Morning Smoothie

Okay, I have been requested by some friends and family to post my "Mean & Green" morning smoothie recipe. I actually found a recipe on Pinterest that was eerily similar. I mean, super duper similar!! I think it's great that others have the same idea I have to stay healthy but not at the expense of flavor.

Mean & Green Morning Smoothie

Ingredients:

1/2 Banana
1/4 cup Orange Juice
Small handful of Baby Spinach Leaves
2 dollups of Greek Yogurt (I prefer the Vanilla & Honey flavored)
3 piece of frozen Peaches (sliced)
Small handful of frozen & diced Mangoes & Pineapples

Place into blender and blend like crazy. You can add some more OJ if you prefer it to be thinner but I like mine on the thick side. It's your choice. Also, I have added frozen strawberries and other fruits occasionally and it always turns out great. Get crazy with it but don't forget the Greek yogurt and spinach leaves. Those are essential in my opinion!

I'm also posting the picture I found on Pinterest if you want to save it.

It's very close to what I do. I have a smoothie every morning and one in the late afternoon on the weekends. It's yummy and it makes me feel good knowing I'm staying healthy.

Stay Awesome!!

Product review: Power Blender

I have to post about a product that I have been using for a while. No. I have recieved no money for this review so you know my love of this product is legit. The product I have on hand is this:

This is my Cooks 5 in 1 power blender from JC Penney. It was a Christmas gift from my awesome sister-in-law. It's incredible. I usually use it to make my morning "Mean & Green" smoothie (recipe posted later, PROMISE!!) but I have also used it to grate cheese, dice onions, and more! It's amazing and I am happy to report that despite being stuck in my hardcore kitchen, it is still going strong!!!

Stay Awesome!!
Carole

Italian Sausage and Peppers

I love cooking a quick meal for the family! I love not spending a huge amount of time on dinner and still have it turn out fabulous!! This recipe is one that fits the above description beautifully! Italian sausage with bell peppers!

I got this recipe from my sister-in-law who is married to an Italian man and has 4 hungry teenagers to feed. It is by far the simplest and yummiest meal!

Ingredients:

Bell Peppers (I used 1 red, 1 yellow, and 2 orange), 1 yellow onion (I only used half), 2 packages of spicy Italian sausage links, 2 tablespoons of minced garlic, and a pinch of kosher salt.

Directions:

Slice sausage links into cylindrical coins, place in bowl with diced onion, and toss with the minced garlic. Set aside.

Remove seeds from peppers and slice into thin strips. Set to the side also.

In a large pan, cook the sausage/onion mixture over Med-High heat until the sausages are slightly browned and their juices have coated the bottom of the pan. Remove the sausage/onion mixture from pan and add the peppers. This cooks the peppers in the sausage sauce. This is usually where I add the kosher salt. Cook until peppers are slightly limp. Add the sausage/onion mixture and cover. Allow all of this to cook together, stirring occasionally for about 10-15 minutes depending on your stove top.

Finally remove from heat and drain. Place in serving bowl and enjoy! We usually add fresh grated Parmesan cheese before diving in but we're a cheese-loving family!

Today I added this recipe as our bread, Parmesan Knots from Chef in Training. They were a huge hit and if you haven't checked out her blog, you must. It's awesome!!

Back to School Cupcakes

"Back to School" Apple Cupcakes

I decided to make special "Back to School" cupcakes for my little loves. They turned out good. The Apple Cuppy-cakes!

I took my red silicone baking cups and baked some plain white cupcakes. After baking, I added some icing and a chocolate doughnut to the top then put them in the freezer for one hour.

While the cupcakes were chilling, I took tootsie rolls and cut them in half to be the apple stems. I also took green Jolly Rancher fruit chews, rolled them flat and cut them into leaf shapes.

I took one can of white frosting and added red food coloring until it got to the color that I liked. Then I microwaved the icing to make it smooth. This made icing the cupcakes much easier because all I needed to do is dip the cupcakes into the icing and spooning additional icing into the hard to reach places. Finally I added the stem and leaf to each cupcake.

Marshmallow Pops

So last night was Arizona's final night here. I let her choose what was for dinner (she chose Beef Stroganoff) and dessert (Toasted Marshmallow Milkshakes!).

Well the boys vetoed the milkshakes. They simply refused to let me serve them one. So I improvised their dessert because let's face it, I am not a short order cook and will not make more than one dessert. So they ended up getting Marshmallow pops.

I simply put a marshmallow on a stick, melted a candy bar, dipped the marshmallow in the chocolate, then covered it in sprinkles.

Instant success!!

