The New Taco Salad

for Ashley

I've made taco salad for years.
I use like 8 serving dishes:
One for tortilla chips
One for lettuce
One for tomatoes
One for cheese
One for sour cream
One for a ground beef, onion and bean mixture seasoned with taco seasoning
And maybe a couple for some corn, avocado, peppers or salsa

This can be pretty yummy BUT... all too often I find all my kids fill their plates with tortilla chips and cheese (except Jarom who doesn't like cheese).  The older ones load up on ground beef.  And then finally one piece of lettuce and one lone chunk of tomato are placed on top (and are often not eaten).  Then after they clear their plates they continue snacking on tortilla chips.

Well, I decided there must be a better way.  I wanted to put the SALAD back in taco salad.  So I grabbed my big salad bowl (the one Fairbanks gave me as a wedding present that literally has collected dust for years on display above my cabinets) and put it to use!
I filled it with not one but two heads of romaine lettuce.  (I've even done three) and topped it up with a LOT of tomatoes.

Starting to look pretty already, isn't it?

Next, I went to the stove and put some onions and garlic in the skillet to fry.  Then I added two cans of black beans. (I have also used kidney beans, chick peas and I'm sure pinto beans would be lovely).  Then I dumped on some chili powder and cumin to taste and mixed it in.

While working on that, I put Dustin to work cutting up a couple bell peppers. I had to decide if I wanted to quickly add them to the skillet or just add them fresh to the salad.  I prefer fresh, so I refrained from throwing them in.  But you might choose to throw them in and that's okay.

Then I grabbed a can of corn and warmed it up, too.  I like the corn to be bright and yellow (ie not covered in black bean juice), so I warmed it up in the microwave instead of the skillet.  But I also would not judge someone too harshly who just wanted to throw the corn in the skillet too.  But keep in mind that this is the ingredient that is on the very top of the salad... so the prettier it looks, the prettier the whole meal will look and the more likely your crew is to crave it.

Then it was time for assembly and the magic really happened.  I grabbed the bell peppers mentioned before and a bunch of chopped up cilantro (which is a highly critical ingredient) and mixed them into the lettuce.

you really should have a lot more cilantro than this,
but I'm just showing off how nicely ours is growing on our window sill

Then I dumped my beans and onions on top of the huge pile of greens.  Next, I dumped my corn on top of that.  And last of all, I took some limes, quartered them and put them on the side of the salad for my family to squeeze on top.  If you don't have limes (like when I actually took these pictures) just drizzle lime juice over the whole salad.  The lime juice adds such a great little zing to the whole thing and makes for a great guilt-free dressing.

Isn't she beautiful?

I was AMAZED at how quickly everyone gobbled this up.  Seriously!  I have never had two heads of romaine lettuce vanish in one sitting like that.  I really think all the colors just make it look so appetizing that they couldn't help but want to eat it before they'd even taken a bite. (And all the obviously healthy stuff like lettuce and tomato are hiding deceitfully at the bottom).

A Word of Warning:  Do NOT point out to your kids that they are NOT eating tortilla chips OR cheese OR even ground beef.  They won't even notice if you don't tell them.  If you DO tell them, you might have to add another bowl to the side.

Enjoy!

Instant Breadsticks

I found this recipe yesterday here.
I made up the name instant breadsticks because it's almost instant.  No long waits and they're so yummy!

Basic Whole Wheat Bread

I am copying and pasting from www.keeperofthehome.org so that I can have this yummy and easy recipe on hand.  I like how she takes the dough out of the bread maker and bakes it so it looks prettier.  So without further adieu...

(this comes from Bread Machine Magic, an older book full of over 100 machine specifically for the bread machine. There are many great recipes, but I like this one for it's simplicity and consistently. It is also a good bread to make if you are starting out, or not used to eating whole grains, as you can gradually up the amount of whole wheat flour).
Makes a 1 1/2 pound loaf
1/2 cup water (if you have a Welbit/Dak machine, add 2 Tbsp more water)
3/8 cup milk
1 egg
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups bread flour (I use all whole grain flour, and have done it with wheat and spelt)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 Tbsp oil
1 1/2 Tbsp honey (do the oil first, then the honey, and it will slide so easily off the spoon)
2 tsp active dry yeast (they recommend Red Star and I would agree)
Place all ingredients in bread pan, select Light Crust setting and press start.
Or, you can do what I have been doing lately, with excellent results. is to make this bread on a dough cycle, then pull it out, knead very briefly and place it in an oiled pan. Let it rise until doubled (usually less than an hour), and bake in the oven at 375 F for about 30 minutes (I set my timer for 20 and check it, as I've only done this a couple times so far). Bake until nicely browned.
After baking, remove bread from pan, place on cake rack and allow to cool for 1 hour before slicing (this is good practice whenever baking bread).

