Creamy Potato and Spinach Soup

I found a variant of this recipe and decided to tweak it just a bit.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter
1 whole onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped fine

1/4 cup flour
2 tsp salt
2 cups fresh spinach, rough chopped
3-4 cups potatoes, chopped and peeled
5 cups water
1 cup heavy cream

Melt butter in large soup pot.  Add onions and celery.  Sautee until tender (about 12-15 mins).
Slowly incorporate flour and salt to cooked onions and celery.  Add slowly and stir so as not to get lumps.
Add potatoes and water. 
Stir constantly until boiling.
Once boiling, let simmer for 30 mins. Stirring occasionally.
After 30 mins (or potatoes are tender) add spinach and cream. Let cook 2 mins more.

Serve immediately.
** can be garnished with crumbled bacon, cheddar cheese, fresh chopped herbs or anything else you like.**
Enjoy!

Strawberry Lemonade Green Smoothie

This is my new favorite green smoothie! I was in need of something different and without banana in it. I had some lemons in my refrigerator and for some reason they sounded really good to me.

10 frozen strawberries
1/2 lemon (peeled)
1-2 large handful of spinach(or other greens)
1 T Agave Nectar
1/4 c or more of Chia seed gel (adds nutrition plus gives smoothie a smooth consistency)
add water for desired consistency

Blend all ingredients, serve, and enjoy!

I have recently discovered Chia seeds and the health benefits that they hold. You make chia gel by combining 2 c water and 1/3 c chia seed in a container with a lid and shake really really well. It only takes about 15-20 min for the gel to be complete but I do this before I go to bed and leave it in the fridge so it is ready to use when I wake up. It stores for 2 weeks. For more information on Chia seed go here.

Fruity Delight Green Smoothie

Fruity delight
greens
1/2 c cashew milk
2 spoons of coconut mud (see below- excuse the name but wasn't sure what to call it)
water (I am finding that I like my smoothies a little thinner)
1/2 pear
1/2 banana
1/2 apple
2/3 c berries mix

coconut mud
I scooped all of the meat out of two young coconuts and blended it up with about 1 cup (maybe less) of coconut milk (canned) and it makes this yummy thick coconut stuff...thus coconut mud.

Hawaiian Delight Green Smoothie

I got a fresh pineapple and pears at Costco and was excited to add these to my green smoothies for a different taste. This particular smoothie I got very little of because the girls liked it so much they kept asking for more. This one is a very yummy!

Hawaiian Delight
lots of spinach (any mixture of greens would have thrown some kale it if I had it)
1/2 pear
1 banana
1 ring of pineapple
1 cup water
1 cup coconut milk (canned)
1-2 T flax seed
Coconut oil (optional)

Add all ingredients and blend until smooth.

Berry Banana Cashew Green Smoothie

This is a very basic smoothie but one that I really love! When nothing else sounds good to me I make this one.

Berry Banana Cashew Green Smoothie
Spinach (as much as you want, but a couple really big handfuls is good)
1-2 leaves of kale,
heaping 2/3 cup of frozen berries (berry mix from Costco)
1 banana
2/3 c plus a little more cashew milk (recipe below)
2 T flax seed
1-2 T Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil (before you hyperventilate...non- hydrogenated coconut oil is very very healthy! Don't take my word for it search it out for yourself. One of the books I read on this topic was "The Miracle of Coconut Oil" by Bruce Fife. If you want some quick and easy information go here http://www.greensmoothiegirl.com/coconut-oil-health-benefits.html)


Cashew Milk
This is the recipe I use. I LOVE Elana's Pantry! Check it out especially if you have a gluten issue and prefer to eat natural and low glycemic foods. I have tried several of her recipes and they have all been great. I will post more about that later.
http://www.elanaspantry.com/beverages/cashew-milk/

Cranberry Orange Green Smoothie

So, I have gotten on the Green Smoothie train and I love them! I have to say it is fun to come up with new concotions and feel good about what I am feeding my body! I do have to say that I have had more energy and feel better since I started drinking these smoothies and I would recommend anybody and everybody to get on the train too! CHOO CHOO! Kids love them which is another bonus. Here are a couple good sites that can give you a little info and background:
http://www.greenforlife.com/ode.htm
http://www.greensmoothiegirl.com/greenlove.html
http://thegreensmoothie.com/
http://rawfoodlifestyles.com/low-fat-recipes/green-smoothies/raw-food-diet-why-is-drinking-green-smoothies-essential-for-health

There are also a lot of videos on UTube so just search green smoothies.

Anyway, I have come up with some yummy concoctions and some not so yummy ones, but I will only share the good ones! I prefer organic baby spinach (can buy at a great price at Costco or sams) and Kale. These two greens blend well and have a mild flavor so you can't taste them in a smoothie, so these are good ones to start with. Also, the better the blender you have the creamier and smoother it will be, but you can use a regular home blender and fancy equipment isn't required. I got the Blendtec blender from Costco. It is comparable to the Vitamix. These blenders are expensive but we use it so much for so many different things (making nut milks, oat flour and other flours, desserts, bread, dressings, etc) that it has been a good investment. However, if the only thing I made in it was Green Smoothies it would still be a worthwhile investment for me.

Cranberry Orange Green Smoothie
This is one of the first ones I made around Thanksgiving time hence the cranberries:)
1 stalk of Kale
2 Huge handfuls of spinach
1 handful of fresh cranberries
2 oranges (could try with 1 orange)
1/2 banana
Stevie or Agave Nectar to taste (optional)

This is sweet and tangy!

Taco Soup

I got this recipe off of "A Year of CrockPotting".
This tasted so good to me!! I kept taking small helpings while it was cooking and I just kept wanting more. I love chili but I think I like this better than chili. I think they both have their places but this is a new favorite!

--2 cans of kindey bean

--2 cans of pinto beans

--2 cans of corn (I used a 16oz pkg of frozen corn)

--1 large can of diced tomatoes

--1 can tomatoes and chiles (I used a medium spiced can and it added the perfect heat for me)

--1 packet taco seasoning (I used McCormick because it is gluten free or you could make your own)

--1 packet ranch dressing mix (OK, I used maybe half a package of Hidden Valley, but I think next time I won't use it because it contains MSG which I like to stay away from)

--1 lb browned ground turkey or hamburger
--1 onion ( I added one onion and cooked it with the ground turkey but is optional)

--shredded cheese and sour cream for embelishment (optional)

The Directions:

--brown meat if you are going to use it

--drain fat and add meat to crockpot stoneware insert

--sprinkle seasoning packets on top of meat

--drain and rinse the beans and add

--add the ENTIRE contents of the corn and tomato cans

cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-5.

serve with shredded cheese and a dollop of sour cream. you could also add some corn chips if you wanted.

YUMMY!