Hummus and Pita Chips

I found a new favorite food for my kiddos. Hummus. I love that word. Hummus. I feel so silly saying it and it even makes me smile to type it. Hummus. :)

Anyways, I made homemade hummus for my kids' lunch yesterday and it was a huge hit. Here's the recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

1 can of garbanzo beans, 1 clove of minced garlic, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, 2 teaspoons of ground cumin, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. (Typically hummus calls for tahini as well but my kids aren't a fan of it and truthfully neither am I so I left it out.)

DIRECTIONS:

Drain garbanzo beans (save the juice) and combine all ingredients in a food processor. Add some of the bean juice for the desired consistency. It should look like this.

Yum! I cut up some bell peppers and cucumbers added some carrots for dipping. I added some homemade pita chips (just brush on melted butter and sprinkle some garlic powder on the pitas, cut up into triangle chips and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes) and some crackers.

Heaven In A Cup

I am about to post a recipe that will blow your mind!!! Are you ready? Are you prepared for what my kids are calling "Heaven In A Cup"? Well here it is...

HOMEMADE TOASTED MARSHMALLOW MILKSHAKE

INGREDIENTS:

 VANILLA ICE CREAM

PLAIN YOGURT

WHOLE MILK
MARSHMALLOWS

WHIPPED CREAM

DIRECTIONS:

• TAKE BAKING SHEET AND COVER WITH FOIL

• PLACE MARSHMALLOWS ON FOIL AND BROIL UNTIL LIGHT BROWN & CRISPY EDGES

• COMBINE 6 LARGE SCOOPS OF ICE CREAM, 1 CUP OF WHOLE MILK, AND ONE DOLLAP OF YOGURT IN BLENDER

• BLEND WELL

• ONCE BLENDED, ADD 5 TOASTED MARSHMALLOWS AND PULSE UNTIL MARSHMALLOWS ARE BROKEN UP AND EVENLY DISTRIBUTED

• POUR INTO GLASS

• TOP WITH WHIPPED CREAM AND 2-3 MARSHMALLOWS.

If you try this recipe, be sure to leave me a comment and tell me what you think.




Stay Awesome & Eat Yummy Things!

Stained Glass Fudge

DISCLAIMER: Some of my photos were wonkey. The lighting in my kitchen is awful!!
Ingredients: 1.5 lbs of Vanilla Almond Bark, 2 cups of Sugared Fruit Gummies, 1.5 teaspoons of Vanilla Extract, 1/8 teaspoon of salt, & 1 can of Eagle Brand.

Step One
Cut the sugared gummies into quarters. 

Step Two
Spray a 9x13 dish with Pam and set aside. (You can also line it with foil if you want.) Combine chopped almond bark, eagle brand, and salt in a saucepan and stir over low heat until melted. Add vanilla extract.

Step Three
Remove from heat and stir in gummies. This is where it gets annoying because sometimes the gummies don't want to separate. They often insist on sticking together but with persistance, you can separate them and it makes it so much more colorful.

Step Four
Spread into the prepared 9x13 dish. Cover and refridgerate until firm. Then cut into 1 inch pieces and store. You can store them at room temperature but I usually store the container in the fridge.

Well that's about it. It looks fantastic! It tastes yummy! So it's a win-win all around!!

Guest Posting Recipe

I am super happy to announce that I am guest blogging over at Fireflies & Jellybeans. If you haven't been to this blog, you need to stop over there. They are seriously some skilled women.

Anyways I volunteered to guest blog at F&J for their incredible "Christmas in July" event. Please stop by and see my blog/recipe for my Stained Glass Fudge!

Stay Awesome & Create Yummy Things!

Apple Dumplings

This morning my kids requested apple dumplings. It's so easy to make and they are so darn cute it was impossible to say no so Breakfast Apple Dumplings it was!

Ingredients: 2 packages of crescent rolls, 2 granny smith apples (peeled, cored, and cut into 8 pieces), 1.5 cups sugar, 2 sticks of butter, 1 tsp vanilla, Mountain Dew, and cinnamon.

Step 1

Wash, Peel, Core, and Cut the apples into 8 pieces. Then wrap each piece in a crescent roll. Place into a 9x13 baking dish.

Step 2

In a medium saucepan, combine butter and sugar over medium-high heat. When melted well, add vanilla and bring to a boil.

Step 3

Pour mixture over dumplings, coating them thoroughly. Add about 8 oz of Mountain Dew to the dish, also coating the dumplings.

Step 4

Sprinkle cinnamon over the top of all the dumplings for added seasoning. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Step 5

Let cool and enjoy. This is also a great dessert when paired with vanilla ice cream. Yum!!

