Saturday Superfood Smoothies

A friend of mine turned me onto the idea of Vitamix.  After a conversation about how great they are, combined with her generous idea of bringing us smoothies at the playground, I was sold. I asked for one for my birthday this year! I was especially sold as I watched my kids drink kale like it was going out of style.

Here is the recipe that sold us (me) on the idea of purchasing a Vitamix!

Triple Berry Smoothie

1 c. almond milk
2 bananas
1 c. frozen mixed berries
2 handfuls kale or spinach
1 tbsp. agave

Put everything in a vitamix on Smoothie program until done. Delicious and the kids gobbled it up!

Strawberry Smoothie

1 c. strawberry greek yogurt

1 banana

1 c. frozen strawberries

1 c. almond milk

Put everything in a vitamix on Smoothie program until done. Molly's favorite! :)

Turkey Sloppy Joe's

Turkey Sloppy Joe's

• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• 2-1/2 pounds Ground Turkey
• 1/2 whole Large Onion, Diced
• 1 whole Large Green Bell Pepper, Diced
• 5 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1-1/2 cup Ketchup
• 1 cup Water
• 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
• 2 teaspoons Chili Powder (more To Taste)
• 1 teaspoon Dry Mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes (more To Taste)
•  Worcestershire Sauce, To Taste
• 1/2 c. Tomato Sauce
•  Salt To Taste
•  Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste
•  Kaiser Rolls
•  Butter

Add butter to a large skillet or dutch oven over medium high heat. Add ground beef and cook until brown. Drain most of the fat and discard.

Add onions, green pepper, and garlic. Cook for a few minutes, or until vegetables begin to get soft.

Add ketchup, brown sugar, chili pepper, dry mustard, and water. Stir to combine and simmer for 15 minutes, adding salt and pepper to taste. Also add tomato paste, Worcestershire, and Tabasco if desired. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

Spread rolls with butter and brown on a griddle or skillet. Spoon meat mixture over the rolls,serve with kettle chips.

Adapted from The Pioneer Woman (except she uses beef!)

Teriyaki Salmon and Rice

Teriyaki Salmon

This salmon dish never gets old, and it is my husband's favorite.  A little goes a long way, especially the thicker the salmon.

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 salmon filets

• 
  
• In a small saucepan over medium heat, add soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, garlic powder, honey and 1 cup water; bring to a simmer. Stir in cornstarch mixture until thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 2 minutes; let cool to room temperature. Marinade overnight if desired.  Grill in a hot pan over high heat. Turn after 2-3 minutes. Sear and then cook to desired doneness.

Serve with rice and veggies, we like edamame.

Mama's Pot Roast

Pot Roast

I used to make this all the time on Sundays. I don't do it as often anymore, simply because Bar-b-q is so much easier! But this is a fun dish and can be added to so many other things as leftovers- Beef Burgundy is one of our favorites for leftovers, as well as a simple stir fry.

Beef broth

3-4 whole carrots, peeled

onion chopped into quarters

3-4 garlic cloves, pressed

3-4 potatoes peeled and sliced thickly 

beef pot roast

salt and pepper to taste
dried rosemary
1 c. red wine, if desired

Combine everything in a slow cooker set on low. Cook 6-8 hours or until roast looks tender and done. You might want to slice meat half way through cooking so that the drippings cook into the meat.

noted: make a pot of garlic mashed potatoes instead of putting them into the slow cooker (saves space  if you have a large roast, as well!)

Serve with green beans, and rolls, and lots of butter. Homemade bread= even better.

This is filling and will please the whole family's palate! 

To make beef burgundy, reheat, add sour cream and mushrooms, serve with egg noodles.

