Green Monster Smoothie

I've been wanting to try a green smoothie for a while now but never had the courage to put spinach into a perfectly good smoothie. But when I found this recipe on pinterest it said that It "doesn't taste healthy at all" so i decided to give it a try. I absolutely loved it and you literally cannot taste the spinach at all. So before you just push this aside and decide not to try it, just trust me and give it a try. I had one for breakfast and I wasn't hungry again until 2 when I got off work. It was awesome!

                                                 (Don't mind the mess)

Green Monster Smoothie

1 frozen sliced banana (peel and slice before you freeze or you'll be sorry)

1 Tbsp peanut butter

1/2 cup 0% or fat free vanilla greek yogurt (I use dannon)

1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk 

4 cups spinach (or more, or less)

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth

350 calories, 10 grams fiber, 21 grams protein.

Fruit Dip

My cohort at school is having an end of the year potluck and so I decided to bring fruit and fruit dip. I found this recipe on a blog and I decided to try it since it looked super easy. I figured this would be pretty hard to mess up. It's just 3 ingredients and all you do is mix it together. It turned out amazing!!! I love it. To bad its super unhealthy. It kinda cancels out the healthiness of the fruit you are dipping in it. Oh well. It tastes good and thats all that matters. Super Duper easy!

1- 8oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened

1- 7oz. Jar marshmallow creme

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Soften the cream cheese either by leaving it on the counter or microwaving it for 30 seconds on low power. Place all ingredients in a bowl, and with an electric mixer, beat until smooth. Serve with an assortment of fresh fruit. (My favorite is strawberries! Yum!) Makes 2 cups.

P.S. I hate marshmallow but love this dip. So TRY IT!

Homemade Tortillas

The tortillas are not a must make, but they definitely add something delicious to the salad. If you really don't want to make your own tortillas, even though it is super easy, you should at least buy the raw ones from the store and cook them up. They are way better than the precooked ones you can buy.

Flour Tortillas

2 ½ C Flour

¾ t Kosher Salt

¼ C Plus 2 T Shortening

¾ – 1 C Hot Water

Combine flour and salt in a mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add shortening and combine until crumbly.

Slowly add in water. Mix until the dough comes together like play dough. Divide dough into 8-10 balls. Roll out each tortilla as thin as possible and heat in a skillet.

Pico de Gallo

This is from Our Best Bites. It is delicious, and adds a nice kick to the salad.

Pico de Gallo

3 Medium Roma Tomatoes

½ Small Onion

1 Jalapeno

Juice of ½ to 1 lime

¼ C Cilantro

Kosher Salt to taste

Scrape seeds out of the tomatoes. Dice onion and tomatoes and toss together. Finely chop jalapeno and toss in. Add lime juice, cilantro and salt. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes if possible.

Cafe Rio Cilantro Lime Dressing

What is a salad without this amazing dressing?

House Dressing

1 Packet Traditional Hidden valley Ranch Mix (Not Buttermilk)

1 C Mayonnaise

1 C Buttermilk

2 Tomatillos, remove husks and dice

½ Bunch of Fresh Cilantro

1 Clove Garlic, minced

Juice of 1 Lime

1 Jalapeno, optional

Blend all ingredients together in a blender until creamy.

Cafe Rio Black Beans

I wish I had taken a picture of how our Cafe Rio salads came together. They were delicious. Too delicious to pause for pictures. We already have the meat and rice recipes posted, so I'm going to try to finish off the salad. As a side note, you can buy the tortilla strips in the salad toppings section at Smith's.

I don't really like beans, but these beans were delicious in the salad.

Black Beans

2 T Olive Oil

2 Cloves Garlic, minced

1 t Ground Cumin

1 Can Black Beans, rinsed and drained

1 1/3 C Tomato Juice

1 ½ t Salt

2 T Fresh Chopped Cilantro

In a nonstick skillet, cook garlic and cumin in olive oil over medium heat until you can smell it. Add beans, tomato juice and salt. Continually stir until heated through. Just before serving stir in the cilantro.

Berry Cobbler

I made this berry cobbler last night, and no exaggeration, it was probably the best cobbler I've ever had.  It was so yummy! And that is why I can never make it again.  I could eat the whole thing by myself.   I hope that I wouldn't, but it's that good!  What made it so good?  The lemon zest, so don't leave it out.  And the tip to grate the cold butter instead of cutting it in was genius! 

Berry Cobbler
Recipe by Our Best Bites
3 c. all-purpose flour, lightly spooned into the measuring cup and leveled with a knife
1/4 tsp. table salt
2 1/2 Tbsp. baking powder
1 1/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. (1 stick) salted butter
2 eggs
1 c. heavy cream
zest of one lemon or orange (optional)
4 c. berries (I like the three-berry mix, blueberries, raspberries & blackberries)
1/2 c. brown sugar
Streusel Topping:
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. + 1 Tbsp. flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
4 Tbsp. butter at room temperature
Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a 9×13″ baking dish and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, sugar, and citrus zest. Set aside.
Using a cheese grater, grate 1 cold stick of butter. Lightly toss the butter with flour mixture until it’s mixed evenly and crumbly (don’t over-mix here). Whisk the eggs and then lightly toss them with the flour/butter mixture until evenly absorbed. Add in the cream and mix until combined; the mixture should be quite sticky and a little lumpy (kind of like biscuit dough). Lightly press about 1 1/2 c. of the dough mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan and set it aside.
Toss the berries with the brown sugar and spread it over the prepared “crust.” Drop the remaining dough over the berries and set aside.
Whisk together the sugar, flour, and cinnamon for the struesel topping. Cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over the dough and bake for 45-55 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the crust is cooked through. Serve warm with sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.