Recipe Club: Strawberry Banana Smoothie

What You'll Need:

1 banana

6 frozen strawberries

4 ice cubes

1/2 cup vanilla almond milk

(Yields 1 smoothie)

What You'll Do:

Simply put all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until desired consistency!

Simple and healthy!

Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Linking up with Andrea for Recipe Club & Kathy for Titus 2 Tuesdays!

See you all back here tomorrow for What's Up Wednesday!

-A

Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Chicken

The easiest summer meal for your family this summer! You literally just throw it in a slow cooker on low before you leave for the day and you come home to a meal ready to eat. Perfect for the busy family!

What You'll Need:

-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

-12 oz bottle of BBQ sauce

-1/2 cup Italian dressing

-1/4 cup brown sugar

-2 tbspn Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

1. Mix the BBQ sauce, Italian dressing, Worcestershire sauce & brown sugar in a bowl until smooth.

2. Place chicken breasts in slow cooker and pour mixture over the chicken.

3. Cover and cook for 6-8 hours on low, or 3-4 hours on high. I like to shred the chicken an hour before it is finished cooking and then place it back in the slow cooker to finish cooking for 1 hour.

**This meal is easy to freeze too. After it is done cooking, let it cool and then place meal-sized portions into freezer bags and freeze. Just reheat the chicken (I usually put it back in the slow cooker for an hour) and add extra BBQ sauce, if desired.

Hope you and your family enjoy this simple meal!

Linking up with Kathy today for Titus 2 Tuesday!

See you all back here tomorrow!

Recipe Club: Bruschetta

This is one of my favorite things to make for a party, a cook out, or just for my family. It is light and fresh and tastes so darn good!

What You'll Need:

3-4 regular tomatoes

1 clove of garlic (minced)

1/3 cup fresh basil

2 tbs olive oil

1 tbs red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp of each salt & pepper

1 baguette

A bit more olive oil & garlic to rub on the baguette for toasting

What You'll Do:

1. Dice tomatoes into small bite size pieces.

2. Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl (minus the extra olive oil & garlic for the baguette) & let it sit at room temperature for 2 hours (sometime I don't follow this and just make it and serve).

3. Just before serving, slice the baguette in single serving size & brush each piece with olive oil and top with a small pinch of garlic place in the oven and toast for about 10 minutes.

4. Pour bruschetta into a serving container (I like to use a mason jar for fun).

Ready to serve immediately.

Linking up with Andrea for Recipe Club & Golden Reflections Blog for Good Tip Tuesday!

I hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as my family does.

Have a wonderful day!

Baked Broccoli

Today, I wanted to share a super simple recipe for you and your family, baked broccoli. It takes about 20 minutes between prep & cooking and you have a healthy, delicious snack/side for you and your family. 

Ingredients:

-2 heads of broccoli, cut into florets & then cut in half

-3 tbsp olive oil

-5 cloves of garlic, minced

-1 tsp salt

-1/2 tsp pepper

-1 tsp lemon juice

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degree F

2. In a large bowl, toss the broccoli with olive oil, salt, black pepper & garlic.

3. Spread the broccoli on a rimmed baking sheet, in a single layer.

4. Bake broccoli until tender enough to stick a fork in it & broccoli is browning at the edges (about 15 minutes). Make sure to turn once halfway through baking. I, personally, like mine crispier so I bake mine for roughly 20 minutes.

5. After baking, squeeze lemon juice liberally over the broccoli before serving.

And that's it! Simple!

Have a great Monday!

Recipe Club: Green Bean Bundles

For today's Recipe Club link-up with Andrea, I figured it was the perfect time to share a great Easter recipe with ya'll. It involves bacon, so it's perfect! 

Serves 8-10 people.

Here's what you need:

-8 thick bacon slices

- 6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

-1 1/2 tsp salt

-3/4 tsp roasted garlic powder

-1 1/2 lbs green beans, trimmed & blanched

-1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

Here's what you'll do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment (I used tinfoil).

2. In a large nonstick frying pan (on medium heat), cook the bacon in batches until they are just starting to brown around the edges (you want them to be under cooked & easily pliable). I'd say about 4-5 minutes. Transfer to a towel-lined plate & let cool. Cut in half lengthwise.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the butter, garlic powder & salt.

4. Divide green beans into 16 equal portions (about 6 green beans each). Gather each bundle & wrap 1 half slice of bacon around the center to hold beans together. Place bundles on baking sheet with the loose ends of the bacon underneath. Sprinkle the butter mixture & then the brown sugar evenly over the bundles. **One disclaimer, I used all of the brown sugar called for & all of the butter mixture and they were a little too intense for me. If you don't like a strong butter/sugar taste just don't use all of the mixture & sugar. You'll be able to tell when you think there is enough.

5. Roast in the oven until the bacon is cooked through and brown, 20-25 minutes. Let stand for 3-5 minutes. Transfer the green bean bundles to a serving plate & serve immediately.

 I hope you & your loved ones enjoy this fun Easter, side recipe! It also makes a great BBQ side dish!

Hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday!

St. Patrick's Day Treats

With St. Patty's Day tomorrow, I thought it would be a good time to share some St. Patrick's Day treats I found on Pinterest. They are all kid-friendly, fun & super easy! You may even be able to make most of them from ingredients you already have at home.

This yummy Lucky Charm Krispy Treat is simple and fun. Check out the recipe at Sugar and Spice Gals, here.

This is so easy all it involves is mixing the ingredients together in a bag. Check out the recipe at The Naptime Review, here.

For a healthy, naturally green option, try this Shamrock Shake at An Edible Mosaic, here.

And last, but certainly not least, this Green Velvet Cupcake from Java Cupcake, here.

And for a little fun, some St. Patrick's Day Fashion Inspiration.

Think fun without being over the top. Choose one piece, maybe a green pant, shirt, accessory, etc. and make that a pop of color and keep the rest simple. 

Hope you all have a great Monday! And Happy St. Patrick's Day!