Perfect Lemonade Recipe

Travis is sick and doctor said get lots of sugary fluids.  So I asked Travis what he'd like to drink... lemonade! (He's a big lemon fan).  So I got on the internet to find a way to make lemonade from lemon juice.  I really like how this turned out and thought I'd share... and remember for the summer or a party (in which case I really would add the sliced lemons). So here you go!

 Perfect Lemonade Recipe from simplyrecipes.com

• Prep time: 10 minutes

Add to shopping list

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar (can reduce to 3/4 cup)
• 1 cup water (for the simple syrup)
• 1 cup lemon juice
• 3 to 4 cups cold water (to dilute)

Method

1 Make simple syrup by heating the sugar and water in a small saucepan until the sugar is dissolved completely.
2 While the sugar is dissolving, use a juicer to extract the juice from 4 to 6 lemons, enough for one cup of juice.
3 Add the juice and the sugar water to a pitcher. Add 3 to 4 cups of cold water, more or less to the desired strength. Refrigerate 30 to 40 minutes. If the lemonade is a little sweet for your taste, add a little more straight lemon juice to it.
Serve with ice, sliced lemons.

Yield: Serves 6.

Simple, Easy, DELICIOUS Garlic Bread

This is adapted from Rachael Ray's recipe and turned out really nice.  I used those baguettes from Costco that are small and come in a 6 pack.

Cut 3 in half and place on top oven rack placed high to toast
Watch closely till they are golden brown (don't burn)
While watching closely...
Mix 2 Tbsp oil with 2 Tbsp butter and 2 tsp garlic (I buy from Costco) or 4 cloves or garlic and put in the microwave for 1 minute.
Brush butter mixture on bread... delicious
And Parmesan cheese (I'm sure fresh is best) and toast a little longer if desired (I was out... so I skipped this.  It's not really necessary)

Curried Cranberry Chicken Salad

I've been on a Crasins kick and decided to obey the package's suggestion to find more recipes at oceanspray.com.  Here is the original link I found.  So easy and super yummy.  I had no lime juice or green onions, so I just left them out, but I added grapes and green pepper... cuz I had them.  I hope you try it!

 

Ingredients:

3/4 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons lime juice
3/4 teaspoon curry powder
2 cups cubed, cooked chicken
1 medium apple, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
3/4 cup Ocean Spray® Craisins® Original Dried Cranberries
1/2 cup thinly sliced celery
1/4 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onion

Directions:

Combine mayonnaise, lime juice and curry powder in a large mixing bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and chill. Best prepared and served within 8 hours.*

Makes 5 cups.

*To make a day ahead, stir in dried cranberries, pecans and green onion into the salad
mixture up to 8 hours before serving.

Rolo Cookies

Check out these cookies!!!  Yum!

Pineapple Sauce for your Easter Ham (Mom Style)

1 cup water
1 1/2 cups pineapple juice
3 Tbsp corn starch
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp vinegar
2 tsp mustard
1 can crushed pineapple

Drain Pineapple, mix juice with water.
Mix in cornstarch and dissolve completely.
Put on stove and add brown sugar, vinegar and mustard while stirring constantly.
Bring it to a boil.
Take off stove and add pineapple.

Happy Easter Everyone!!

Note to Self: Make Fruit Leather

I saw this recipe on ldsfamilyfun.com and am determined to try it... unless Mom has a better one?

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Bake Times: 4-5 hours

Ingredients:
2 (29 oz.) can peaches
1 banana


Unfolding this fun and yummy fruit treat will help your children visualize how they can help the gospel grow when they share the gospel with others.

