Strawberry Banana Smoothie

My daughter made this smoothie for our family this morning for breakfast... DELICIOUS! One of the best smoothies we've had.

10 frozen strawberries
1 banana
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup plain yogurt
3 Tbs sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 cubes ice

In a blender, combine all the ingredients; blend until smooth and creamy.

**If using fresh strawberries, make sure to hull first, and add more ice.
***We are going to try using Splenda instead of sugar next time, to make it a little more healthy.
****Variation, we just made this with blueberries instead of strawberries and banana. Also delicious! Use a large pile of frozen blueberries and a little extra milk. :)

Pineapple-Apple Upside-Down Cake

Years ago, Ryan and I bought a cookbook of favorite recipes from the farmers of Apple Hill in Camino, CA. This weekend, I tried the following recipe from that cookbook and took it to share with some of my girlfriends during a GNO. It was a big hit!

½ cup butter
¾ cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 ¼ cup flour
1 tsp. Baking powder
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp salt
1/8 tsp allspice

Cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and then vanilla.

Sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and allspice. Gradually add flour mixture to cream mixture. Mix well. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

½ cup sugar
½ tsp. Cinnamon
2 medium size apples, finely chopped
3 oz. Crushed pineapple

Stir sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle half of it over a lightly greased round cake pan. Mix apple and pineapple, spread in pan. Sprinkle with remaining sugar mixture.

Spoon batter evenly over pineapple and apples. Bake for 35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Turn onto a serving plate.

*I served this with cool whip. It is yummy with or without. :)

Maple Cinnamon Ham Steak

I just made this tonight and it was absolutely DELICIOUS! I served it with Apple Spice Rice.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 (2 pound) ham steak
1 red apple, cored and thinly sliced
1 green apple, cored and thinly sliced
1/2 cup maple flavored pancake syrup
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the ham on both sides in the butter until browned. Lay the sliced apple over the ham. Pour the syrup over the apples. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer, stirring occasionally until the apples are cooked through. *I covered the pan for about 5 minutes and found that it cooked the apples perfectly.

Sprinkle with cinnamon, and serve immediately.

Oatmeal Strawberry Bread

· 3 cups all-purpose flour
· 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
· 1 cup white sugar
· 1 cup brown sugar
· 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
· 2 teaspoons baking powder
· 1 teaspoon salt
· 1 cup applesauce
· 1 cup egg substitute (or 4 eggs, scrambled)
· 4 cups sliced strawberries, divided
· 1/4 cup rolled oats

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease two loaf pans.

2. Stir together the flour, 1 1/2 cups rolled oats, sugars, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle strawberries lightly with sugar. Mash half of the strawberries. Add the applesauce and eggs to mashes strawberries; whisk. Stir mixture into flour mixture until just moistened. Fold in remaining strawberries. Pour into the prepared loaf pans, and sprinkle the tops with the remaining 1/4 cup of rolled oats.

3. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Cool the strawberry bread in the pans for 5 minutes before cooling completely on a wire rack.

Sweet 'n' Sour Pork Chops

We just had this for dinner tonight. It was delicious!


1 can (8 oz) crushed pineapple
1 cup honey barbecue sauce (I used a honey garlic BBQ sauce)
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
2 Tbsp chili sauce
4 bone-in pork loin chops (3/4 inch thick and 8 oz each)

In a small bowl, combine the pineapple, barbecue sauce, onion and chili sauce. Our half into a greased 3-pt. slow cooker. Top with the pork chops and remaining sauce. Cover and cook on low for 4 ¼ - 5 ¼ hours or until meat is tender.

***I used boneless pork sirloin chops and cooked them for about 4 ¼ hours. The chops were tasty but I think they were a little over-cooked, next time I would cook them for a shorter time.

Apple Spice Rice

Tastes GREAT with Caramel Apple Pork Chops. :)

2 Tbsp butter
2 cups rice
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small tart apple, peeled, cored, and diced
3 1/2 cups chicken broth

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in rice, onion, garlic, and apple. Saute 3 or 4 minutes. Stir in chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed.

Caramel Apple Pork Chops

4 (3/4 inch) thick pork loin chops (I've made as many as 6 for this recipe.)
salt and pepper to taste
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 Tbsp brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 onion, sliced
2 tart apples, peeled, cored, and sliced (I use Granny Smith)

Preheat oven 350 degrees. Arrange pork chops in a 9x13 pan sprayed with Pam. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and minced garlic. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, salt, pepper, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

In a skillet, melt butter and saute onions. Add brown sugar mixture and sliced apples. Cover and cook until apples are just tender. Remove apples with a slotted spoon and place them on top of the pork chops. Continue cooking the sauce, uncovered, until thickened slightly. Pour over chops and apples. Bake about an hour or until the pork is cooked through.