Patriotic Strawberries

I found this awesome and easy recipe in a magazine that I subscribe to called "Disney's Family Fun". I was so excited to do it and then I started to see them pop up all over my favorite blogs. Clearly others subscribe to the same terrific magazines that I do! Anyway the recipe couldn't be easier. You just need some fresh strawberries, some vanilla or white chocolate melting coins, and some blue sugar. Yay for super easy sweets that the kids would go crazy for!!

Roma Tomato Bruschetta

Roma Tomato Bruschetta. YUM! I made this for lunch today for my mother in law and myself and it was divine! I could have eaten the entire baguette by myself I'm sure!

Okay for the recipe...quick and easy!

Ingredients: 1/2 teaspoon of basil, 2 cups of Roma tomatoes (seeded and chopped), 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, 1/3 cup of olive oil, 2 cloves of minced garlic, 1 loaf of French baguette, and salt & pepper to taste.

1. Heat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Combine the tomatoes, basil, balsamic vinegar, salt, & pepper. Set aside.
3. Combine olive oil and garlic in a microwavable bowl. Microwave on HIGH for 30 seconds.
4. Cut the bread into slightly angled 1/4 inch pieces. Brush with olive oil-garlic mixture and place on baking pan. Bake for 6-8 minutes of until golden brown.
5. Just before serving, drain excess liquid from tomatoes. Spoon tomato mixture evenly over bread slices and Enjoy!

Carole

Summer Ice Pops

Well it turns out to be another 108 degree day. It would be nice to be able to let me kids go outside and play but unfortunately, I can't.

Anyways, in an attempt to beat the heat, I made summer ice pops for the kids yesterday. I cut up grapes and strawberries in tiny pieces and put them into our Popsicle molds.

Then I filled it with orange juice and froze it.

It made for a few very happy little campers!

Carole

Chop Chop Bread Salad

Sugar came home yesterday. I was so excited!! I hugged her for what seemed to be a lifetime. When things finally settled down, Sugar requested only one thing. That I make Chop Chop Bread Salad for dinner.

Now I don't pretend to be a culinary genius. When we first got married, we lived off tuna casserole and hot pockets. However, I have been paying close attention to Food Network. In fact, I owe many of my most loved meals to the brilliant minds of Food Network. Chop Chop Bread Salad is no exception. It come from the ingenuity of Guy Fieri and man, is it wonderful!! I have made a few changes due to my family's likings but it's basically his recipe!

First, gather your ingredients: 1-red bell pepper, 1-cucumber, grape tomatoes, sourdough bread, feta cheese, olive oil, minced garlic, minced basil, minced parsley, red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, and salt & pepper.

Step 1

Take your bread and slice it. Drizzle oil oil on the slices and sprinkle salt & pepper. Then grill both sides of the bread. Continue doing this with about 5-6 slices.

While that is going on....take care of step 2.

Step 2

Slice the grape tomatoes in half length wise, dice the bell pepper (seedless), peel and cut the cucumbers into quarters. Put it all into a bowl together.

Step 3

Add 2 tablespoons of the garlic and basil. You only need 1 teaspoon of parsley. After that you drizzle in 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar and balsamic vinegar. Mix well and cool in fridge for 15 minutes.

Step 4

While that is cooling, take the grilled sourdough bread and chop it into 1 inch pieces. Then take the veggies out of the fridge and fold in crumbled feta cheese. I usually use 2 packages of Athenos Feta Cheese. It's super yummy. Finally, add the bread and mix well.

Carole

Penne Pasta w/Aspargus & Peas

Well I accomplished one of my goals this evening!!
I found a fantastic recipe that included asparagus. This has been my kryptonite for about a week. I bought three bundles of asparagus (on sale for 1.45 a bundle) and had no idea what to do with it. Well tonight I figured it out.
I boiled some penne pasta, cut the asparagus into inch long pieces, sauted them with minced garlic and olive oil. I added some frozen peas to the asparagus and half a cup of chicken stock. I let that simmer for about 5-7 minutes then added it to my penne pasta. Garnished it all with 1 cup of finely shredded Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and grape tomatoes.

I paired this wonderful concoction with grilled chicken and it was a huge success with the entire family! They requested that this meal be made on a semi-regular basis! So long post short....momma is winning! haha

Meringue Madness!!

I've felt a little lazy lately. I have to be honest, I haven't tried any new recipes in a long while. Lately, it seems that the thought of dirtying up my kitchen is depressing. Normally, I'm baking or cooking up something awesome but for the past few weeks, I haven't wanted to. At all.

However, even though I've been avoiding the kitchen like the plague, I did manage a pretty nice coconut creme pie. My husband is a huge fan of pies but I haven't been a fan of making them because the meringue thing scared me. Finally, I decided to take a stab at it. And....

                                                          It turned out wonderful!!!!



But this doesn't change the fact that I'm still terrified of making meringue. At least I feel more confident about it now! 

Carole