Pink Plateful

Mostly Meat Spaghetti Sauce

2014-08-24T16:08:00.005-07:00

Mostly Meat Spaghetti Sauce

1 lb mild sweet Italian sausage
1 lb ground turkey, beef or chicken
1 small yellow onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 t olive oil
1 small can tomato paste
1 14oz can diced tomatoes in juice
1/2 can water
1 rib celery, chopped
pinch salt
pinch fresh grated pepper
italian seasoning
1 T sugar

Drizzle olive oil in bottom of your slow cooker, spread out onions and garlic on top. break up meats and sprinkle over. Cook on high for 2-3 hours checking every hour or so to break apart meat and check for pink. When meat is no longer pink, remove from cooker and drain fat. return meat to cooker. pour in remaining ingredients and stir. Cook on low for 4 hours, stirring occasionally. Season with more salt, if desired. Serve over pasta, as pizza topping or with bread. YUM!

Pink Plateful: Vegan No-Bake Oatmeal Cookies2/3 Cup Brown Rice ...

2014-08-12T17:42:00.001-07:00

Pink Plateful:
Vegan No-Bake Oatmeal Cookies
2/3 Cup Brown Rice ...: Vegan No-Bake Oatmeal Cookies 2/3 Cup Brown Rice Syrup 1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil 5 Tablespoons Unsweetened Cocoa Powder 1/2 Cup ...

2014-08-12T17:38:00.003-07:00

Vegan No-Bake Oatmeal Cookies

2/3 Cup Brown Rice Syrup

1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil

5 Tablespoons Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

1/2 Cup Biscoff Spread

1 Cup Rolled Oats

1 teaspoon Vanilla

**In a saucepan over medium heat combine the brown rice syrup, oil and cocoa. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in Biscoff, oats and vanilla until well blended. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto parchment paper and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

makes about a dozen.

2014-05-27T14:38:00.001-07:00

Not sure I will ever buy pre-made hummus again. It is so easy and yummy to make your own and MUCH less expensive. Here is my recipe.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

4 Cloves Garlic
2 Cans Chick Peas, undrained
1/2 cup Roasted Red Bell Peppers, about 1 pepper (I use jarred but, it's even healthier if you roast your own)
1/4 cup Tahini
1 T Olive Oil

Turn on your blender or food processor and add garlic cloves while it's running to slice finely. Turn off and pour in both cans of Chick Peas with the juice, blend well, add Tahini and Roasted Peppers. Blend well about a minute to a minute and a half. Add Olive Oil and blend till a consistency you like.
Serve with raw veggies, pita chips or Naan bread.

Store in the refrigerator, should last about a week to 10 days but, you will eat it all long before then!

White Chocolate cupcakes with Nutella icing

2014-02-06T10:32:00.002-08:00

Cupcakes

1 white cake mix
1 box white chocolate pudding mix
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup water
1 cup sour cream
4 eggs
1/2 package mini chocolate chips (optional)

Place all ingredients into mixing bowl and mix on low for 1 minute then on medium for 2-3 minutes till combined. Pour into cupcake liners which have been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 25 minutes on 375* cool completely.

Icing

2 sticks of salted butter (softened)
1 cup Nutella
2 tsp vanilla
2 Tbls milk

Cream butter till soft add remaining ingredients and mix for 4-5 minutes scraping every minute or so till completely combined. Frost cooled cupcake. Add shaved or grated chocolate if desired or chocolate sprinkles.

Creamy Cheesy Pasta

2013-10-06T13:44:00.004-07:00

I made a version of this pasta one time and forgot to write down the recipe. My kids all loved it especially my 12yo Rowdy. It is so simple and easy and best of all fast for those busy nights when you dont really feel like eating. You can add you favorite chicken recipe with it and serve it as a side or just have it be the main dish.

Creamy Cheesy Pasta

3 Tbls unsalted butter (or whatever spread you use, I used coconut oil spread) softened to room temp
1 cup shredded cheese (I used mozzarella but, parmesan/romano mix is good too)
1/2 c of cream cheese (I used this new greek cream cheese I saw recently and it gives it a great flavor)
1 pkg of your favorite pasta (I used Fusilli Caserecci)
Salt and pepper
1/4 c pasta water

Boil pasta per direction on the package. Reserve 1/4 cup and drain pasta in a colander.
Place butter, cheese and cream cheese in a bowl and mix together add reserved pasta water after pasta is done. add salt and pepper to taste. You won't need much salt but, I prefer lots of pepper. Add to warm pasta and stir. Done. YUM!!

