto skillet. Cook for about 2 minutes each side. NOW with regular pancakes you wait for the bubbles on the up-side. Not with these. I waited too long with the first patch and had a burnt underside.
You can add chocolate chips if you want, although that kind of defeats the health factor. Serve with butter, or whipped cream, or Nutella, or apple sauce, or maple syrup. You can at this point keep them as healthy or not as you want!
Jan 8, 2010
The best fudge EVER... And I never lie!
This recipe is The Lady and Son's Just Desserts by Paula Dean. I remember seeing her make it and rave about it on her show, and it caught my attention because of the MOST unusual ingredient... BUT having made it quite a few times, this is the best fudge you will ever have. Honestly, I recently spend a small fortune on a very small piece of fudge at a farmers market (OK, OK it was last summer not too recent...) and was steamin' mad that it wasn't that great... At least compared to this recipe! So for you Valentine sweetheart, don't bother wasting money on store bought junk. Make this instead!
Chocolate Cheese Fudge by Paula Dean
1/2 LBS Velveeta cheese, sliced
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup chopped nuts (I like pecans personally)
2 16oz boxes confectioners' sugar (or 32oz bag)
1/2 cup cocoa
Spray lightly the bottom of a 9X2 in square pan with nonstick spray.
Over medium heat in a saucepan, melt cheese and butter together, stirring constantly until smooth. Remove from heat. Add vanilla and nuts. In a large bowl, sift together sugar and cocoa. Pour cheese mixture into sugar-cocoa mixture, stirring until completely mixed. Candy will be very stiff. Paula says she has found it is easier to do the final mixing with her hands (I agree). Using your hands, remove candy from bowl and press evenly and firmly into pan. Because of the amount of butter in this recipe, she likes to pat the top of the candy with a paper towel to remove excess oil. At this point you may want to refrigerate until firm, depending on how quickly you want to serve it. Thirty minutes will usually do the trick. Cut into squares.
She also notes: For peanut butter fudge, leave out cocoa and add 1 cup creamy peanut butter. Melt cheese and butter together, then add peanut butter and stir until smooth. Proceed as directed in original directions. If you desire, you can press nuts into the top when you're done.
No pictures sorry :( I last made this at my friend Heidi's house for her family for Christmas. Be sure to wear an apron so you don't ruin your clothes when the butter splats (or you splat the butter because you aren't being careful.... grumble...)
Chocolate Cheese Fudge by Paula Dean
1/2 LBS Velveeta cheese, sliced
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup chopped nuts (I like pecans personally)
2 16oz boxes confectioners' sugar (or 32oz bag)
1/2 cup cocoa
Spray lightly the bottom of a 9X2 in square pan with nonstick spray.
Over medium heat in a saucepan, melt cheese and butter together, stirring constantly until smooth. Remove from heat. Add vanilla and nuts. In a large bowl, sift together sugar and cocoa. Pour cheese mixture into sugar-cocoa mixture, stirring until completely mixed. Candy will be very stiff. Paula says she has found it is easier to do the final mixing with her hands (I agree). Using your hands, remove candy from bowl and press evenly and firmly into pan. Because of the amount of butter in this recipe, she likes to pat the top of the candy with a paper towel to remove excess oil. At this point you may want to refrigerate until firm, depending on how quickly you want to serve it. Thirty minutes will usually do the trick. Cut into squares.
She also notes: For peanut butter fudge, leave out cocoa and add 1 cup creamy peanut butter. Melt cheese and butter together, then add peanut butter and stir until smooth. Proceed as directed in original directions. If you desire, you can press nuts into the top when you're done.
No pictures sorry :( I last made this at my friend Heidi's house for her family for Christmas. Be sure to wear an apron so you don't ruin your clothes when the butter splats (or you splat the butter because you aren't being careful.... grumble...)
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