Green Smoothie

I found this recipe the other day and my boys love it!  All three of them which is a miracle because my middle litte guy is extremely picky.

1 handful of frozen strawberries
1 handful of frozen peaches
1 big scoop of greek plain yogurt
2 bananas
1 handful of spinach
1 handful of kale (you can just do 2 hanfuls of spinach if you do not have kale.
Also add a little apple juice, milk, soymilk, rice milk, almond.  any of these work.

Blend it up and enjoy...you can also add flax seed.

Chili

My friend Debbie is in Oregon getting for ready for a camping trip and wanted this recipe.  This is my favorite chili recipe. I found it in the cookbook Zone Meals in Seconds.

You can do this in the slowcooker but i usually do it in a pot on the stove.  For the slowcooker you just add everything and let it cook on low for 7-9 hours.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups diced fresh onion
1 can kidney beans
1 can black beans
1 can pinto beans
18 ounces ground beef ( you can omit this if you are going vegetarian)
2 cups diced bell peppers
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/8 tsp. ground allspice
1/8 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. red wine vinegar
2 cans chopped tomatoes ( you can add more depending on your taste
Salt and pepper to taste.

Directions if not in slow cooker.

Cook the ground beef.  Set aside and Saute onion, bell pepper and garlic til tender.
 Add all other ingredients including the beef then let come to a boil then simmer for 30-60 minutes.  Great dish to freeze.  Enjoy Debbie and have fun!

Massaman Curry

This is one of my favorite Thai dishes and I have been wanting to learn how to make this for some time.  I found some recipes online and headed to the Asian Market to get some of the things I would need for sure.  The lady helping me gave me her recipe and I got Massaman curry paste, fish sauce, coconut milk and tamarind.  She told me to prepare in the morning so that all the flavors could marinate together throughout the day.  I gave the recipe a try today and it turned out great.

2 Tbsp.  Vegetable Oil  (I used coconut oil)
3 Tbsp.  Massaman curry paste
Stir fry for 2 minutes on medium heat.
add 1/3 can of coconut milk
Stir fry for 2 minutes.
Add raw chicken or beef (I used chicken)
Stir fry for 3-4 minutes
Add the rest of the coconut milk
 and 1/2 can of water
3 Tbsp. fish sauce
3 1/2 Tbsp. sugar (I used agave nectar)
2 Tbsp. Tamarind liquid
4 Potato chunked ( I used gold potatoes)
3 carrots chunked
1/3 cup roasted peanuts or cashews (I used peanut butter)
Boil for 1/2 hour
Simmer for 1/2 hour
I felt like I needed to add more water because the sauce was too thick.

Serve with jasmine rice.

Maple Almonds

My friend gave me this recipe and these are sooo yummy and sooo simple.  These are such a great snack.

1 pound whole raw almonds
1/4-1/2 cup pure maple syrup

Place whole almonds in a bowl.  Drizzle maple syrup over top, and stir to coat all nuts.  Place on baking sheet (can line it with parchment paper) and bake at 350 degrees for 5 minutes. Stir and then bake for 5 more minutes, until syrup seems to have dried up on the nuts.

Store in an airtight container.