Shrimp Marinade

Shrimp Marinade

I love shrimp. I like making it at home, and even better, love ordering it at seafood restaurants in a scampi. I was excited when I figured out how to make this delicious shrimp dish and turn it into shrimp scampi in one easy step- add butter! :)  This is- again- good for picky eaters. Serve with angel hair pasta or rice. Add big pieces of onion and pepper and cook on skewers to make shrimp kabobs!

juice/zest of one lime

3 cloves garlic, pressed1 jalapeño chopped/diced (optional)
3 tbsp. olive oil
thawed, dry, uncooked, shelled shrimp
butter

Marinate overnight in dressing. Cook on a grill or hot pan in sauce. Add butter at the end for a thicker scampi sauce.

Adapted from Martha Stewart Living

Chicken Tettrazini

Chicken Tettrazini

When we lived in Maryland, a good friend of mine introduced me to this recipe. I liked making it as a dish for new Moms, and bonus- my pickiest eater of all, Molly, liked it!

1/2 red pepper, chopped

2-3 breasts cooked chicken, diced

cream of mushroom soup

3/4 c. water

1/2 lb angel hair pasta

Combine all ingredients, in a large pot. Top with cheddar or mozzarella/parm and bake in a 400 oven for 20 min.

Mexican Lasagna

Mexican Lasagna

This is really delicious. I have made it far too many times! I like to serve it when we're expecting just a little company. Wouldn't want to make it for a big crowd. Not enough for me! ;)

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef
1 jar salsa
6 corn tortillas
1 can refried beans
1 c. sour cream
1 package pre-shredded Mexican blend cheese
Chopped fresh tomatoes and chopped scallions for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Mist a large skillet with Veg. oil cooking spray, and place over medium-high heat. Crumble in the ground beef and cook, stirring and breaking up the lumps with a wooden spoon, until the beef browns all over and is cooked through, 4-5 min. Stir in 1/2 c. of the salsa. Set beef mixture aside.
3. Spread the remaining salsa in the bottom of the 10 in. glass pie pan. Top with 3 of the tortillas. Spread half of the beans over the tortillas, then half of the meat mixture, the 1/2 of the sour cream, then 1 c. of the cheese. Top with remaining 3 tortillas and repeat the layers, ending with all but 1/4 c. of the remaining cheese. Cover the pie pan loosely with aluminum foil. 
4. Bake the lasagna until it is hot throughout and the cheese has melted, 20-25 min. Remove Mexican lasagna from the oven, let it rest for 5 min, then cut it into wedges or spoon servings onto plates, garnished with the remaining 1/4 c. cheese and chopped tomato and scallions. Serves 6-8

Coconut Curry Baked Chicken

Coconut Curry Baked Chicken

This is delicious and you don't have to make additional side dishes, since they are part of the main dish. You might want to have a frozen pizza on hand for picky eaters. It is spicy!

ingredients:

• 1 c. rice
• 1 lb. chicken breasts
• 1 1/2 c. milk
• 1/2 c. coconut milk
• raw cashews, crushed
• curry powder to taste
• salt and pepper
• cayenne pepper for additional spice

preparation:
1. put rice, milk, half and half, and coconut milk, and curry powder in baking dish and stir to combine.
2. add chicken breasts and dot with butter.
3. sprinkle with cashews.
4. bake at 350 for 1 hr.
5. add sliced carrots for last 30 minutes.

Company Chicken

Company Chicken

This is so, so yummy. one of my favorite things to serve my family, but even better to share with guests.  I found this in a favorite cookbook years ago, and I have made it many times and many different ways!

1 lb boneless chicken breasts

1 can cream of mushroom or chicken soup + 3/4 c. milk

diced onion or green onion

bacon bits or salami bits (optional)

Bake on 275 for 3 hours. Or use a slow cooker

Serve with sweet peas and sister shubert rolls

or over rice or egg noodles with fruit salad or raw celery and carrots or a salad

Brownie sundae or apple crisp for dessert.

What to do with your leftovers~  Chicken and Rice Casserole- Very good!

Make 3/4 c. rice and roux with cheddar cheese

Mix into leftover rice, stir with peas and chicken

Top with cheddar, crackers, and melted butter/parmesan

Serve with leftover rolls.