Time Out For Smoothies



Strawberry-Basil Smoothie



We are huge fans of documentaries about food (also competitive tv shows about food!) and after watching a few documentaries that strongly advocate the raw food/juicing diet, we decided to give it a try. We've been experimenting a little. Some of our experiments turned out gross, but some have been quite good. I've found the website, Incredible Smoothies, to be very helpful for finding recipes and information. Here are two of my favorite recipes so far:

Grape Beet Smoothie
1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped
1 small beet, peeled and chopped
1 cup red grapes
1 clementine, peeled and deseeded
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger root
4 cups spinach

Strawberry-Basil Green Smoothie2 cups whole strawberries
2 frozen bananas, peeled and sliced
Juice from 1/2 lime
5 fresh basil leaves
4 cups fresh baby spinach
8 ounces of almond milk

Pumpkin Spinach Lasagna

I was so intrigued when I came across this recipe, I was excited to try it! I was pretty conservative trying to make it for the first time--next time I would probably go heavier on the seasonings and cheese. I might make more of the spinach filling and add an extra layer of noodles, because I had a lot of noodles left over. But, it turned out to be pretty easy for a lasagna.
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Serves 6

olive oil
1 onion, chopped 
2 cloves of garlic, minced
400 grams frozen chopped spinach
salt, pepper
1 tsp ground sage
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg, divided
3  pumpkin, divided
1 1/2 cups heavy cream, divided

1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan, divided

1 box whole wheat lasagna noodles

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

In a frying pan on medium heat, sauté the onion and garlic until the onions are cooked and translucent.

Add the chopped spinach, 1/2 tsp sage, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Cook the mixture until the spinach is wilted and there is no more water left in the pan (this takes several minutes). Set the pan aside.

Cook the lasagna noodles according to the package. When they are al dente, drain them and run cold water over them to cool them. Strain them once they've cooled.

In a separate bowl, combine 1 1/2 cans of pumpkin with 3/4 cups heavy cream, and 1/2 cup parmesan. Add  1/2 tsp sage and 1/4 tsp nutmeg, along with salt and pepper.

Butter an 8x12 Pyrex. Place 1 layer of lasagna noodles. Top with half the pumpkin filling, and half the spinach filling. Place another layer of lasagna noodles. Top with the other half of the fillings. Place the final layer of lasagna noodles on top.

In a bowl, mix 1 cup pumpkin and 3/4 cups cream. Pour this over the top of the lasagna. Sprinkle with 1 cup parmesan.

Heat the lasagna in the oven for about 30 minutes.

Place the lasagna on a cooling rack to set for 10 minutes before cutting into it.

Zuppa Toscana

Bill and I both like the "Zuppa Toscana" at Olive Garden. My mom used to make something similar, sans greenery. So I found this Copykat recipe online, and decided to give it a try. I substituted the kale in favor of spinach. I've never cared for the kale in that soup.

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4 spicy Italian sausage links
3 red potatoes, chunked
1/2 onion, diced
1 tsp. minced garlic
2 c. frozen chopped spinach
6 c. chicken broth
1/2 c. whipping cream

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place sausage links onto a sheet pan and bake for 25 minutes, or until done. Use a paper towel to soak up extra grease. Cut in half length-wise, then cut at an angle into 1/2 inch slices.

Place onions in a large saucepan and cook over medium heat until onions are almost clear. Add garlic to the onions and cook an additional 1-minute. Add chicken broth, spinach, and potatoes, simmer 15 minutes.

Add sausage and cream. Simmer 4 minutes and serve with crusty french bread.

Creamy Barley with Tomatoes and Greens

I found this one on RealSimple.com last winter. And it's one I don't want to lose. It is so creamy and yummy--like oatmeal, but better suited to dinner.

It took me a while to find "quick-cooking barley", but I've used pearled barley as well and not noticed much difference. (?) I also made a few substitutions to the original recipe:

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2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
kosher salt and black pepper
2 cups quick-cooking barley
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
1 cup chicken broth
8 cups torn spinach leaves
2 ounces Brie (rind removed), cut into small pieces
1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 6 to 8 minutes.

Add the barley, tomatoes, broth, and 2½ cups water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the barley is tender, 12 to 15 minutes.

Add the spinach, brie, and ¼ cup of the Parmesan and cook, stirring occasionally, until the spinach is tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Divide among bowls and sprinkle with the remaining ¼ cup of Parmesan.