Recipe Box: "Orange Julius"

Post Edit: Sorry I forgot to put how much milk! It is now fixed.

This is a favorite at our house. With the weather warming up, I foresee many sunset evenings spent on the back patio sipping one of these. Give it a try. This recipe serves 4, perfect for your family! I actually have plans to make this today for FHE, but I'll be adding some fresh mango we got over the weekend. Mango Orange Julius... YUM!

"Orange Julius"
by Amy Dotson

6 ounces frozen orange juice concentrate
1 cup milk
1 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
8 ice cubes

1. Combine all ingredients, except ice cubes, in blender.

2. Blend 1-2 minutes, adding the ice one at a time, until smooth.

Variation: Add your favorite fresh fruit or berries for a delightful twist on this old faithful.


Enjoy!

Recipe Box: Parmesan-Carrot Risotto

This recipe is a family favorite! I hope it will become one of yours as well.

My favorite meal served with this risotto is broiled salmon, roasted zucchini, and a fresh garden salad. Give it a try tonight!

Parmesan-Carrot Risotto
by: Every Day Food, Jan/Feb 2009
Serves 4 as a main dish, more if a side dish.

2 14 oz cans chicken broth
2 Tbs butter
1 med onion - finely chopped
6 medium carrots, grated
salt and pepper
1 1/4 c. long grain white rice (I really like Basmati)
1/2 c. dry white wine (I use extra chicken broth)
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese

1. In a saucepan, bring broth and 2 cups of water to a bare simmer over medium heat.

2. In a large saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat. Add onion and carrots; season with salt & pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5-7 minutes. Stir in rice. Add wine; cook, stirring till absorbed, 1-2 minutes.

3. Add 2 cups broth; simmer over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until mostly absorbed, 10-12 minutes. Continue to add broth, 1 cup at a time, stirring occasionally, until absorbed before adding more. Cook until rice is creamy and just tender, about 20 minutes.

4. Remove risotto from heat. Stir in Parmesan cheese and 1 tablespoon butter. Season with salt & pepper.

General Mills Cereal Spark!

We LOVE cereal at our house and General Mills always comes through with our favorites!

My 3 year old loves the Lucky Charms (what 3 year old doesn't).

My hubby loves Coco Puffs (not my fave).

I found my new love just last week. Cinnamon Chex. OH.BABY.

Well, I am here to share some quick fun facts about cereal that will encourage your family breakfast . General Mills provided me with  some free product information to share with you, and a  gift pack through MyBlogSpark.

Did you know that ready-to-eat cereal eaters consume less fat, less cholesterol and more fiber than non-cereal eaters? Cereals also deliver important vitamins, minerals and other essential nutrients, making cereal a top source of key nutrients in children’s diets.

Other cereal benefits:

• Ready-to-eat cereals, including presweetened cereals, account for only 5% of sugar in children’s diets.
• Ready-to-eat cereal is the No. 1 source of whole grains in a child’s diet today.
• More frequent cereal eaters tend to have healthier body weights and lower Body Mass Index measures.

Studies also demonstrate the benefits of eating breakfast. A 1998 study showed that children who eat breakfast tend to perform better at school. Compared to children who skip breakfast, children who eat breakfast score higher on tests, are less likely to miss class or be tardy, have fewer reported discipline problems, and make fewer trips to the office.

For more information about kids and cereals, please visit Cereal Health and Wellness.

You know I couldn't provide you with all this great info without a perk. If you visit here you will find a $1 off coupon for one of four General Mills cereals. YAHOO!

Enjoy! I'm off to have a bowl of cereal!

You will thank me later.

Can I have your attention please?!

Announcing, the latest and greatest in meeting your meal planning needs!

I proudly introduce you to my cousins Cammie and Emily from "Pocket Full of Posies".

These two innovative women and have found a way to solve the ever present problem of feeding your family on a budget (of both time and money!). In a most creative (and wallet friendly) fashion, they have come up with a system that includes weekly meals, the recipes and the weekly SHOPPING LISTS. What a time saver for the rest of us!

Each system you buy includes the following (as stated on their site):

"The monthly pocket system is divided into 4 weekly pockets. The first pocket represents week 1 of the month, the second pocket represents week 2, and so on. 

Each pocket will be filled with a recipe pack to be used that week.

A recipe pack includes 5 recipes and 1 ingredient list.