Directions:
Drain peaches.
Puree peaches and banana in blender.
Pour into 2 jelly roll pans that have been lined with plastic wrap. To prevent plastic wrap from falling into fruit mixture, wet sides of pan before lining.
Bake at 170 degrees F. for 4-5 hours or until surface feels leathery.
Let cool completely.
Cut into 3 x 9 inch strips.
Remove plastic wrap.
Brush lightly with powdered sugar.

Chicken Pot Pie Pasty

Here's another internet find that I want to keep on hand from Allrecipes.com.  I used the filling in English Pasties.  They weren't runny and I only had to cook it for 20 minutes instead of 50 minutes!  So yummy!

Chicken Pot Pie IX

By: Robbie Rice 

"A delicious chicken pie made from scratch with carrots, peas and celery."

Prep Time:
20 Min

Cook Time:
50 Min

Ready In:
1 Hr 10 Min

 
Original Recipe Yield 1 - 9 inch pie

 

Ingredients

• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cubed
• 1 cup sliced carrots
• 1 cup frozen green peas
• 1/2 cup sliced celery
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1/3 cup chopped onion
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
• 1 3/4 cups chicken broth
• 2/3 cup milk
•  
• 2 (9 inch) unbaked pie crusts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C.)
2. In a saucepan, combine chicken, carrots, peas, and celery. Add water to cover and boil for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, drain and set aside.
3. In the saucepan over medium heat, cook onions in butter until soft and translucent. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and celery seed. Slowly stir in chicken broth and milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until thick. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. Place the chicken mixture in bottom pie crust. Pour hot liquid mixture over. Cover with top crust, seal edges, and cut away excess dough. Make several small slits in the top to allow steam to escape.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Cilantro Pesto Pasta Recipe

Sisters, Do you use CILANTRO in your homemade food????  You should.  It is SO yummy!
I had some leftover from my black bean salad recipe that I made last week and I wanted to use it.  I was also in a time crunch and had to resort to a spaghetti dinner, but I thought maybe I could do something with the cilantro for a different sauce.  Thanks to Rachael Ray for this one.

Ingredients

• 1 clove garlic, cracked away from the skin--I used the jar of garlic from Costco 1/2 tsp
• 2 inches fresh ginger root, chopped--I just used powdered ginger
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes--these make it spicy, so cut them down or out if that's not your thing
• 3 ounces, about 1/2 cup, macadamia nuts--I used raw peanuts (cuz that's the only nut I had)
• 1 lime, juiced (I just used lime juice)
• 1 cup cilantro leaves
• 1/2 cup evoo -- extra-virgin olive oil, eyeball it
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt, eyeball it in palm of your hand
• 1 pound spaghetti, cooked to al dente, 1/2 cup pasta water reserved

Directions

Place first 8 ingredients in food processor or blender and blend until smooth, then add the pasta water. Toss with hot pasta, adjust seasonings, then serve immediately.

SOOOO easy and delicious!!!

How Gran Makes Stew

For a small crowd...
Brown stewing meat with onion in a little bit of olive oil
Salt and pepper it
Add a little water to just cover the meat
Add carrots, potatoes, celery
Water should not cover vegetables completely, but should been seen through them
 Simmer on very low for 2-3 hours
Watch it so it does not burn and stir it so the vegetables get the brown on them
Thicken with flour or corn starch

(For "Tomato Brady" add tomatos with vegetables)


For a large crowd...
In a roasting pan put a lb of stewing meat, 1/2 inch pieces of onion, big chunks of potatos, carrots, and 1 inch slices of celery and tomatoes.  Add a few beef bouillon cubes and a about 6 Tbsp of tapioca (not instant), maybe some barley, salt and pepper.  Basil and thyme are nice to add too.  Add water until you just see the water through the vegetables.
Maybe add peas at the end.
Put it into oven at 275 for 6 hours.

And 2 Bonus Meals... that are easy, quick and cheap
courtesy of Gran

Meal #1
In a casserole dish place...
1 lb ground beef (defrosted but not browned)
Then sliced onion over the top

Then sliced potato and if you want sliced carrot too
Cover with cream of mushroom soup and bake

Meal #2
In a casserole dish place...
1 lb ground beef (defrosted but not browned)

mixed with sliced onion
Then pour applesauce over it
And bake

An Apple

main ingredients

1 apple



1#A.J.
juicer
apple
bowl

Juice the apple into a bowl.

