Winter Day Smoothie

Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but my smoothie's so delightful ...

Yes, even on cold blustery days there is nothing quite as wonderful as a nice cold smoothie to jumpstart my day. Today I mixed it up a bit and mixed tropical with earthy for a truly yummy combination.

Now it might not look like much ... brown is not the color you'd expect for a "green" smoothie but the blueberries and blackberries mix with the green to make a rich brown color -- but let me assure you, it's delicious.

Give it a try when you're in need of a pick-me-up!




Winter Day Smoothie

1 medium banana
1/2 cup chunks of pineapple
1 cup frozen blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries
2 handfuls baby spinach
splash orange juice
1 cup of crushed ice

Start out putting the banana, pineapple and berries into blender and blend to to a smooth consistency. Add the spinach and continue to blend until all ingredients are creamy. Add a splash of orange juice and the ice and blend to a smoothie/milkshake consistency. Pour into a glass and pop in a straw to enjoy!

Homemade Chicken Vegetable Soup

With the weather getting colder, there's nothing like a pot of soup on the stove to make you feel all warm and fuzzy (inside and out.) I've been playing around with this recipe for a while now and think I've finally tweaked it enough that it's just the way I like it. My sweet hubby says it's perfect and so I've decided it's time to post it.

I'm going to be trying it "Vegetarian" style next time around -- white beans instead of chicken and low-sodium vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. I might also add some escarole at the end instead of spinach. And actually, I'm not sure if I'll keep the orzo or not since it might be a bit much with the beans. Maybe I'll try it once with beans and once with orzo and see which we like better ... hmmm. Lots of potential variations here!

Anyway, without further ado ...

Homemade Chicken Vegetable Soup

2 – 3 boneless and skinless Chicken breasts (cut into bite-size pieces)
1 teaspoon Olive Oil
4 stalks Celery, sliced on diagonal
1 medium Onion, roughly chopped
4 Carrots, cut in thin slices
1 package sliced Mushrooms, chopped
1 Tablespoon Parsley Flakes
1 teaspoon dried Thyme
1 teaspoon dried Rosemary
½ teaspoon freshly Ground Black Pepper
1 teaspoon Balsamic Vinegar
1 cup Orzo (wheat preferred)
64 ounces Chicken Broth (low-sodium, fat free)

Heat olive oil (or use spray oil) in sauté pan and add chicken, cooking until no longer pink. Remove from heat and set aside.

Place celery, onions, carrots, and mushrooms into a large pot. Add just enough broth to cover. Cover and cook over medium heat until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the remaining broth, spices, and balsamic vinegar. Bring to a boil and add orzo. Cook until pasta is tender and then stir in chicken. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until chicken is heated through.

Serves 6

Notes: I often add a handful of chopped spinach at the end when adding the chicken. Will probably need to add more broth to leftover soup as pasta soaks up the moisture.

My Mom's Stuffing

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and it's going to be a little different for us this year. Instead of hosting and doing the cooking as I have for the past 30 years, I'll be traveling to New York to spend the day with my daughter and mother-in-law (and to visit with my mom who's in a nursing home.) I won't be doing the cooking this year -- I'm leaving that to Wegmans.

While I'm so happy that despite moving to Massachusetts we are still able to be with family on special days, there is one thing I'm really going to miss -- my mom's turkey stuffing. She made it for as long as I can remember and when I took over the cooking duties many years ago, there was never a question as to what kind of stuffing to make.

I still remember mom telling me that she got the recipe from her good friend, Ruthie Kern, when she was a young bride. The recipe was attributed to Ruthie's Great-Grandma Colgrove and mom told me that while we use regular store bought saltines in it these days, back then they actually made the crackers to put in the stuffing.

I thought that since I won't be making this tomorrow, I should at least share the recipe. (I did buy a turkey today to put in the freezer and was thinking maybe I would make this for Christmas Eve ... so all is not lost!) And my son mentioned to me last week that his wife now makes this stuffing as does her mother and all her aunts ... long live Grandma Colgrove!

Mom's Turkey Stuffing

Single batch (enough for small turkey):

1 loaf fresh Bread
1 stack Saltine Crackers
1 medium Onion
2 cups Milk
2 sticks Margarine
Sage
2 Eggs

Double Batch (enough for large turkey):

1 ¾ loaves fresh Bread
2 stacks Saltine Crackers
1 large Onion
3 cups Milk
2 ½ sticks Margarine
Sage
3 Eggs

Cube bread and crumble crackers. Chop onion. Mix together in large bowl and set aside. Meanwhile, heat milk and margarine over low heat in saucepan until margarine is melted and milk is hot. Pour over bread mixture and let stand for 5 minutes. Add sage to taste.

Beat the eggs until fluffy and fold in. If too soupy, add more crackers. If too dry, add another egg. Salt and pepper to taste.

