Oatmeal Breakfast Smoothie

My Blendtec turns 300!!!

One of the cool features of the Blendtec Total Blender is its counter. It counts the number of uses, cycles run. I guess it's like a blender odometer...pretty neat.

Well, I have had mine since February 8th, just less than 4 months! Wow, that is some serious blending!!! 300 and counting...

So, my 300th blend was an Oatmeal Breakfast Smoothie. It is so yummy with oats and raisins and cinnamon...slurp! It was quite interesting eating my oatmeal for breakfast...and very filling. It doesn't have to be for breakfast, the first time I made this was 11pm. :)


Oatmeal Breakfast Smoothie

2 bananas (frozen)
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup milk (I used almond)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
dash of cardamon (optional)
1 T raisins

Blend and enjoy!!!

Prairie Grit Cakes

To keep with the Westward Expansion era of American history we have been studying I made some Prairie Grit Cakes.

The grits were milled just down the road and all I added was a pinch of salt and pepper (and of course had to cook in water).

Follow directions to cook whatever grits you have on hand.


Scoop a small round into a warmed and sprayed skillet.


Smash down with the back of a spoon and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Turn once and serve with vegetable fritta.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Onion on Kale

I came across this recipe which I believe is a weight watchers recipe. It looked yummy and I had all ingredients on hand. It was quite tasty.

My girls wanted to know if the potatoes had pumpkin pie spices in them.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Red Onion Salad

2 Large sweet potatoes (peeled & cut into bite sized pieces)
1 Large Red Onion (chopped in bite sized pieces)

Roast these 400 (degrees) for 45-55 minutes.

In a small bowl mix:
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 Tblsp white (or red) wine vinegar
1 oz (~2 Tblsp) frozen OJ concentrate

Pour dressing over potatoes and onions and lay on a bed of sauteed (or steamed) kale.

Vegetable Fritta

I wanted grits and eggs one evening - an easy supper after a long day. My fridge was packed with lots of fresh veggies but my mind was at a loss at what great meal to make with them all.

I pulled the eggs out and found the grits.

Then grabbed a red bell pepper. It was so pretty.

The asparagus was washed and ready to use, simple enough.

I had just made some fresh almond milk that morning. (I usually add milk or water to my eggs to make them fluffy and go a little farther with out adding more eggs.)

And of course I must get the spinach, since I have all these other great, beautiful vegetables...

I had out a bell, so I grabbed an onion... they just go together ALWAYS!


The almond milk is still being strained through the orange colored cheese cloth on my 'milk' pitcher.

So, let's see what I can do with this...

Dice the bell pepper, onion, asparagus and spinach. Add to warmed skillet and saute in a bit of water (if needed).


While that is cooking, crack 3 or 4 eggs with some milk and whisk together. Add salt & pepper to season.


After the vegetables are soft, pour the milk/egg mixture into the skillet.



(not a great picture, but bear with me - I'm not a photographer...yet). Turn the heat on low and cover to cook. I had to work the spatula around the edges to get out pretty wedges when serving.

Serve with Prairie Grit Cakes and a slice of tomato.

Granola recipe

I have wanted to make granola for awhile now and have had most of the ingredients from Green Smoothie Girl's granola recipe on hand for awhile now. I finally made the time to do this!

I found this recipe in her 12 Step book and it looked simple enough. It is also on her video 1 page #9.

I actually did not change much at all to her recipe, which is not like me. I usually have to add or take away something...but, not this time. Her ingredients were simple to find and it was all easy to do.

I did, however, half her recipe. In her video she says she doubles her batch, but for my first time I wanted to make sure we liked it before investing so many ingredients into it. It was a hit!

I have sprinkled it on our morning cooked grains, such as barley, oat groats or steal cut oats with fresh fruit and coconut milk. I have eaten it plain with coconut milk and served it in a plastic cup with a spoon for an afternoon snack.

This is the halved recipe I used. To make the full recipe...just double the amounts I have listed.

Into a large bowl, combine:

4 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup ground flax seed
1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/8 cup sesame seeds
1 Tblsp cinnamon

Into a sauce pan add:

1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup maple syrup (or molasses)
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 Tblsp vanilla

Heat this on the stove until barely melted. Stir well and pour over dry mixture.

Mix liquid and dry ingredients until distributed evenly. Bake 250 degrees, stirring every 20 minutes for 1-1 1/2 hours (or until dry).

Granola keeps in the pantry for 2 weeks or in the fridge for 6 weeks.