Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie

http://thischickcooks.blogspot.com/2011/08/peanut-butter-banana-smoothie-recipe.html

serves 2

2 bananas sliced and frozen
1/4 cup oats
1/4 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup milk

Put oats in blender and blend until they're powdery. Add remaining ingredients and blend until there are no more chunks of frozen banana. Garnish with fresh banana slices if desired.

Green Monster Shake

This is better than I expected - and I love the mental high of knowing I've made a dent in my vegetable quota before 8:00am!!
 
Ingredients:
2 Cups Raw Baby Spinach
1 Tbsp Ground Flax Seed
3/4 c skim milk
1 Banana
Ice (optional)


Directions:
Combine all ingredients into blender in the following order:  flax seeds, spinach, banana, milk, and ice.  Blend well.  Drink up!

Butternut Squash & Apples

1 1/2 lbs butternut squash
1/4 c melted butter
1 T flour
4 apples
1/2 c orange craisins (or regular)
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 t cinnamon

Cut squash in 1/2" slices.  Peel and core apple.  Slice as for pie.  Arrange squash in ungreased 9x13.  Top with apples.  Sprinkle with craisins.  Mix brown sugar, flour and cinnamon and sprinkle over.  Top with melted butter.  Cover and bake 1 hour at 350°.

Baked Pepperoni Spaghetti Squash

(April Hunt)

My entire family inhaled this meal.  It was delicious and EASY.  I used a combination of mozzarella, cheddar and Parmesan cheese.

 

1 Spaghetti Squash

1 Bottle Marinara Sauce

2 C. Mozzarella Cheese

I pkg. Pepperoni

Italian Seasoning

Cut squash in half lengthwise and remove seeds/pulp.  Place face down in microwave safe baking dish, add ¼ cup water, cover and cook on high for 15 minutes.  Shred squash with forks, put in baking dish, stir in marinara sauce.  Top with mozzarella cheese, pepperoni and sprinkle Italian seasoning.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

S'mores Cracker Candy

12 sheets of graham crackers

3/4 cup butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

3 cups mini marshmallows

4 Hershey bars, broken into pieces

1 cup milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 15x10x1-inch jelly roll pan with aluminum foil, leaving a 1-inch overhang over the ends, and spray foil with cooking spray. Line graham crackers up on the foil so that the sides are touching.

In a medium saucepan, melt butter and brown sugar over medium heat, stirring constantly, until smooth and mixture comes just to a boil (about 4-6 minutes). Remove from heat and pour evenly over crackers. Bake 5 to 6 minutes, or until bubbly.

Remove pan from oven and immediately sprinkle mini marshmallows, chocolate bar pieces, and chocolate chips over the crackers. Return pan to oven for another 2-3 minutes, or until marshmallows begin to soften and puff up. 

Cool completely. Lift from pan using foil edges; cut into bars and enjoy!

Source: Stefanie's Cooking Spot. 

Printed From: Bakergirl.

Spinach, Mushroom, & Ricotta Stuffed Shells

Source:  http://www.handletheheat.com/2011/03/spinach-mushroom-ricotta-stuffed-shells.html
Adapted from Real Simple
Serves 4-6

• 20 jumbo pasta shells (about half a 12-ounce box)
• 1 24-ounce jar marinara sauce (or 3 cups homemade sauce)
• 1 15-ounce container part-skim ricotta
• 2 cups baby spinach, chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 8 oz chopped mushrooms
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan (2 ounces)
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup grated mozzarella (4 ounces)

1. Set an oven rack to the highest position and heat oven to 400° F. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and run under cold water to cool.
2. Spread the marinara sauce in the bottom of a large broilerproof baking dish.
3. In a bowl, combine the ricotta, spinach, basil, mushrooms, Parmesan, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Spoon the mixture into the shells and place them on top of the sauce. Alternatively, transfer mixture into a large ziploc bag, snip one corner, and pipe filling into shells.
4. Sprinkle the shells with the mozzarella and bake until heated through, 10 to 12 minutes.
5. Increase heat to broil. Broil the shells until cheese begins to brown, 2 to 5 minutes. Serve with the salad.

Fruity Curry Chicken Salad

I got celery, grapes and yummy bread in my Bountiful Basket this morning so I went looking for a highly reviewed Chicken Salad recipe and found this one.  It was delicious!  Definitely a keeper!!

 

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cooked and diced
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 4 green onions, chopped (I omitted)
• 1 Golden Delicious apple - peeled, cored and diced
• 1/3 cup golden raisins (I used Craisins)
• 1/3 cup seedless green grapes, halved
• 1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans (I used slivered almonds)
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
• 3/4 cup light mayonnaise

Directions

1. In a large bowl combine the chicken, celery, onion, apple, raisins, grapes, pecans, pepper, curry powder and mayonnaise. Mix all together. Serve!

Kay's Kalua Pork

Per Kay:  Rub your pork with rock salt and pour in about a half bottle of Liquid Smoke. Cook for 4 to 6 hours depending on the size of your pork. After you shred the pork add a can of pineapple bits and cook for another hour.  Serve with rice and Macaroni salad, very Hawaiian!

I used a small pork loin roast (from Costco 4-pack - about 2 lbs) with approx. 1/3 bottle of Liquid Smoke and 1/2 can pineapple tidbits with juice.  It was delicious!  Only served 3 hungry adults.  Next time I'll double it (at least).