An ingredient list categorizes every ingredient from each of the 5 recipes in the recipe pack.

Also, on the back of each of those recipes is an individual ingredient list."

How cool is that? What would it mean to you to save all that time and money? For me, that time and money is priceless. It means less attention spent with my nose in a recipe book or online searching for something different to feed my family. It means being able to save some money each month for a rainy day. I would like to tell you why this system works, in their own words"

"Why the System Works

Planning meals ahead saves time, saves money, and keeps your family consistently fed.

Why the pocket system saves time:
1. All of your recipes are in one place; no need to spend hours searching through dusty old cook books, trying to make a meal plan.
2. Your grocery list is 75% complete.

Why the Pocket System saves money:
1. Because the meals are planned for the month, there is no need to stray from your grocery shopping list each week.
2. Each recipe pack contains 1-2 extremely low cost meals for the week.

Why the Pocket System keeps your family consistently fed:
1. If you follow the Pocket System and grocery shopping each week, you will have all necessary ingredients to make each meal.
2. The meals are planned, there’s no excuse to not cook!"

So, my devoted readers, please take the time to check these ladies out. You will thank me later!

(grab a button for YOUR site while you're there!)

(Stay tuned for a coming giveaway!)

Orange Julius

I work with the youth in my church. On Tuesday nights we gather for fun and enriching activities. Tonight we had a Progressive "Breakfast" and talked about the importance of gaining knowledge in order to become a refined, interesting, and well-rounded person. There are three of us leaders so we each took a "leg" of the breakfast. We started at my place with smoothies.

I really, REALLY, REALLY love smoothies. We have them a lot. Maybe not as much as these guys, but a lot none the less. So, back to tonight. I decided to do my version of an "orange julius" for our smoothie. Oh boy, was it yummy! When I got home I had to make another round for my family. Here is the SIMPLE recipe:

6 oz frozen orange juice concentrate
1 cup milk
1 cup water
1/4 cup powdered sugar (some people like using 1/2 cup-too sweet for me)
1 tsp vanilla
8 ice cubes (I add as many as I need till it's my desired consistency)

1. Combine all ingredients, except the ice cubes, in blender.
2. Blend 1-2 minutes, adding ice one (a bit) at a time, until smooth.
3. Poor in your desired, festive, smoothie glass, pop in a straw and you are ready to go!

Please, go now and make this. I will stay here and wait for you... (insert jeopardy theme song)

Did you make it? Did you like it? I must know what you thought of it!

My young women thought it was "awesome!" and that's good enough for me. Everyone knows 12-18 year olds are tough crowd to please.

Anyway, after my place we walked to the 2nd house where we had fruit and a divine dip of cream cheese mixed with brown sugar. So simple and yet SO delicious. Please, go and try the fruit dip also. At the 3rd and final house we had crepes filled with all sorts of yumminess like raspberries, cherries, whipped cream and powdered sugar..

For the "educational" part of the evening, as I mentioned earlier, we talked about the importance of gaining knowledge in order to become a refined, interesting, and well-rounded person. At each house we shared a message. At the final house we also had a small survey asking the girls what they want to be when they "grow-up" and few other questions. Our plan is to use the info they gave us to arrange some fun and different activities for the month of September as we focus on Knowledge. It was a fantastic evening, although it went longer then planned.

How did you spend your Tuesday night?!

Random

I have a lot going on in my head today. I am going to spill it all out and hope you can make sense of it.

I didn't walk this morning. I am so bummed about it that I can hardly look at myself in the mirror. Seriously! I can't even say more about it than that.

My delicious ice cream bday cake (layers of chocolate and vanilla ice cream with crumbly, chocolaty, carmely goodness in between) from DQ is finally gone. As I ate my last slice last night I could almost hear Calamity Jane saying spit it out! Wash it down the sink! "Just don't do it"! Well, I turned her off and ate it anyway. I felt sick after. Serves me right.

I need a new bra. What kind do you wear? Can you live without it? That's what I am looking for. A bra I can't live without. I'm tired of the girls being low and wide. I want high and within my body frame, even a bit of appropriate cleavage (nothing raunchy, please. I'm pretty much a prude.). It doesn't have to be cute and frilly. I am looking for something practical that will stand up to the everyday throws of motherhood! And what sizing chart/measuring system works best for you? OR, are you learning from trial and error? My experience is strictly trial and error-with not much success. Please respond here ladies! Help a fellow girl out!

