Smoothies - we are hooked!

Here are notes about more smoothies we have been enjoying. Goodness, we are all hooked on smoothies! I love my Instant Pot Ace blender for making smoothies. They come out perfect every single time. 

Basic recipe to tweak...

1 cup milk (almond or coconut are my preference)

1 banana (frozen is best)

½-1 cup fruit (frozen or fresh)

½-1 cup veggies (fresh or frozen)

I love to add ½ avocado to any smoothie regardless of ingredients - for creaminess and health benefits.

Optional add ins include... 1 tsp. flaxseed meal, 1 tsp. chia seeds, 1-2 Tbsp. any kind of nut butter, 1-2 Tbsp. cocoa powder, ¼ to ½ cup oats, 1 scoop protein powder (don't use for children), 1 scoop fiber powder, ½ tsp. any kind of extract, 1 Tbsp. unsweetened coconut flakes, 1-2 tsp honey or maple syrup (I never add - they are always sweet enough as is).  You can also add Kefir for a more tangy tasting smoothie - I like using the blueberry, strawberry or vanilla Kefir.  

Here are some combinations we have enjoyed so far (will keep adding to this post).

  
Mixed Berry Avocado Smoothie

½ avocado

¾ cup mixed berries (I used the frozen antioxidant mixed berries with arils)

1 banana (frozen is best if you have it)

big handful of spinach

½ cup plain or Vanilla Greek yogurt

1 scoop Vanilla protein powder

1 tsp. flaxseed meal

1 tsp. chia seeds

1 cup coconut milk (can also use almond milk)

4-6 ice cubes

Place all ingredients in blender and hit the smoothie button on the Ace blender.  It will cycle through.  If you feel it needs one more cycle, press cancel then press the smoothie button again.  Add more milk as needed for desired consistency.

Avocado Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie

½ avocado

1 banana (frozen is best if you have it)

2 Tbsp. cocoa powder

3 Tbsp. creamy peanut butter

1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (more or less as desired)

½ tsp. maple extract (optional, but very good)

½ tsp. vanilla extract (optional, but very good)

4-6 ice cubes

Place all ingredients in blender and hit the smoothie button on the Ace blender.  It will cycle through.  If you feel it needs one more cycle, press cancel then press the smoothie button again.  Add more milk as needed for desired consistency.

Peach Strawberry Carrot Smoothie

Peach Strawberry Carrot Smoothie

1 cup peaches (fresh or frozen)

1 cup strawberries (fresh or frozen)

1 cup baby carrots or ¾ cup shredded carrots 

1 banana (frozen is best if you have it)

½ avocado

½ cup Greek yogurt, plain or vanilla

2 tsp. flaxseed meal

1 scoop Vanilla protein powder

1 cup almond or coconut milk

4-6 ice cubes

Place all ingredients in blender and hit the smoothie button on the Ace blender.  It will cycle through.  If you feel it needs one more cycle, press cancel then press the smoothie button again.  Add more milk as needed for desired consistency.

Sunshine Smoothie

1 cup frozen strawberries

½ cup frozen peaches

1 cup Greek yogurt - plain or vanilla

½ cup coconut water or coconut milk

4-6 ice cubes

Place all ingredients in blender and hit the smoothie button on the Ace blender.  It will cycle through.  If you feel it needs one more cycle, press cancel then press the smoothie button again.  Add more milk as needed for desired consistency.

More ideas for fruit and veggie combinations include...

Blueberry Cocoa - milk, banana, blueberries, spinach (raw, cooked & cooled or frozen), cocoa powder

Strawberry Banana - milk, banana, strawberries, cauliflower ((raw, cooked & cooled or frozen)

Mango Coconut Sweet Potato - milk (coconut is preference), mango, sweet potato (cooked & cooled or frozen), avocado.  Can blend in some unsweetened coconut flakes if you like. 

Honey Peach - milk, banana, peaches, raw summer squash (raw, cooked & cooled or frozen), flaxseed

Creamsicle - milk, yogurt, banana, orange, butternut squash (cooked & cooled or frozen)

Tropical Greens - milk, banana, kiwi, kale, chia seeds

Cocoa Banana - milk, banana, spinach, cocoa powder, nut butter

Strawberry Beet - milk, avocado, strawberries, beets (cooked & cooled or frozen/canned), maple syrup and/or extract

Cinnamon Apple - milk, banana, apple, summer squash (raw, cooked & cooled or frozen), dash of cinnamon

Blueberry Avocado Smoothie

Blueberry Avocado Smoothie
½ avocado

½ cup blueberries (I used frozen)

1 banana 

½ cup oatmeal (I used regular oats)

½ cup plain Greek yogurt  (can also use Vanilla Greek yogurt)

2 tsp. flax seed meal

1 scoop vanilla protein powder  (optional - don't use for toddlers)

½-1 cup almond milk  (can also use water or coconut milk)

4-6 ice cubes

Puree all ingredients in high power/high speed blender until smooth.   (Note - if using the Instant Pot Blender just hit the 'Smoothie' button and it will take care of it.)   Serve immediately.  Will keep in refrigerator for up to 48 hours.  

