Green Smoothies

I am not usually a big cooking gadget buyer. If I can make do with what I have, I do. Because how many of us have purchased a bread machine, juicer, or other amazing appliance only to find it stuffed to the back a few months later. But this has really been one of my best purchases. I was really leery about forking out the money since it is pretty pricey, but we use it at least daily. It is my new Blentec

And yes, I bought it in the Red. It is a thing of beauty. My sister-in-law was traveled a few hours up north to buy it at Costco because they were running some sort of special (she was buying one for herself also). I figured if I didn't like it, I could always return it to a local Costco. After the first smoothie we have never looked back. It has the power of the commercial blenders at Jamba juice. It also has a counter and to date we have made over 200 smoothies (and we have only owned it for a couple of months). AND we are eating more fruits and veggies because of it. So I will be sharing some of our favorite smoothie recipes (and hopefully Wendi and Steff will join in and add their favorites). We are having a smoothie off at our Butler family reunion in July, so we might not share our best ones until then. 

This is one that Wendi said she liked and we really like it too. It isn't really sweet, but is a great way to get spinach into your kids. Yes, you have to get past the green color, but give it a try.

Green Smoothie


Serves 1
Ingredients:

1 frozen bana
1 Tablespoon peanut butter
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1 cup almond milk (or other kind of milk)
4 cups baby spinach (more, or less)

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth

Nutritional stats:
350 calories, 10g fiver, 21 g protein

Here are a few health benefits:

• Spinach is fat free, cholesterol free, low in calories and very low in sodium
• Spinach is an excellent source of vitamin A, C, K, iron, fiber, folate, and lutein
• Leutin is an antioxidant that promotes good eye health, and may help prevent cancer of the liver,ovaries, colon and prostate, and even dementia.
• Dole lab tests found spinach juice has twice the chlorophyl, eight times the calcium, six times the magnesium, 10 times the potassium, 15 times the vitamin C and 43 times the vitamin A of wheatgrass juice!

SCD YOGURT - For my daughter we used SCD yogurt, which is yogurt you make yourself. Make sure when you purchase yogurt that it has ACTIVE CULTURES. Most yogurt is crap (excuse my language). It really doesn't do anything to help your gut. Active cultures re-introduce the good bacteria into your digestive system which we lose through medications, eating processed foods etc. Making your own yogurt gives you  700 billion good bacteria per cup, lots of protein, vitamins, minerals, amino acids in an easy to digest. It is also fermented for 24 hours as apposed to commercial yogurt which is 4 hours. The 24 hour process gets rid of the lactose and makes it easier to digest. If you are interested in the directions... look HERE. I will probably do a post about it later.

ALMOND MILK - You can purchase the almond milk you buy in the store, but it isn't very hard to make your own. And all it has in it is almonds.... imagine that. The store bought Almond milk has things like cane sugar and carrageenan. HERE are the simple directions to make your own. If you dry the leftover almonds it becomes almond meal or almond flour depending on if you used blanched almonds or not.

SCD - Specific Carbohydrate Diet

No, I haven't fallen off the end of the earth. I have just been busy re-learning how to cook for a child who has Crohn's. So, I haven't been trying and sharing very many "fun" recipes. We have started the SCD diet which limits you to almond flour, fruits, veggies, honey, eggs, lean proteins and nuts. And I am SURE that most of you aren't going to be interested in most of those. But I have learned a lot about reading ingredient labels, and cooking for my own family has taken a bit of a turn to the healthy. So hopefully I can share what I have learned, especially with summer coming and the abundance of fruits and vegetables that are available. If it is a recipe that can be made with the Specific Carbohydrate Diet in mind, I will put SCD at the beginning of the post. I have found that many recipes can be tweaked to be SCD. So I will post the original recipe first and the tweaked recipe second.

But don't panic. I won't go crazy with that. My family still loves, good, yummy food. And I still get recipes from friends, family and off the internet that I am trying. So those will be the main part of this blog. Because one day, my daughter will return to regular food and besides, I would get a real revolt from my family if we didn't indulge in foods that make us happy. So upward and onward!!!

Brown Sugar and Balsamic Glazed Pork Loin

My family was slowly coming home one at a time as I finished fixing dinner. There was some talking and hanging out until I asked my husband to pull the pork out of the oven and cut it up. As soon as he took a nibble, which he is notorious, he said it was really good and told all the kids to come and eat because dinner was going to be good. That should tell you that this is worth trying.

