California Smoothie

from allrecipes.com, submitted by Janice

INGREDIENTS:

7 large strawberries 1 (8 ounce) container lemon yogurt

1/3 cup orange juice

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Place strawberries in a plastic container and freeze for about an hour.
2.	In a blender, combine frozen strawberries, yogurt and orange juice. Blend until smooth. Pour into a tall glass and serve. I didn't bother to freeze the strawberries.  I just added about half a dozen ice cubes to the ingredients.  The lemon yogurt intrigued me because I'd never used it before.  This is good, but I think I'll try vanilla yogurt next time and may even toss in half a banana.

Sweet and Spicy Chicken

adapted from allrecipes.com, submitted by kate

INGREDIENTS:

flour salt and pepper to taste 1.5 tablespoon brown sugar 3 tablespoons honey 1/4 cup soy sauce plus 1/8 c more 3 teaspoons chopped fresh ginger root 3 teaspoons chopped garlic

1 tablespoons hot sauce 6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1/2 inch strips 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Lightly salt and pepper the chicken pieces.  Put chicken into a plastic bag.  Add a little flour (maybe 1/4 cup) and shake it.
2.	Mix together brown sugar, honey, soy sauce, ginger, garlic and hot sauce in a small bowl.
3.	Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken strips and brown on both sides, just a couple of minutes per side. Remove the chicken from the pan and keep covered.  Reduce heat to medium.  Pour the sauce into the pan. Simmer uncovered until the sauce thickens.  This should only take about 2 minutes.  Place the chicken back in the pan and mix to coat with the sauce.  Allow everything to heat together for a minute or two. We used Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce.  At 1 tbsp it was perfect for my husband but too hot for the rest of us.  So you may need to adjust based on your tolerance for the heat!  Also, I will probably make more of the sauce next time just so we can mix it in with the rice.  As written it's plenty to coat the chicken so make according to your preference. This was yummy and easy.   Husband rating:  4 stars Boys say:  too spicy!

Mango-Licious Fish Tacos

adapted from allrecipes.com, submitted by Chris

6 tilapia fillets 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 1/2 tablespoons grated orange zest 1/4 cup fresh orange juice salt and pepper to taste  Salsa: 1 mango - peeled, seeded and diced

2 tbsp small red onion, finely chopped 1 avocado - peeled, pitted and diced 3 roma tomatoes - chopped 1 lime, zested and juiced 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro 1 teaspoon kosher salt

1.	Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C.)
2.	In a shallow baking dish, combine the olive oil, orange zest, orange juice, salt and pepper. Rinse the fish fillets and pat them dry. Place them into the baking dish and turn to coat with the seasonings.
3.	Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until fish can be flaked with a fork.
4.	While the fish cooks, combine the mango, onion, avocado, tomatoes, lime zest and juice, ginger, cilantro and 1 teaspoon kosher salt in a glass bowl. Stir to blend and set aside at room temperature until fish has finished cooking. Shred the tilapia.  Spoon some tilapia on to a warm tortilla.  Add desired amount of salsa.  Enjoy!

I'm so excited to share this recipe with you!  This is fresh and tasty!  We had a little salsa left over so I gave it and some white corn tortilla chips to a friend.  She loved it!  

Husband rating: 5 stars
Boys say:  mixed reviews

Grilled Chicken with Sweet, Sour and Tangy Mustard

When I was shopping at Costco the other day I discovered a new yummy sauce.  It's Fischer and Wieser's Sweet, Sour and Smokey Mustard Sauce (I accidentally called it tangy in the title, but that word does describe the flavor!  It's just not in their name for their sauce).  It really doesn't get any easier than throwing some chicken breasts halves on the grill and basting them with the sauce.  Add to that a baked potato (seriously, that's about the easiest side dish in the world!) and a green salad and you're all set to enjoy the weather warming up while eating a tasty, easy, inexpensive meal.

Welcome back warm weather!!!