Stuff turkey. If baking stuffing separately, place in greased casserole and cover. Bake at 325 for about one hour.

Fabulous Lemon Chicken Soup with Orzo!

As we are gearing up to healthier eating I've been going through cookbooks looking for recipes that are appealing and yet fairly simple to make. Last night I decided to try this recipe for Lemon Chicken Soup with Orzo from Ellie Krieger's The Food You Crave cookbook.

(image courtesy of Google Images)

Oh. My. Goodness.

It was a hit. It was MORE than a hit. It was fabulous. Company-worthy. Simply delicious. I'm having a bowl of it for lunch and am watching the clock tick away just waiting for noon to arrive.

Yes it was that good. And I'm just so delighted to have found a recipe that I can add to my new Healthy Go-To Recipes binder. I'm sharing it here with preparation notes and variation ideas.

Lemon Chicken Soup with Orzo

4 teaspoons olive oil
8 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into small chunks
Pinch of salt (to taste)
1 medium onion, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 stalks celery, diced (about 1/2 cup)
1 medium carrot, diced (about 1/2 cup)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup orzo, preferably whole wheat
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

(Note: Changes I made include eliminating the pinch of salt, adding more celery and carrot than recipe calls for, using 8 cups -- or 2 containers - chicken broth, and adding a large handful of baby spinach that has been roughly chopped a minute or two before serving.)

Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a soup pot over medium high heat. Add chicken (season with salt if desired) to pot and cook about 5 minutes -- just until cooked through. Transfer the chicken to a dish and set aside.

Add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil to the pot. Add the onion, celery, carrot, and thyme and cook, stirring, over medium-high heat until he veggies are tender, about 5 minutes. Add 5 cups broth and bring to a boil. Add the orzo and let simmer until tender, about 8 minutes. Turn the heat down to low and keep the soup hot but not boiling.

Warm one cup broth in a small saucepan until it is hot but not boiling. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs. Gradually add and whisk the lemon juice into the eggs. Gradually add the hot broth to the egg-lemon mixture, whisking all the while. (Note: I now added 2 additional cups of broth to the soup in the pot to further cool it down as it was still almost simmering) Now add the egg-lemon mixture to the soup, stirring well until the soup is thickened. Do NOT let the soup come to a boil (it will cook the egg). Add the cooked chicken to the soup. (Note: I also added spinach at this point.) Season with ground pepper and serve.

Now -- my additional notes. I felt like this recipe was the perfect base for a veggie soup. The chicken was delicious but probably wouldn't be missed if other ingredients were added -- such as zucchini, broccoli, or green beans (or even white beans instead of the orzo?) We loved the addition of the chopped spinach. I didn't feel the need for adding the salt and left it out, however my husband added salt to his bowl at the table. This soup was very filling -- and made enough for us to have two meals plus a cup or two for lunch.

This is going to be a regular at our house ... easy to make, lots of opportunity for advance prep (cook the chicken ahead of time and chop up the veggies and bag.) Not sure how well it would freeze with the egg in it -- so I'll plan on serving twice when I make it. Would be great with a nice side salad!

Menu Planning Monday

One of the reasons I wanted to start my own blog was because I am so nosy love the inspiration I get when I see what other people are doing and blogging about. And one thing I'm kind of obsessed about is what other people are eating (and cooking!)

I've followed Jo-Lynne's blog for a while now and she frequently posts her weekly menu and links it to Menu Planning Monday sponsored by Laura at OrgJunkie.com. Since my husband and I are working towards cleaning up our eating habits and committing to a healthier lifestyle, I thought planning our meals would be a great idea. And I could have the fun of joining the link-up.

So -- while I haven't had a chance to type up these recipes or search for online recipes to link up to, this is a start. I'll try to get more organized and be more prepared next week.

MONDAY:  Grilled Chicken Salad

TUESDAY:  Orange Beef and Broccoli with Brown Rice. Cantaloupe and Red Grapes (side)

WEDNESDAY:  Veggie-loaded Scrambled Eggs with Oven Roasted Reds

THURSDAY:  Chicken-Escarole Soup with Grilled Tomato and Montrey Jack Sandwiches

FRIDAY:  Black Bean and Spinach Quesadillas with Fruit Salad (with leftover Chicken-Escarole Soup if there is any) OR dinner out ... (my daughter and her boyfriend are coming to visit and they'd like to try the local Chinese restaurant that we've talked about ... so maybe ...)

SATURDAY:  Dinner in Boston -- woo hoo!

SUNDAY:  Steak on the grill, Mashed Reds, Roasted Veggies

Well, that's the plan ... I'm working on my grocery list now and making sure I have what I need for at least the majority of the week. I will probably be making a trip to the market for fresh produce by Thursday.

I'll work on getting recipes typed up and will try to update my post with links later in the week.

Sure hope I get this linked up ok -- I'm a newbie everyone!!