Super Smoothie

You don't realize how loud the blender is until you have a baby and they look at that strange machine like, "What the heck is that thing and why is it so horribly loud?!"

Little does she know that she has the potential to be even LOUDER than a blender full of ice. And she has proved that fact, too.

Y'all know I've always been a fan of smoothies for breakfast, lunch, snack, really anytime of the day. After having a baby that didn't weigh the 23 pounds that I had somehow gained when I was pregnant, I'm an even bigger fan of smoothies. They're filling, nutritious and simple to throw together quickly and drink while I'm loving on my sweet girl....or changing a diaper, cleaning up spit-up or collapsing on the couch after she goes down for a nap. You get the idea.



This smoothie will not disappoint. Made creamy with a frozen banana, made sweet with mango and almond extract and packed with flax (great for nursing moms!) and fresh spinach!



I adapted this recipe from skinnytaste.com and she mentioned she saw it in a Superfood Smoothie book (see here) that has peaked my interest! I'm always looking for yummy, new smoothie recipes!

Mango Banana Spinach Smoothie

Adapted from SkinnyTaste.com

Makes 1 Smoothie

 

Ingredients:

1/2 frozen banana

1/4 c. frozen (or fresh) mango

1/2 c. fresh spinach

1 tbsp. ground flax seeds

1 small splash (approx. 1 tsp.) almond extract

1 c. milk

1/2 c. ice

 

Blend all ingredients together until smooth and creamy.

 

Enjoy!

Laura

Pretzel Chicken

2 things I love:

1. Recipes that are easy to memorize and don't take a lot of prep time.
2. Quick ways to make chicken fancy.

I love more things than just that...and that might be three things...but that's all that applies to this recipe...anyways!

I saw this recipe a year or so ago in Martha Stewart Living magazine and it is one of those yummy, quick dishes that is now a go-to for us!

It's only 3 ingredients (plus more for the sauce if you want that!): pretzels, chicken and Dijon mustard. Sold.

P.S. I know this picture looks nasty...but it's really good...

Pretzel Chicken

Recipe from: Martha Stewart Living

Yield: 4 chicken breasts

Prep Time: 5 min. Total Time: 30 min.

Ingredients:

4 c. pretzels, crushed

Whole Grain Dijon Mustard (regular works fine, too)

4 chicken breasts, thawed (pork chops or chicken tenders would be good, too!)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil sprayed with cooking spray.

2. Pour crushed pretzels into a shallow bowl. Coat both sides of chicken with Dijon mustard and then dredge in pretzels and place on baking sheet.

3. Bake for 25 min. or until chicken is no longer pink (or pork reaches 160 degrees).

This is great served with veggies or on top of a salad!

It's even better when dipped in this sauce...

1/4 c. Dijon mustard

1/2 c. mayo

1 tsp. honey

1 tbsp. dried dill (or 2 tbsp. fresh dill, chopped)

1/8 tsp. black pepper

Mix all ingredients together and set aside until ready to serve!

Enjoy!

Laura

Vegas Recap {Part 2}

Vegas is in the desert. And deserts are supposedly hot.

Saturday, when we were in Vegas, it was cold. And windy. And cloudy.

So, what do you do in Vegas with bad weather? Eat and gamble, of course!

We ate lunch at Serendipity 3, just outside of Caesar's Palace. There is a sit down restaurant but the wait was too long so we grabbed something to go at the outdoor window.

The pizza and sweet potato fries (lunch of champions) were great, especially the day after going out, but the real star here was the Peanut Butter Frozen Hot Chocolate.

I'll say it again in case you didn't comprehend that: Peanut. Butter. Frozen. Hot. Chocolate.

I've made frozen hot chocolate before but never even thought to add in my favorite food ever! (Be looking for this recipe on the blog soon!)

Another noteworthy contender: the largest doughnut ever. Seriously! Have you ever seen something like that?

I would definitely recommend Serendipity 3 for a quick bite to eat or just a yummy, frozen drink sent from Heaven above.

That doughnut is seriously huge,
Laura

Roasted Squash

Roasting veggies is my favorite, go-to side dish for every dinner! It's great with any type of vegetable and this time around I used butternut squash.

I simply peeled and chopped the butternut squash into pieces all around the same size, tossed them with EVOO, salt, pepper and honey. I placed them in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with foil. Roast at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes or until tender.

Instead of a simple side dish for these beauties, I added them to a salad with goat cheese, dried cranberries and pine nuts tossed with balsamic vinaigrette.

Yum!

