My favorite smoothie

Ice cubes
Frozen Mango
Orange juice concentrate
water
Ground flax seed
Handful of spinach

Drink up!

Potato Salad with Country Ranch Dressing

Prep: 25 min.
Roast: 35 min.

Ingredients

• 3 lbs. round red potatoes, cut in 1-inch pieces
• 1 small red onion, cut in wedges (1/2 cup)
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 cup frozen whole kernel corn
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 2 Tbsp. cider vinegar
• 1 1-oz. envelope dry ranch salad dressing mix
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)
• 1 stalk celery, bias-sliced
• 3 hard-cooked eggs, peeled and chopped
• 1 avocado, halved, seeded, peeled, and chopped (optional)
• Salt and ground black pepper
• Fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley, coarsely snipped (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place potatoes, onion, and garlic in a 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Drizzle olive oil; toss to coat. Roast, uncovered, 20 minutes. Stir vegetables; add corn. Roast 15 to 20 minutes more or until vegetables are tender and browned.

2. For dressing, in large bowl whisk together mayonnaise, vinegar, salad dressing mix, and cayenne pepper. Add roasted vegetables; toss to coat. Stir in celery, eggs, and avocado. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to serving dish. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve warm or chilled. Makes 12 serving.

Make Ahead:Combine all ingredients except the avocado. Cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours. Just before serving, stir in avocado. Thin dressing with a little milk if needed.

Nutrition Facts

• Calories 167,
• Total Fat (g) 15,
• Saturated Fat (g) 2,
• Cholesterol (mg) 58,
• Sodium (mg) 362,
• Carbohydrate (g) 19,
• Fiber (g) 2,
• Protein (g) 4,
• Vitamin C (DV%) 28,
• Calcium (DV%) 7,
• Iron (DV%) 5,
• Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie die

Crock-pot Indian Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts or 2 lbs. chicken tenders
1 lg. can tomatoes
1 sliced carrot
1 sliced celery
1 chopped onion
3 cloves chopped garlic
2 T. curry
2 t. chili powder
sprinkle of red pepper flakes
1 t. minced fresh ginger
1/4 chicken broth- (I used 1/2 t. chicken base and 1/3 c. water )
1 t. sugar

Cook on low 5-6 hours or until chicken is cooked through.

2 T. butter
1 T. olive oil
1 T. minced garlic
3/4 c. chopped cilantro
1 c. plain yogurt or sour cream
Cream-optional to adjust consistency

In a skillet melt 1 T. butter and 1 T. olive oil. Cook 1 T. garlic. Add chicken (cut into bite sized pieces) and tomato mixture by spoon fulls into hot skillet. Slowly stir in 1 c. plain yogurt or sour cream and heat through-add some cream if you like it a little more runny. Add 1/2 c. chopped cilantro. Stir as you melt last T. butter. Sprinkle fresh cilantro on top.

Remove from the pan and serve with Jasmin or basmati rice and Naan. (We get our Naan from Fresh & Easy, heat it up and then butter it up and sprinkle with chopped cilantro)

The family ate the whole dish-no leftovers.

Caramelized Crispy Snack Mix

from Chex.

Caramelized Crispy Snack Mix

Make this big batch of snack mix for family camping or a family reunion—anytime you need lots of snacks—it’s always a hit! Prep Time:15 min Start to Finish:1 hr 20 min Makes:36 servings (1/2 cup each) 235 ratings

Substitution

Don’t have a roasting pan? Just use two (13x9-inch) pans instead.

How-To

How hard should you pack brown sugar? Press it into a measuring cup firmly so it holds its shape when tipped out.

9	cups Rice Chex® cereal
9	cups Corn Chex® cereal
2	cups packed brown sugar
1	cup butter or margarine
1/2	cup light corn syrup
1/2	teaspoon baking soda
2	cups candy-coated chocolate candies

1.	Heat oven to 250°F. Spray large roasting pan with cooking spray. Measure cereals into pan.
2.	In 3-quart saucepan, stir together brown sugar, butter and corn syrup. Cook and stir 8 to 9 minutes over medium-high heat until mixture heats to boiling. Boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in baking soda. Pour over cereal mixture, stirring until evenly coated.
3.	Bake 40 to 50 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes, until coating is set. Cool 5 minutes; stir in candies. Spread on waxed paper to cool, about 10 minutes. Break into pieces. Store in airtight container.
High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): Increase bake time to 45 to 55 minutes.

1/2 Cup: Calories 220 (Calories from Fat 70); Total Fat 8g (Saturated Fat 5g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 15mg; Sodium 200mg; Total Carbohydrate 35g (Dietary Fiber 0g, Sugars 22g); Protein 1g % Daily Value*: Vitamin A 8%; Vitamin C 2%; Calcium 6%; Iron 25% Exchanges: 1/2 Starch; 2 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Vegetable; 1 1/2 Fat Carbohydrate Choices: 2 MyPyramid Servings: 1 tsp Fats & Oils
*% Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

chocolate caramel graham bars

adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

I took out the espresso (though I'm sure it's tasty that way) and some of the butter from the crust, and halved the chocolate layer on top (gasp, i know!) . I made them twice and they were gone in a flash once Todd found them and the kids got home from school.

Prep Time:

15 min

Inactive Prep Time:

2 hr 15 min

Cook Time:

22 min

Level:

Easy

Serves:

6 to 8 servings

Ingredients

Crust:

• Vegetable cooking spray
• 12 whole (6 ounces) cinnamon graham crackers, crumbled or 2 cups cinnamon graham cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 stick butter, melted

Directions

Caramel:

• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 stick (4 ounces) butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon water

Chocolate Layer:

• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 
  
• 1 sprinkle kosher salt, optional

Special equipment: a candy thermometer

For the crust:

Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottom of a 9-inch round springform pan with parchment or waxed paper. Spray the paper and the sides of the pan with cooking spray. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the graham crackers and sugar. Process until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs. Add the melted butter and blend until the mixture forms into clumps. Spread the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan, pressing gently to form an even layer. Place the pan on a baking sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes until the crust is golden. Cool for 15 minutes.

For the caramel:

While the crust is cooling, in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine 1/2 cup of cream, butter, sugar, and water. Stir over medium heat until the mixture is smooth. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook, without stirring, until a candy thermometer registers 240 degrees F, about 5 to 7 minutes. Carefully pour the caramel over the warm crust. Cool for 20 minutes. Freeze until firm, about 10 minutes.

For the chocolate layer: Combine the chocolate chips and cream in a small bowl and place over a pan of simmering water. Stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth, about 3 minutes. Remove the springform pan from the freezer. Pour the chocolate mixture over the caramel layer and smooth with a spatula. Sprinkle the top with kosher salt, if using. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour until firm.

Allow the layers to come to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Using a warm, slightly wet knife, carefully cut around the edges of the chocolate layer. Release the side of the pan and remove the paper from the bottom. Cut into 1 1/2 by 1/2-inch bars and store airtight in a covered plastic container.