Lemon Pepper Chicken

2013-09-09T14:52:00.002-07:00

So, Rowdy asked me to send him a healthy lunch this year so he could get into shape for football. One day recently he told me about lunchtime with his friends. At lunch a bunch of the boys trade things in their from home lunches or school bought lunches with each other. Rowdy said no one wanted to trade with him because everything he brings is healthy. He said this in a way that made it a good thing in his eyes. :) However, I sent him a mini candy bar I had on hand the next day so he would have a trade item. He traded it for a chicken sandwich that he said was SO good. Today I decided to bake up a batch of chicken cutlets to make him some chicken sandwiches for his lunch this week. I baked most of them and grilled up 2 in my grill pan just to see which was better. I prefer the grilled and will do that in the future. But, here is the recipe I came up with, very simple!

Lemon Pepper Chicken

2 lbs Organic Chicken Cutlets

1 lemon (zested and juiced)

4 cloves of garlic, chopped finely

3 Tbls Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 pinches of salt and pepper to taste

Using a gallon sized zipper bag put in all the ingredients, except the chicken. Zip it up and mush( a technical term-hee hee) it all around. Add cutlets, zip and mush again. Press the air out of the bag and lay flat in the fridge for at least 1 hour. ( I left mine in for about 4) Remove and bake at 350* for 25 minutes or grill in pan or on outside grill.

See? so easy and YUM!!!!!

Quinoa Cheesy Meatloaf

2013-03-26T18:06:00.000-07:00

So, in an effort to bring in dinner that is healthier but that the boys will still eat I looked up some meat free meatloaf recipes. After searching I decided that completely meat-free was too much right away fro the boys. So, I found one that uses ground turkey and that was my starting off point. I dont like to buy meat unless its all natural, no antibiotics or fillers, etc... and my Kroger didnt have any turkey meat like that so, I used all natural, organic very lean beef this time. I just sort of winged the recipe from there using whatever I had in my kitchen. It was very yummy! I love the Quinoa texture in this loaf! I will definitely make this again!

1lb extra lean organic beef
1/4 c Quinoa cooked (will be more like a cup after cooking)
1/2 chopped greens (I used fresh spinach, arugula and kale)
1 egg
1 can chopped low sodium tomatoes (pureed)
1/2 c bread crumbs
1T chopped onion (I used dried)
1/2 t salt 1/2 t pepper
1/2 c grated parmesan cheese

put everything in to a large bowl (just use about 1/4 of the pureed tomatoes tho) mix together. form a loaf and place in a shallow pan. drizzle more tomatoes over the top.
Bake 400* for 45-50 minutes

Taco Corn Casserole

2013-01-09T17:43:00.002-08:00

Years ago I went to the pot luck supper at my church and tasted the yummiest casserole. I thought, hey! I should be able to figure this out. So, I conducted one of my cooking experiments that are known for being either really yummy or really awful, rarely in between. Lucky for me and my family, this was one of the yummy ones. Now, it has been one of our favorite dinners for years! So, here it is for you my followers. If you haven't clicked to follow my blog, please do...I need followers to make this worthwhile. :) THank you!

Taco Corn Casserole

2 boxes Jiffy cornbread (must be Jiffy, this is the secret to it's yumminess)
2 eggs( or egg beaters)
1 c milk
2 cans cream style corn
1-1/2 c grated cheese ( I like Mexican blend, but it can be any you like)
1 lb ground meat (chicken, turkey or beef is fine) browned and drained
1 pkg taco seasoning

Preheat oven to 350*.
Brown meat in skillet, drain and stir in seasoning, set aside.
Mix 1 box cornbread in a bowl with 1 egg and 1/2 c milk. pour and spread on bottom of greased casserole baking dish, Dish can be round, square or rectangle. about medium sized. (9x13 is too big, btw).
pour 1 can corn on top, spread out. Top with 1/2 the cheese then meat mixture. next layer the rest of the cheese and the other can of corn. Mix the other box of cornbread with the remaining egg and milk and spread over top of casserole. Bake uncovered for 35 minutes.

Breakfast Super Sandwich

2013-01-06T07:51:00.000-08:00

I love a good breakfast sandwich, so I created a healthy but very yummy one.

