Healthier Peachie Smoothie

I've been trying to do this post for two days now and Google keeps telling me that I am out of space and cannot upload anymore pictures.

So two nights ago I paid 5 bucks for more space because I'm not computer savvy enough to figure out things like photobucket, and the space has not become available yet.

I have no idea what that means or why it takes so long, but to make a long story even longer, I can't put my picture of my smoothie on this blog.

But the smoothie was really good and pretty and healthy, so here you go:

1 large peach (preferably Utah) cut up

3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt (I like FAGE Total 0%)

2 Tbs. honey (eyeball it)

1/2 cup crushed ice

Splash of milk

*Blend until smooth and enjoy!

Easy Baked Brown Rice

I found this recipe on My Kitchen Cafe. She has some really great recipes over there. This baked brown rice was so easy and so good! My favorite rice recipe will always be Savory Rice, but this one is a close second and much healthier. I served it with Ritz Chicken and green beans.

picture from www.momadvice.com

Baked Brown Rice

1 1/2 cups brown rice
2 1/2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth

Put rice and broth in greased 3 quart casserole dish. Cover tightly with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes. Remove foil, fluff with fork and serve.

*I sprinkled it with garlic salt before I baked it just to add a little more flavor.

Chicken and Rice Casserole

Always on the lookout for a good casserole.
Don't you love when you can throw it all together in one dish?
I found this one on Picky Palate (is that girl creative or what?!) and it was really good.
Good ol' comfort food...perfect for Fall.

3 Tbs. olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced
2 Tbs. fresh minced garlic
2 cups shredded, cooked chicken
3 cups (already cooked) white rice
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. garlic salt

Cheese sauce:
4 Tbs. butter
1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

*Heat oil in a skillet on stove.  Saute onion, celery, and carrots for about 10 minutes.  Add garlic and cook for 1 more minute.  Stir in chicken, rice, salt, pepper and garlic salt.  Reduce heat to low.  Prepare cheese sauce by melting butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Whisk in flour, salt, pepper and chicken broth.  Whisk continuously until thick and nearly bubbling.  Stir in cheese until melted.  Put rice mixture in a casserole dish and pour cheese sauce over it.  Stir to combine.  You can sprinkle some more cheese on top.  Bake for 30 minutes on 350.


*Her original recipe calls for 2 cups white rice and 2 cups wild rice.  I knew my kids wouldn't go for the black rice, so I just stuck with white.  3 cups was plenty.

Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

Here we go again. Yet another chocolate chip cookie recipe! I found this recipe on allrecipes.com. What makes these cookies different, is one ingredient: vanilla pudding. I was so curious to see what the pudding would do to the cookie, I had to make them. And I was pleasantly surprised! It made the cookies so soft and a touch sweeter. I baked them with the intention of giving them away, but somehow they never made it out of the house. I think it's safe to say, we loved these cookies!

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 small pkg. instant vanilla pudding
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
2 1/4 cups flour
2 cups chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugars. Add package of pudding. Mix in eggs and vanilla. Add baking soda and flour and mix well. Last, pour in chocolate chips and mix until combined. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 10 - 12 minutes.

Snickerdoodles (without shortening)

There are a handful of things that I do not use in my cooking/baking.
Shortening is at the top of that list.  Grosses me out.
Pretty much all of the snickerdoodle recipes I have seen have shortening in them, so I was really excited to find this one in Rachael Ray.  I'll use real butter all day long.  Three cheers for butter!!!

2 cubes real butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon 

*Cream butter and sugars.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Add dry ingredients and mix well.  Roll into golfball-size balls and then roll in a sugar/cinnamon mixture (1/4 cup sugar and 1 tsp. cinnamon).  Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 375 for 10-12 minutes, until edges are slightly brown.

Cafe Rio Rice

Living in New York is a lot different than living in Arizona. There aren't grocery stores on every corner. Green trees are everywhere which makes for beautiful scenery. All of the houses are old. And there are only 3 mexican restaurants in our city! 3. What's up with that? These New Yorkers are into Italian. Whatev. And the hubby and I LOVE mexican food. So, we had to take matters into our own hands and make our own. We did the whole Cafe Rio spread for Sunday dinner and it was heavenly. Not that I think Cafe Rio is real mexican food, cause I don't. But it did the job. We have posted most of the Cafe Rio recipes on here except the rice. So here you go!

4 cups water
2 cups rice
4 tsp. chicken bouillon or 4 cubes
1 can green chilies
4 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 onion, chopped finely
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped finely
3/4 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. butter
juice of 2 limes

Bring water to a boil. Add all ingredients and stir. Cover and simmer on medium for 30 minutes or until rice is tender.

Triple Chocolate Brownies

Nat and I were having a conversation recently about our fabulous Aunt Annette and all the good food she makes us when we visit her in Utah.  We were shocked when we realized that none of us had ever put these simple-yet-amazing brownies on Betty. So here you have it...one of Annette's signature desserts.

1 chocolate cake mix
1 small box instant chocolate pudding
1 bag chocolate chips

*Make pudding as directed on box.  Stir in cake mix and chocolate chips and mix well.  Spread into a greased 9x13 and bake at 350 for 35 minutes.