Smoothies, Skinless, Success!

Over these wintry weeks I've been having some fun in the kitchen, finally feeling a flow of good, clean, eating in our household.  I'm not expert, but have been making strides over the years to avoid processed foods, "shop the perimeter" and in the best case of scenarios; grow it or raise it yourself.  In the colder months it is a challenge to have fresh, so frozen is the next best.
 
I am a smoothie master and the boys will tell you so.  They are so easy and pack a punch of flavor and nutrients. Here's one of my classics.  Started with fresh strawberries (frozen work too),

 

then broke up two bananas, and squeezed in juice from three oranges.  Blend. 

 

Add can of pineapple if desired.  Blend some more. 

 

 

  Big shots for 4.

 

 

There are many great resources on how to make smoothies, but there's really no rules.  Here is a great list of 50 from Food Network.  I have a book on Kindle that I get ideas from, he's big into using coconut milk or water.  I like to use Almond Milk or vanilla yogurt, it all depends and certain times I also add wheat germ or flax seed meal, ginger or mint to boost the power!

 

Even if I can't grow pie pumpkins myself I always buy some when they are for sale locally grown.  They are baked, spiced, and frozen to be used in yummy creations during the 'hibernating months.'  I defrosted some to make a homemade pie, although truth be told I bought frozen crust, shame on me.  Pie crust is one thing that I've never been blessed with a talent for.  BUT I can put together a mean filling and this time I ended up with extra filling so I pulled out a small tin, greased and floured it, then poured in the extra and sprinkled some mini chocolate chips on top.  My kids never got into pie crust much any way and most holidays would leave it sitting on the plate, so voila! 

 

Skinless Pumpkin Pie

 

 

Made my first attempt at homemade egg rolls (except for the wrapper).  It was a relatively easy process and they tasted delicious.  I decided to use turkey instead of pork.  I also realized I did not have soy sauce or oyster sauce (who EVER has oyster sauce) as I was reading the recipe.  So I used a Teryaki Sauce instead ... awesome.  These are your basic ingredients, bean sprouts, carrots, cabbage, ground meat browned and spiced, and the wrappers. 

 

 

Carefully fill and fold, using a dab of water on the corner to help keep the closed.  I opted to use the bake method and laid them fold side down to start.

 

 

They turned out great.  I had a few wraps left over and extra veggies for the filling so I made a few meatless egg rolls for lunch one day and pan fried them.  Just as tasty!

 

 

Well, that's what's been cooking in my kitchen, in between meetings, and cleaning, and kid activities, and shopping, and subbing, and stuff like that.  Hope all is well in your world.