2 slices of your favorite bread (I prefer whole grain or whole wheat), toasted
1-2 slices cheese (again use what you want to I like provolone)
2-3 egg whites
1 handful of fresh spinach leaves
1/2 avocado, sliced thinly

Spray a non-stick pan and lay spinach in single layer in pan. Top with egg whites and cook 3-4 minutes till egg whites are almost done, flip for another minute.
meanwhile spread avocado on to toasted bread, lay cheese over avocado, top with egg whites. easy peasy. YUM!!!

The Perfect Plateful

2013-01-05T14:38:00.001-08:00

I don't like to seem as tho I do not appreciate my blessings. But, sometimes things are tough. I sugar coat it, if I talk about it because I don't like to seem a victim but, a survivor. This has not always benefited me as my strength to a less charitable person is read as lack of caring about something. I haven't yet figured out the balance. So, when I talk about something publicly I tend to sound like I have it, mostly, together.

Recently, I have begun to feel as if I am the only one who is a mess, or whose house is. I am not the most organized person, and while I am trying to get it all purged and situated, it is no there yet. But, I read everyone profile and see pictures of their homes and they all look like perfect little housekeepers. I am so envious. Why didnt I get that gene?

You see I came from a family where my mother kept everything perfect. I mean if you searched the back corner of her least used closet you would not find a speck of dust. But, I honestly cannot remember doing anything fun with her. My childhood memories are of her in the kitchen, cooking, cleaning, sewing. Now, I do appreciate how nice everything always was tho. But, I wanted to have my priorities to be different. I have never been skilled enough to be able to do it all, so I unintentionally had to choose.

So, now I come to this past Christmas. My parents were talking about my mom's mom and her last Christmas. I had never put it together before but, that would have been the time we were at her house and she threw me bodily out of the kitchen. You see she was a perfectionist and wanted the perfect last Christmas, all the best decorations and food, everything looking just so. But, what she didnt realize is that the perfect Christmas came with the price of her only granddaughter remembering her as a mean old woman. I imagine she was more than that. I dont remember the exact reason, I'm sure I was doing something annoying as many 8-9yo little girls can do. Back then, no one would have explained that Grandma was very sick, and to please be more aware. Of course even if someone did would I have understood?

It wasnt until this past December that I realized, she didnt feel well and was pushing herself physically to make Christmas wonderful. But, you know what? neither I nor my 4yo brother would have cared if we had the perfect decorations or food. I might have remembered her fondly if that last Christmas had been spent more low key, less worry on the perfection, more emphasis on love and affection.

I dont know what my children truly got from their childhood. But, I hope it is love, caring, acceptance, the knowledge that they are important and special, that I am here if they need me. I don't have to be perfect anything. I just dont want to miss a moment to make a good memory. For me or them. What if it is that last thing they remember about me?

toffee bars

2013-01-01T06:32:00.000-08:00

Toffee Bars

1 &1/2 sleeves of saltine crackers
1 c brown sugar
2 sticks butter
1 bag chocolate chips (I prefer Ghirardelli)
3 Heath bars chopped (or the bagged toffee bits, however much looks good to you)

Prepare a large cookie sheet by lining with non-stick foil or spraying, however you prefer. Preheat oven to 350*.
Spread out saltines in one layer very close together to completely cover cookie sheet.
Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. add sugar. Stir till melted and combined well. gently pour over crackers, so as to keep them from moving all over the cookie sheet. Use an offset spatula to spread the mixture out and completely cover crackers. Gently place in oven. bake till bubbly or about 8 minutes, depending on your oven.
Remove carefully from the oven, mixture will be slide all over pan if you dont keep it level. sprinkle with chocolate chips, let sit while chips melt or place back in oven for a minute or 2. when chips have softened, use spatula to spread chocolate out evenly. next sprinkle with heath bits. leave in cool place to harden or place in the refrigerator to quicken the process. We prefer the fridge. ;)
These are addicting. I suggest having someplace to take these after making them or you will eat them all yourself. lol

2012-12-30T13:16:00.001-08:00

Super Greens Soup

So, I saw an idea of making a large batch of soup to dine and snack on for a few days or throughout a week. or another idea is to eat only this soup for a couple days to detox or get ready for a diet. Either way this is a great source of vitamins and a very healthy recipe for anytime. I changed a few things from the recipes I saw to create something I like better.

recipe:

1 lg bag chopped fresh Kale

1 bg fresh spinach

1 c chopped fresh broccoli

1/2 c diced carrots

3 c organic vegetable broth or water

1 chopped yellow onion

2 T olive oil

1 cup cooked brown rice

dash cayenne

salt and pepper

white truffle oil

Put olive oil in to a large pot on med/high heat for 1 minute, add onions and 1/4 t salt. cook onions 5 minutes till browned. add in 1 c broth and put lid on pot, turn heat down to low. cook 10 minutes stirring occasionally till liquid has reduced.

