Our Fabulous Bites

This is for you, Kristin. A "green" smoothie that is not green :)  I whipped it up this morning, we all enjoyed it, nothing crazy fancy, but it's healthy and scrumdidliumptious. Purple "Green" Smoothie I do not have measurements, because I just throw in ingredients as I go.  But this is what I used: Spinach Mixed Berries (Bag from Costco) Fresh Strawberries Milk or Water Greek Yogurt Real Vanilla Extract (this is a must for me in smoothies) I just blended the spinach first in the food processor. Then put it in the blender along with the rest of the ingredients, and boom, you have yourself a yummy energizing smoothie. That quick, that easy. Bon Appetite!

I don't remember when or where, but at some point I had a very tasty butternut and red pepper soup.  I've searched for similar recipes mixed them together and so far the following is my favorite.  I had a pretty small squash and I had some leftover canned pumpkin in the fridge, so I decided to add the pumpkin to this soup and it turned out just as good.  I also didn't have a full red pepper, so I roasted half a red bell pepper and a half of an orange one, so don't worry about being too exact, this recipe is forgiving. Butternut Squash and Roasted Red Pepper Soup (serves 4) 1 butternut squash 2 T olive oil + some for roasting 1 onion, chopped 1 clove of garlic, chopped 1 roasted red pepper, chopped 1 inch of fresh ginger, grated  (I usually don't have fresh and just put some dashes of the dried stuff) 1 hot pepper finely chopped (I prefer a red chili, but if I only have jalapenos, I use them) 4 C vegetable stock salt & pepper to taste Cut your b

This isn't a greasy pizza and often we make it sauce-less, but let me tell you, this pizza was yummy and felt healthier, though I don't actually know if it is. Oh and the recipe isn't really a recipe, but more like a guide. Roasted Bell Pepper & Artichoke Pizza Pizza dough enough for one medium size pizza (we prefer it with thin crust) Marinated artichoke hearts 1 roasted red bell pepper, chopped Very thinly sliced red onion  Thinly sliced zucchini, with peel on (I only did about a fourth of the zucchini) Mozzarella, feta, and Parmesan cheese (leave off whatever you don't like) olive oil minced garlic *sometimes we do a very thin layer of a white sauce then top the pizza, sometimes we don't Form pizza dough.  Bake for about 5 minutes at 500 degrees.  Remove crust and brush with olive oil and garlic or white sauce.  Then top with toppings of choice.  I don't love feta, so I do half of the pizza without and then the other half gets the feta but not the parm. 

Oh boy, I've been meaning to post this for a year! I made it last February and loved it so much, I kept using it on anything that made sense to put it on. Delicious! Then pregnancy sickness kicked in and suddenly I couldn't stand the thought of it for some reason. Here we are, a year later, and I finally forced myself to make it again, and wouldn't you know, I loved it ;) So I'm finally posting the recipe. It's very easy, and quick to make. Supposedly it's a copy cat of Julia Child's version. Hollandaise Sauce 3 egg yolks 1/4 tsp salt 1-2 tbsp lemon juice 8 tbsp (1 stick) butter, cut into small pieces Pinch of black pepper In a blender, combine egg yolks, salt, pepper, and 1 tbsp of lemon juice. Set aside.  In a small saucepan over medium-high, add the butter and heat until foaming. Blend  the egg yolk mixture at top speed for 2 seconds, then with the blender running, pour in the hot butter in a thin stream. By the time 2/3 of

One blender full of baby spinach Approx 1 1/2 cups of cold water 2-3 cups of frozen fruit of your choice 1 banana 2 Tbl of ground flax Pulse and puree spinach and water till well blended, then add fruit till creamy. Add ground flax then blend again. Makes 2 big servings or a few little ones depends on you.

The three of us all enjoyed this dish. I especially loved the vibrant color. Abigail keeps asking us to make more. I had hoped it would have more of a coconut punch to it, but it was still yummy. I also think I will add more variety of veggies next time. It calls for coriander, but I had no desire to spend $7 on it, so I substituted a couple herbs. Maybe the coriander would have added something awesome. I'll have to try it another time. And of course you could make this without chicken, or you could add shrimp, tofu, etc. Then you just pour it over any kind of rice. Coconut Ginger Chicken and Vegetables 4 cloves garlic, peeled 2 inch cube of ginger, roughly chopped 1 small sweet onion, quartered 1 T olive oil 2 T butter 2.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs/shrimp/tofu/...optional 2 cans coconut milk, not shaken 2 T cornstarch 1 can of baby corn cobs Vegetables of your choice (I happened to have broccoli, water chestnuts, bamboo, and carrots. But r

Jeff doesn't care for most berry based smoothies so here was one without berry and we all thought it was good.  There is spinach in here.  You can't taste it, but it does add some nutrition.  My picture doesn't show it well, but it turned out a brighter green; this might become our St Patrick's Day smoothie. 1 fresh pear - pealed and sliced 1 frozen banana - sliced Handful of fresh spinach Handful of frozen peach slices (about 6 slices I think) 1/2 cup - 1cup plain yogurt Milk as needed 1/4 - 1/2 tsp vanilla Place ingredients in blender and blend.  Add more milk if you find it is too thick.  Enjoy. Note:  I'm not sure the peaches change the flavor at all, but I like that they help with the frozen texture I like.  You could probably use a different frozen fruit, or even just ice if you want.

I found a similar recipe on-line, made a few changes and liked the results.  I think these have a fun look and nutella is always good right?  By the way, they don't taste like pumpkin.  Also, I often find pumpkin stuff over spiced for my taste.  If you don't, increase the spices by 1/4 tsp or more if you like.  You could also add nutmeg if you like. 2 cups flour (I did half wheat and half cake flour) 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons natural cocoa powder 1 – 15 oz can pure pumpkin puree (not pie filling) 1/2 cup vegetable oil 2 large eggs 1/2 T  pure vanilla 1/4 cup light brown sugar (I didn't pack it) 1/4 cup sugar  1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional) 12 heaping teaspoons Nutella for topping Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line or spray a 12-cup muffin pan, set aside. (I actually ended up with 15 muffins) In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, sugar, ba