Blenders and Smoothies

Hi there everyone....gosh, it has been 7 days since I last posted. Where has that time gone???? I guess I must have taken a short "blog break" or, I just did not feel like blogging...just seems to be too  "much stuff" is coming at us at a rapid pace.

The news on the radio and TV has been so unsettling lately, so many bad things are happening around this world....so sad, the devastation, lawlessness and lies and down-right meanness, one to another. I don't know, it can't be very long now, that the trump will sound and Jesus will gather His church home. That surely will be the greatest day ever!!!

So in the mean time we live our lives and occupy till He does return. Taking care of ourselves and those around us in our neck of the woods.

I have a blogger friend that sent me this blender through Amazon for my Birthday. Oh my, it was a total surprise. I am really loving this little machine. It sure makes some good smoothies AND soups too. (which I blend then heat up on the stove or in the microwave. My previous blender was sounding like a "cement mixer" and could only hold half as much as what this one does.....yeah, I am really liking this blender a lot.

Today's smoothie was:
1 Halo tangerine (peeled of course)
1 cup coconut water
handful of greens (any kind...right now I am using "Power House" greens that have kale, spinach etc)
1/2 frozen banana
handful of frozen fruit (strawberries, mango, pineapple)
1 Tablespoon plain Chobani yogurt
1 teasp. chocolate superfood from NutriBullet

Mix it all up in the blender and "wah lah" a dandy smoothie!!!

The other day I made a vegie soup in the blender that included:
1/2 bag carrots (1 1/2 cup)
2 tomatoes
1/2 red bell pepper
1/4  raw beet
2 handful spinach
1 glove garlic
1/2 teasp. sea salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
pepper to taste
2 cups vegetable (Swanson)broth
Blend, then heat. Great with some thin crackers...yum, yum.

I have been doing these smoothies pretty regularly for the last 6 to 7 weeks, one smoothie a day. To date, I have lost 14 lbs. Yes.....I feel pretty good, and getting lots of vitamins in my body that were not there. Also, taking Vitamin D3 every day. I have noticed my blood sugars are not so high. So, I think this is a good thing. After struggling so long with my weight, I think I found the "magic pill" that works for this old lady!!!! Something that has been so elusive to me.

Well time to close and go walk Kylie around the block.....or should I say, she takes ME for a walk....lol!!! Weather will be nice for the next week, so we better walk while we can, except it is SO dark out...ish!!!!

Have a good one and keep looking up!!! Cheers ~ Louise

Who Wants Some Coffee.....MEEEEEE

Hi everyone....hope you are having a wonderful day. It is sunny here and the temps are 16 degrees. Feels good, although I have not been outside, except to let Kylie out. It's been kind of a lazy day today, that's okay though, good to have a day like that once in awhile.

Need to finish the income tax paper work today, JP and I will go over it to make sure I have everything listed. Then Monday it goes in to the accountant. Here's hoping we'll get a refund of some sort. We certainly pay enough in taxes during the year. Did you ever try and figure out how much gas you buy for your car during the year? I went through the check book register...estimated about $1100 and that was not including cash, cause that did not go through the checking account. Geez, no wonder we're broke all the time.

Well, I think I need another cup of coffee......(wink, wink)

I have been on a diet the last couple of days.....fruit on Thursday, vegies on Friday and today it's fruit and vegies. Roasted some asparagus, peppers, onions, carrots and broccoli last night and finished it off today....did not even share with JP....it sure was good. I've lost 5 lbs so far, but I am thinking that is mostly water weight, so that does not count. Been doing a little bit of exercise in the evening. Using DVD/old VHS tapes for exercise, Wednesday night it was "walking with George Foreman" Thursday and last night exercise with Chris Powell from Extreme Weight loss. Tonight I might put a Richard Simmons tape in and revisit the 90's. He was always a fun person to watch and exercise with.

