Sunday, March 18, 2012

I'm Into Smoothies Now (March 18 - 22, 2012)

I know the main focus of this little blog is dinner, but I'm jumping topics today to breakfast...  Not sure if it's the premature sudden spring, or the lack of produce that this past school year has inflicted upon me, or an excuse to buy a new blender, but I've developed a bit of a smoothie obsession lately.  I started making them for breakfast as a way to start my day a little bit healthier, maybe get a few veggies into my life, but now I crave them.  And this past week, when I wasn't able to get to the grocery store to stock up on my fresh ingredients, I felt a bit lost.

So, I've been messing with recipes, and I have my current favorite.  But it changes slightly each time I make it, and so I'm sure it will continue to evolve.  But for breakfast tomorrow, here's what I'll be having:

Cucumber and Blueberry Smoothie
Into the blender, put:
1 peeled and roughly chopped cucumber
1 cup frozen blueberries
mint leaves (a pinch -- maybe 10 - 20 leaves?  Think mojito serving size...)
1 peeled and sliced kiwi
1 handful spinach leaves
lime juice

Blend.
You can add a bit of water or a shot of orange juice if it's having a hard time getting going.

I also love to add some shredded zucchini (and we still have a TON left over from our monster zucchini plants last summer) or maybe some peaches.  Blueberries and cucumber are my base, and I mess around with the rest of the ingredients.

And yes -- it looks a little gross, especially when you've finished your cup and there's little bits of stuff left behind.  Just hide your dirty dish until you have time to wash it.



Okay, on to dinner...
So, with spring comes that time of year when there are LOTS of extra things (performances!  planning meetings!  annual whatevers!) that keep us out later in the evening.  I broke down and bought a loaf of sandwich bread this week (don't do that very often) because I'm thinking it'll be a sandwich kind of week...

Sunday
Homemade pizza -- make the crust in the KitchenAid mixer (half white, half whole-wheat flour) and top with:
pizza sauce
blend of mozzarella and goat cheese
roasted red pepper
red onion
Italian chicken sausage
mushrooms
asparagus
bit of spinach

Bake at 450 for 25 or so minutes (depending on how thick the layers of ingredients are).

Monday
Salad:
lettuce, leftover flank steak (from Saturday night -- it was yummy), blue cheese, roasted red pepper, sunflower seeds, red onion, balsamic vinegar, salt & pepper

Wednesday
Sandwiches!  Some possible ingredients:
For Karen:  turkey, hummus, spinach, red pepper, red onion.
For Phil:  ham, swiss cheese, mayo.

Sandwich day can make us both happy!

Thursday
We're going to attempt to cook a real dinner!

Grill some salmon.  Probably top with some barbecue sauce.  Sauteed green beans, salad, rolls.


Looking forward to the day when I can crack open a cookbook again (and actually cook from it), but I think we're doing okay for now.

Have a great week!



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