Saturday Smoothie

I made my first green smoothie! I have been wanting to try it for forever, but I never got around to it and I was reluctant, but I figured it was worth a shot. And it is delicious!!!

Shout out to my 2-504 boys!

I just used what I had and didn't follow any recipe. I used:
1 banana
1 orange
1 apple (peeled)
1 big handful of spinach
1 splash of apple juice
1 handful of ice
1 tsp ground flaxseed meal
1 tsp honey
1 cup of vanilla yogurt

My Saturday morning has been filled with green smoothie and reruns of Friends :)

Oatmeal Raisin Walnut Cookies

1 stick butter, softened
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together. Stir this into the butter/sugar mixture. Stir in the oats, raisins and walnuts, if using them.

At this point you can either chill the dough for a bit in the fridge and then scoop it, or scoop the cookies onto a sheet and then chill the whole tray before baking them. You could also bake them right away.

The cookies should be two inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake them for 10 to 12 minutes taking them out when golden at the edges but still a little undercooked-looking on top. Let them sit on the hot baking sheet for five minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

You will need:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup ranch

1/2 cup buffalo sauce (any brand)

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

2 cans (12.5 oz. each) white chicken breast, drained

Heat oven to 350°F. Place cream cheese into deep baking dish. Stir until smooth.

Mix in salad dressing, buffalo sauce, cheese, and chicken.

Bake 30 min. I wait until the entire dip is bubbling so it's nice and hot all the way through.

Delicious Pork Chops

Now that I have your mouth watering, I'll introduce you to this amazing recipe. It is inspired by Paula Deen's "Farmer's Pork Chops." You will need:

8 potatoes
1/2 onion
salt and pepper, to taste

White sauce
8 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 -2 teaspoon salt
1/2-3/4 teaspoon pepper
4 cups whole milk

Chops
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons Lawry's Seasoned Salt
8 pork chops
1/3 cup vegetable oil

First, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Then, slice potatoes 1/4 inch thick. Put them in a bowl and cover them with cold water; put them to the side. 

Slice onion into thin slices and then cut them in half.

Grease a casserole dish (13x9inch dish) with butter (it is a Paula Deen recipe). Drain potatoes and layer half of them in the bottom of the casserole dish. Sprinkle salt and pepper on top of potatoes in casserole dish. Layer half of the cut onions on top of the potatoes. 

Repeat process with remaining potatoes and onions. Cover potatoes and onions with white sauce (directions for white sauce below).

For the white sauce, melt the stick of butter (more butter for Paula) and then remove from heat.

Add flour, salt and pepper. Return to heat (medium) and stir constantly. The mixture will be bubbly and as you stir constantly it will become a gravy-like consistency.

Add milk one cup at a time, while still stirring. Bring to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, reduce heat and simmer 1-2 minutes. Then let the sauce stand for 1-2 minutes to thicken up.

Cover potatoes and onions with white sauce.

Now you can either cover the dish with plastic wrap and microwave for 5 minutes or bake uncovered for 15 minutes. I bake it since the oven is already on and I still have to start the pork chops so I use the 15 minutes to do the chops. 

Mix the flour and seasoned salt in a shallow dish. Take each pork chop and lay it in the flour mixture. Completely cover both sides of chops. Heat vegetable oil and lightly fry each side of each chop. (I don't have any pictures of this step since Jimbo came home and started taking over trying to help haha!) Don't cook the chops all the way through since they will have time to cook in the oven. Remove chops from frying pan and put them directly on top of the potatoes in the casserole dish. Bake for 45-60 minutes (if you can wait that long!!).

Phew! That's it! It sounds like a lot of steps, but it really isn't complicated. It is all worth it because this recipe is so delicious! Enjoy!!