A few weeks ago I found in the deli case of my local Smith's Food and Drug a condensed mix for my favorite Ivar's clam chowder. It's heaven on a spoon. I remember being a teenager in Mukilteo, Washington, going down to the waterfront, and ordering a cup of this warm, creamy chowder. I would then find a good log and watch the tide role in while enjoying my little cup of heaven. I miss that. So when I found this mix I was beside myself with excitement and nostalgia. So, last night was deemed the night we partake of heaven.... It wasn't the same. I had set my expectations too high! How could this little package of thick, gooey mix (just add milk) hold a candle to my memories?! Well, it didn't. So I sadly washed the leftovers down the drain, wishing for the real thing, as I watched the lumpy liquid swirl in my sink. I guess I better make a trip "home"!

Yahoo!!

We did it! Yahoo! Today is the very LAST DAY of my saltwater. The LAST DAY of my lemonade. The LAST DAY of my gross tea. I am thrilled with the cleansing results we have experienced and we plan on doing another cleanse one day. HOWEVER, boy am I glad to be done! 12 days was plenty long...

Because we haven't had solids for so many days we have to ease our way back into food. Tomorrow we will have strictly orange juice. Sunday we will have orange juice in the morning and afternoon then vegetable broth in the evening. On Monday we will have orange juice in the morning and then veggies with the veggie broth for lunch and dinner along with a salad for dinner. Starting Tuesday we can eat anything we want. It is recommended you stick to a diet pumped up with fruits and vegetables, so that is our plan!

We have some fun recipes lined up and most of all, a good attitude. Matt has lost 20 POUNDS!! I lost about half of that, but many inches. I have a pair of shorts I wore for the 4th of July and I can literally pull them off without unzipping them. I know this weight loss will fluctuate, but it's a wonderful start!

Another one bites the dust!

I actually finished my daily saltwater a hour and a half ago! Another one down! It went down quick today, thankfully! We are on day 8 with 4 more to go. I am feeling really good! My energy is up, my attitude is up, my motivation is up and my excitement to tackle the "eating healthy" challenge is up. I am currently working on a way pump up the health factor of some of our favorite meals.

For example, we LOVE tacos and tostadas at our house. So, in order to up the health factor we plan on switching flour to corn tortillas. And to up the veggie count we love to add beans and corn to the taco. Top with some lettuce, tomatoes and a fresh salsa and you have a pretty darn healthy taco!! YUM! We also love pasta at our house. The first obvious change will be to whole grain pasta. Next would be to have flavorful sauces full of veggies.

In general, I think it's safe to say that another problem is portion control, so that is what we will also work on. The good news is that we are "cleaned out" and free of all sorts of the toxins and crud that accumulate in our bodies after drinking too much soda and coffee and eating too much crap-ola.
I am on the look out for your favorite healthy recipes. Please share!

Up all night...

Ugh, I was up all night working on a video for our youth conference fireside on Sunday. Going to bed at 3:30am and up at 8:00am with Mattie is just not enough sleep (working on my daily saltwater). Luckily, the video is almost done. I'll just take a nap with Mattie in a couple of hours.

The cleanse is going well. Although I haven't lost the pounds Matt has, I have lost inches all over. The biggest change is the size of my "sugar belly". That's what I call at least. I love sweets and my belly shows it. I also love CARBS and those turn to sugar if it's not whole grain. SO, this cleanse has been a benefit so far.


To be honest, although my cravings are less, I still crave eating. If I could have anything to eat at this exact moment it would probably a yummy breakfast consisting of pancakes, eggs, hashbrowns, sausage and OJ. Mmmmmm... that sounds so good!

Matt is the theater RIGHT NOW watching the new Harry Potter movie. Although I wish I could see the movie I'm not sure about the 8:45am movie time... I'll go next week.

Go figure...

Oh man, so far day 5 of this cleanse is kicking my butt. This saltwater thing is surprisingly getting easier with each passing day. The "lemonade" is pretty good and we started adding limes to it last night just to mix things up. As of yesterday morning Matt had lost 13 pounds!!! I am down only 3... go figure! I actually don't even care, I am just so excited for my husband!!!

