Mango Peach Green Smoothie

So I've been experimenting with quite a few of these smoothies for a lot of reasons. We've gone Vegan for a while so they're dairy free and for anyone who has finicky eaters like my son, it's a great way to sneak in a lot of greens and they don't even care. My son thinks it's yogurt. I don't care what he calls it so long as he drinks it. It looks pretty and is super good for you. The blending process breaks down the leaves for you so your tummy doesn't have to work as hard and you actually get more enzymes this way than if you were just to chew on the leaves in a salad. They're full of antioxidants and you may go into a slight detox healing crisis if you drink a lot of them so just be aware. But it's all good for you. I can definitely say I'm a big fan of green smoothies. This particular recipe is my favorite but I'll be sure to post others if I think they're really good too.

-1 Handful of Fresh Kale (Make it a Hefty Handful cuz this stuff is so good for you)
-1 Handful of Arugula or Baby Spinach
-1 Handful of Parsley
-1/2 of a Medium Cucumber diced
-1 Handful of Green Grapes
-1 Peach with skin
-1 Mango (Get as much off the pit as possible and then squeeze in the rest of the juice)
-1 Kiwi
-1 Small Banana
-1 small scoop of Soy Ice Cream
-4-6 Ice Cubes (Whatever fits)
-Water to blend easier (Or if you want a little more flavor you can do soy or rice milk or a little bit of Mango Peach V-Fusion Vegetable Fruit juice)

-1 Mint leaf to garnish

Toss into blender and blend. Super easy.

Yields about 4 very filling smoothies. The more I have them the more I want them. I recommend using a Vitamix or a really good blender because this will make them smoother and they're better that way so if you don't have one, I would invest in a good blender cuz you won't want to stop after making just one of these. I'd love a Vitamix but I have a Cuisinart blender and that does the job very well.

Delicious White Bread

This bread is so good toasted with some homemade jam or use it for a sandwich! I LOVE it! I love bread WAY too much. Enjoy!

In a large mixing bowl add:
5 c. hot water
2/3 c. sugar
2/3 c. canola oil
2 T. salt

Mix for 20 seconds.

Add:
1½ c. bread flour (The flour is called Better for Bread flour and it is usually in a yellow package. I get the Gold Medal brand.)

Mix for 30 seconds.

Add:
3 T. yeast

Mix for 30 seconds.

Add:
10 c. bread flour

Mix and knead all together until mixed thoroughly. (It's easiest to use your bare hands.)

Rest dough for 20 minutes in bowl.

After 20 minutes is up, pre-heat oven to 170 degrees or lowest oven temperature. Then roll out dough onto a non-stick surface and use rolling pin to smooth it out. The dough will be sticky. I use non-stick cooking spray and spray it on the counter and the rolling pin as well as the top of the dough. Some people use flour, but I prefer non-stick cooking spray. After the dough is rolled out smoothly, cut the dough in half and then cut those halves in half, so you have 4 separate equal sections of dough. Spray the bread pans with non-stick spray. Roll each piece of dough (like a fruit roll up) and create 4 large loaves and put into bread pans.

Bake at 170 for 20 minutes. DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN!!! The bread will sink if you do.

Increase oven temperature to 325 and bake for 30 more minutes. (Because all ovens are different, check bread after 25 minutes)

*If you make small loaves, only bake for 20 minutes.

I hope you like it! If you want, you can use 5 c. bread flour and 5 c. whole wheat flour for healthier bread. It still tastes good, but just not AS good. :)

Green Chili Quiche

This quiche is super easy and requires no crust. I love it. Feel free to use it as a base and add other veggies like spinach, onions, mushrooms or anything else you think sounds good in a quiche. Have fun.

10 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Blend above ingredients. Pour in a mixing bowl, then add the following:

1 pint small curd cottage cheese
1 lb. Monterrey Jack cheese
1/3 cup melted butter
1 small can diced green chilies

Bake in a 9x13 inch pan for 35-45 minutes (350 degrees). Serve with sour cream and salsa. Serves 12-15 people.

