Almond Banana Smoothie

Here is a smoothie/drink recipe that I adapted from the South Beach Diet summer cookbook. We make a lot of smoothies for breakfast at our house. I find it is a good way to get things into my preschooler without a fight. He loves to help make them, too. I thought this one was a good twist on the usual ingredients and it packs at least 5 grams of protein into a 3/4 cup serving. Now, the original recipe calls for you to puree sliced almonds with water and you can surely do that if you like. However I decided to take a shortcut and just use almond milk, which is easy to find at any regular grocery store near the rest of the milk. If you decide to do the puree thing, use 1/4 cup of sliced almonds with 1 cup of water. I also decided it needed an extra banana!

What You Need:
1 cup almond milk
2 bananas, peeled {obviously!}
1 cup low-fat plain or vanilla yogurt
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
ice cubes

Directions:
In a blender, combine all ingredients until mixture is smooth and thick. Fill four 8 oz glasses with ice and pour  over ice. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

Pizza on the Grill

Yes, pizza on the grill! I think that anytime you can avoid turning on your oven in the summer time, you should take advantage. So when I saw this idea at Crazi Beautiful, I tried it and am very glad I did! If you like wood-fired pizza, you will love this. You'll get that nice, puffy dough with the smokiness and great flavor. This was really easy, too and everyone {even the picky eater} loved it! Customize with whatever toppings you like such as chicken and bbq sauce, fresh tomato and basil, pineapple and ham, fresh veggies, or traditional mozzarella and pepperoni. This pizza dough recipe will make four 7-8 inch pizzas.

What You Need {Pizza Dough}
3-5 cups flour
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon oil, heaping
1 cup warm water
1 tablespoon yeast
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

Mix all pizza dough ingredients together, except the flour. Add flour and knead for a few minutes until flour is well combined and a soft dough is formed. Your dough is ready to use immediately.

You will also need ready:
Olive oil
A cookie sheet
Spatula
Four pieces of tin foil
Your choice of pizza toppings

Directions:
1. Turn your grill on and set it to high. While the grill heats up, roll out your dough. Roll it out to about 7 inches in diameter and 1/4-1/2 inch thick. Roll out your first piece of dough and brush one side with olive oil. Place oil side down on a piece of aluminum foil and brush the other side. Then top with a piece of foil. Follow this same process with the next piece of dough. You are making a little stack of oiled dough in between foil pieces. The oil keeps the dough from sticking to the foil and grill and adds to the flavor of the crust. You will use the foil to flip the dough onto the grill.


2. Now you’re ready to grill the dough. Turn the grill down to medium. Place the dough on the grill. Take off the top layer from your stack using the foil and flip it on the grill. Once the dough is all on the grill close the lid and let it cook for 2 minutes. Check for the dough to be puffy and browned. If not let it go a little bit more. Now you want to have a cookie sheet nearby.

3. Remove the dough from the grill with your tongs and place on the cookie sheet grilled side up. Top your pizzas however you like. Start with the sauce followed by cheese and then your toppings. Once topped carefully place the pizzas back on the grill with the spatula, to cook the underside of the dough. Turn the grill down to low at this point. Close the lid again and cook for another 5-7 minutes until the cheese is all melted. Remove from the grill using your spatula and enjoy!

Pasta with Prosciutto & Peas

I hope everyone had a wonderful {holiday}weekend. I know I did. It was so full of activities I didn't have a minute to sit down and post and I have so many recipes I want to share. I noticed it has been awhile since I posted a main dish, so I'll start with that. I think in the summer I am drawn to lighter things like salads, salsas, drinks, and tend to lean away from the heavier foods. But I know we still all have to cook dinner out there so here goes! This is what we had for dinner just last night! Yummy.

This recipe comes from the cookbook Everday Food: Great Food Fast, with just a couple of my variations.

What You Need:
12 oz. pasta {They called for fettuccine but I think any kind of heavy noodle would be great}
1 tablespoon butter
1 shallot, chopped
1/4 cup heavy cream {I used closer to 1/2 cup}
1 10 oz package of frozen peas, thawed {or fresh}
8 slices prosciutto, halved lengthwise and then sliced crosswise. {about 1 cup}
Zest of two lemons
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese {plus extra for serving}
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Cook the pasta according to package directions in salted water until just al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water. Drain and return to the pot. In the meantime, in a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the shallot and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the cream, peas, and prosciutto. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat until peas are heated through, 3-4 minutes. Stir in the lemon zest and juice.

Add the pasta to the skillet with the sauce. Add the parmesan and season with salt and pepper. Add enough of the reserved pasta water a little at a time to thin the sauce as desired. Serve immediately. Top with additional parmesan, if desired. Enjoy!

Cheddar Garlic Biscuits

So tonight I tried making those homemade hamburger buns...again. (I failed the first time a few weeks ago). I wanted to post that recipe for you for your 4th of July burgers but, yeah they went to the garbage! I think the third time is going to be the charm though because at least I know what I did wrong. I am not giving up! I am sure it is time for me to take a bread making class! However, something good did come out of it in that I really wanted bread to go with our soup so I started over with biscuits. I've had this recipe sitting in my to-be-tried file for some time and I am so glad I finally did them. I've made other versions of these but this was by far the best. I really do not think you could improve much on this recipe and besides they are extremely easy. We usually like these biscuits with fish (sort of a Red Lobster at-home thing) but they would be wonderful with whatever you choose, I am sure. They are melt in your mouth goodness.

What You Need:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons shortening
3 tablespoons butter, cold
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/4 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
(additional) 3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
pinch of salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, garlic powder and salt. Cut in shortening and butter until coarse crumbs are formed. Lightly mix in grated cheese. Mix in buttermilk just until moist. Do not overmix or handle too much. This is the secret to melt-in-your-mouth biscuits. They will be tough if you over-mix them. Drop the biscuits onto a greased or lined baking sheet. Bake for 12-14 minutes, until browned and golden. While the biscuits are baking, in a small bowl combine three tablespoons melted butter,  parsley flakes,  garlic powder and a pinch of salt. Right when the biscuits come out of the oven, brush the butter/herb mixture over the biscuits evenly. Serve immediately. Enjoy!