Saturday's Snaps

Pin It

Have a wonderful Saturday and remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Kale, Banana and Orange Smoothie

Pin It

I have been wanting to work more greens into my daily diet and wishing to learn how to make some smoothies so what better way than to combine both?!

I hunted and read reviews on so many different smoothies that finally I just gave up and tried my own concoction and I have to say ..... I LOVE smoothies!!

Many recipes I had found included soy milk which I never have on hand and I really didn't want to add milk .... I wanted to include yogurt instead.  The probiotics in yogurt work well for my system.

So here is my version of a green/yellow/orange breakfast or anytime smoothie .....

Ingredients - 

1 orange (juice and pulp)

1 cup chopped kale

1 5oz container of yogurt ( I used low fat banana cream pie flavor )

1 medium sized banana

1 tbsp flax seed

Method - 

I sliced the orange in half and squeezed all the juice into my blender and added the pulp.  Then I added one sliced banana, 1 cup of chopped kale, the container of yogurt and 1 tbsp flax seed.

Mix well on high for approximately 2 minutes.Pour into glass/cup and enjoy.  

The consistency is similar to a thin pudding so not possible to drink through a straw.  If milk was added that would most likely help it to become thinner but as mentioned, I really didn't want to add any milk.  

This turned out just right for me and I loved the taste!  The bitterness that can sometimes be found in kale was non-existent.  I am sure the banana and the orange helped with that.  It is a pretty color too!  

Do you have any smoothie recipes to share?  I would love to try them!  Always remember to give your loved ones a hug.

Three Pin Thursday

Pin It

It's time again for Three Pin Thursday!

First up for the pets in your life ..... whether it is a dog or a cat, isn't this just the best idea?!  I always see a ton of old pieces of furniture that are broken at yard sales.  What a great re-cycle idea!  Just click on the link below the picture to see how it was transformed.

Pink Cricut Love

Next up ..... a tip on how to square up fabric.  I really needed this since I started a rag quilt and some of the fabrics I chose from my stash are bits and pieces.  This really helped!  The instructions begin about halfway down the page.

Quilting Tidbits

The last pin for today .....  just because it is so sweet.

The caption below the picture read ..... "and they all lived happily ever after.  The end."  

500px.com

Have a wonderful Thursday and remember to give your loved ones a hug!

A New Type of Banana Bread?

Pin It

While surfing some of my favorite blogs a few weeks ago, I came across a post which was a new way to bake banana bread.  Now I am very picky about my banana bread.  It is one of my favorites and it has to be dark with lots of flecks.  Some times I make it with nuts and other times I don't.  On occasion I will add chocolate chips when I am feeling like I need something sweet so when I saw this recipe that involved a pre-bought cake mix?!  Well I just had to give it a try and see what all the fuss was about.

Now Lindsey has great recipes on her blog so I was fairly confident that this one would be good as well.

This recipe involved four ingredients .....

-  a pre-bought cake mix - I chose a lemon one as I did not have a yellow one on hand as Lindsey used

-  2 eggs

-  3 to 4 bananas

-  1 cup of chocolate chips

That's it.  You don't add the ingredients that are on the back of the cake mix box or anything else.  

Mixing all ingredients well with my Ninga, 

I added the batter to two smaller loaf pans which had been previously sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. 

I popped them in the oven for approximately 35 minutes at 350 degrees.  You could also use one larger loaf pan and bake a little longer.

The consistency was like a cake more than a bread.  I also found the chocolate chips seemed to settle at the bottom of the pan, most likely due to the cake batter being thinner than a bread batter.  

All in all it was delicious served with a cup of tea or coffee but I will add it to my 'cake' dessert list rather than my 'bread' dessert list.  I tell ya, I am finicky about my banana bread!!!

Have a wonderful Wednesday and remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Chats on the Farmhouse Porch

Pin It

                                                            

Grab your cup of coffee or tea and have a seat.  It's time for 'chats on the farmhouse porch'!

Everyday Ruralty

QUESTIONS:

1.  What is your favorite thing to have in hot cocoa/hot chocolate?

2.  Did you have a white Christmas?  Have you had snow since then?

3.  Have you been looking over seed catalogs?  If this doesn't apply, what kind of catalogs do you like to leaf through?

4.  Gas stove or electric?

5.  What's new or interesting?

ANSWERS:

1.  Shaved solid chocolate with whipped cream.  Yummy!

2.  Yes, and we still have it ..... probably until March or so!

3.  Oh yes definitely! I received my first catalog before Christmas and it is already tattered!

4.  Gas but I prefer electric ..... I am weird, I know.

5.  My son got a job and I am excited for him!

Thanks Patrice for another "chat".  Have a great Tuesday everyone and remember to give your loved ones a hug!