Berry Smoothie

As long as they are homemade & not loaded with sugar, SMOOTHIES can be a nutritional way to make sure you reach your quota of fruits, veggies, and dairy. Recently I read in the Women's Health, Eat This Not That! Special, that by incorporating smoothies into your diet can help you loose an annual weight loss of 10 lbs! This study was quit interesting:

"Researchers at the University of Tennessee discovered that people who added three servings of yogurt a day to their diets lost 61 percent more body fat--not to mention 81 percent more belly fat!--than the study participants who didn't consume yogurt. The reason for this, the researchers think, is that the calcium in the yogurt not only helps your body burn fat but also helps limit the amount of new fat your body can make" (Women's Health, pg 100).

Ingredients

1 ripe, medium banana, peeled 

3/4 cup pineapple juice 

1 carton (6 oz.) blueberry or mixed berries yogurt 

1 cup frozen/fresh blueberries, partially thawed

Directions

1. Combine banana, pineapple juice, yogurt and frozen fruit in blender or food processor container. Cover; blend until smooth.

Note: I didn't have a berry yogurt on hand, so I used some vanilla yogurt as a substitute. Yummy! Also my berries were not frozen. I used fresh blueberries and just added a few ice cubes to make the smoothie cold!

Crockpot Southwest Chicken Tacos

I got a new crock pot for Christmas! I've had this small one that my husband won at a company party, but it never was big enough and it's shaped/designed like a football....literally. Luckily for me, my husband likes to spoil me. I now officially have a HUGE Kitchen Aid crock pot, and I'm loving it! Thus you may see some more crock pot recipes from me! I ventured over to see if Kuki's Kookbook had any fun crock pot recipes. Sure enough she had some! Yay!

I ended up trying out this yummy, easy southwest chicken taco recipe. I added the "southwest" to the title because #1 I have another chicken taco recipe I'm gonna share in the future, so I need to tell the difference between the two somehow #2 the corns & beans just yelled southwest to me! So I've designated this recipe "southwest" just because I can!

Crockpot "Southwest" Chicken Tacos

• 2 to 3 chicken breasts
• 1 can chicken broth
• 1 package taco seasoning
• 1 cup salsa
• 1 can corn
• 1 can black beans, drained

Place all ingredients in the crockpot for 3 to 4 hours on high. just before serving, shred chicken and mix in 1 cup sour cream and 1/2 cup shredded cheese. it will be runny. you can serve in tortillas, taco shells, or you can fry up scones to make navajo tacos. top with- cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, salsa, avocados, or anything else that you like.

Hints: I didn't even add in the sour cream & cheese to the mixture. I ended up just having the two on the side for those who wanted to add it to their taco. It was runny, but the flavor was delicious! We served them on warmed flour tortillas. They were SO good! My family really enjoyed it! FYI- If you don't have a crockpot, all you need to do is slice up some chicken and cook them in a skillet till done. Once chicken is done, add the remainder ingredients, cover, and let simmer on low for at least 20 minutes to soak in the flavor. I'm sure they will turn out just as good!

Lemon Roasted Chicken Recipe

I stumbled across another recipe for whole chicken the other day. It sound way more appealing to me cause of the stuffing and the whole lemons. The last Lemon Roasted Chicken recipe was good, but didn't stand out. Now this LEMON STUFFED CHICKEN recipe DID stand out! It was scrumptious. You can totally taste the lemon much more. It is now my FAVORITE whole chicken recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 (3 pound) whole chicken
• 2 cups stuffing mix
• 2 lemons
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/4 teaspoon dried sage
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Stuff the bird with the prepared stuffing and rub the skin with the olive oil. Cut 1 lemon in half; cover the opening of the bird with a lemon half and stuffing (save the other half for garnish). Pour the juice of the second lemon over the bird. Season the bird with the salt, paprika, rosemary and sage.
3. Cover with tin foil and bake in preheated oven for 1 to 2 hours. Remove the cover half way through baking to brown. Baste often.

Tips:

I followed the recipe to a tee. For the garnish, I thinly sliced lemon and place it around potatos and celery that I had around the chicken. I didn't even have to baste at all and the chicken turned out way moist. I also prefer this recipe over the other because this one does not have cream of chicken, making this recipe a lot more healthier! Definitely a keeper! The family LOVED it!

Curing The Craving...

I was craving a yummy, chicken salad sandwich today. Not just any chicken salad though, it had to have grapes in it. I found this delicious recipe on Kuki's Kookbook:

Amber's Grape Chicken Salad

• 4 cups chopped grilled chicken
• 2 cup red grapes, cut in half
• 1 cup celery, diced
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup mayo
• 1/2 cup green onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup almonds (optional)

mix all ingredients together and then chill at least two hours before serving.

Tips:
It definitely satisfied my craving. Next time I'd cut back on the mayo, just a bit to much for my taste. I ended up using two cans of white meat chicken. I omitted the almonds; not because I don't like them, I simple didn't have them. I substituted dried cranberries instead. It was scrumptious. I'll definitely do half a cup of mayo next time & add the almonds (I'm sure they will give great texture). Enjoy!

PS. You don't have to necessarily let it chill for two hours. I served mine right away.

Dripping Roast Beef Sandwiches

Ingredients:
1 can Campbell's Condensed French Onion Soup
1 tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
3/4 lb. thinly sliced deli roast beef
4 Hoagie Rolls
4 slices of provolone cheese
1/4 c. drained mild banana pepper rings (or substitute mushrooms & onions sauteed)

Directions:
1.Heat oven to 400 degrees

2.Heat soup & Worcestershire sauce in a saucepan over med-high to a boil. Add beef and heat through, stirring occasionally.

3.Divide beef mixture among rolls. Top beef with cheese slices and place sandwiches on a baking sheet.

4.Bake 3 min. or until toasted & cheese is melted. Top each sandwich with sauteed mushrooms & onions.

Tips:
I'm not even sure if I used condensed french onion soup. I think I just grabbed the first french onion soup I saw. It worked though and was a great dipping sauce. The recipe doesn't say, but keep the remaining sauce from pan to use as a dip for the sandwiches. I was pretty sure my kids wouldn't be yellow pepper fans, so I did fresh mushrooms & onions. This recipe was SO EASY & SO GOOD! I used wheat hoagie/sub rolls to make it a bit healthier. My whole family really enjoyed this lunch!

Sweet Potato Fries

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Ingredients
3 sweet potatoes
olive oil
season salt

Directions
Cut sweet potatoes into desired "finger friendly" shapes- like fries, wedges, etc. Lightly baste potatoes with olive oil and then sprinkle desire salt. Bake in oven for 30 minutes on 450 degrees, turning halfway through.

Notes
THESE ARE SOOO GOOD & HEALTHY! Make sure to wash them well. You may peel them if you'd like, but by keeping the skins on you'll have more nutrients. Yum!

Caramel Apple Pork Chops

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Ingredients

• 4 (3/4 inch) thick pork chops
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tart apples - peeled, cored and sliced
• 3 tablespoons pecans (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, salt and pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add butter to skillet, and stir in brown sugar mixture and apples. Cover and cook until apples are just tender.
3. Place uncooked pork in a 13x9 pan. Lightly drizzle olive oil on the pork. Top pork with apples and caramel sauce. Cover pan and bake for 45 minutes.

Notes
This recipe was delicious. I did the recipe exactly as above minus the pecans. I actually double the sauce recipe though, which I think helped a lot in making the pork super tender. Served with homemade sweet potato fries. Yum! Recipe taken from allrecipes.com