Green Smoothie Challenge

I was reading my friends blog and it inspired me to get more fruits and veggies into our diet. And a fun way is to make green smoothies each morning. I was a little skeptical that I would taste the kale or spinach but I must say - IT IS AMAZING and you can't taste the veggies at all and neither will your kids!

What you need - a good blender. I am now saving up for a vita-mix (https://secure.vitamix.com/acb/stores/4/Vita-Mix-5200-P748C108.aspx) You can watch how they make a green smoothie on their site.

Ok - what you need FOOD wise:
I froze 2 bananas- already cut up
1 Cup of fresh pineapple - I even used the core because it has great vitamins in it.
1 whole orange peeled
1 C water and a big handful of ice
I blended this until it all came together and looked like a smoothie.
I then added 3 C. fresh spinach and blended again for about 1 - 2 minutes. You want a SMOOTH smoothie so make sure you blend it until it looks really smooth. I put my setting on Ice Crush to get it this way. This make 2 smoothies - about 12 - 16 oz. size.

You can use any fruit you like and any green leafy veggie you want. After my 2 big bags of spinach are gone I am going to buy some kale. Try changing up your fruits and veggies so your body doesn't get used to just one thing! Try green grapes, orange and strawberry with kale. Yum!

Enjoy and know you are getting a lot of fruits and veggies to jump start your day.

Baked Tilapia with Cucumber Dill Sauce

Baked Tilapia
I usually just buy the individually frozen Tilapia but if your market has fresh that is even better

What you need:
Tilapia fillets - I fix 2 per person.
EVOO
Salt
Pepper
Old Bay seasoning

Line a baking sheet with foil and use a little spray to make sure the fish will not stick.
Place the frozen Tilapia on the foil and drizzle some EVOO on it. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on each fillet and then I use a generous amount of Old Bay to each fillet - you may like less on yours.
Bake at 375 for 15 minutes - you will know it is done when it flakes with a fork.



Cucumber Dill sauce.
I usually have to make a sauce for chicken, fish and pork because my husband is not a huge fan of these meats. This is a yummy sauce and you can use it on a lot of different meats!

1 C. light Sour Cream
1 diced cucumber - if you like a lot of cucumber use the whole thing - I usually pick a medium size and use it all.
1 T. dill weed.

Mix all 3 together in a bowl - add some salt and pepper to taste and there you have a fun sauce for your fish!

Chocolate Berried treasure bars

One of my good friends is coming over tomorrow for lunch and I decided to make sauteed tilapia with a sour cream dill sauce and that yummy pesto bread but wanted to have something fun for dessert - so I found this great recipe. I hope you enjoy it.

Chocolate Berried Treasure Bars

• 2 cups chocolate graham cracker crumbs
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 1 cup plain granola cereal
• 1 2/3 cups (10-oz. pkg.) Dark Chocolate Morsels, divided
• 1 1/3 cups (6-oz. pkg.) dried cranberries, blueberries and/or cherries - I used the dried triple berries from Trader Joe's.
  
• 1 cup sliced almonds, toasted
• 1 can (14 oz.) Sweetened Condensed Milk

1. Preheat oven to 350º F.
2. Melt butter in 13 x 9-inch baking pan in oven; remove from oven. Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs over butter. Stir well; press onto bottom of pan.
3. Layer granola, 1 1/4 cups morsels, dried fruit and almonds over graham cracker crust. Drizzle sweetened condensed milk over almonds.
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until browned and bubbly around edge. Cool completely in pan on wire rack.
5. Microwave remaining morsels in small, heavy-duty plastic bag on HIGH (100% power) for 30 to 45 seconds; knead. Cut tiny corner from bag and squeeze to drizzle over top of bar. Refrigerate for 5 to 10 minutes or until chocolate is form. Cut into bars.

These pictures are the graham cracker and first few ingredients then after the sweet and condensed milk. I will take another picture after it is done. I hope it is as good as it sounds!

Chicken Nuggets for kids or adults

These chicken nuggets are healthy and kids love them.

What you need:
1 pound of chicken breasts cut up or you can use chicken tenders cut in half.
1 cup of Fiber One Original bran cereal
1 tsp. of dried basil leaves
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/4 C. skim milk
1 T. EVOO

Heat oven to 450. Spray bottom of a 9x13 pan with cooking spray - or you can coat it with a little EVOO.
Place cereal in a gallon zip lock bag and finely crush with a rolling pin or put the cereal in your food processor and finely crush it.
In a little bowl mix together cereal, basil, salt and pepper.
In a different shallow bowl, place milk.

Dip chicken pieces into milk then roll in the cereal mixture and place in your pan.

Drizzle EVOO over the chicken and bake uncovered for about 15 minutes. When juices run clear or chicken is no longer pink your chicken is ready to eat.

This is an easy and quick recipe and there is no guilt over feeding your kids chicken nuggets.

You can serve this with mashed cauliflower "potatoes".

Steam a head of cauliflower - and place in your food processor.
mix in a little salt, pepper, butter, and a couple tablespoons of skim milk and process until you get your desired consistency. You can use a little bit of instant potato flakes to improve the texture if you need.
Your kids may not even notice a difference!

Chalupas - crock pot recipe!

This is such an easy recipe and it feeds a lot of people!

What you will need:
1. 3 lb - pork tenderloin roast - I use 2 of the 1 1/2 pound roasts that are pre-packaged from my grocery store but if you can buy a fresh one that would be great too.
2. 1 lb bag of pinto beans - you will need to soak these overnight then rinse them in the morning. Don't forget to put the beans in the crock pot to cook all day!
3. 2 - 3 garlic cloves - chopped
4. 2 T. chili powder
5. 1 T. cumin - ground
6. 1 T. salt
7. 1 tsp. of oregano
8. 1 small can of chopped green chiles -I usually use 2 cans.

Put all the ingredients in a crock pot and fill with water (enough to cover all your food).

I usually put this on before I leave for work and it is ready by dinner. - let this cook on LOW for at least 6 hours. After 6 hours take out the bones (if your roast had bones) and shred your roast then return the shredded meat to the crock pot. Continue cooking with lid OFF for another half hour. This allows it to thicken a little.

Serve the chalupa meat over a bed of Frito's or in a tortilla. Add shredded cheese, chopped onions, shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, salsa and sour cream.

I hope you enjoy this as much as we do! It is a staple in our house and it freezes GREAT so you can enjoy chalupas whenever you want!

Yummy Pesto and Tomato bread

Jeremy and I went on vacation a couple of weeks ago and we had this AMAZING appetizer and I tried to copy it. If I would have had baby spinach I would have added a little bit and very thinly sliced red onion to this bread. But it was great as is!

Pesto -

3 C. basil leaves

1/2 C. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 cloves garlic

dash of salt

dash of pepper

I put this all into a food processor and let it all blend together until it forms a sauce consistency.

Cut your Italian loaf of bread in a diagonal. Place on a cookie sheet and put it in the oven (400 degrees) for 5 minutes - flip bread and repeat.

Spread pesto sauce on bread then drizzle with EVOO and Balsamic Vinegar. Place a very thinly sliced piece of tomato on top of that and bake for another 5 minutes.

Take out your amazing bread and top it with goat cheese - I used the garlic and basil flavored kind but I like the plain goat cheese just as well. My husband likes fresh mozzarella on his. I think you could use any soft cheese you like but if you are wondering what goat cheese tastes like - TRY IT - it is amazing! It is creamy and works amazing with this recipe.

Remember - buy local and organic whenever possible! Taste the difference.