Vitamix

My amazing husband spoiled me so much this Christmas and as a result I am now a very proud owner of a Vitamix!  Over the last two years we have been daily green smoothie drinkers (with the exception of the first 4 months of pregnancy - damn you pregnancy sickness), so having a Vitamix is going to be a game changer in this house.  Every morning I would struggle with our old blender as it jammed up with frozen pineapple and never fully pureed everything. I drink my smoothies in the car on my way to work and find it easier and safer to use a straw -- this was problematic with all those darn chunks (first world problems are such a bitch!). Since arriving home with our new Vitamix 3 days ago, we have consumed 4 smoothies each and made a batch of squash soup. I think it's safe to say we are obsessed.  I've posted a few different green smoothie recipes on my blog but this is the one we are currently digging' and have for a while now -- it has a four food groups and a crapload of protein. Enjoy!

Yields: 2 large smoothies

Ingredients
2 cups unsweetened Almond milk (vanilla or original - we alternate)
1/2 frozen banana
1 1/2 cups of frozen fruit (pineapple, mango & strawberries are our mixture of choice)
1/2 cup fat free Greek yogurt (plain, honey, or vanilla - we alternate)
1/4 cup rolled oats
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
2 huge handfuls of fresh spinach (apparently you shouldn't eat frozen spinach raw...)

*to be honest, I eyeball everything so you may have to add more almond milk. Tomorrow morning I will measure everything out and make any necessary changes to this recipe.

Method
I found adding spinach first followed by almond milk and everything else on top to be the most successful order to get a good blend flow going without having to use the plunger. Turn Vitamix to variable 4-5 for about 10 seconds, crank to 10 for 10 more seconds and end on high for 10 seconds or until it looks like all the chunks are gone.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas friends, family & readers! 

 

We had a lovely whirlwind of a week with a lot of packing, unpacking, visiting, eating, laughing and celebrating.  Our four Christmases have come to an end and now we prepare for a New Years Eve celebration with a group of very special friends.  Santa sure was good to us this year -- even more so then normal!  We are feeling so grateful and excited that our hearts could just about burst.  We cannot wait for the arrival of our daughter in late April!

 

 

Lazy Day Cheesy Pasta Bake

It's a Sunday evening after a very strenuous day of, wait for it - couch surfing. We've moved from the couch, to the fridge, back to couch about 4 times today.  It was our first official day of our holiday with no plans and we consciously decided to be lazy bums. Mission accomplished! We've reading our fair share of blogs, and  news articles today, watched way too much football and Food Network shows and consumed more cheese then any normal person should in a day. This perfect relaxing day was topped off by a tasty and not very healthy homemade cheesy pasta bake. I swear this baby is going to be born with a brick of cheese in each hand and an appetite for dairy like no other. Without further ado here the super easy recipe. Enjoy fellow cheese lovers.

yield: 4 servings

Ingredients
1 box smart pasta (I used bow pasta because lets face it, they are so freakin' cute looking)
1/4 cup butter/margarine
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 cups milk
pinch of nutmeg
1/2 container of light onion & chive cream cheese
3/4 grated cheese (I used a combo of regular cheddar, extra old cheddar and fresh parmesan)
1/4 cup dry Italian breadcrumbs


Method
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cook pasta until it is just tender.  You don't want to cook all the way through.  Rinse with water and set aside. In a medium/large sauce pan melt butter over medium heat.  Add flour and stir for 2 minutes. SLOWLY add milk and whisk as you do this to avoid clumping. bring to a simmer. Add nutmeg, cream cheese, and grated cheese and whisk until melted. Add cooked pasta and mix until coated.  Pour into an oven safe baking dish and cover with breadcrumbs.  Bake for 25 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes. Yummmmmmy cheese....

An extra special Christmas morning

One of the many reasons we are reaaaaaaaaally looking forward to Christmas morning...

Chewy Ginger Cookies & Shortbread

This weekend was suppose to be spend surrounded by some very special friends at a Christmas party near Peterborough.  We hit the highway yesterday morning and ended up making the decision (after far too much deliberation) to turn around and head home because of the terrible weather in the GTA.  While we were totally bummed to miss the party we were grateful that we made it home safe and sound.  This weekend hasn't all been bad though.  We got to visit and snuggle with a very special 8-day old baby who melted our hearts.  We also spend this morning sipping on hot chocolate, listening to Christmas tunes while baking way too many cookies.  There is absolutely nothing better then Christmas time. The hubster voted on shortbread cookies and chew ginger cookies.  We worked together and were able to make 8 dozen cookies in 1.5 hours. They are delish! I've used the chewy ginger cookie recipe a lot but this was a new shortbread recipe.  I still think my mom still makes the best shortbread cookies I've ever had but these are pretty tasty too!

Yield: 2 dozen

Ingredients
1 cup of room temperature unsalted butter
½ cup of confectioners’/powdered/icing sugar
¼ cup of cornstarch
1 ½ cups of all purpose white flour

Method
In a stand mixer mix butter on medium for 5 minutes to get it fluffy. Slowly add the confectioners' sugar and cornstarch. Continue mixing on medium for 2 minutes.  Slowly add flour and mix for 2 additional minutes.  Spoon onto a cookie sheet and press the tops down slightly with a fork.  Bake for 9 minutes at 375 degrees or until edges just start to brown.  Keep a close eye because they brown up pretty darn quick!

Enjoy!

Donation Party

Our 5th Annual Cookie Exchange didn't happen this year.  In fact, something a million times better, and healthier happened instead.  Our group of friends voted and we decided to have a donation party instead.  Not only would it save us time, energy and calories, but it also helped us demonstration to the little ones the importance of giving back to our community.  It was a huge success!  My husband and I hosted this year.  We had the crew over for a casual pizza dinner and each family had to bring at least 4 canned food items and a children's toy. Check out the goods that are being donated!  It was neat to see the little kids have an understanding that the toys were going to people who needed them.  I'm excited to teach my little one this lesson eventually.  I hope that this annual Cookie Exchange Donation Party continues for years and years to come.




Two of our super crafty friends brought an awesome craft for the kids to complete after dinner.  They even brought one for Baby T! How cute are these?! Homemade with barn boards! Thank you C & HJ.

And because I've been lacking in the recipe department lately here is a recipe for the punch I made.




Yields: A lot of punch! 4+ regular sized jugs

Ingredients 
 

2 frozen cranberry juice + 4 cans of water
1 tin of pineapple juice
1/2 can frozen orange juice + 1 can of water
1 bottle of ginger ale
maraschino cherries
Ice
*add more water if it's not to your taste preference