Smoothies

Sunrise Zinger
1 small banana
1/2+ plain yogurt
whole cranberries (big handful) or 1/2 cup unsweetened cranberry juice blend
baby carrots (big handful)
2 stalks celery
2-3 mandarines (Cuties, etc.) or 1 orange
ice cubes

Blueberry Delight
1 small banana
1/2+ plain yogurt
1/2 cup orange juice
3/4 cup whole blueberries
raw almonds (handful)
ice cubes

Green Machine
2 large kale leaves
1 banana
honey
1/3 cup unsweetened cranberry juice blend
ice cubes

Pear Bliss
1 small banana
1/2 cup+ plain yogurt
1 pear
1/2 apple
1/3 cup unsweetened cranberry juice blend
ice cubes

Strawberry Dreams
1 small banana
1/2 cup+ plain yogurt
2 big handfuls strawberries
1/3 cup orange juice
ice cubes

Vita-Meta-Vega-Mine
2 kale leaf
1 large carrot
1/2 apple
1 big handful of red grapes
1/2 cup unsweetened cranberry juice blend or orange juice
couple of big lime squeezes
ice cubes

These are so yummy!  I have been on a sincere smoothie kick for two months now.  And by jumpstarting my day with fruits and veggies, I seem to make better food choices all day long.  And, have I mentioned how tasty these are?!  YUM. 

On a side note, the yogurt is not a necessary ingredient for any of these smoothies.  I prefer a creamier smoothie, so the smoothies without yogurt will just be a bit more "juice like".. and if you keep the banana, it still has a nice consistency.  But of course, have fun and mix up your style!

{NON PROCESSED} Cheese & Broccoli Soup

Aka.. no Velveeta in this soup. **

Ingredients:
2 Tbs butter
1/2 onion, diced
1 cup fresh mushrooms, chunked
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
3 Tbs cornstarch
4 cups fresh broccoli, chunked in large pieces
1 1/2 cups carrots, chopped small in food processor
2 cups half-n-half
2 cups water
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
dash of sea salt
dash of garlic powder
1-2 tsp of fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Saute onion and mushrooms in melted butter in large pot.  {Saute just a few minutes!}
2. Add chicken broth and 1 cup water.  Bring to boil.
3. Measure cornstarch in separate bowl. Add a little broth to cornstarch, whisk together.
4. Slowly add into pot.  Stir in broccoli and carrots.  Simmer until veggies are tender {(5 min) - no mushy broccoli! Blek}
5. Add half-n-half, 2 cups water, and cheese. Stir in spices.  Keep stirring until all cheese has melted.  {Do not boil!}
6. Serve with hearty whole grain or rye bread {or croutons, like me}.  Serves 8.

**A little note about this soup: It is wonderfully fabulous immediately after preparing.  However, reheating this soup multiple times for leftovers, makes for soft broccoli and the cheese has difficulty congealing again. I recommend finishing the pot on the first go!  :)

Day Five Solo

Jarod has been gone for five days... and I am so ready for my husband to be home now.  AND he still has four more days of his trip before he's back in California with me.  Lame.

Tonight, I did all the things that usually happen on Friday evenings.  Things like walking the dog around the neighborhood, cooking a new recipe for dinner, watching the Office on hulu.com, tidying up the house... but it's just 100% lame when I'm by myself.  I'm pretty lonely for him.  I've had a few friends call and ask to hang out tonight, but I'm just being mopey.  I miss my Jarod.

AND THEN, just a few minutes ago, in the depth of my misery, he emailed me this photo!!

WHAT?!?!  Apparently, when he was doing this:

 and this:

That would be ice climbing in Ouray, Colorado... 

a piece of ice fell and sliced his face.  

Aye-yie-yie!  

Can you see the ice in his beard?!  Goodness.  Tomorrow they are doing the big, last, final hoorah in Telluride, Colorado: Bridal Veil Falls.   Let's hope there's no more bloody faces.  

Crispy Baked Chicken

Whelp.  I haven't been in the kitchen very much.  Dinners have been uneventful salads for most of January.  Breakfasts are smoothies in the VitaMix.  And lunch consists of an apple and a LARABAR.  While this does keep my kitchen clean, it doesn't make for fun food blogs.  Boring.

HOWEVER, I did cook ONE dish this month: Crispy Baked Chicken.  It was pretty tasty. Jarod gave it two thumbs up.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup cornmeal

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons sea salt 
2 teaspoons chili powder 
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
3 pounds chicken, cut up (I had 4 big thighs on hand and cut those into strips OR you could cut up a broiler-fryer chicken)
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup olive oil

Directions:
Combine the first six ingredients. Dip chicken in milk, then roll in the cornmeal mixture. Place in a greased 9x13 baking pan. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees F for 50-55 minutes or until juices run clear.

This is a pretty easy recipe to whip together.  I served the chicken with Sauteed Yellow Squash and Sweet Potato Fries. (picture of fries coming soon :)

Snaps of the Eastern Sierras

Snap shots from the base of Mt. Whitney

Lone Pine, California

Just a bit north is Manzanar Internment Camp.  We toured the Memorial.

Jarod & Whitney

Mt. Whitney, that is.

Over the weekend, Jarod summited the tallest peak in the lower 48!  (Thats 14,505 ft--and in the middle of JANUARY, of all months to choose) Although mountaineering isn't exactly Jarod's forte... and by that, I mean, he tells me it's not challenging enough for him (what?!?!)  Ha.  He says, "You basically just have to keep walking, Brooke."  WELL, I am still impressed and I know he had a good time.  And, some of these photos are a bit more precarious that just "walking".  My crazy husband, he has one deep, "need for high-risk" cup.

These photos were taken by Andrew Summerset.  He is a friend of Jarod's who is climbing multiple 14-ers across the nation, and who invited Jarod on this trip.  

A little photo recap of his trip last weekend:

Mt. Whitney is the large peak on the right.

They camped up there two nights.  Remember the fab yellow tent? :)

I would like to call to everyone's attention that Jarod does not have an ice axe (necessary for all mountaineering trips).  What he does have (and is using) is a tent pole found en route.  Hmm.  Safe.  What?!?! 

 

I love these views of the Eastern Sierras.

Summit!

IKEA in Action

Here are a few pics of my new IKEA shelves, hangers, clocks, tea towels and book cases in my apartment.. they are finally on the wall!!  For a closer look, click the picture.

For fun photos like these, go here to download!  It's a fun, free app for your iPhone.