I doubled this recipe and it made 4 nice, but slightly small helpings - enough for Marvin, Laura, Jonathan, and Maverick.

Maverick loved this one!

Iced Tea (IP)

I was surprised to read that people were using the Instant Pot to make Iced Tea.  But it all made sense to me once I thought about it.  What better way to get a rich steeping of tea than in the pressure cooker?  It is kind of like the old Sun Tea but takes mere minutes instead of all day.

It seems that you can use fewer tea bags than you would normally for the amount of tea that you want to make.  I am still experimenting with that and would suggest you do the same.  I started out using half the amount of tea bags that I would normally and think that works pretty well.  Although, it might not hurt to use a few more.  (note - I like to add one or two Constant Comment tea bags to the regular tea bags when making iced tea.  I think it gives a nice, subtle flavoring to the tea.)

I have also read that you should add a teaspoon of baking soda.  This is to reduce any bitterness.  I am doing it - who knows if it is necessary.  :D  If you choose to add sugar or sweetener to your iced tea, do that at the end after you release the pressure.  

Iced Tea in the Instant Pot

½ to ¾ of the amount of tea bags typically recommended for the total volume of tea you are making

1 tsp. baking soda

2 cups water

Pour water into the Instant Pot then add the tea bags (minus the tags) and the baking soda.  Put the lid on and set vent to Seal.  Set on Manual High for 5 minutes then do a quick release of pressure.  You will have a strong concentrate that you can add sweetener to if you like.  Allow to cool somewhat then pour over ice and add water to create the volume of tea you are making.  

Mock Berry Mojitos

We served these at my Pampered Chef party.  They were so pretty and so yummy!  Definitely a keeper recipe.  The only change we all agree that we would make next time is to double the amount of lime juice and HALVE the amount of sugar.  I am recording the recipe below exactly as we made them, so you will want to do the doubling and halving yourself if you trust our judgement.  :D

Mock Berry Mojitos
3 cups water, divided
1 ½ cups sugar
2 cups fresh mint leaves, coarsely chopped (we omitted)
2 cups raspberry or strawberry sherbet (we used raspberry)
1 cup lime juice (about 7-8 limes)
8 cups club soda, chilled
lime slices for garnish

Combine 2 cups of the water and the sugar in a large micro cooker and microwave, covered, on High for 4-6 minutes or until the sugar is dissolved.  Stir in the mint leaves.  Let stand 5 minutes.
Combine the sherbet, remaining water, and lime juice in the Family Sized quick stir pitcher.  Carefully pour the sugar mixture into the pitcher, straining the mixture through the small holes of the micro cooker lid.  Discard the mint leaves.  Cover and plunge until well mixed.  Add club soda to the pitcher and stir gently with the plunger.  Pour Mock Berry Mojitos into ice filled glasses.  Garnish with lime slices and serve.

Susie showing off her Mock Berry Mojito

We also made Strawberry Lime Infused Water for the party.  (see below in clear glass pitcher)

2 limes, sliced

12 strawberries, sliced

Mint, optional

Water

Cut the limes and strawberries into slices.  Fill the bottom of the pitcher with the fruit.  Top with water.  Chill for at least 20 minutes before serving.  

Strawberry Lime Infused Water in clear glass pitcher on counter

Orange Cream Mimosa

Another good recipe for a ladies lunch that can be made with either Ginger Ale or Champagne, whichever you prefer.

Orange Cream Mimosa

2 ½ cups freshly squeezed orange juice

1 orange, zested

1 cup half and half

1 cup superfine sugar

1 bottle Champagne or ginger ale

strawberries for garnish

Put orange juice, zest, half & half, and sugar into a blender and process until sugar is dissolved - about 30 seconds.  Pour this mixture into a shallow pan and freeze until hard, 4 hours or overnight.  

