Green Monster Spinach Smoothie!

I came across a post on a blog talking about a Green Monster Spinach Smoothie. Spinach in a smoothie? Gross! So I had to keep reading about this.

After looking at the ingredients, they didn't look that bad except for the spinach. She SWORE it didn't taste like spinach and that it tasted like a ice cream smoothie. I took that as a challenge.

AND OH MY GOODNESS! This smoothie is one of the best smoothies i've ever had! It does NOT taste healthy at all! It's green obviously from the spinach but that's it! All I could taste was the fruit and peanut butter!

PPPPLLLLLUUUUUSSSS....check out all these benefits of spinach:

• Spinach is fat free, cholesterol free, low in calories, and very low in sodium
• Spinach is an excellent source of vitamin A, C, K, iron, fiber, folate, and lutein
• Leutin is an antioxidant that promotes good eye health, and may help prevent cancer of the liver, ovaries, colon and prostate, and even dementia.
• Dole lab tests found spinach juice has twice the chlorophyl, eight times the calcium, six times the magnesium, 10 times the potassium, 15 times the vitamin C and 43 times the vitamin A of wheatgrass juice!
• It makes your skin, hair, nails, and overall self feel totally great!

So here's the ingredients, cause I know you want it!

Green Monster Spinach Smoothie

(Serves 1)

Ingredients:

1 frozen sliced banana

1 Tablespoon peanut butter

1/2cup Greek yogurt (I used the whole thing since it was only 6oz)

1 cup milk

4 cups baby spinach (or more, or less)

1) First add 1 sliced frozen banana, and 1 Tablespoon peanut butter in a blender. Tip: PEEL and SLICE your bananas before you freeze them, or you’ll be sorry!

2) Next add bulking agents for staying power, like protein-packed vanilla Greek yogurt (I used Chobani banana strawberry greek yogurt) and milk. You could use any kind of milk you want – cow’s, rice, soy, etc.

3) Fill the blender the rest of the way up with baby spinach. I reckon I fit about 4 cups in there today!

4) Start the blender on “high blend” until everything’s mixed up, then switch it over to “liquify” to get the Green Monster velvety smooth.

***You can try throwing in different kinds of greens, protein powder, and any frozen fruit or berry combo under the sun.***



Nutritional stats:

350 calories, 10g fiber, 21g protein

Why didn't I think of that?!

I came across a pin the other day with the most simple, simple solution. Instead of wasting money on bag clips, you probably have like 100 in your house right now. Well, if you're like me you probably have a 100.

You can use them as any type of clip but I used them for a bag of chips I opened the other night. Check this out!

How simple is that!?!

 =)

DIY Canvas Pictures

I've been working on a project I just couldn't talk about until after Christmas. It was my mother-in-law's Christmas present. I took 8x10pics of her grandkids and put them on Canvas to hang on the wall. I think it turned out pretty good and I'm pretty sure she loved it.

I know I usually put on here how to do it but I don't think I can explain it any better than the website I got it from. The lady on that website goes in to so much detail with detailed pictures.

So, if you are interested in making your own, here's the website with the directions:

http://www.bluecricketdesign.net/2011/01/guest-post-diy-photos-on-canvas-by.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BlueCricketDesign+%28Blue+Cricket+Design%29

Clorox Cleanup for only $0.05

Yeah I know it sounds crazy but it's true! Only 5₵ and it takes like 5 seconds to make!

Fact: Brent HATES pickels! Pretty sure it's the vinegar since the smell makes him sick. He loves it being clean but can't stand the smell since i've been cleaning with vinegar and baking soda. But it's so cheap and cleans great! I had to find a solution...

I came across this website that had a cheap cleaner disinfectant for pennies! *score* And it works just as good if not better than the Clorox Cleanup you get in the store.

Here's what it takes:

*1/4 cup of bleach

*1 tablespoon of dish detergent

*water

Add bleach and detergent to squirt bottle, fill with water and shake.

How does the price compare?
1 Bottle of Clorox Cleanup around $4.00
1 Bottle of homemade Clorox Cleanup around $0.05

I mean seriously, why buy it again?!?!

B-A-N-A-N-A-S and pie...yum!

With the Christmas season, i've been so busy getting ready and enjoying the time with my family, that I have not really done any craft projects since the wooden pallet display.

I am actually working on a diy project right now, but I can't tell you what it is cause it's part of a Christmas present. I'll post about it after Christmas though.

If i've been doing anything from Pinterest, it's cooking. So i'll share with you another fabulous recipe that I came across.

(Oh and if you saw a pin labeled "Cowboy Casserole" in my "yummy in my tummy" board you will now notice that it is no longer there.  WARNING: It was not so yummy at all! Do not make that casserole...you will NOT go back for seconds.)