Put rice and remaining broth in to pan, stir together. add kale stirring as you can, pot will be very full (kale cooks down alot!) cook on medium heat for 8-10 minutes, stirring as the kale cooks down, add spinach, broccoli and carrots. cook another 5 minutes stirring as the greens wilt down. Stir in cayenne pepper.

Take pot off heat and use an immersion blender or place in counter blender. Puree soup to desired consistency. Soup will be very thick. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste. Spoon in to bowl and drizzle a small amount of white truffle oil over the top.

**I hope you love this soup as much as I do. It is very easy to eat alot of it, but no guilt if you do! :)

Orecchiette and sausage

2012-12-13T16:28:00.000-08:00

So, I had this yummy looking sausage and I was trying to figure out what to make with it that sounded yummy. I looked thru my pantry and found some Orecchiette pasta that I had found at World Market a few months ago. I love to buy different pasta when I come across it. Makes a simple pasta dish more gourmet looking. :) So this is the recipe I came up with and it turned out really yummy. I am adding it right away before I forget what I did.

1 pkg Chicken and Pork Sausage

1/2 pkg Orecchiette Pasta (or your choice of pasta)

1 pkg mixed veggies ( I used one that had red bell peppers, asparagus and carrots)

2 cups of fresh Spinach

1/2 cup of chicken broth or stock ( I prefer Organic)

2 Tbls butter or margarine

1/4 cup milk

1 glove garlic, sliced

2 tsps grated Parmesan cheese

fresh ground pepper to taste

Slice and brown sausage in a pan. Prepare pasta per pkg instructions. Cook veggies and drain. (I had steam in a bag veggies and they tend to have some liquid after cooking in the microwave). Add broth to browned sausage and turn heat to medium, bring to a boil. Add fresh spinach and stir in butter, milk and garlic. Turn heat to low, cook for 10 minutes. Add hot pasta to the pan, stir together. Top with pepper and grated parmesan cheese. serve. Makes about 6 servings.

Green Chili Sour Cream Enchiladas

2012-11-19T10:04:00.000-08:00

20 corn tortillas
1 small cans green chili enchiladas sauce
1 small tub sour cream
1 lb chicken breasts
12 oz grated cheese (any blend)
1 tbs butter
1 tbs flour
cook chicken, shred. Melt butter in small saucepan on low heat, whisk in flour til combined. Add enchilada sauce and sour cream in a pan, whisk till sour cream is melted. set aside. Layer tortillas, chicken, cheese and sauce in 9x13 casserole dish. Bake 30 minutes at 375* covered, uncovered for the last 10 minutes.

2012-09-24T18:07:00.001-07:00

SO I made my Banana Chocolate chip cookies tonight. It's my kids favorite way for me to use up the over ripe bananas. I think sometimes they let them go brown in the hopes that maybe mom will make cookies out of them. This time around I used a different recipe I found online and they were just as good. I used coconut sugar in place of regular processed white sugar. If you have never used coconut sugar, it is an all natural unprocessed plant based sugar alternative that is made completely of coconuts. You can use it cup for cup in place of white sugar in recipes, coffee and more. I love it! Following is the new recipe. I just mixed with a fork till the flour, also I added each item, in order to the bowl and they turned out fine. :)

Banana Cookies Recipe

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup of unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup of sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 cup of mashed bananas (about 2 ½ large bananas)
1 teaspoon of baking soda
2 cups of flour
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of ground mace or nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves
1 cup of pecans (walnuts and chocolate chips are fine alternatives)

METHOD

1 Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg and continue to beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.

2 In a bowl, mix the mashed bananas and baking soda. Let sit for 2 minutes. The baking soda will react with the acid in the bananas which in turn will give the cookies their lift and rise.

3 Mix the banana mixture into the butter mixture. Mix together the flour, salt, and spices and sift into the butter and banana mixture and mix until just combined.