Remove the frozen orange mixture from the freezer and let it sit to soften slightly, about 10 minutes.  With a scoop or tablespoon, scrape out a small scoop and put it into a champagne glass.  Slowly fill the glass with champagne or ginger ale and serve garnished with strawberries.  

Pink Lemonade Spritzers

This is an easy and pretty recipe for a ladies luncheon.  You can make it using ginger ale, or you can use a white wine like Pinot Grigio if you prefer.  It is tasty either way.

Pink Lemonade Spritzers

prepared pink lemonade from a dry mix like Country Time or Crystal Light

fresh raspberries

fresh blueberries

fresh mint leaves (optional)

Ginger Ale or Pinot Grigio, chilled

To make the ice cubes, pour lemonade into individual ice cube trays filling about ¾ full.  Insert one or two raspberries and blueberries in each cube.  You may also add a small piece of fresh mint if you desire.  Freeze for 24 hours or until frozen solid.  

To make the Spritzers:

Place 3 or 4 fruit filled lemonade ice cubes in a wine glass.  Top with ginger ale or pinot grigio to cover.  Serve immediately. 

Jonathan's favorite punch

This has been Jonathan's favorite punch recipe since he was a very little boy.  We always make it for the Christmas party and again for New Years Eve.  Usually, Jonathan convinces me to make a batch just for him at least one other time during the year.  This year I intended to make it for the Christmas party but discovered too late that I didn't have a key ingredient.  So, I may have to make Jonathan TWO separate batches this year to make up for that!  :D

We just made it in this huge plastic bowl on NYE!  :D 

Jonathan's Favorite Punch

1 (12 oz.) can frozen orange juice concentrate

1 (12 oz.) can frozen lemonade

1 (46 oz.) can pineapple juice

1-2 cups sugar  (I use 1 cup)

6 cups water

2 pints ginger ale  (we just pour from a 2 liter until it looks right. :D)

Mix all above ingredients EXCEPT the ginger ale and freeze.  (I freeze in a couple of smaller containers that I know will fit in my punch bowl.)  About 2-3 hours before you serve, take out of the freezer to thaw.  Place in punch bowl and pour ginger ale over top.  You can use a wooden spoon to 'slush it up'.  

Serves about 40-50 small punch bowl servings

Pina Colada Sangria

Summertime parties call for Sangria.  This is a very good recipe.

Pina Colada Sangria
2 cups pineapple juice
2 cans coconut/pineapple sparkling water (24 fluid ounces)
1  12 oz. can Sprite (or lemon lime soda)
1 ½ cups coconut rum (Malibu)
1 bottle white wine
20 oz. can chunk pineapple plus the juice
½ cup maraschino cherries with a little bit of the juice

In a large pitcher, combine the pineapple juice, white wine, coconut rum, sparkling water and soda.  Then add the pineapple chunks and maraschino cherries.  Stir to combine.  Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.

Chris's Strawberry Punch

Remember when I attended that luncheon at my friend, Chris's house?  I mentioned that she served the most delicious punch… well, here is that recipe.  I should probably title it Chris & Julie's punch since Julie first located it on Pinterest and Chris got the recipe from her.  But, Chris was the first person to actually make it and serve it to us.  We all appreciated her effort!!   :D

Strawberry Punch

1 can (46 oz.) pineapple juice, chilled

2 ¼ cups water

¾ cup thawed pink lemonade concentrate

¾ cup sugar

1 quart strawberry ice cream

2 ½ quarts ginger ale, chilled

1 pint fresh strawberries

In punch bowl, combine 1st pineapple juice, water, pink lemonade concentrate, and sugar.  Add ice cream; stir gently.  Cut fresh strawberries and add to punch.  Serve immediately.  

Yield - 6 quarts

Jonathan's Punch

Jonathan loves this punch!  When I make a batch for parties, I also have to make a separate batch for him.  I found that is just easier than having to deal with his sad face when he only gets a cup or two at the party.  Plus, the rest of us kind of love it, too.   :)

Jonathan's Punch
1 (12 oz.) can frozen orange juice concentrate
1 (12 oz.) can frozen lemonade
1 (46 oz.) can pineapple juice
1-2 cups sugar  (I typically use the lesser amount)
6 cups water
2 pints ginger ale

Mix all above ingredients, EXCEPT the ginger ale, and freeze.  About 1-2 hours before you serve, take out of freezer to thaw.  Add 2 pints of ginger ale, mix and serve.

