Green Monster Smoothie

  


My sister Kat turned me on to the idea of sneaking spinach into my kids smoothies.  I used to always do it in blueberry-banana smoothies because the purple would mask the green.  Then she sent me a recipe for a drink called the "Green Monster" where the spinach is front and center.  The creative marketing name appealed to my son, and since he was game, of course his little sister was in.  Now Christopher is always trying to get Jason to try this, saying "you can't even taste the spinach!" ;-) Which is just about true.  These are yummy and healthy and a good way to get a lot of veggies in with minimal effort, and the kids fight over who gets to help make them.  I love seeing them so excited to eat spinach!

Green Monster Smoothie
1 frozen banana
1/2 C. vanilla greek yogurt
1 C. milk, roughly
1-2 Tbsp. peanut butter
2-4 C. fresh spinach
ice

Put bananas, yogurt, milk and peanut butter in the blender and mix it up until smooth.  Fill the rest of the blender with spinach (no joke, it is probably 2-4 cups really) and then blend it again.  You might have to help poke the spinach down but it will pulverize it pretty quickly.  I usually add some crushed ice at this point for texture, blend again until desired consistency, and serve!  This one drink I split three ways and it is a fair amount for each of us.  You can also freeze it to have the next day (takes about an hour to thaw) but it isn't as good as on Day 1.

I definitely recommend freezing the bananas ahead of time, preferably in bite size chunks.  Vanilla yogurt is FAR superior to plain, found that out the hard way.  A little honey will help if all you have is plain.  Regular (non-Greek) yogurt works too but I figure the extra protein helps.  The original recipe calls for Almond Milk and I've made it with that before, and its delicious, but we don't always have it so I just use regular milk now.  The peanut butter is really what gets you on the calories, but it is really good so I just go for it.

Lasagna

This is so easy, I just follow the directions on the box.  But Jason asked me to blog it and I like to have all of my wonderful ideas in one place, so here it goes.  From memory, no less. :-) I'll update it if I find any errors.  If this comment (about memory!) is still here when you go to make this, double check the box of lasagna noodles.

Lasagna
1 box of no-boil lasagna noodles (this is WAY easier than the alternative!)
1 big container of cottage cheese
1 egg
salt and pepper
Italian seasonings (or basil, oregano, etc.)
1 jar spaghetti sauce plus 1 C. water, per the no boil box directions
1/2 C. parmesan cheese
16 oz mozzarella, shredded, divided
Optional - ground turkey and sausage, black olives,  fresh spinach, fresh or frozen broccoli

Combine cottage cheese, parmesan, about 1 C. of mozzarella, egg, seasonings.  Cook meat and veggies as needed.  I found that fresh spinach worked well and I used frozen broccoli florets, making sure to squeeze all the extra moisture from them.  I'd pre-cook the broccoli if it was fresh, too.  Jason is a meat guy and so we made ground turkey and mild italian sausage, and a can of black olives, sliced.  Grease a big 13x9 pan, I use cooking spray.  Spread some sauce on the bottom of the pan, then add a layer of noodles.  It is OK if they overlap a little.  Add some of the cottage cheese mixture, then sprinkle with other toppings.  Ours are always half veggies, half meat and black olives.  The veggies side gets a little taller but it works.  Then cover with another layer of noodles, then sauce, then repeat.  I think the sauce goes on top of the noodles always but it could go before, I suppose.  Double check the box. :-) So you repeat the layers until you run out of filling.  I usually get two sets of filling, and three layers of noodles, including the bottom.  After you put your top layer of lasagna noodles on, dump on any remaining sauce and then sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and if you want, a little more parmesan.  Cover with foil and cook at 375 (?) for 60 minutes.  I always take the foil off for the last ten minutes so it gets sort of browned, but Jason said he heard that can dry it out.  Your choice.  Let it stand for 5-10 minutes when you take it out.  Freezes well, leftovers are amazing.  Another nice thing is that you can make this a day in advance if you like, or the morning of, then just heat it up when you're ready.

Hell's Fire Chips

So my good friend Nicole had a birthday a few weeks ago and we all went to her favorite spot, AZ88 in Scottsdale.  She's been raving about their food forever, specifically these Hell's Fire Chips and get this- their Grilled Cheese!  After finally going to see what it was all about, I have to say she's right, even the grilled cheese knocked my socks off.  But these chips were the star of the show.  The kids and I attempted to make them on my own the next day, unsuccessfully, but I think there's enough potential here that if I publish this, then maybe I can remember it and mess around with the recipe enough to figure it out.  Here's hoping!

Hell's Fire Chips
potatoes, washed and thinly sliced
Arizona Gunslinger hot sauce, or another brand - maybe Frank's would work?
bleu cheese crumbles (weird but it works)
cooking spray
salt and pepper

Wash and thinly slice the potatoes.  I don't fry things at home so spray a cookie sheet well, lay the potato slices down, being careful not to overlap, and then spray them again.  Salt and pepper and bake at 400ish (maybe more?) for 10-20 minutes, flipping once.  Ideally, they will get a sort of golden-brown.  I found that some did and some didn't, but the yummier ones did.  Let's assume that they all turn out.  Scoop them on to one cookie sheet, overlapping this time, sprinkle with hot sauce and bleu cheese, and then broil for just a minute or two, until the cheese melts.  Serve and devour!  :-)

Update: Talked again to Nicole about this and her Aunt asked them at AZ88 how they do it.  The trick is to fry them in peanut oil when it is SUPER hot (use the wooden spoon trick: dip the top of it in, if it bubbles, it's ready, if it doesn't, then wait a little longer, get a fresh wooden spoon and try again) and flash fry them.  Sprinkle the cheese immediately after removing from the oil.  They use Arizona Gunslinger Hot Sauce.  YUMMO. 

Wendy's Manicotti

Wendy makes great, healthy manicotti that is super easy and even better if you cook it first on Day 1, save it, and then heat it up again in the oven on Day 2.

Manicotti
32 oz cottage cheese
16 oz mozzarella
3-4 oz parmesean (1/2 C.)
1 egg
1 tsp. garlic powder
italian seasoning (oregano, parsley)
salt and pepper
manicotti or shells (it looks like they do sell the ones you dont have to boil first! check!)
2 jars spaghetti sauce
optional - spinach, broccoli, meat, etc...

Makes one 13x9 and one 8x8 pan.  Combine all ingredients (except pasta and sauce.)  Spread sauce on pan bottom, fill noodles and lay in pan, cover with sauce.   Bake at 350 for 45 minutes, covered with foil.

Jason and I like different things in our pasta (hers= spinach, broccoli, his=meat and cheese) so it is a good idea to make the filling and then divide it in two, or if you are doing cheese only for one of the pans (he's fine with that) then do that first, then add the veggies.

You can use fresh or frozen veggies but like all pasta dishes, make sure and drain any excess moisture so it doesn't turn out too soupy.

Yum!