2#Apple slices
apple slicer
plate

Put the slicer on the plate(put apple under first).Press down on the slicer.



3#Buddy Apple

red apple(has to be RED)
black permanent marker

Set the apple down draw a face on it.



4#Turkey Toothpick

apple
4 toothpicks
16 raisins and   marsh mellows

Take the toothpicks then stick them in the apple,then put a raisin a toothpick on then marsh mellow then raisin then marsh mellow .Repeat this on every toothpick.


By Jarom Michale Moody.

24 Hour Fruit Salad

BOIL UNTIL THICK:
4 egg yolks
1 lemon juice and rind
2/3 cup sugar
Add 1 lb. marshmallows
Cool

ADD:
1 pint cream (2 cartons)
1 can drained fruit cocktail (mom uses peaches)
1 can drained pineapple
green grapes (approx 1 lb.)

Let stand overnight or 24 hours. Add bananas just before serving.

Other fruit an be added. Add canned fruit the night before and add fresh fruit right before serving.

Survey says

I'd like everyone to make these and let me know how you like these. Please let me know in the comments section. Thanks!

Chocolate Chirpie Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cup flour

• 1 tsp. baking soda

• 1 tsp. salt

• 1 cup butter, softened

• 3/4 cup sugar

• 3/4 cup brown sugar

• 1 tsp. vanilla

• 2 eggs

• 1 12-ounce chocolate chips

• 1 cup chopped nuts

• 1/2 cup dry-roasted crickets

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375. In small bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. In large bowl, combine butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla; beat until creamy. Beat in eggs. Gradually add flour mixture and insects, mix well. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded measuring teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes.

--Dustin

What don't you understand?

˙uıɐƃɐ ʇǝs sı pɹɐʇsnɔ lıʇun ǝʇɐɹǝƃıɹɟǝɹ ˙looɔ oʇ ʍollɐ puɐ ʇɐǝɥ ɯoɹɟ ǝʌoɯǝɹ ˙8
˙uɹnq oʇ ʇou sɐ os ʎllnɟǝɹɐɔ ɥɔʇɐʍ ˙sǝʇnuıɯ 2 ʇnoqɐ 'sʇlǝɯ ɹɐƃns lıʇun ɹǝlıoɹq ɹǝpun ɥsıp ǝɔɐld ˙pɹɐʇsnɔ ɹǝʌo ʎluǝʌǝ ǝɹnʇxıɯ sıɥʇ ʇɟıs ˙ɹɐƃns uʍoɹq puɐ ɹɐƃns ǝʇıɥʍ suoodsǝlqɐʇ 2 ƃuıuıɐɯǝɹ ǝuıqɯoɔ lʍoq llɐɯs ɐ uı ˙7
˙lıoɹq oʇ uǝʌo ʇɐǝɥǝɹd ˙6
˙ʇɥƃıuɹǝʌo ɹo 'ɹnoɥ 1 ɹoɟ ǝʇɐɹǝƃıɹɟǝɹ ˙ǝɹnʇɐɹǝdɯǝʇ ɯooɹ oʇ looɔ puɐ uǝʌo ɯoɹɟ ǝʌoɯǝɹ ˙sǝʇnuıɯ 03 ɹoɟ uǝʌo pǝʇɐǝɥǝɹd uı ǝʞɐq ˙5
˙ɥsıp ɟooɹd-ʇɐǝɥ ʍollɐɥs ɐ oʇuı ɹnod puɐ ʎlǝʇɐıpǝɯɯı ʇɐǝɥ ɯoɹɟ ǝɹnʇxıɯ ǝʌoɯǝɹ ˙sǝʇnuıɯ 3 ʎlǝʇɐɯıxoɹddɐ ;uoods ɐ ɟo ʞɔɐq ǝɥʇ sʇɐoɔ ʎlʇɥƃıl ǝɹnʇxıɯ lıʇun ɹǝʇɐʍ ƃuıɹǝɯɯıs ɹǝʌo ɹıʇs ˙ɹǝlıoq ǝlqnop ɐ ɟo doʇ ǝɥʇ oʇuı ǝɹnʇxıɯ ɯɐǝɹɔ ɹnod ˙4
˙pǝuıqɯoɔ lıʇun ʇɐǝq ;ǝɹnʇxıɯ ʞloʎ ƃƃǝ ǝɥʇ oʇuı ɯɐǝɹɔ ɹıʇs ˙ʎlǝʇɐıpǝɯɯı ʇɐǝɥ ɯoɹɟ ɯɐǝɹɔ ǝɥʇ ǝʌoɯǝɹ ˙lıoq oʇ sǝɯoɔ ʇsoɯlɐ ʇı lıʇun ʇɐǝɥ ʍol ɹǝʌo ɹıʇs puɐ uɐdǝɔnɐs ɐ oʇuı ɯɐǝɹɔ ɹnod ˙3
˙ʎɯɐǝɹɔ puɐ ʞɔıɥʇ lıʇun lʍoq ƃuıxıɯ ɐ uı ɐllıuɐʌ puɐ ɹɐƃns suoodsǝlqɐʇ 4 'sʞloʎ ƃƃǝ ʇɐǝq ˙2
˙(ɔ sǝǝɹƃǝp 051) ɟ sǝǝɹƃǝp 003 oʇ uǝʌo ʇɐǝɥǝɹd ˙1