Roast away,

Laura

Basic Smoothie

Although the pb smoothie is my fav, sometimes I have to watch my peanut butter intake, ya know? Or maybe you don't know...anyways, here is the basic recipe I follow when making my smoothies:

1 cup liquid (milk, any type of juice, water)
1 frozen banana
Scant cup greek yogurt (any flavor)

Optional Add-Ins:
Spinach (Yes, spinach. I promise you can't taste it!)
Flavored Extracts (Coconut is my fav.)

Blend together! Easy enough!

Check out this variation:

1 frozen banana, scant cup honey vanilla yogurt, 1 cup green goodness juice, splash of coconut extract



Nastiest picture ever? Perhaps.



So smooth.

I love how thick the banana and yogurt make the smoothies! We usually have a couple juice options on hand like this Green Goodness, carrot juice, V8 splash, etc. I also buy the individual yogurt cups in various flavors when they are on sale to switch things up a little bit, too!

Try it out and let me know what you think!

Breakfast of Champions,
Laura

PB Smoothie

Say hello to my go-to lunch, sometimes breakfast and sometimes a small version for a snack.

It's no secret that I love peanut butter which makes this smoothie one of my favorite treats!

Gather your ingredients.

1 c. milk, 1 frozen banana and one large spoonful peanut butter

(Free words of wisdom: I keep a bag of peeled, halved bananas in the freezer at all times for creamy smoothies!)

Combine all the ingredients in a blender...

...and blend away!

Mmmm creamy and peanut butter-y! Delish.

For an extra special treat, add a spoonful of cocoa powder before mixing for a liquid Reese's flavor!

I really love peanut butter,

Laura

Meatloaf

Why does meatloaf get such a bad rap?

Or is it rep...hmm...tricky.

Anyways, this meatloaf deserves nothing but compliments! Praise! Applause! Kudos! I think you get the picture- it's good.

This is another tried and true recipe that I've been making for about 3 years now from Kraft Food and Family Magazine.

Gather your ingredients.

egg, v8 juice, bread crumbs, onion soup mix, parmesan cheese, garlic powder, ground beef and ketchup

(Full recipe is listed at bottom of post)

I served this with a side salad and honey roasted butternut squash!

Meatloaf

Recipe from Kraft Food and Family Magazine

Yield: 4-6 servings

Prep: 10 min. Total Time: 45 min.

Ingredients:

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 can (5 1/2 oz) V8 juice

1/2 c. seasoned bread crumbs

1 envelope onion soup mix

1/4 c. Parmesan cheese

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef

1/2 c. ketchup

-In a large bowl, combine the egg, V8 juice, bread crumbs, soup mix, cheese and garlic powder. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Pat into an ungreased loaf pan.

-Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Spread ketchup over top, bake 5-10 min. longer or until no longer pink and a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees.

Side Note #1: I like to make two of these at a time. The soup mix comes with 2 in a pack, I can easily buy 3 lbs. of ground beef instead of having a half pound left over and the V8 bottle (from a gas station or drug store) is the perfect amount to split in half. I cook one that night and put the other in a disposable loaf pan, cover with foil, place in a large ziploc bag and freeze it for an easy dinner in the future!

Side Note #2: If you don't have a meat thermometer, I highly recommend investing in one! This is the one I use! Super useful.

Enjoy!

Let's give meatloaf a fresh start,

Laura

Sorry, Future Swimsuit Body

Have y'all heard of this?!

30 days, 30 ways of Macaroni and Cheese (a.k.a. the most amazing dish ever). This 30 day blog is brought to you by the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board and they've teamed with 30 different bloggers to create a new Macaroni and Cheese recipe each day.

For example...

Radicchio Mac with a Walnut Crust

Macaroni and Cheese Balls

Pumpkin and Onion Mac and Cheese

I am really looking forward to the next 30 days!

This might not be the best thing for my waistline,

Laura

Grilled Cheese

Barbie and Ken. Danny and Sandy. William and Kate. Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup.

I'm loving all these new versions of grilled cheese I found on Pinterest.

Jalapeno Popper

Cheddar Apple

Goat Cheese and Strawberry

Buffalo Blue Cheese

Love this layout and ideas!

The hubster and I love our grilled cheese with red onion, pepper jack, avocado on thick wheat bread.

Come back tomorrow for my infamous tomato soup recipe. It has converted non-tomato soup lovers into tomato soup's #1 fans!

I love cheese,

Laura

P.S. Tillamook Cheese recently started following my grilled cheese board on Pinterest...Maybe they will send me free cheese? Mmmm...cheddar...