So tomorrow it's bananas and skim milk (I shall make a smoothie for breakfast) plus diet soup with cabbage, onions, tomatoes, carrots and spinach for the day. Monday I get to add rice with the soup and some tomatoes. We'll see how this goes. It is a cleansing diet also...cause bread, meat and lots of carbs are eliminated.

Well time to close, need to get working on the taxes. Have a great day and keep looking up. Cheers ~ Louise

New Coffee Maker and a Cooking Show

Hello There Everyone. Hope you all are doing great.
Well, finally I found my Keurig Coffee Machine at Kohl's. I was intending on getting a red coffee maker (as it would match my Dutch Oven.) The Keurig came in 4 colors, white, black, silver and red.........well guess what???

I thought we would try Bed, Bath and Beyond, they only had black. The salesman sent me to Kohl's saying he hated to send me there, but because they only had the black mini-coffee makers, he knew Kohl's had many more colors.  Like yellow, purple, blue and turquoise. Now the dilemma was Kohl's had NO red coffee makers....so now what???? Well, my next favorite color was Purple, so I settled on this color, even though it matches NOTHING in my kitchen, I still like it and it makes a great cup of coffee.

Here's a front view.....the interesting thing about this color.....it changes colors!!!!

See? Now it is blue!! Two colors in one.....hahahahaha

JP and I went to a cooking show this past Saturday. The 12th Annual Cooking Extravaganza. Chef Jeff and Chef Mark made some tasty meals.....this is one of them. "Sausage and Lentils with Spinach" I will walk you through it.....it tasted oh, so delicious and is one of those soups that "sticks to your ribs."
We weren't going to go, but then Friday night I decided I wanted to go and I am glad we did, cause we came home with some good recipes to try. My next recipe will be Zucchini Cornbread........the zucchini is sitting in the fridge right now.
Following is the recipe for "Sausage and Lentils with Spinach"

1/4 cup oil, canola or other
1 cup onions, medium diced or omit if you don't like
1 cup celery, medium diced
1 cup carrots, medium diced
In a large kettle, saute' the onions, celery and carrots in the oil until translucent.

1 1/2  pounds kielbasa sausage (I used turkey sausage) sliced
Add the sausage and cook until it begins to render.
Add 2 quarts (8 cups) water
2 Tablespoons soup base (I used chicken base)
1 pound lentils
1 teaspoon thyme leaves, dry
1 teaspoon pepper (I used 1/2 tsp.)

1 pound of Lentils
12 cups spinach, fresh and chopped

Here I am stirring everything together except the spinach,
letting it simmer uncovered for approximately 45 minutes.
Add the chopped spinach and wilt it for 5 minutes.
When finished, the dish should be well-bodied and the lentils tender.  Serve immediately with rustic bread for a healthy and satisfying meal. This is one of those meals that it would be wise to always have lentils on hand........I think I will.

So there you have it....my little tutorial on making this wonderful meal that JP will eat tonight along with bread and fruit.......hope it fills him up.
You all have a great day and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh.
Cheers ~ Louise

Left-overs from the Turkey Breast



Turkey soup cooking in the Duch Oven mmmmmm good!!! My soups are pretty easy and usually no recipe is followed. In the above picture you see the turkey breast cooking on high. I then turned down the heat. Added the vegies, (celery, onions, carrots, eggplant cut in cubes (usually whatever I have on hand). Removed the turkey breast and added noodles, simmering and letting the turkey breast cool down then deboned. Added the turkey to the soup and chicken boulion from Jacobs Meat Market. I let the soup simmer till ready to serve. 

In this picture you see the turkey deboned and added to the turkey gravy and scooped onto buns. The left over potatoes were added to broccoli and sugar pea pods to make a stir-fry. Tomatoes were sliced for the added color. Goodness I can hardly wait for my tomatoes to start growing this season. This was a very good meal and I am looking forward to buying another turkey breast in the near future.

Going to close this session for my blog, as I have to get ready to take a trip to Shopko and get the husbands medications and maybe just shop around a bit. You all take care and keep looking up for your redemption drawth nigh. Cheers ~ Louise