  Brown Sugar and Balsamic Glazed Pork Loin

Ingredients:

1 (2 pound) boneless pork tenderloin (or regular pork loin)

1 teaspoon ground sage

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/2 cup water

Glaze

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons soy sauce

Directions:

Combine sage, salt, pepper and garlic. Rub over roast. Place in slow cooker with 1/2 cup water. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. About 1 hour before roast is done, combine ingredients for glaze in small sauce pan. Heat and stir until mixture thickens. Brush roast with glaze 2 or 3 times during the last hour of cooking. Serve with remaining glaze on the side.

The changes I made, was I used a 5.5 lb pork loin from Costco. When I took it out of the package I realized that it was 2 loins tied together with string. I cut the string off and rubbed each portion with the rub. For some reason my crockpot doesn't cook real quick, so I put the loins in an oven proof pot with a lid and cooked it in my oven at 300 degrees for about 5 hours. Then the last 30 minutes before serving, I mixed up the balsamic sauce in an microwave proof bowl, microwaved it for  1 1/2 minutes, stirred and microwaved it for another 1 1/2 minutes until it was thickened. I turned on my broiler and put the pot with the loins on the bottom rack, kept glazing and turning until it was a little brown and yummy looking. My husband then removed it, cut it and served it with the rest of the glaze... which is to die for. I would make the glaze for chicken too.

Texas Chicken Diablo

I think just the fact I cooked something with "diablo" in the recipe makes me cool. When the kids ask what is for dinner, don't you just want to say "Diablo Chicken" and then let them mull that over until dinner time?

I was a little nervous making this because of the jalapeno peppers. I have a 9 year old and a few picky eaters, and thought that they might not go over so well. So I did some chicken with the pepers and some just wrapped in bacon. The pepper ones were the hit. Next time I will do them all that way. Because the jalapeno peppers cook, they really become mild, with just a little kick. Not enough to bother my 9 year old. So give it a try and maybe make a few without, just in case.

I also thought these would be pretty time consuming to assemble and was surprised at how easy they were to make. I used whipped or softened cream cheese and just stirred in the steak seasoning and chopped pecans (which I bought already chopped) in a bowl. I think it only took me about 5 mintues to assemble 6 chicken breasts.

So here is the recipe and let me know how you liked it.

Texas Diablo Chicken

2 pounds chicken tenders
2/3 cup orange juice
1 1/2 tablespoons dry steak seasoning
8 ounces cream cheese
2/3 cup chopped Texas pecans
12 whole fresh jalapeños
2 pounds thin-sliced bacon
2 cups barbecue sauce

Place chicken tenders in bowl, add orange juice and 1 tablespoon steak seasoning, stir, cover and set in refrigerator to marinate 1 or more hours, but not overnight. In separate bowl, mix cream cheese, pecans and 1/2 tablespoon steak seasoning, blend well by hand, and set aside. When ready to assemble, wash and slice jalapeños in half lengthwise, remove seeds, then rinse again. Fill jalapeño half with cream cheese mixture, place chicken tender on top of filling, wrap with 1 slice of bacon, and secure with large grilling skewer so that bacon stays wrapped around jalapeño. Place three stuffed jalapeños on each skewer. When finished, brush all finished jalapeños generously with barbecue sauce. Bake or grill until chicken is thoroughly cooked, approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour at 350 degrees, turning halfway through cooking time and basting with more sauce. Baste one last time about 5 minutes before finishing cooking or use remaining sauce to serve.

White Chicken Chili

This is a recipe that a friend brought to the same baby shower that I made the caramel apple bars (see below). It was good enough that I requested the very next day.What I like about this chili, the taste is really good and the additions of melting the cheese and sour cream at the end gives is a creamy consistency. It goes together pretty quickly.

White Chicken Chili

(adapted from "The Food Nanny Rescues Dinner" by Liz Edmunds

 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts (cooked and diced)
1 T. olive oil
1 small white onion, diced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 small can diced green chiles, drained
2 - 15oz. cans white beans, drained
4 c. water
4 t. "Better Than Bouillon" chicken base
2 t. ground cumin
2 t. dried oregano
1/2 to 1 t. cayenne pepper (I used these amount of spices - it was just the right amount, spicy but not too much so)
1 t. salt
1 c. sour cream
2 c. shredded Monterey Jack cheese
  chopped tomato
  chopped cilantro
  diced avocado

Heat oil in large pan over medium heat.  Add the onion and garlic, and cook and stir until the onion is translucent, 2-3 minutes.  Add the chicken, chiles, beans, chicken base mixed with water, cumin, oregano, and cayenne.  Simmer 30 - 45 minutes.  Add the sour cream and cheese, and continue cooking until the cheese is melted.  Keep warm until serving.  Serve in bowls and top with tomatoes, avocado, and cilantro.

