Spinach Smoothie

Spinach Smoothie

I don't remember where I picked up this recipe, I think from a book club friend who is already very healthy, but is eating a lot more vegetables these days.

There are so many great smoothie recipes out there but I don't like the high-calorie ones because I'm always hungry again after drinking a smoothie.

If I'm going to have a smoothie in the morning, it's got to be nutrient packed and low-cal so I can happily eat again in a couple of hours.

This recipe is very simple and only has 3 ingredients, although you could add anything to it that you wanted.  That's the beauty of a smoothie.  If you want it to be thicker, then add ice cubes.

You simply blend 2 very large handfuls of fresh spinach, 1/2 a large cucumber (or a whole small cucumber), and 3/4 c no-sugar-added juice.

It's really delicious (even though I'm sure you don't believe me) and it's 3 huge servings of green vegetables!

If you want to make it even sweeter, add peeled apple slices to the blender.

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"Enjoy!"



Roasted Brown Rice Tea

Roasted Brown Rice Tea

On my trip to Jungle Jim's last week I picked up an interesting looking bag of Roasted Brown Rice, not having a clue what I would do with it!

I put most of my grains and beans in containers and have written the name and expiration date on the outside.  I need to pick up a fat-tip Permanent Marker so the label is easier to see.  The good thing about Permanent Marker on glass is that it cleans right off.

The roasted brown rice is packaged with popcorn to draw the moisture away.

It's easy to make the tea.

In a small saucepan you boil 2 cups water and 2 Tbsp roasted brown rice.

Let simmer for 5 minutes, strain and serve.

I added a little brown rice syrup for sweetener but unless you're using a lot of sweetener, it retains its nutty flavor.

I drank most of it before I remembered to snap a photo!

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Enjoy!



Vegetarian Egg Rolls

Vegetarian Egg Rolls

Brennan checked out 5 books at the library last week, and they were all Asian and Italian cookbooks for kids. 

He loves to invent a new recipe, but I try to encourage him to modify one that's in one of his books instead. 

At the grocery store this week he picked up Egg Roll Wrappers and said that his cookbooks encouraged its young readers to improvise with 'whatever ingredients you have at your house'.  Ummm. 

That's pretty dangerous for a 10 year old headstrong chef.

I've made egg rolls over the years, so we got what we needed and made a batch yesterday.
Brennan chose the ingredients and decided on a vegetarian version.

They were really good and we'll certainly do it again.
While this recipe takes a lot of ingredients, most of them I had on hand.

We made a filling of purple cabbage, carrots, scallions, cooked Japanese rice noodles, and seasonings.

Then we rolled up the egg rolls and cooked them in olive oil over medium high heat.

We served them with sweet and sour sauce and rice and had a fantastic lunch yesterday!

We used two bunches on thin Japanese rice noodles, but you could use any kind.

source

Here is Brennan, experimenting rolling up the egg roll wrappers.
He discovered it was best to tuck in the sides as you roll so oil doesn't get into the egg rolls when you're cooking them.

Poor kid - I hadn't put all the groceries away from Jungle Jim's so he didn't have a ton of workspace.

Our egg rolls were not very spicy, but were great with sweet and sour sauce.

If you like more flavorful egg rolls, you might play with the filling, possibly adding chili pepper flakes or chili oil.

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食飯
Sihk Faahn
(Chinese for Bon Appetit!)

Valentine Chex Mix

Valentine Chex Mix

I adapted this recipe for a Valentines theme from an old recipe I had.

My boys loved it, and the ladies who came to my birthday party did as well.

It would be perfect for any holiday, just changing up the colors.

I started by melting peanut butter, margarine and white baking chips together, then mixing it together with Rice Chex cereal.  Stir carefully so the cereal doesn't crush and crumble.

Then I transferred about 1/2 of the cereal mixture to a large Ziploc bag and add powdered sugar.  I tossed it around to coat well. 

Optional:  For more Valentines color, you can add red, white, and pink sprinkles when you toss it together.

I mixed the other half of the cereal mixture with Valentines M-n-M's.

Then I laid both mixtures out to cool for half an hour or so.

Then combine and store in an airtight container until you're ready to serve!

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Happy Holidays!



Tortellini Caprese Bites

Southern Living

Tortellini Caprese Bites

I saw this recipe for skewered caprese with tortellini in the December 2011 Southern Living and I promptly ripped it out. 

I made it for my birthday get together last weekend and it was the 3rd party since Christmas that I'd been to and seen this recipe! 

Very popular, easy to make, and yummy.

Note:

The only ingredient that I didn't pick up was white Balsamic vinegar.

If you don't have white then I would just drizzle the olive oil on top instead of marinating the assembled skewers in the vinaigrette. 

The dark Balsamic turns the mozzarella brown, as you'll see.

The taste is still great, but you'll probably prefer the mozzarella to remain white.

I started by cooking a package of cheese tortellini according to the package directions and then draining it and letting it cool.

Then I sliced grape tomatoes in half, drained the mozzarella balls and was ready to assemble.

The recipe calls for 6 inch skewers so I cut the ones I had in half and they worked great.

You can skewer the tortellini, mozzarella balls, and grape tomatoes in any order.

You make a quick Basil Vinaigrette by whisking together Balsamic, kosher salt, olive oil, and chopped basil.

I then laid the skewers in a baking dish and coated them with the Basil Vinaigrette.

Again, next time I'll either find white Balsamic vinegar or I'll just sprinkle the vinaigrette on top.

Either way, they were delicious!

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Enjoy!