Sweet Potato Smoothie

Are you ready for this? I didn't have any spinach or kale (staples when I'm making green smoothies) but I did have some baked sweet potatoes that needed to be eaten. I made my husband try and guess my "secret ingredient" and he couldn't figure it out AND he liked it. The sweet potato flavor was masked by my fruit (not that you need to mask it's flavor...they are so tasty on their own).

Ingredients:

• About 16 oz of liquid--1/2 water, 1/2 apple juice
• 1 1/2 cooked sweet potatoes
• 2-4 Tb. milled flax seed
• 8-10 frozen strawberries
• 1/2 banana

Directions:

Put the liquid and sweet potato in the blender, blend for about 30 seconds. Then add milled flax seed, strawberries, and banana. Blend until smooth. Enjoy!

Notes about this recipe:

1. If you want less of a fruity flavor add less strawberries.
2. I only added 1/2 of my banana because it was really ripe. Ripe bananas can become flavor hogs, just FYI.
3. You don't have to add flax seed. I do because it is so good for you. I'll do an FYI post on it soon.

Macaroni and Cheese

This recipe was submitted by Vanessa H. She found it at The Pioneer Woman. (If you like step-by-step pictures head on over to her website.)

Ingredients:

• 4 cups Dried Macaroni
• 1 whole Egg Beaten
• 1/4 cup (1/2 Stick Or 4 Tablespoons) Butter
• 1/4 cup All-purpose Flour
• 2-1/2 cups Whole Milk
• 2 teaspoons (heaping) Dry Mustard, More If Desired
• 1 pound Cheese, Grated
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt, More To Taste
• 1/2 teaspoon Seasoned Salt, More To Taste
• 1/2 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
• Optional Spices: Cayenne Pepper, Paprika, Thyme

Directions:

Cook macaroni until very firm. Macaroni should be too firm to eat right out of the pot. Drain.

In a small bowl, beat egg.

In a large pot, melt butter and sprinkle in flour. Whisk together over medium-low heat. Cook mixture for five minutes, whisking constantly. Don’t let it burn.

Pour in milk, add mustard, and whisk until smooth. Cook for five minutes until very thick. Reduce heat to low.

Take 1/4 cup of the sauce and slowly pour it into beaten egg, whisking constantly to avoid cooking eggs. Whisk together till smooth.

Pour egg mixture into sauce, whisking constantly. Stir until smooth.

Add in cheese and stir to melt.

Add salt and pepper. Taste sauce and add more salt and seasoned salt as needed! DO NOT UNDERSALT.

Pour in drained, cooked macaroni and stir to combine.
Serve immediately (very creamy) or pour into a buttered baking dish, top with extra cheese, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly and golden on top.

Notes about this recipe:

I think part of the reason I don't like a lot of the mac & cheese recipes out there is because you bake it. Ree's recipe can either be eaten right from the pan or transferred to a casserole dish and baked. I baked it this time, but next time I probably won't. I like it super creamy like Kraft-in-a-box.

Posted by Ree on August 4 2009

Greek Salad Pita Pockets

This recipe come from Deb. It was introduced to her by her mother.

Ingredients:

• 1c shredded romaine lettuce
• 1 tomato - chopped
• 1/2 c diced cucumber
• diced green onion
• 1 diced green pepper
• sliced black olives
• 1/2 T olive oil
• 1/2 T lemon juice
• pinch salt and pepper
  

Directions:

Mix together all ingredients and serve with pitas, hummus, and feta cheese.

Notes about this recipe:

The recipe is super easy and you can put more or less of whatever you like, the measurements are just a basic ratio.

Three Cheese Manicotti

This recipe comes from Vanessa B. She found it at Allrecipes.

Ingredients:

• 1 (8 ounce) package manicotti shells
• 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
• 2 cups ricotta cheese
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons dried basil
• 2 (26 oz) jars of pasta sauce
  

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add manicotti and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
3. In a bowl, mix 3 cups mozzarella cheese, ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, garlic, egg, and basil. Stuff cooked manicotti with the mixture.
4. Spread about 2 cups pasta sauce over the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Arrange stuffed manicotti in the dish, and cover with remaining sauce. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese.
5. Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan, and continue baking 10 minutes, until mozzarella is melted and bubbly.

