The Green-Eyed ...

Smoothie!!

So I thought I'd try a little experiment with the growing in popularity, green smoothie.  Let's just say, the results were delicious, but didn't look the best.  In my quest to make my first Green Smoothie a winning smoothie, I did what any diligent, dedicated cook would do.  I went to Pinterest!

Here's a little sample of what I found when I searched, "green smoothie"...

Mmmmmm.....

And who wouldn't want a taste of this green emerald liquid.

Alas, I couldn't find a recipe that I thought sounded good so I did what I do with most of my smoothies...I improvised!  Here is what my smoothie consisted of....

*Lemon Yogurt (leftovers from my 14 month old's dinner)

*Frozen raspberries

*Frozen strawberries, mangoes, peaches, and pineapple (from the Sam's bag I've had in my freezer for no joke, 3 years)

*Organic Vitamin D milk (I didn't really have any other liquids)

*A little bit of strawberry sorbet (because it was there)

and the piece de resistance....  SPINACH (fresh, because the frozen stuff totally grosses me out).

Again the end result was delicious, but it looked a little like this...

So it's a little brown, with green flecks....who is even looking?

Anyway, if you're like me and need to eat more veggies, I highly highly highly recommend this, you taste the spinach but not much.  It may not be pretty but it's pretty good for you.  Aaannnddd that was lame :)

Pace,

Megan

Cooking with Pinterest

I have a really hard time staying focused when writing.  As previously mentioned I tend to think of things I need to elaborate on before continuing with my current thought.  So, I’ll try to be better about that.

I love Pinterest.  Seriously, best invention ever!  I’m such a visual person that for recipes and the likes I prefer pictures.  If a recipe doesn’t have a picture, I will choose something similar that does.  So with Pinterest I pin so many recipes and unlike many things that you book mark or make note of, I actually go back and use them!  So today I’m dedicating this to 5 of my top yummy Pintrecipes.  New popular term in the making??  I think so!  ...either that or Pintripees.  Yes, double 'e's because if I wrote 'Pintripes' it would read as (pin-tr-eye-ps).

2 Minute Mug Brownie:

http://blogs.babble.com/family-kitchen/2011/09/13/two-minute-mug-brownie/

2 Minute Mug Brownie

So this one is pretty good.  Especially if you're like me and want a brownie but are too lazy to go out to the store or make a full blown recipe.  All the ingredients are things you will most likely have around your house so it's nice for a last minute treat.  My only complaint is that it could be a little sweeter, if you're eating it sans ice cream.  One thing I did add to this was a little hot fudge to top it off.  Pair it with a cold glass of milk and you're in heaven!

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars:

http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2010/09/caramel-apple-cheesecake-bars.html

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

I've only made this once but you can sure as sugar bet I'm making this again!  It was a slighty more involved recipe with all the layers but it turned out AWESOME!  I definitely feel it's a very 'Autumn' dessert with the caramel and apple but I wouldn't say no if someone offered it now :)

Homemade Apple Chips:

http://blogs.babble.com/family-kitchen/2010/09/16/real-healthy-snacks-apple-chips-recipe/

Homemade Apple Chips

This is a really good, healthy, and natural treat.  I used my mandolin slicer thing which helped me get some thinner slices.  Probably the one down side is that making a lot at once would be time consuming as you can only fit so many on a cookie sheet at a time.  Plus, you'd need to slice the apple fresh each time so they don't start to brown while waiting to be cooked.  I highly recommend this, it will be a perfect snack to pack in my little boy's lunch!

Fruity Peanut Butter Yogurt Dip:

http://www.thewannabechef.net/2011/05/11/fruity-peanut-butter-yogurt-dip/

Fruity Peanut Butter Dip

Another delicious and quick snack item.  There are literally 4 ingredients but 2 are probably some that you don't just have in your pantry.  I loved the subtle hint of fruit that came with using strawberry Greek yogurt (I use Fage or Yoplait) but I think honey would be really good as well.  In lieu of fruits I used Stacy's Cinnamon Sugar and Original pita chips which I thought were really good.  Even though you have to get specialty peanut butter, there is plenty left over to make more!  It also stores well.

Chinese Lemon Chicken

http://blogchef.net/chinese-lemon-chicken-recipe/

Chinese Lemon Chicken

Yum, Yum, and yum!  I guess this would save you money vs going out to buy it but it is for sure waaayyyy healthier!  I skimped a little on the pepper and spice (in that I didn't put any in) but it would have definitely been good with a little kick too.  I think also serving this with some stir-fried veggies would have added to the tastiness and variety of flavor.  We have a small deep fryer so I had to make this in two batches but it turned out really good and it's really easy!

So seriously people, don't just pin, do!

Pace,

Megan

Here's a little plug but feel free to follow me on Pinterest: warnckms