How about a smoothie?

Today I'm bringing you something other than artwork - a simple recipe for a delicious, low(ish) calorie smoothie! I finally found a great way to make a smoothie that has just the right mix of everything and has a great texture. Here's my recipe - I hope you'll try it.

 

 

Start with a cup of lowfat vanilla yogurt. I love the Kroger brand of Lite yogurt - only 80 calories for the cup. Of course, you can use a flavor other than vanilla but it's a great base for any fruit you want to add. Put the yogurt in the blender but hang on to the container!

 

 

Now grab your fruit - but here's the key - it must be fruit that has been frozen! I buy the small packages of raspberries (I think it's a 1/2 pint) and toss them in the freezer so I have fruit on hand for smoothies any time. I also put bananas that are too ripe to just eat in the freezer for the smoothies as well. You can also buy the bags of frozen fruit in the freezer section of the store but those are a little more expensive. It's more economical to save and freeze your own but if, for instance, you want to freeze a peach, I would cut it up and freeze it just long enough to be frozen, otherwise it may turn brownish.

 

Now fill your yogurt cup with your choice of frozen fruit and dump it all in the blender.

 

Last step, fill your yogurt cup one more time with milk. I use 1% to keep the calories down (102 calories for 6 oz. - the size of the yogurt container). Now add this to your blender.

 

Pulse until everything is well blended and pour into a nice tall glass and enjoy!

 

Here's mine - yum!!! Have a great day!

 

 

Stuffed with Pizza

Today is my son-in-law's birthday (Happy Birthday Kyle!) and this is the card I made for him (and Mojo Monday):

I flipped the sketch sideways to accomodate the image of this content bear stuffing himself with pizza. Looks like a fun thing to do on your birthday! And my son-in-law can pack pizza away! The stamp is from the Gruffies line of House Mouse, unfortunately I can't name the paper as I used the section with the name on this card and forgot to write it down before I adhered it. Sorry about that.

The sentiments were stamped with a set of aphabet stamps I picked up at Michael's for $1. These have come in handy many times over! I inked around the edge of all of the pieces and mounted the main image on foam tape. A few Dew Drops were added for a little sparkle, without getting too girly.

If you would like to play along with Mojo Monday, here is the sketch for this week:

And speaking of pizza, I have a couple of quick and easy recipes for you today - this is going to be our Super Bowl Sunday meal while we watch the game:

Pizza Burgers

1 lb. of ground chuck (more if you need more sandwiches - just increase your other ingredients as well)
1 small can tomato paste
1 small can mushrooms
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
6-8 oz. muenster cheese, cubed
hambuger buns

Brown the ground chuck and drain. Add paste, mushrooms, oregano and garlic salt. You can adjust these amounts to fit your taste. No hard and fast rules here. Mix together with meat and heat through. Turn off the heat and allow to cool for 1/2 hour. Add cheese cubes and toss to mix in. Spoon filling into hamburger buns and wrap sandwiches in foil. Place in a 325 degree pre-heated oven for about 15 minutes.

Hot Chili and Cheese Dip

Velvetta cheese
Cream cheese
Hormel chili with no beans
Nacho chips

I make this in my crock pot. I usually use an 8 oz pkg of cream cheese and 16-20 oz of Velvetta. Add in your chili (1 can) and heat through until nice and bubbly. Dip in your chip and enjoy!

Have a great weekend and I will see you again soon!

Random day of randomness

It's Saturday and I should be finishing up my notecard order but I feel like I have too many other things to tackle first and somehow, that means blogging too. And then there's changing sheets on beds, scanning textbooks (son uses a screen reader for his college texts) and figuring out what to make for dinner when nothing sounds good. Not that I don't think food, in general, sounds good, I just don't think I'm in the mood for cooking. But it was pizza last night so I guess tonight I have to go back to cooking something. Maybe homemade subs. Easy.

Here's my recipe for homemade subs - it's not a combination you might think of for a sub but trust me, it works.
From the deli, get sliced ham, pickle and pimento loaf (Or olive loaf if they don't have p&p) and cooked salami (not hard salami). Some places call it Cotto salami. Oh and cheese. My mom always used Swiss - I prefer Provolone. 
Melt a little butter and stir in some garlic powder to make a garlic spread.
Split your sub buns open and spread some of the garlic butter on one side. Layer the meats and top with cheese. Wrap the sub in foil and place in a 275 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes.
Then serve with tomato/lettuce/condiments - even Italian dressing added to this is pretty good.

French fries make a great side dish.

I think that's what's for dinner tonight.

What are planning for dinner?