Total preparation and cooking time is 1 hour.
Makes 6 servings

Notes about this recipe:

It is just a basic Manicotti recipe, but I think the kind of sauce you use makes a difference. You could always make your own sauce if you don't want it from a jar.

Mushroom Ragout

This recipe comes from Vanessa H. Of the recipe she says, "This one was surprisingly delicious. You see this beautiful dish and expect it to taste like a savory pasta. But oh no, my friend! When you take a bite you get a surprise! It has a really yummy sweet taste to it!" She found it at Rachael Ray's website. (Also, if you are interested in seeing it made, Rachael Ray's site has the clip from her show.)

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 1 pound cremini mushrooms, quartered
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large carrot, grated
• 2 ribs celery from heart, finely chopped
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 4 to 5 garlic cloves, chopped or grated
• 1 cubanelle pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 1/2 cups red wine
• 2 cups mushroom stock (vegetable stock can be substituted)
• 2 15-ounce cans stewed tomatoes
• Worcestershire sauce, to taste
• 1 pound whole wheat penne
• 1 cup (about a handful) basil, torn
• Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Directions:

In a large sauté pan over high heat, add EVOO. When the pan is hot, add the mushrooms, allspice, bay leaf, marjoram and freshly ground black pepper.

When the mushrooms are brown, add a pinch of salt, the carrots, celery, onion, garlic and peppers, and cook 4-5 minutes, until softened. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes, until it smells sweet.

Add the red wine into the pan to deglaze, scraping any bits from the bottom of the pan, then add the stock, stewed tomatoes and Worcestershire sauce. Bring up to a bubble and simmer about 10 minutes.

While the ragout is cooking, cook the whole wheat penne: Place a large pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add some salt and the penne, and cook to al dente according to the package directions.

When the pasta is done, toss it together with the mushroom ragout. Top with torn fresh basil and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Notes about this recipe:

1. I have used both cremini and regular mushrooms. Both are good, but creminis are more expensive...
2. I don't use marjoram that much in cooking, so I never buy it. I didn't use it in this recipe.
3. I just use two red bell peppers instead of a cubanelle.
4. I substitute apple juice for the red wine.
5. I just used chicken stock instead of mushroom or vegetable stock because that is what I had in the pantry.
6. Fresh basil is expensive, so I use the dried basil leaves as a garnish instead.
7. I let my sauce simmer longer than 10 minutes to get it a little thicker (and the pasta takes more than 10 minutes when you calculate in the time it takes to get the water to a boil).
   

Ants on a Log

SO...I've been having a lot of dinner flops lately. Trying new veggie recipes that taste so-so instead of so-amazing-I've-got-to-put-it-on-my-blog. This means I need more of you to send me your tried and true amazing recipes! (wink, wink, nudge, nudge)

In the meantime, I've been coming up with some more yummy green smoothie mixes (which will be forthcoming) and today's blog post is on my latest go-to snack. I'm pretty sure I've had it almost everyday for the past week. Crunchy, nutty, sweet....hits the spot for me every time.

Ingredients:

• celery stocks
• raisins
• creamy peanut butter

Directions:

Wash celery sticks and cut to desired length. Spread peanut butter in the valley of the stalk. Put the raisins on the PB.

Breakfast of Champions Smoothie

This recipe comes from Cindy.

Ingredients:

1 15 oz can no-sugar-added peaches in water
Three [very] large handfuls of fresh spinach or kale (it should nearly fill the blender)
1 banana
1 cup plain fat free yogurt
1 cup of ice
As much milled flax as you can handle ;)

Directions:

Pour the peaches and liquid into the blender, puree. Add greens and puree until smooth, about 30 seconds or so. Add in banana, yogurt and flax; blend briefly to mix. Add ice and puree until smooth.

Notes about this recipe:

Super quick and easy, so incredibly healthy, and super tasty. If you have family members who might gag at the sight of green liquid, you can add a cup of mixed frozen berries instead of ice, which gives it a nice purple tone (but ups the price tag).