Banana Strawberry Smoothie

Summer is almost over, but it’s still hot out there. A nice and cold smoothie is the perfect drink. I used frozen fruits (I always have some bananas and other fruits in the freezer).

Ingredients:
1 cup fresh or frozen strawberries
1 medium banana, frozen and sliced (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt

Honey or other sweetener if needed

Directions:

Put all ingredients in a blender.
Blend until completely smooth.  

Serve immediately.  

Tags: Strawberry Banana Smoothie recipe, Frozen Strawberry Banana Smoothie recipe, Banana Strawberry Smoothie recipe

Multicolored Cauliflower and Broccoli Gratin

Gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous. This is so easy and tasty you wil prepare it again and again and again.

Ingredients:

Serves 4

2 ½ lb cauliflower (white, purple, green)

½ lb broccoli

2 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoon flour

2 cups hot milk

1 cup grated Gruyere or Swiss cheese

Salt

freshly ground black pepper

Grated nutmeg

Zucchini and Tomato Gratin

This is a great way to eat a lot of vegetables. Good and easy. Next time I will add fresh mozzarella cheese then sprinkle with bread crumbs. I bet it's gonna be amazing.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 medium zucchini, thinly sliced
2 shallots, thinly sliced
4 ripe tomatoes, cut into thin slices
olive oil
salt and pepper

fresh or dry thyme
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/3 cup seasoned bread crumbs

1 clove garlic

Zucchini Shallot Frittata

Ingredients:
Serves 2

4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 medium zucchini
1 shallot
1 cup shredded Gruyere or Parmesan cheese
salt
black pepper
vegetable seasoning
cooking spray

Directions:

Chocolate Chip Raisin Oatmeal Cookies

I found this recipe on the lid of the my Quaker oatmeal box and I decided to give it a try. These cookies are soft, chewy and were gone in minutes. I was wondering were the name came from: vanishing cookies. Now I know. Here is how I made them:

Ingredients:

½ cup (1 stick) plus 6 tablespoons butter, softened
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

½ cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1- ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

3 cups Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)

½ cup raisins

½ cup chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In large bowl, beat butter and sugar on medium speed of electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.

Add combined flour, baking soda, and salt; mix well. Add oats, chocolate chips and raisins; mix well.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown.

Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack.

Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

I didn't have brown sugar and I skipped the cinnamon. The original recipe is with raisins, but I wanted some chocolate chips in my cookies. Next time I will put some chopped walnuts  instead of raisins. hmmmm. Maybe next time will be tomorrow :-)

Tags: Raisin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies recipe, vanishing Quaker oatmeal cookies recipe

Grilled Green Beans

Ingredients:
green beans
salt
black pepper
garlic powder
olive oil
lemon juice

Directions:
Place green beans into a large ziploc bag, add olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper and garlic powder, close the bag and shake well until the beans are covered with the oil and seasoning.
Preheat grill and grill pan for about 10 minutes.
Using tongs place the green beans into the grill pan in a single layer and cook for about 7-10 minutes until tender.
Remove from pan and season with salt, pepper and lemon juice, or roasted sesame seeds.

Tags: Grilled green beans recipe, Grilled green beans recipes, Grilled green beans side dish, Grilled green beans

Porcini Mushroom Stew

Ingredients:

2 lb porcini mushrooms, sliced

1 large onion (or 3 small onions)

2 large tomatoes, chopped

2 teaspoon paprika

4 tablespoon oil

2-3 cloves garlic

1 cup sour cream

salt

black pepper

2 tablespoon flour

chopped parsley

Directions:

Pour oil into a large pan and sautee onions on a low heat until soft and translucent.

Add chopped tomatoes. (if you like it hot, add some crushed red pepper flakes or hot pepper slices)

Add the mushrooms and cook for about 5 minutes.

Season with salt and black pepper, add paprika and than cover the mushrooms with water.

Cook on low heat with cover for about 1/2 hour.

In a small bowl mix the flour with a little water, until smooth, add the sour cream and mix well.

Pour the mixture into the mushroom stew, add the crushed garlic and cook for a few minutes.

Taste and adjust the seasonings.

Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve with mashed potatoes and meat, or with polenta.

Tags: Porcini Mushroom Stew recipe, Porcini Mushroom Stew, Porcini Mushroom Stew recipes, Mushroom Stew

New Potatoes with Parsley

My mom used to make these potatoes when I was a child. I love it.
It's a very simple side dish, easy to prepare and healthy.

Ingredients:

20 small new potatoes

1/4 cup salted butter or olive oil

1/4 cup parsley, chopped

salt

black pepper

Directions:

Scrub the potatoes well. If the potatoes are larger just cut them in half.

Place them in a sauce pan and cover with water add salt and bring it to a boil. Cook about 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Drain and place them back into the sauce pan. Drizzle with some olive oil or melted butter, salt, black pepper and chopped parsley. Mix well.
Serves 2.

Tags: new potatoes with parsley recipe, new potatoes recipe, parsley new potatoes recipe, ujburgonya recipe, cartofi noi recipe, recipes with pictures, recipe with photos