Blueberry Spinach Smoothie

I've been feeling a little sluggish lately and thought if I ate more greens, maybe I would feel better :). I've heard of people putting spinach in their smoothies but when I searched online for recipes and saw the photos of green smoothies, I was totally turned off. Then I wondered if I could incorporate an ingredient that would make the smoothie more pleasing to the eye. Blueberries are the answer! I love blueberries and seriously you can't even taste the spinach! Just don't let it sit too long, it will slowly turn green on you again.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 c. milk
1 cup ice
1 cup blueberries
1 cup fresh spinach
1 6 oz. fat free french vanilla yogurt
1/2 banana

DIRECTIONS
Combine the above ingredients in a blender starting with milk first. Blend until smooth. *You may want to add up to another 1/2 cup of milk depending on how thick or thin you like your smoothies. Serve immediately.

Key Lime Bars

I found this recipe on Your Home Based Mom's website. I love key lime pie and lemon bars so when I saw a recipe for a Key Lime Bar...well it makes my mouth water just looking at the pictures. So good! I made them last week and I may just have to make them again this week!

INGREDIENTS
Crust:
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup chopped pecans

Filling:
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
4 T. flour
5 T. fresh key lime juice
1/2 tsp. baking powder

Frosting:
2 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 T. butter, softened
2-3 T. fresh key lime juice
Freshly grated key lime peel

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the crust ingredients except for the pecans into a bowl. Beat at low speed until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add in the pecans. Press mixture into the bottom of an ungreased 9 x 13 pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until edges are slightly browned. You don’t want to over cook it.

Meanwhile, combine all filling ingredients into a bowl. Beat at low speed until well mixed. Pour filling over hot, partially baked crust. Continue baking for 18-20 minutes or until filling is set. Cool completely.

Combine all the frosting ingredients except lime peel in a bowl. Spread over cooled bars. Garnish with grated lime peel.

Adapted from Land O’Lakes Best of Baking

Unbelievable Chicken

I am always on the hunt for a good chicken recipe that my husband will be willing to eat. He claims to hate chicken so it is one of my life's goals to show him that chicken can taste awesome too! Usually when I think I'm successful with a chicken marinade my husband will say it's good, but will still only eat half of his chicken. This recipe he flat out told me should be a keeper and he cleared his whole plate. Success is right around the corner!

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup cider vinegar
3 T. prepared coarse-ground mustard
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 lime, juiced
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
ground black pepper to taste
6 T. olive oil
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

DIRECTIONS
In a large glass bowl, mix the cider vinegar, mustard, garlic, lime juice, lemon juice, brown sugar, salt, and pepper. Whisk in the olive oil. Place chicken in the mixture. Cover, and marinate 8 hours, or overnight. Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat. Lightly oil the grill grate. Place chicken on the prepared grill, and cook 6 to 8 minutes per side, until juices run clear. Discard marinade.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

This will forever be one of my favorite salads. Fresh strawberries + a homemade dressing = delicious!

INGREDIENTS
2 T. Sesame Seeds
1 T. Poppy Seeds
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 T. minced onion
10 ounces fresh spinach - rinsed, dried and torn into bite-size pieces
1 quart strawberries - cleaned, hulled and sliced
1/4 cup almonds, blanched and slivered

DIRECTIONS
In a medium bowl, whisk together the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, olive oil, vinegar, paprika, Worcestershire sauce and onion. Cover and chill for one hour. In a large bowl, combine the spinach, strawberries and almonds. Pour dressing over salad, and toss. Refrigerate 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Freezer Crescent Rolls

This is a great roll recipe that not only uses ingredients from your long term food storage but you can whip up several batches at a time and keep the roll dough in your freezer until you're ready to bake up some fresh rolls. YUM!

INGREDIENTS
3 tsp. yeast
2 cups warm water
1/2 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup non-fat dry milk powder
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup mashed potato flakes
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. salt
5 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

DIRECTIONS
Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add butter, milk powder, sugar, potato flakes, eggs, salt and 3 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Continue to slowly add remaining flour. Divide dough in 2 equal parts. Form each part into a round then roll out into a circle on a lightly floured surface. Cut each circle into 16 pie shaped pieces. Form into crescent rolls. Place a sheet of wax paper on jelly roll pan. Arrange rolls on wax paper, cover and freeze for several hours. Remove rolls from freezer and place in a Ziploc freezer bag. Store in freezer. May be frozen up to 4 weeks.

To use: Arrange rolls on a baking sheet sprayed with Pam. Cover with plastic wrap sprayed with Pam. Allow to thaw and raise for 10 hours. Easy to do overnight. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Lightly butter tops immediately after baking. Makes 32 rolls.