I always double or even triple this recipe, because it is SO good!!  :)

Pampered Chef show

I hosted a Pampered Chef show at the beginning of November.  I hadn't done that in years and it turned out to be SO much fun!  I had a nice gathering of dear ladies and we spent the afternoon visiting, laughing, learning about new kitchen products and sampling all kinds of goodies.  What could be more fun?

I am going to use this post to record several recipes from the show.  They will have their own label/link on the Recipes Page, but will all be found together here, on this one post, since they are all PC recipes.  

Thanks so much to my consultant, Melissa, for the wonderful show!

Some of the yummy concoctions from the party!

Greek Chicken and Artichoke Flatbread

 Greek Chicken and Artichoke Flatbread
1 pkg. (11 oz.) refrigerated thin crust pizza crust
1 1/2 cups fresh parsley leaves, divided
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 lemon
1 jar (12 oz.) marinated artichoke hearts
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 tsp each of salt and black pepper
4 oz. feta cheese, divided
8 oz. mozzarella cheese
2 cups diced, cooked chicken breast

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Unroll pizza crust onto Large Bar Pan and bake on lowest rack of oven for 17-20 minutes or until top is golden brown.

Coarsely process 1/2 cup parsley in Manual Food Processor; remove and set aside for garnish.  Add remaining parsley and garlic to process and process until finely chopped.

Zest lemon to measure 1 tsp. then add zest, artichokes, olive oil, salt, pepper and half of the feta to the processor.  Process until coarsely chopped.

Grate mozzarella then combine half of it with the artichoke mixture and chicken in bowl.  Mix well.  Microwave, uncovered, on High 1-2 minutes or until hot, stirring once.

Remove pan from oven and sprinkle crust with the remaining mozzarella.  Then top with the chicken mixture; spread to the edges of crust.

Cut flatbread into 16 squares then crumble remaining feta over top and garnish with reserved parsley.

S'more Cake

S'more Cake
3 Hershey bars (1.55 oz. each)
1 small pkg. (9 oz.) devil's food cake mix (or 1 2/3 cups from a regular size pkg.)
1 egg
1 container (8 oz.) sour cream
1 bag (10 oz.) regular size marshmallows OR 4 cups mini marshmallows (we used mini)
3 whole graham crackers, coarsely crushed

Place oven rack in middle of oven; preheat broiler.
Microwave chocolate on High 30-60 seconds or until mostly melted.  Stir until smooth; set aside.
Combine cake mix, egg, and sour cream in bowl; mix until blended.  Pour batter into Rockcrock Everyday Pan or Rockcrok Dutch Oven.
Microwave, covered, on High 4-5 minutes or until center of cake is firm and springs back when pressed.
Remove pan from microwave; arrange marshmallows in an even layer over cake.  Broil 30-60 seconds or until marshmallows are golden brown.
Remove from broiler; sprinkle with crackers and drizzle with chocolate.

Three Onion Rub Dip

Love these 3 minute dip recipes from Pampered Chef using their Rubs and seasoning blends.  The basic recipe is as follows...
1-2 Tbsp. Rub plus Topper (see suggested combinations below)
4 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 pkg. cream cheese, softened
2 Tbsp. milk  (I probably doubled this... use your own judgement)

Rubs/Toppers
*Three Onion Rub / 3 slices cooked bacon, crumbled  (We did this one and it was terrific!!)
Bell Pepper Herb Rub / half a red bell pepper, diced
Buffalo Rub / 1 stalk celery, chopped
Greek Rub / a quarter of a cucumber, chopped
Tex-Mex Rub / a plum tomato, seeded and diced

We served this with Pampered Chef Beer Bread (Yummy!)

Apple Berry Salsa (may not look too good in this photo, but trust me, this is amazing!!!)

Apple Berry Salsa
2 medium Granny Smith apples
1 pint strawberries, diced
2 kiwi, peeled and diced
1 small orange
2 Tbsp. packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp. apricot jam
Baked Cinnamon Chips (which Melissa made using flour tortillas cut into wedges and then baked in the microwave using her PC microwave chip maker.  She then seasoned them with PC Cinnamon and sugar.)

Peel, core and slice apples; then coarsely chop apple slices and put in a bowl.  Dice strawberries and kiwi and add to bowl.  Zest orange to measure 1 tsp. zest.  Juice orange to measure 2 Tbsp. juice.  Add orange zest, juice, brown sugar, and Jelly to fruit mixture.  Mix gently then refrigerate until ready to serve.

I don't have a picture, but Melissa also made Easy Sangrias.  Here is that recipe.

