FAVORITE FAMILY RECIPES..................

Just five ingredients combine to make a delicious stir fried side dish with zucchini, tomatoes, and Havarti cheese.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
1Tbsp. oil
4 cups sliced zucchini
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp. dried basil leaves
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
3 tomatoes, sliced
1 cup shredded Havarti cheese
Preparation:
Heat oil in heavy skillet or wok. Add zucchini and onion; stir fry 3-4 minutes until onion is crisp tender. Add seasonings. Then layer tomatoes over vegetables and sprinkle cheese over all. Cook over medium heat 2-3 minutes until cheese is melted. Serve over hot cooked rice or couscous. 4 servings

We served this over mushroom couscous and ate it as a meal, delicious!

Black Bean Enchilada Casserole

This is a one dish vegetarian casserole perfect for those busy nights - you can get this vegetarian enchilada bake in the oven in just a few minutes. A simple Mexican-inspired meal the whole family will enjoy.
Ingredients:
2 cups chopped onion, fresh or frozen
1 1/2 cups chopped red pepper, fresh or frozen
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 cup salsa
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 15.8 ounce cans black beans, drained
12 6-inch corn tortillas
2 cups Monterey Jack and Cheddar blend cheese shredded
3 tomatoes chopped (optional)
1/2 cup sour cream (optional)
1/2 cup sliced black olives (optional)
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine onion pepper, garlic, salsa, cumin and black beans in large skillet and bring to simmer over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently for 3 minutes.
Arrange 6 tortillas in bottom of 9" x 13" baking dish overlapping them as necessary. Spread half of bean mixture over tortillas and sprinkle with half of cheese. Repeat layering process with remaining tortillas, bean mixture and cheese.
Cover dish with foil and bake 15 minutes. Carefully remove foil and serve warm.
Garnish with tomatoes, sour cream and olives.
Makes 8 servings of enchilada casserole.

Crock Pot Vegetarian Split Pea Soup

ingredients:
2 cups green split peas
8 cups water or vegetable broth
3 vegetable bouillon cubes
2 potatoes, chopped
2 carrots, sliced
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp sage
1 tsp thyme
3 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste
Preparation:
Combine all ingredients in a crock pot or slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for at least 4 hours, or until peas are soft.
Remove the Bay Leaves before serving

Are you kidding, it's GREEN!

Believe it or not I like to drink the "Green drinks" "Green Machine" by Naked juice and Odwalla Superfood juice drink. My kids and husband all love them too. They are both packed with antioxidants, vitamins, nutrients,etc. and are 100% juice. I always feel energized after drinking either one of these. Don't be fooled by the color and texture it really tastes good! Let me know what you think if you give it a try! Also try this for energy- Banana Berry Nog

Green Machine Super Food, with its apple juice and pineapple juice base, has a sweet and tangy flavor. That's not all! Green Machine has several "superfood" ingredients to nourish you, including spirulina, chlorella, blue green algae, spinach, broccoli, and others. The resulting flavor is truly an experience! It is a truly unique fresh juice product that will nourish and refresh you to the max!

These are no bake energy bars. Quick, easy, delicious, cost saving and they work!

1/2 cup dry roasted unsalted peanuts

1/ cup of roasted sunflower seeds or other chopped nuts

1 cup of raisins, cranberries or other chopped dried fruit

1 cup chopped Michigan cherries ( I used dried cherries)

2 cups rolled or instant oats

2 cups toasted rice cereal ( Rice Krispies)

1/2 cup creamy or crunchy natural peanut butter

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

Coat a 9x 13 inch baking pan with cooking spray. Combine peanuts, sunflower seeds ( or other nuts), raisins ( or other dried fruit), cherries, oats and rice cereal in a large bowl. In a second microwave safe bowl, combine peanut butter, brown sugar and corn syrup; microwave on high until bubbling, one to two minutes. Add vanilla and stir until blended. Pour the peanut butter mixture over the dry ingredients and stir until coated. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan. Coat your fingers with cooking spray and then press down firmly. Let stand for about one hour to harden. Cut into 16 bars.

Individually wrap bars in plastic and keep at room temperature for up to one week or freeze for up to one month. Thaw at room temperature.

We eat one of these for a pre run meal. If you try these or create your own, please leave feedback! Enjoy~

Nutrition info per bar;

300 calories; 10 g fat; 48 g carb ( 4 g fiber, 22 g sugar); 8 g protein, 72 mg sodium

Vegatable Rotini Caesar

1 pkg.Ronzoni healthy harvest rotini whole wheat pasta
4 cups ( total) of chopped veggies ( I used squash, zucchini, onions & tomatoes)
fresh basil & oregano
1 cup of Cardinis light Caesar dressing
shredded Parmesan cheese to taste
cracked pepper to taste
olive oil

Cook pasta, drain and put in bowl
Saute veggies & herbs in Olive oil till tender
add the Caesar dressing to the pasta
mix in the sauteed veggies
add cheese and pepper to taste
Enjoy~ we loved this. Eat as a meal or a side dish.

Garden Days~

Here are just a few pictures from my garden so far this year. This will be my 3rd year to garden and I absolutely love it. Much more than I had anticipated. We have already harvested spinach and red onions, and several herbs. The tomatoes, squash and zucchini are growing like crazy! Can't wait for those to be ready. Growing our own veggies & herbs has saved lots of money and tastes so much better. Many of the recipes on this blog have the garden foods in them.

I just loved the way these 2 pictures came out with the bees~