Edited: I baked 3 chicken breasts and shredded them for my chicken. Ialso used 2 more cups of water and 2 more tsp of chicken base. I wanted my chicken chili to be between a soup and a chili consistency. I also only used 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper since I was serving it to my kids. I figured I could add more later, but thought it had the right amount of kick.

This is definitely going in my stack of favorites! We served our with these mozzarella, pesto, bacon and tomato paninis (recipe HERE).

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars with Streusel Topping

Made this tonight for a baby shower. They got rave reviews :) (thus the reason I need to post it, so that some of my lovely friends can get it here). We love rave reviews. Even though they have multiple layers, they really didn't take that long to put together. You bake the crust then layer the rest on and bake it one more time. Then drizzle the caramel on top. The caramel really only took about 5-7 minutes to cook, so don't be intimidated.

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars with Streusel Topping

Base:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

Cream Cheese Layer:

2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Apples:

3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Streusel Topping:

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup quick cooking oats

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1 cup caramel sauce (homemade recipe below)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small bowl, stir together chopped apples, two tablespoons sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine all the streusel topping ingredients and mix until crumbly. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two forks until mixture is crumbly but combined. Press evenly into a 9X13-inch baking pan lined with aluminum foil. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

While the crust is baking, in a large bowl, beat cream cheese with 1/2 cup sugar until smooth. Then add eggs, one at a time and then the vanilla. Mix well. Pour over the warm crust.

Spoon the apple mixture evenly over the cheesecake layer. Sprinkle the streusel topping over the apples. Bake for 30 minutes until the filling is set.

Cool the bars to room temperature. Drizzle with the caramel topping (or plate individual slices and drizzle with topping one by one).

Caramel Sauce:

4 tablespoons butter

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

½ cups half-and-half or cream

Pinch of salt

1 tablespoon vanilla

Mix butter, brown sugar, half-and-half or cream, and salt in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook while whisking gently for 5 to 7 minutes, until thickened slightly. Add the vanilla and cook another minute to thicken further. Turn off the heat and pour the sauce into a jar. Refrigerate until cold. If the caramel sauce has cooled in the fridge long enough to harden, warm slightly before drizzling on bars.

Edited: I got this from melskitchencafe.com. I don't love using a ton of bowls (less to clean later) so I mixed my base in one bowl. While it was cooking I mixed whipped up my cream cheese mixture in my mixer, then cut up my apples in the same bowl I mixed the base. When crust was done, I poured cream cheese, then apple mixture, then mixed streusel in apple bowl (used the same bowl 3 times) and finished with that. So I onlyh needed one bowl and my mixer. 

The caramel might seem intimidating, but it really wasn't that tough to do. It came together in just about 7 minutes. Cook to just under soft ball stage so they it is thick enough that it doesn't run off the bars. If you don't want to go to the trouble, I suppose you could just using ice cream topping.

Salted Caramel Butter Bars

The name says it all. Whats not to like? Salted caramel.... butter. 

Salted Caramel Butter Bars

1 lb salted butter at room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

4 cups all purpose flour

For the filling:

1 bag (14 oz) caramel candies (about 50) unwrapped

1/3 cup milk or cream

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 Tbl coarse sea salt (optional)

To make the crust:

In a large bow, combine the butter and sugars. Using a mixer o medium speed, beat together until creamy. Add the vanilla and beat until combined. Sift the flour into the butter mixture and bea on low speed until a smooth soft dough forms.

Spray a 9 X 13 inch baking pan lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Press 1/3 of the dough evening into the pan to for a bottom crust. Bake approximately 20 minutes (mine took about 25 minutes). Let cool for 15 - 20 minutes

While bottom crust us baking and remaing dough is chilling, make the caramel filling. Place caramels in a microwave safe bowl. Add the cream/milk. Microwave on high for 1 minutes. Remove from the microwave and stir until smooth. If caramels are not completely melted, microwave on high for 30 second intervals, stirring after each interval until smooth.

Pour the caramel filling over the crust. If you are going to salt the caramel, sprinkle it on caramel layer now.

Remove the remaining chilled dough from refrigerator and crumble it evening over the caramel. Return the pan to the oven and bake until the filling is bubbly and the crumbled shortbread topping is firm and lightly golden, about 25-30 minutes (mine took 30-35 minutes)

Let cool before cutting into squares. These are very rich, so cut them into 1" squares.

Also the recipe says to put 1/3 on the bottom then bake, after adding the caramel layer you crumble the other 2/3 of the dough on top. I think I would do 1/2 on the bottom and crumble the other half on top.