I made this dessert. It is SOOOOO good!

Banoffee "Danger" Pie

What You Need:

*3 bananas (Am I the only one that sings Hollaback Girl every time I spell banana?)

*1 can of Sweetened Condensed Milk

*Graham cracker pie crust

*1 tub of cool whip

*chocolate bar (i used left over halloween candy, you could use like 2 hershey kisses if you wanted)

Your first step can be done way ahead of time (at least hours but can be as much as months before).  I bought 3 cans, did them at the same time and I have 2 cans left over. Enough for 2 more pies! Remove the label on the condensed milk and submerge the unopened can in pot of water. Cover and boil for 2.5 hours. Warning: Be sure to keep the can covered by water at all times!! You will have to continue to add water to the pot.

After 2.5hrs of boiling, take the pot off the stove to cool. When you open your can you will now see that you just made home made toffee! I swear it tastes soooooooo good too. I know it's weird and hard to believe but I SWEAR to you, it's toffee!

Slice your bananas (...ain't no hollaback girl...) and place them in the pie crust. You can do it all formal or you can go crazy and let the bananas fall where they may.

Pour your can of toffee over bananas.

Top with coolwhip

Optional: Grate chocolate over top of coolwhip.

**Refridgerate until time to serve.**

This is seriously one of the best pies i've ever had! To quote, "Danger is this pies middle name not only because is it tasty and calorically sinful but its also incredibly easy to make! A dangerous combination. If you are on a diet, avert your eyes!"

One taste and you will not be able to resist the gooey yumminess!

Lasagna Soup

Last night I got Brent to eat tomatoes...and he liked them. If you know my husband, you know that this is absolutely amazing. See, as much as I love my husband, his taste pallet is that of a 6yr olds. lol While everyone's plates on Holidays are full of different colored veggies and sides...his are always brown (meat), white (potatoes) and yellow (pasta or corn). So when he tried my soup, with big chunks of fire roasted tomatoes AND 1cup of chopped onions and said he liked it and then ate 2 huge bowls, I almost fell over!

With that being said, if you know my husband will eat it, then you know this is some pretty awesome soup. The name alone, to me, makes it sound tasty. AND I even made it look pretty! A lot of times I will try to make something and it tastes really good but the appearance isn't what the pic looks like at all. lol. This soup, however, looked very very close to the picture of the professionals!

SO I present to you...Lasagna Soup!

(this is not my pic but mine looked pretty much just like this)

for the soup:
2 tsp. olive oil
1-1/2 lbs. Italian sausage
3 c. chopped onions (we are not an onion family so I only used 1cup and it was great)
4 garlic cloves, minced (1/8tsp of garlic powder =1garlic clove)
2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
2 T. tomato paste
1 28-oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
6 c. chicken stock
8 oz. mafalda or fusilli pasta
1/2 c. finely chopped fresh basil leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

for the cheesy yum:
8 oz. ricotta
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. salt
pinch of freshly ground pepper
2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add sausage, breaking up into bite sized pieces, and brown for about 5 minutes. Add onions and cook until softened, about 6 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Cook for 1 minute. Add tomato paste and stir well to incorporate. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the tomato paste turns a rusty brown color.

Add diced tomatoes, bay leaves, and chicken stock. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add uncooked pasta and cook until al dente. Do not over cook or let soup simmer for a long period of time at this point, as the pasta will get mushy. Stir in basil and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

While the pasta is cooking, prepare the cheesy yum. In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, Parmesan, salt, and pepper.

To serve, place a dollop of the cheesy yum in each soup bowl, sprinkle some of the mozzarella on top and ladle the hot soup over the cheese.

Servings:  8

Pallet love!

True story...I kept seeing all these pallet projects on pinterest and I loved them. Except, I didn't have a pallet. I had called a couple of places but they all used theres. One day I was driving by where the Crazy Cajun used to be and someone had dumped a bunch of old wood there. Right in front was this pallet...sitting there...taunting me...saying "get me." So, I did. As soon as I did, I called my dad and my grandfather and asked if it was stealing...I felt so bad and I was not going to have a piece of stolen wood in my living room. Since it was abandoned and left there as trash and junk, it was clarified that it was not stealing. It was a someone's trash was another person's treasure type deal. I never thought i'd use that phrase lol

Now that you know the history between me and my precious pallet, I'll show you what we did with it. With my husband's super strength, cause i'm a pansy and couldn't do it, he ripped a couple of the boards off. I cleaned it up and we hung it up on the wall. I had to use some hardcore nails though because pallets are really heavy! I think they're made out of oak and that's why. Anyways, here is the finished project. It completes my living room!