The cleansing thing is taking it's toll on Mattie too. This little one year old does not understand why mommy and daddy aren't eating meals with her anymore. Every time a meal or snack comes around she starts to throw a fit because she wants us to eat with her. It's starting to get better, but she is still confused. Another funny thing is that she loves the "lemonade" we drink. It's quite tart but she doesn't care! She loves it when we let her have a sip from our straws. She always says, "Mmmmm..." after each drink. Funny girl!

One of the tricks to this cleanse is also a huge blessing. And that is when you come off the cleanse you have to do it gradually and wisely, only consuming orange juice, then veggie broth and then fruits and veggies for a few days. Matt and I hope to use this cleanse as a jumping off point for a change in lifestyle for us. We really want to be healthier! Not just for the weight loss (which we need) but because it helps us feel better! We also want Mattie to learn good habits from us, not our bad eating habits.

So, here's my confession for the day. Matt got free tickets to see the new Harry Potter movie with his "Little" through Big Brothers Big Sisters and I am GREEN with jealousy. Of course, I am so excited for him to go with his "Little, but I still wish I could go! Oh well, maybe in a couple of weeks when we get paid!

Daily Dose

Sitting here drinking my "daily dose" of saltwater makes me think of all the beautiful saltwater in the world. I used to live by saltwater when I grew up in Seattle. Actually, the picture above is of Ocean Shores, Washington which is in Grey's Harbor. It's a beautiful place and this picture makes me miss my home.
I've never been saltwater fishing, but I think I would like it (STILL working on my daily dose). Well, I actually haven't been fishing since I was young, however, I loved it then, why would that change now?
This little blue fish reminds of the movie Finding Nemo, which I really like. Remember Dorry's mantra, "just keep swimming, just keep swimming"? Isn't that how life goes sometimes? We have to just keep swimming! Plow through! Forge ahead! Onward and upward! Hang on!

Even the smallest of God's creatures are beautiful.

I need to remember that more often about myself. This cleanse has done more for me than clean out the physical systems of my body. I don't have my stove top and plate of food to hide behind these days. Looking at myself and my family straight on has been eye opening. And what I mean by that is this, it's easy to get caught up in the day to day grind of trying to just get by. Instead of just making it each day I need to make each day something worthwhile and positive. I want to go to bed at saying, "Mmmmm...this was a good day."

Do you know what I'm craving?

That's the game my husband and I played last night as we sat around not eating. Yesterday was all about the cravings. I have never had such strong food cravings! Even when I was pregnant I never craved certain foods. I just loved chewing ice (summer pregnancy in Southern Utah NOT recommended-113 degrees!). I craved the carbs like all kinds of pasta, cheese and pepperoni pizza and garlic breadsticks (yep, trying to choke down the saltwater).
Matt craved meat things like tacos, steak, pepperoni pizza, coconut shrimp, etc. People brought in lunch to his office yesterday AND to top it off they had pizza at Mutual! The poor guy was surrounded! He didn't even have a lick... that is will-power! Matt made a good point though, I could eat all day long and nobody would rat me out (luckily Mattie can't talk yet). So I guess we are both exercising will-power these days. I am feeling a lot better this morning than I did yesterday morning. I have a hint of a headache but that's to be expected (STILL working on this saltwater). I had about HALF the water I should have yesterday, I will work on that today. Last night was a late one for me too (for no good reason), I might need a nap today.

Our 4th of July fun!

July 3rd:

In Richfield, the 3rd is as fun as the 4th.
There is a kids parade where everyone decorates their bikes, wagons, scooters, etc. and rides down Main Street to the city park for a Popsicle.
Then there is the Diaper Derby. Mattie ran in her first diaper derby and won 2nd place in her heat! We were the proud parents for sure!


July 4th:

This holiday is done up as big as Christmas here in Central Utah. Richfield certainly does it right! There is plenty of food to choose from, sno cones, races, carriage rides, the fish grab, the bounces houses/mazes, entertainment and lots of games. It's also the time to catch-up with neighbors, family and friends who have moved away (like us) and come back for the festivities. This is definitely a family tradition we will continue!

After a long day in the park we all go back to my in-laws for relaxation, water fun (sprinklers),playing with cousins,




visiting and catching up, a lot of GREAT food and the fireworks (we can watch from our own backyard!).


This post is dedicated to Kamie and Dustyn who had to miss this family tradition because they were in Pittsburgh waiting for their baby to be born. Good luck guys!