4 Fold into the batter the pecans or chocolate chips if using. Drop in dollops onto parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake for 11-13 minutes or until nicely golden brown. Let cool on wire racks.

Blueberry Cinnamon Donuts

2012-07-22T07:50:00.001-07:00

So, the kids got me a donut maker for Christmas and I was so excited! Yet, I had yet to use it. But, yesterday I got a bee in my bonnet and decided that today was the day. I just used the pancake recipe off the box of baking mix and added some dried blueberries, 1/2 tsp cinnamon and a couple tbls of sugar. I also decided since they weren't real sweet I would make a simple icing out of powdered sugar and a little bit of milk. These turned out YUM!.Later I'll tell you about my BBQ crock-pot steaks and baked potatoes. :)

Slow cooker Broccoli cheese soup in July

2012-07-09T08:02:00.002-07:00

Ok, I know it's 110* outside but, when you spend the day indoors with the ac going full blast you can forget and just crave some yummy soup anyway. :) So, taking my daughter's favorite soup and my love of slow cooker recipes I made Broccoli Cheese soup in my big ole crockpot. We prefer a thick soup so the mixes at the grocery store don't do it for us. We want a thick, creamy soup. This is the recipe I used.

1lb Velveeta cheese (chopped into cubes)
1 12oz package frozen chopped broccoli
1 can cream of chicken soup(tho I didnt have cream of chicken so, I used broccoli cheese)
2 cans milk
next time I will add chopped onion and green peppers, but I didnt this time

cook on low in the slow cooker for 4 hours. Stir it after 2-3 hours to combine ingredients.

It will not need any salt but, I did add some pepper to taste.

YUM! and so easy.

my first pair of shoes

2012-05-24T07:27:00.001-07:00

I bought the first pair of shoes I tried on. Once I got them home I realized that they were not a good fit. But, I shoved my feet into them anyway and wore them for 18yrs. Over those years I developed blisters and there were days of such pain I wasnt sure how much longer I could wear them. But, then my feet got used to the pain and I began to not notice it so much. I worked very hard to love those ill fitting shoes no matter how much they hurt my feet. Then one day those shoes just went missing, When I looked I saw they were on someone else's feet. At first I was so mad that she had my shoes, but once I saw them on her feet I never wanted them back. When I think about how hard those shoes were to wear I wonder why it makes me mad someone else took them, but since then I have realized that one day I will find a pair that fit like a glove and wont cause me so many painful blisters. I will walked proudly and confidently in them, they will be supportive and take me places, I will feel like I am walking on air in them. This time my search will be more careful, I will wait for the right fit.

Roasted Veggies and Pesto Brown Rice

2012-05-17T18:09:00.000-07:00

So, tonight I had to drive Logan out to his theater banquet and on the way back it was already 6pm. I was tired and tempted to go thru a drive thru for dinner, but I couldnt figure out where to go and still get something healthy and vegan. So, I decided to go home and dig out the potatoes I had found on sale the other day and whatever veggies I could find and stick them in the oven. Here is what I made.

I cut up the rest of the new potatoes I had leftover from another meal, a few of the yellow potatoes I found on sale, a red bell pepper, some carrots, broccoli and cawliflower from a bag, a purple onion from the church garden I had been needing to use, and a tomato. I laid them out on a cookie sheet and sprinkled them with olive oil, salt and pepper, then just to try it I drizzled just a little of my new find White Truffle Oil. I baked it all on 400* for about 20 minutes. In the meantime I made some boil in the bag brown rice, I added some vegan butter salt, pepper, lemon pepper and a teaspoon of pesto to the rice. To serve I put some of the rice on a plate and topped with the veggies. YUM!! I think the truffle oil was the kicker, but this was a yummy dinner.
For dessert I sliced up some strawberries and added some coconut sugar. delicious!

I have leftovers and am looking forward to lunch tomorrow. This healthy eating thing is not so bad. (although I have to admit I am craving something sweet, really need to get on those brown krisps treats tomorrow)

Pesto Veganese Spread

2012-05-16T13:38:00.000-07:00

So, when I went to Central Market yesterday I go a sandwich from thier deli bacause I was starving. It was a turkey pesto on sourdough. I only ate half so I gave the other half to Rowdy after school and he raved about it. Today while I was out I grabbed some ingredients to recreate that sandiwch, only vegan. I got whole wheat bread, tofurky sandwich slices, vegan smoked provolone, veganese(vegan mayo), daikon sprouts(tons of vitamins), and though I should make my own I finally gave up and got jarred pesto(this has a bit of parmesean cheese in it). Whe he got home from school we went to work. First we mixed up the basil mayo, layered the tofurky, cheese, daikon sprouts, flat italian parsley. I added tomatoes and green olives to mine. Well, YUM! It was a hit. I didnt tell Rowdy it was tofurky or vegan cheese, but I will now that he loves it. I love my foodie boy!