1 bottle red wine

2 cups lemon lime soda

1/4 cup sugar

1 orange, juiced

1 lemon, juiced

1 lime, juiced

Mix all ingredients together in a quick-stir pitcher and serve.  You may slice up additional fruit and serve in the pitcher if you like.  You can mix all but the soda and chill, then add soda right before serving.


Prior to the show I made some super simple cookies using the Pampered Chef cookie press and the Pampered Chef mini muffin pan.  All I did was use store bought peanut butter cookie dough, added a 1/4 cup flour to keep it from sticking, then put it in the cookie press.  After baking the cookies I quickly pressed hershey's kisses into the center of each one.  For the thumbprint cookies I used store bought sugar cookie dough and scooped it into the mini muffin pan, then pressed a thumbprint into the top of each one.  I filled half of the cookies with Lemon Curd and the other half with Apricot Jam.  Although they were quite tasty, I made one huge mistake.  I forgot how much dough those little mini muffin pans will hold.  I put too much in each opening and they blew up all over the oven.   :D  Soooo... be sure to use the SMALL Pampered Chef scoop instead of the Medium one!   :)  Or, just roll them into small balls and place in the muffin tin.  That is what I did with the remaining peanut butter dough and I got them the correct size.  :)  ha!

Peanut Butter Blossoms from the cookie press

Thumbprint Cookies with Lemon Curd... gone all wrong!!   :)

Thumbprint Cookies with Apricot Jam... exploded!  (but still tasty, actually)  

Used the rest of the peanut butter blossom dough to create the little tarts in the center.
What the thumbprint cookies were supposed to look like!!  :)

Butterbeer

New Years Eve my dear niece, Rachel, made up a batch of yummy Butterbeer for everyone.  Oh my, was it decadently tasty and rich!  Thank you Rachel for sharing the recipe with us!   :)

Rachel preparing the Butterbeer 

Butterbeer - recipe by Darla from Bakingdom, website here:  http://www.bakingdom.com/2010/11/butterbeer-oh-yes-friends-butterbeer.html

Modified slightly by Rachel  :)

For the foam:
2 cups heavy cream
6 Tbsp. sugar or Splenda
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1.5 tsp. imitation butter flavor

For the butter beer:
12 oz. bottles or cans of chilled cream soda, one per serving
Imitation butter flavor (will use 1/2 tsp. per serving so make sure you have enough)
Optional:  1 oz. light rum, per serving, for adults

To make the foam:  In a large bowl, or the bowl of a standing mixer, whip the heavy cream on medium high speed for 3-4 minutes until it starts to thicken.  Add the sugar and continue whipping until very soft peaks begin to form, another 3-4 minutes (if you need to whip more or less, then be sure to do so... the times can vary quite a bit based on environment.)  Stir in the vanilla and imitation butter flavor, then whip for another 30 seconds or so, until soft peaks form.  Foam in original recipe is for 6 servings, but I found it worked for as many as 10 or 12.

To make the butter beer:  Place 1/2 tsp. of imitation butter in each glass.  Pour 12 ounces of butterbeer into each glass, over the butter.  Lightly stir, if necessary.  Spoon a generous portion of foam on top of each glass of butterbeer, mixing gently if desired.  Or, spoon the foam into the bottom of each glass and pour the butterbeer over the top.  (warning:  if you do this method, prepare for it to fizz up pretty high like root beer!  When I made this for Halloween we had a pretty epic overflow!)  Serve immediately and enjoy.  :)

Chai Tea

Chai Tea

2 cups water

1 cup milk

black tea (I used one small tea bag and about 2 Tbsp. Bourbon Vanilla loose tea)

1 Tbsp. sugar or Splenda  (recipe called for double this, but I don't think it is necessary.)

2 tsp. Pampered Chef Cinnamon Plus seasoning

1/4 tsp. Ginger

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Combine milk and water in a saucepan or tea kettle; bring to a boil.  Remove from heat.  Add tea and remaining ingredients.  Steep for 5 to 6 minutes.  Remove tea and serve.  

I did this entire process in a saucepan on top of the stove.  Next time I will heat the milk and water in the saucepan but will then pour that into a teapot and add the rest of the ingredients to that.  I think it will keep it warmer longer.  

(the original recipe called for the following spices, but I didn't have them... so I chose the spices listed in recipe above instead, along with the Bourbon Vanilla tea.)

1/4 tsp. cardamom

1/4 tsp. fennel

1/4 tsp. ginger

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. cloves

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Makes 2 mugs