red and green smoothie

Believe it or not y'all, healthy dishes really do come out of my kitchen. I try to eat a healthy breakfast and lunch to make up for my kinda healthy dinner and those frequent sweets I just have to have.
One thing I've created as a quick and easy breakfast is a smoothie that provides a serving of fruit and veggies. Throw everything in a blender, give it a taste, add more of something if you desire, blend again, pour it in a cup, and out the door you go sipping on your breakfast as you start the day. 

1 banana
1/2-1 cup of frozen sliced unsweetened strawberries
Handful of spinach leaves
1/2 cup of whatever milk you like (I use unsweetened almond milk)
I sweeten mine up a little with 1/2 teaspoon of agave nectar

Throw everything in your blender. The frozen strawberries make it so you don't have to add ice which will just act as a filler and could cause your smoothie to be watery. The color might not be super appetizing because of the spinach but drinking this smoothie is a much easier way to get those greens you need. Who wants to eat a boring salad all the time? 

Everybody's Favorite No-Bake Cookies

My goodness y'all, this weather is just crazy! 70 degrees one day. Raining and freezing cold the next. But no matter what the weather is, a classic, never complicated no bake cookie is always welcome. I have been eating these cookies since I was little. It is probably one of the first cookies I ever made on my own because it is so easy. I bet you have every ingredient in your pantry so get on in your kitchen and "bake" these sweets.

No-Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
Recipe from www.food.com
1/2 cup butter
2 cups sugar 
1/2 cup milk
4 tablespoons cocoa

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

3-3 1/2 cups dry quick-cooking oats

2 teaspoons vanilla

Put the butter, sugar, milk, and cocoa into a sauce pan over medium heat.

Bring to a rolling boil and boil for 1 minute.

Remove from heat. Stir in the peanut butter, oats, and vanilla.

Drop spoon fulls onto wax paper. Let cool until set. Or eat them warm and gooey like my family does!

Jambalaya

I have been so busy y'all but not too busy to cook up some good meals. This is a flavorful, but not very spicy, jambalaya. I adapted the recipe to fit my tastes so you can too!

Creole Jambalaya

Adapted from Comfort Food cookbook

2 tablespoons of butter

1 large onion, chopped

8 green onion, chopped

3 cups cubed cooked ham

1 pound Cajun-flavored or smoked sausage, sliced

1 8-ounce can tomato sauce

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

5 cups of cooked rice

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and green onions. If you like green bell pepper or celery you can add that as well. Saute until tender.

Add ham, sausage, and next 4 ingredients. If you like a kick to your food, add some extra cayenne.

Cook, stirring occasionally, 20 minutes. Stir in rice; cover and cook, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes over low heat. Serve it up!