Veganism &Macrobiotics

2012-05-15T12:08:00.000-07:00

So, I am doing some reading on veganism and macrobiotics. I am tired and just dont feel the energy I think I should have. So, I am looking to what I eat and trying to see if there are some alternatives that will make me feel better. I heard about Alicia Silverstone's website Thekindlife.com and her book The Kind Diet and her words about feeling healthy and energetic from the foods she eats made me take a look at what exactly she was eating. I went to Barnes and Noble today and bought the book, I have only just started reading it so, I will let you know what more I find out in another post. But, today at Central Market I found a bunch of cool stuff to try out. One I served myself the moment I got home because it was 1pm and I was hungry! It is various sprouted grains and seeds that come in a bag, all organic. I poured a bowl and because it sounded good added some of my new sugar made from coconuts(no actual sugar) and some vanilla almond milk. I have to say YUM!!! So, I am off to find as many healthy, vegetarian, vegan and/or macrobiotic things that are also yummy with a capital Y as I can. I will let you know...:)

2012-04-11T10:38:00.001-07:00

Baked Kale

2012-04-11T07:57:00.001-07:00

I am definitely on the baked kale band wagon. At first I was just looking for a healthy alternative to chips and other salty snacks when I have a craving for them. But, now I actually crave these things. I prefer to buy Organic kale because kale is one of those items that you don't peel. If it is a peelable fruit or veggie then it isn't necessary to spend the extra money on organic. Plus, at Kroger organic kale is only about .25 more than non-organic. Kale is a leafy green. It has a little bit of a spicy kick, little. One cup of kale contains 36 calories, 5 grams of fiber, and 15% of the daily requirement of calcium and vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), 40% of magnesium, 180% of vitamin A, 200% of vitamin C, and 1,020% of vitamin K. It is also a good source of minerals copper, potassium, iron, manganese, and phosphorus. I suggest after baking you let it sit for a bit and dry out some, although you don't have to wait to eat it right off the pan. :) Thank goodness! I know I cant wait! Then store it in a paper bag, this keeps it crispier than if you stored it in a plastic bag. So here is my recipe. You can experiment with different spices if you like, i.e. paprika, garlic, ranch dressing mix, etc. But, I prefer just the simple salt and pepper.

Baked Kale

1 bunch organic kale
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Wash and dry kale leaves. You can place them whole or tear into chip size pieces. You won't want to eat the stems. Place on a large cookie sheet, I usually need 2. Drizzle olive oil over kale and then mix and spread it on top and bottom of kale as evenly as you can. Lay it out in one layer on pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 350* for about 8-10 min or until crispy, but watch and make sure it doesn't burn(every oven is different). It's OK to have a bit of brown on the edges, but not too brown. ;) Enjoy guilt free yummyness!!

My first juicing experience.

2012-03-21T06:44:00.002-07:00

Yes! It was as good as it sounds. At least the juicing part was fun. I went to Kroger yesterday to stock up on some goodies to juice. My juicer came with a couple of books with recipes and ideas for me to try. Since I want to go all in healthy wish I bought organic kale, spinach and tomatoes, non-organic celery stalks, lemon, granny smith apples, nectarines and cabbage. Unintentionally I had gotten a few things from a couple different recipes and all ingredients from none. So, in true Jennifer fashion I made a concoction of what sounded healthy with a few of what sounded good. I went with kale, spinach, wheat grass (oh yeah, I found this too! :)), apple, celery, cabbage and a couple strawberries just because. lol. I ended up with a full glass of green liquid with a swirl of strawberry I thought was pretty. It took a moment to clean everything up, juicing is messy business. Then I went to take a sip. BTW, they make it look like you can add a little fruit and it will taste like fruit juice but healthier. It doesn't. Or at least mine didn't. But, its healthy and it is my breakfast so I will be drinking it and trying another mixture later. If it gives me energy, takes off some weight and overall makes me feel better then it will be well worth it!