Smooooooooooothies!

So I watched them make the smoothies at Jamba juice formally Zuka juice. LOVE them! But I am poor and cannot afford them, especially because my family likes them too, and lets face it $4.00 for mom to get a little happy isnt so happy when it is $12 for the rest of them to leave mommas happy alone!

I cannot count how many times I hit the curb getting out of the jamba juice in Colorado Springs! Me and a buddy would go in get a smoothie and read the Urban News. (for the life of me at the moment cant remember what it is called) Anyways we'd take turns reading the odd news. I love odd news. Like dumb criminals or people dying because they are stupid. ( not the dying part but the stupid part).  Good times over smoothies.

Almost always the conversation would turn to how good the smoothies would be with Coconut Rum or Kalua in them. Although I think we only tried it once? And I cant even remember that! To be young again....LOL

Smoothies it is really all about the juice!

Smoothies (bannana Strawberry my fav)
low fat yorgurt vanilla
banannas
frozen strawberry slices
apple juice concentrate (frozen apple juice)
Milk
Ice
A good mixer.
OJ if you have it.

Ok so I make them for me and my 4 so this makes about 3 big glasses full.
3-4 scoops of frozen yogurt, 1 bannana sliced, a good handful plus 3 strawberries, a large glass of ice, 1/3 of the fozen apple juice. 1c-2c of milk enough to make the mixer run. 1/4 c Orange juice if you want to. Mix mix mix till smoooooooooothies! They are sooooooo Yummy!And I hear healthy...healthier than a coke and a snickers!

And I always have to kick someone out of the kitchen! They hover for a smoothie.

Chili-How I love thee let me count the ways!

So Chili can be a very vesatile dinner or lunch option.  The left overs are always yummy. Summer or Winter there is always an option for chilli.  In the summer it is a quick fixer. In the winter a bowl of warm comfort.

We used to have game night growing up and mom would make the chili. Diane would bring the fritos and our best friends. We grew up on chili pretty much every Friday night for about 6 or 7 years!  I loved the beans, Josh(my then bff) loved the meat. We'd swap. We would have deer meat chili in hunting season. Turkey chili in diet season. It morphed from a seasoning packet to tomatoe paste, to a jar of salsa, and then to a little of both or a can of rotel. Now my sister adds kidney beans and black beans sometimes.

Baked beans should seriously be avoided, so should peanut butter and sugar mother, really! That was the adventure of the diabetic comma chilli.....Just add more chips and eat it any ways she said.....

So here is some ideas for your chilli.  Use it for Frito pie. A chilli cheese wrap, on a baked potatoe, on the hotdogs, with crackers, on a burger or here in the south they do a three way....Spaghetti noodles and onlions a 4way is with cheese. (Gross)

CHILLI

1lb hamburger
2 cans of ranch style chili beans (you can add kidney beans or other beans if you want)
can or rotel (or salsa or tomatoe paste)
taco seasoning(or chili seasoning I think it is the same!)

Brown it, add half seasoning, add beans, rotel, maybe some water(Wendy likes it thick, I like it watery) Add the rest of the seasoning...simmer

USe it however you like just remember

Beans beans the magical fruit the more you eat.........So eat them beans for ever meal.:)

Nacho Momma!.....nacho papa either!

As long as I can remember nachos are a food group!  I have friends now that are like that could be a good dinner, or really that's all you made for dinner. Um yeah!

There are so many kinds of nachos too! Tonight for instance I think I am making more traditional Mexican nachos. On tostada shells. Then there are sloppy nachos the velveta cheese variety! Yummmmm, and then there is Chili nachos! Then there is the classic the way momma did it Queso Nachos.

When we were growing up our mom's singing group for church where the Nacho girls(Queso). In highschool Friday was bomb because Trish got nachos and let me mooch.(Sloppy). Now on game night I make nachos pretty much everytime. I think I made tikki once and things you eat with ranch that is so another blog!

There are many conversations that go best with nachos. Like when I told Dustin he was going to be a dad for the first time...Debating over skipping class or if we got caught by our biolgy teachers. What boys are hot. Mr. Whats his names Butt....I swear still embarassed. What song to sing, what game to play , and Who is beating my lovely Dodger tonight!

So the Nachos are in the oven.....2 more minutes..Prior conversations about crack potatoes have left me famished!

Here goes.

Queso Nachos
1 lb hamburger meat.
Taco Seasoning
Velvetta 1/2 big block does about 4-6 peeps!
1/4 cup milk
can of rotel if you are frisky

Corn chips of coarse!

Brown it, add taco seasoning...cut velvetta to squares...Turn that heat way down burnt cheese NEVER leaves! add about 1/4 cup of milk. Add rotel if you want. Stir till melted. Put it with the chips.

Chili Nachos ( my fav most the time)
1lb hamburger
2 cans of texas chili beans
can or rotel
taco seasoning(or chili seasoning I think it is the same!)

Brown it, add half seasoning, add beans, rotel, maybe some water(Wendy likes it thick, I like it watery) Add the rest of the seasoning...simmer

Put velvetta in cubes in 1/2 c milk in microwave stir every 30 sec or so to avoid burning.

Layer it on !

Sloppy Nachos
Put velvetta in cubes in 1/2 c milk in microwave stir every 30 sec or so to avoid burning.
Layer on chips add a little lettuce and tomatoes.

Tex/Mex Nachos
refried beans
tostada shells
cheddar cheese or mexican cheese blend
hamburger or left over roast or chicken

layer beans then meat then cheese. put them on a baking sheet let it all melt together, cut with a pizza cutter.