Husband rating: 4 stars
Boys say:  thumbs up

Hash Brown Casserole

from Cooking Light

6 bacon slices (if you buy precooked ones you can save yourself some time)

1 cup chopped onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 (32-ounce) package frozen Southern-style hash brown potatoes

1 cup (4 ounces) preshredded Classic Melts Four Cheese blend, divided

1/2 cup chopped green onions

1/2 cup fat-free sour cream

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 (10.75-ounce) can condensed 30% reduced-sodium, 98% fat-free cream of mushroom soup, undiluted

Cooking spray

Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, and crumble. Discard drippings in pan. Add 1 cup onion and garlic to pan; cook for 5 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Stir in the potatoes; cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Combine crumbled bacon, 1/4 cup cheese, green onions, sour cream, salt, pepper, and soup in a large bowl. Add potato mixture; toss gently to combine. Spoon mixture into an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup cheese. Cover with foil coated with cooking spray. Refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Remove casserole from refrigerator; let stand at room temperature 15 minutes. Bake casserole, covered, at 350º for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 30 minutes or until bubbly around edges and cheese begins to brown.

I didn't have time for the steps of letting it sit in the fridge overnight so I just put it all together and cooked it.  Also, I used a shredded colby jack blend for the cheese and that was good.  I'm sorry I didn't get a picture this time!

Husband rating: 3 starsBoys say:  thumbs up

Spiced Chicken Pasta with Tomato Sauce

from Cooking Light

• 1 teaspoon ground fennel seed
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound chicken breast tenders, cut into (1-inch) pieces
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 cups canned diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 cup white wine
• 8 ounces uncooked penne
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Combine first 5 ingredients in a small bowl; rub over chicken.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 4 minutes, turning once. Remove from heat; set aside.

Reduce heat to medium. Add garlic; sauté 30 seconds or until garlic is soft. Add tomatoes and wine, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes. Add chicken, and simmer 5 minutes.

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain. Toss pasta with sauce in a large bowl. Sprinkle with cheese and basil.

Any small pasta will work in this quick, easy entree. Ground fennel and coriander bring a welcome complexity to the chicken and impart their flavor to the sauce.

The only changes I made were to use 1/2 tsp ground fennel seed.  That is difficult to find at the store.  I had to buy fennel seed and grind it up myself.  As a help-4 cups of canned diced tomatoes comes to about 3 14.5 oz cans of tomatoes.  Also, I used chicken breast meat instead of tenders.  Either way is fine just chop them to the size you want.  Or pound them a little first which is fun and makes the chicken breasts thinner!

I thought the taste was great, but the sauce was too thin.  Next time I may mash the tomatoes in the blender before adding to the pot to cook and hopefully that will help.  

Husband rating:  4 stars
Boys say:  mixed reviews

Kalua Pork and Rice with Steamed Broccoli

I introduced you to this fantastic pork recipe when we used it on our homemade pizzas.  Here is another way to try it.  

3 bacon slices
about 3 lb pork sirloin tip roast
about 1 tbsp coarse red Hawaiian Sea Salt (or another type of sea salt if you can't find that)
Hickory flavored liquid smoke

Rinse the pork roast and pat it dry. Pierce the entire roast with a fork. Sprinkle generously with the liquid smoke (about 1 tablespoon, more if you have a very large roast) and sprinkle with the sea salt (start with about a little less than tablespoon and see how far it gets you; you can always add more after it cooks).   Rub the salt into the roast.  Place the bacon slices on the bottom of the slow cooker.  Place the roast in the slow cooker and cook on low for 8-10 hours or until the meat shreds easily with a fork.

Remove the roast from the pan and place it in a serving dish or on a serving platter. Shred the pork.  Drizzle enough of the cooking liquid over the pork to re-moisten it and keep it from drying out.  Serve over rice with steamed broccoli.

Husband rating:  flavor-4.5 stars, overall-3 stars because he likes sauce over his rice and while the meat is moist there isn't sauce to cover the rice
Boys say:  thumbs up