Cheryl's Homemade Yogurt

Cheryl Huntington is my silly but sweet mother-in-law and she taught me this wonderful recipe. She loves to use as many all natural ingredients as possible as she's very much into organic and healthy recipes and foods. So milk products that aren't homogenized are recommended but not necessary.

Ingredients:

-1 gallon of either whole milk, 2% or nonfat milk (the level of fat in the milk affects the texture of the yogurt so richer milk will make it creamier, but if you want healthier yogurt, it will still work. You can also use half and half which will make it super creamy or a combo of milks. It's up to you.)
-1 C nonfat powdered milk
-1 to 1 1/2 C fructose or regular white sugar (depends on how sweet and/or healthy you want it).
-1-2 small cartons of yogurt with the flavor of your choice. (It seems silly to use yogurt to make more yogurt but the culture is what we're after here. You can find culture in a health food store but it's just easier to use a small carton of yogurt as your culture starter).
-1 1/2 TBSP Danncy's Mexican vanilla. This brand makes all the difference. Trust me. It's hard to find too, but it is available online.
-2-3 TBSP of extract to match the flavor of your culture starter. So if you are using a strawberry yogurt starter, you'll want a strawberry extract. Or you are welcome to experiment with mixing flavors.

Heat the milk in a large kettle and check the temperatures with a candy thermometer stirring slowly to keep from scorching. You don't want to stir it too fast because too many air bubbles will change the texture of the yogurt. These are the three numbers you'll need to keep your eye on: 150, 180 and 115 degrees. Bring the milk to 150 degrees slowly at a medium to low heat. You don't want to boil it or it will make the yogurt taste burned. When it reaches 150, separate 2 cups of the heated milk into a bowl and mix in the dry powdered milk and the sugar. You mix it separately and then pour it back into the kettle. This makes it so you don't add too many air bubbles into the mixture. Then keep stirring slowly until it reaches 180 degrees. Hold it there for about 5 minutes. You'll need to have an ice bath ready in the sink to then bring the yogurt to 115 degrees before adding the culture and flavorings. Too high a heat will kill the culture and too low a heat may not incubate it well. When it reaches 115, separate 2 Cups into another bowl again and add the culture and other flavorings. Stir well. Pour back into the kettle mixture and incorporate, again without too much vigorous stirring. It is now yogurt. But it must incubate first. You may either just take the kettle itself and stick it into a box on a heating pad set to medium heat or pour mixture into mason canning quart jars. These make for nice gifting as well. Let stand for 12 hours. After 12 hours, place in fridge to cool. The top of the yogurt may seem gritty. You can just scrape that off and toss it or eat it if you'd like. The whey may separate slightly so a good stir once the yogurt is set is all it really needs. Eat and enjoy over fruit, pancakes, waffles or cereal. You may never go back to normal yogurt again.

Custard French Toast w/ Raspberry Sauce

FOR THE MIX:
1 stick butter
1 loaf of sliced sourdough bread
1 1/2 c. sugar
4 c. milk
6 eggs, plus 3 additional egg yolks
1 T. vanilla
2 c. heavy whipping cream

RASPBERRY SAUCE:
1 pkg. frozen or fresh raspberries
1/4 c. sugar
1 T. cornstarch

Melt 1 stick of butter in 9X13 pan. Cut crusts off sourdough bread & layer 2 layers thick in the pan.

Whip the sugar, milk, eggs, vanilla, & cream together & pour over the bread in the pan. Cover with foil & soak overnight in the refrigerator.

Next day, Preheat oven to 350º, take foil off & bake for 1 & 1/2 hours. Make sure tops are nice & brown.

While baking, make the raspberry sauce. Mix the raspberries, sugar, & cornstarch in a saucepan & stir over heat until thick.

Serve Custard french toast with the warm raspberry sauce on top.