Fruit and Spinach smoothie

I crave this smoothie and the amazing thing is that Summer (my 2.5 year old) loves it to! Great way to get spinach in your diet.

1/2 c. crushed pineapple (make sure it is soaking in its own juice - not sweetened)

banana

pack in the spinach (I usually do 2 handfuls)

1/4 can of frozen concentrate orange juice

berries (whatever you prefer)

1 c. plain yogurt

soy milk (or whatever milk you prefer) - until the consistency you like.

Mix these all in a blender and vualah - a tasty spinach drink where you can't taste the spinach! Thanks Christine Gibb for sharing this with me!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls

So I am addicted - and I mean addicted to chocolate and peanut butter. The two together sing anthems of sweet nothings to my taste buds and I just adore the taste! So here is the recipe to the ones I make all the time.

1 c. peanut butter (I use the sugary kind - it makes it better)

4 tbs butter

2 c. powdered sugar

dipping chocolate

Shape peanut butter, butter, & powdered sugar into small balls. Put in freezer for 3-5 hours. Melt dipping chocolate then roll balls in chocolate. You can then roll them in nuts, drizzle white chocolate, grate chocolate . . . whatever. Return to freezer until ready to eat or serve.

Pecan Chicken

Oh my lands! I got this recipe from our ward cooking group - it is a recipe by Treesha Rawcliffe who was a pastry chef at Magleby's restraunt. Usually I don't like what I cook the night I cook it because I saw what went in it, however I gobbled this up. Not as healthy as I'd like but very tasty.

Pecan Chicken
1 c. finely chopped pecans
1 c. bread crumbs
1/4 c. butter, melted
6-8 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Pecan Sauce
1/2 c. dijon mustard
1/2 c. brown sugar
6 tbls chicken stock
4 tbls soy sauce (I use sodium reduced one)
2 tbls worcestershire sauce
3/4 c. cold butter cut into cubes
1/2 c. sliced green onions

Stir together the pecans, bread crumbs, and 2 tbls of the melted butter. Spread the mixture on a large plate. Press the chicken into mixture to coat on both sides. Heat remaining butter in a large skillet over medium hea. Place chicken in pan and heat on both sides until browned and meat cooked all the way through - about 10 minutes per side.

In a small saucepan, wisk together dijon mustard, brown sugar, chicken stock, soy sauce, and worcestershire sauce until smooth. Bring to a simmer over medium low heat ten remove from burner and wisk in the butter one piece at a time. Do not return to heat.

Arrange chicken on plate, pour sauce over, and garnish with green onions.

The sauce is amazing - probably because of how much butter there is - I only put in half of what was called for (which is the amount I put above).

Tuna Noodle Casserole

I'm posting this recipe on the other two *other recipe blogs that I contribute to--not only because I don't have three new recipes to contribute this month, but also because my hubby thought this was SO GOOD (so did I) that I figured I'd share it with everyone.

I made this recipe up for the sole reason that I have never found a good, healthy tuna noodle recipe that wasn't full of butter, sour cream, and cheese. So, I threw together my own ideas and it was a success. Let me know what YOU and YOUR family thinks!

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

Boil Egg noodles so that you'll have about 3-4 cups of cooked noodles

Meanwhile, in a large skillet sautee (in about 1-2 tsp olive oil):
1 medium yellow onion (chopped)
8 oz (or 10 medium) mushrooms (chopped)
About 1/2-3/4 cup cooking sherry
1 tsp minced garlic

Once onions are translucent add:
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 can of cream of celery soup
1 to 1 1/2 cups frozen peas
2 Tbsp dried parsley flakes
2 tsp ground mustard powder
1/4 tsp curry powder
1 to 2 tsp onion salt
1 to 2 tsp garlic powder
1 to 2 tsp salt
1 to 2 tsp pepper

Stir together until its creamy then stir in:
3 cans of tuna (6 oz cans) after draining liquids

When noodles are nearly all the way done boiling, drain the water and stir them in with the creamy tuna mixture in the skilllet. Once thoroughly mixed together pour contents of skillet into a 9 x 13 baking dish.

Sprinkle top of noodles with about 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs

Place in oven for about 15 minutes or until bread crumbs are browned and top noodles are crisp

Serve hot! Enjoy!

*Tried and True Food
*Delicious Dishes

Tortilla Soup

I was looking for the cafe rio tortilla soup recipe but couldn't find it so instead I just googled quick and easy tortilla soup and this is what I found. I've made it a few times and every time I make it I have to google it so I thought I would just post it here!

Quick, Easy -N- Fast Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe

1 (15 oz.) can whole-kernel corn, drained, or 2 C. frozen
2 (14.5 oz.) cans chicken broth
1 (15 oz.) can black beans
1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes, drained
1 (4 oz.) can diced green chilies
1 t. cumin
salt to taste
1 lb. boneless chicken breasts, cooked and chopped

Garnish:
Tortilla chips
Shredded Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese for topping

Pour corn, broth, beans, tomatoes and chilies (I usually puree the tomatoes and chilies b/c I hate chunks) into large saucepan. Add cumin, salt and chicken. Simmer over medium heat until chicken is heated through. Serve with tortilla chips and shredded cheese.

For added spicy flavor, cook chicken in taco seasoning, or add a couple of teaspoons of taco seasoning or chili powder to the soup.

Makes 6 servings.