Deceptively Delicious

I recommend buying Deceptively delicious by Jessica Seinfeld. It had great ideas for getting kids, and parents, to eat better. She just adds veggie purees to her food and the kids never know. Once you get it you'll start making up your own recipes that will be FANTASTIC! My friend Melissa recently just put this on her blog and I had a recipe that was pretty much the same so I though I'd post it. I call it Shrek Juice so Chloe will think it is extra cool. And its SUPER healthy!

1 banana
2-3 big spoonfuls of OJ concentrate
2-3 big handfuls of baby spinach (you can you mature spinach just strip the stem/vein off. if you want more instruction email me or use the book above as reference)
a little water and ice
blend in a blender until smooth and viola! Shrek juice! sometimes I like it more orangy so you can add more, or more banana. If you want to make it for 2 just double banana and OJ and then pack your blender full of spinach.

Awesome Bread

Here is a recipe from one of my friends. I just tried it out last night and everyone likes it so I thought I'd share.
1/2 C honey
1 TBS oil
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 C warm water
4 C flour (white or wheat. i think i might like it made with wheat...but i'll have to make it that way next time.)
1 yeast package (or 2 tsp)
**Ok if using wheat use 1/2 wheat and 1/2 white (unbleached is a bit better for you). I would also try grinding up some whole grain cereal or some oats and substituting a cup of that for the wheat or white.
Now my friend made it in a bread machine so she said put all in and your done. I put everything together and mixed it in my BOSCH (i think that is how it is spelled) with the dough hook, for 5 minutes instead of kneading it by hand. I think if you do it by hand it should be for 8-10 minutes. (And no I didn't make it up I read it on-line ). Then let it rise (I turn the oven to 200 and once it gets there turn it off) in the bread pan in a warm place (I choose the oven), and bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I got this one off the back of my Del Monte Raisins, and LOVE IT! I did add a little more flour than what is called for because they weren't holding well and it worked better with more flour. Also a side note, the cookies look like they aren't done when they are so just follow the time it says. And yesterday I bought some dried cranberries at the commissary and I ate one and they were more tart than I was expecting. ( I usually get the Ocean Spray but tried a different brand, bad idea. ) So instead of just raisins I added a cup of the cranberries and a big handful of raisins and almonds and it was great! Anyways, my point you can add anything and it is pretty good.

1 1/4 C Flour (i added the 1/4 so if you want to try it first without it just do the 1 C)
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c butter (1 stick) softened
1/2 c firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 c granulated sugar
1 egg
2 TBS milk
1/2 tsp vanilla (i did 1 tsp. and 1/2 tsp pure almond extract and it went great with the cranberries)
2 1/4 C Oats (again i added the 1/4)
1 C raisins
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; set aside.
In a large bowl combine sugars, butter, milk, egg, and vanilla; beat well. You want it to become light and fluffy and smooth. I went for about 3-4 minutes. Add flour mixture and mix well. Stir in oats and raisins and mix well.
Drop by the spoonful onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes (I like to go for 10) until a light golden brown. Remove from cookie sheet and let cool on a wire rack.

My Favorite Cookie

I had these over the break and they are my new favorite cookies! My dad got it as a gift in a jar it looked really cute but the cookies are the best part. So here is the recipe for it and it is for putting it in the jar so some ingredients are split up for the layering.
Cranberry Hootycreeks

• 5/8 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (I used walnuts and it tasted just as good)

1. Layer the ingredients in a 1 quart or 1 liter jar, in the order listed.
2. Attach a tag with the following instructions: Cranberry Hootycreeks 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a cookie sheet or line with parchment paper. 2. In a medium bowl, beat together 1/2 cup softened butter, 1 egg and 1 teaspoon of vanilla until fluffy. Add the entire jar of ingredients, and mix together by hand until well blended. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets. 3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until edges start to brown. Cool on baking sheets, or remove to cool on wire racks.

There is a good picture of how it looks but I can't get it to up load so here is the site