Brittany's PantrySmokey Smoothie-Blueberries, Bananas, & Spinach
Brittany wrote this on 11 March 2013
bananas, blueberries, flax, fruit, gluten-free, milk, spinach, yogurt
This smoothie is what I have been making lately so naturally, I want to share it with you! It gets frozen in these little thingamabobs and then added to my daughters lunch. My boys-especially my almost 1 year old-suck down whatever can’t be frozen, and I just end up trying to steal little tastes between their bites.
As much as I support the ‘lets throw everything we have in the fridge in the blender’ type of mentality when it comes to smoothies, I rarely do that. I like to have a plan. While I have never met a smoothie combination that I didn’t like, when I make them myself, I want to have things that go together. That is why there is no pineapple in this one. I like my pineapple in this smoothie and the flavor is so great, I don’t want to mess with it. So when I created this one to help use up some fresh spinach I had, I wanted the flavors to go together, not just be thrown together. As it turns out, a simple ingredient list proved that less is more. You don’t need a million different kind of fruits to make it. Just a few. The best part? The flavor is unusually plain. It doesn’t scream any one flavor so those of you who are raising your eyebrows about spinach in your smoothie can just simmer down! You can’t taste it specifically, but it makes the whole thing kind of mellow.
See?? So pretty. Ready for a whiz.
And the title of the recipe? Smokey smoothie? Well, I kept calling it that for lack of a better name and it stuck. The color is kind of dusky and it looks a bit mysterious. Don’t we all want a little adventure in the morning?
One Year Ago: Pineapple Upside-Down Cake, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, Strawberry-Orange-Pineapple Smoothie
Two Years Ago: Two Kinds of Cranberry Sauce
Smokey Smoothie
1 c fresh or frozen blueberries
2 bananas, frozen if you like
2 huge handfuls of fresh spinach
1 c vanilla yogurt, preferably low fat and organic
2 T ground flax
water, milk, almond milk, or soy milk, as needed to blend
Put all ingredients in a blender and whiz away! This smoothie doesn’t separate so you can make it in advance and stick it in the fridge. Just give it a stir before enjoying!
I really love dried apricots-its the chewiness; it pulls me in-and the day I decided to randomly create this recipe…well…it was a happy day. And all the other days that I made test batches? Yup. Those were happy days too. I have to be careful when I make these because I end up eating a lot of them. Like, a LOT. They are simple and easy. Not too sweet, but definitely special. Nothing too crazy. That is unless we are talking about crazy GOOD!
Ok. That was cheesy. I retract the last statement. Just make them, mmkay?
One Year Ago: Corn Cake Muffins & Sticky Chicken
Apricot Scones
The glaze here is totally optional. They are killer without it.
2 1/2 c all purpose flour
1 T baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 T sugar
6 T cold butter, cubed
1 c chopped dried apricots
1 1/4 c heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla
1 beaten egg w/a splash of water (egg wash)
Glaze:
1 c powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 T milk
Pulse dry ingredients in a food processor until combined. Add the cubed cold butter and pulse until butter is smaller than the size of peas. Dump the mixture into a large bowl and toss with chopped apricots, using your fingers to break up the sticky fruit and even distribute it. Combine the vanilla and cream in a measuring cup and stir into the flour mixture with a fork, just until it starts to come together. Dump the dough onto a floured counter top and press it together, kneading lightly, just until the dough barely forms a mass. Press or roll into a rough square about 1 1/2 inches thick. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into 6 equal portions and cut those portions in half to give you 12, roughly formed triangles. Place on a lined baking sheet and brush with egg wash. Bake at 375 for 20-22 minutes, or until golden brown.
Alternatively, mix the recipe the same way, but use a pastry cutter for the butter, instead of a food processor. Proceed the same way with the recipe. Whisk together all glaze ingredients and drizzle over just warm scones. Enjoy!
Sweet Potato Hash
Brittany wrote this on 28 February 2013 eggs, gluten-free, onions, sausage, sweet potatoes
I made this for dinner last night and my husband was very upset with me. Not because we had Sweet Potato Hash for dinner, but because I was making it while he was on the treadmill.
He came up from the basement, panting and sweaty, with a scowl on his face. “Are you trying to torture me??” he exclaimed with more than a hint of annoyance in his voice. Whoops. I guess it was a long nine miles! 🙂
Of course, the beauty of hash is that you can throw anything in it. It goes back hundreds of years and usually consists of some type of meat and potatoes, diced small, and sautéed with onions and spices. You will see turkey hash around a lot after Thanksgiving, given the ease at which you can throw it together. An abundant amount of leftover meat? Check. Veggies? Check. The need to make something other than sandwiches? Check.
Leftover roast beef, potatoes, and veggies (carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, spinach, kale, & winter squash all work great) make an outstanding hash for dinner, but for breakfast (or in this case having breakfast for dinner) there is something about crispy sweet potatoes, melt in your mouth caramelized onions, and spicy sausage all topped with a hot fried egg; over easy of course because I am, after all, my Father’s daughter and that is just how I roll. If you brown the sausage ahead of time and keep it in the fridge or freezer you can make this hash on a Saturday morning without too much fuss. If you dice the potatoes and onions a day or two in advance (they will keep just fine in a sealed container in the fridge) it is even faster. It smells so good it will pull your family right out of bed. Or off a treadmill.
One Year Ago: Bite-Sized Cinnamon Rolls & Roasted Sweet Potato Fries
Sweet Potato Hash
Obviously you can serve this with any type of egg you like. Or feel free to omit the egg or even the sausage. It is equally good any way you do it.
1/2 lb bulk breakfast sausage
3 or 4 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced small (about 6 cups)
1 large onion, diced small
salt and pepper
2 T butter
2 T olive oil
1/4 c fresh chopped parsley
In a large skillet (cast iron works great) brown the sausage, drain, and set aside. In the same skillet (I like to wipe out most of the grease with a paper towel) add the olive oil and butter and let melt over medium heat. The butter is for flavor and the oil is to keep it all from burning. Add the potatoes and onions, toss to coat, and let sit for several minutes to brown. Continue to stir and leave them be for several minutes, allowing them to get crispy on all sides. Cook until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork, maybe 20 minutes, depending on how big or small your potatoes are diced. Add the sausage back in and heat together, tossing well. Taste for seasoning, being careful not to add too much salt as the sausage already adds quite a bit! Add the chopped parsley and top with fried, poached, or scrambled eggs. Enjoy!
Note: If I have it, I like to add fresh thyme, but don’t use dried! Also, chopped garlic is good in here, but we found we prefer it left out so that the flavors of the sausage and potatoes shine through a bit more. Fresh diced mushrooms are stellar too!
Love a Good Recipe?
Then you’ve come to the right place! I’m Brittany, and I share tested, trusted recipes you’ll love. I prepare & photograph food, obsess over the perfect recipe, and enjoy grins of delight when I serve up something awesome. Enjoy!