suoıʇɔǝɹıp

ɹɐƃns uʍoɹq suoodsǝlqɐʇ 2 *
ɯɐǝɹɔ ʎʌɐǝɥ sdnɔ 2/1 2 *
ʇɔɐɹʇxǝ ɐllıuɐʌ uoodsɐǝʇ 2/1 *
pǝpıʌıp 'ɹɐƃns ǝʇıɥʍ suoodsǝlqɐʇ 6 *
sʞloʎ ƃƃǝ 6 *

sʇuǝıpǝɹƃuı

ǝǝlnɹq ǝɯǝɹɔ

--Dustin

Banana you glad that I didn't say orange?

This past month we've been enjoying one of our favorite snacks.  I thought I'd share. 

Orange
Ingredients:
-1 orange

Steps:
Peel and enjoy!

A few comments, however.  First, if you were raised in the mullen household, you probably are aware that you can peel your orange so that it looks like an elephant.  It's quite fun, and is much easier than peeling an elephant to look like an orange.  Second, if you buy them for less than $.78 a pound, make sure and tell Mom, as if she finds out you paid less than this you are in for it!  Third, you can tell when oranges are on sale at superstore for less than $.78 a pound, as there will be about a hundred oranges or so in the Mullen house.  Fourth, this comment isn't about the recipe, but I think it's important.  Make sure and wash behind your ears, or it will get dirty there.  Fifth, oranges are very healthy.  

Orange, raw, Florida

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy	192 kJ (46 kcal)
Carbohydrates	11.54 g
Sugars	9.14 g
Dietary fiber	2.4 g
Fat	0.21 g
Protein	0.70 g
Thiamine (Vit. B1)	0.100 mg (8%)
Riboflavin (Vit. B2)	0.040 mg (3%)
Niacin (Vit. B3)	0.400 mg (3%)
Pantothenic acid (B5)	0.250 mg (5%)
Vitamin B6	0.051 mg (4%)
Folate (Vit. B9)	17 μg (4%)
Vitamin C	45 mg (75%)
Calcium	43 mg (4%)
Iron	0.09 mg (1%)
Magnesium	10 mg (3%)
Phosphorus	12 mg (2%)
Potassium	169 mg (4%)
Zinc	0.08 mg (1%

 I think on the weight watchers scale they are zero points.  Despite this, I still recommend them.  Most zero point items are blah (like ricecakes or lettuce), but these are okay.  Sixth, you can make juice out them.  Seventh, you can make your house or apartment smell nice by playing the "orange game".  Note, this is adapted from the grapefruit game I played at college, but in theory it should work the same way.  Here's how to play.  Gather a group of friends, and sit in the room you desire to make smell better.  Play catch with orange.  Make sure and do quick throws, as the point is to get the orange bruised up a bit by hitting the walls.  After playing a while, it really does make the place smell better!  Eighth, the latin name for oranges is Citrus sinensis.  Ninth, the juice from the orange is acidic, with a pH of around 2.7.  That's about the same as vinegar.  Tenth, Riboflavin in french is still riboflavin.  So in Canada, when you're looking in french at the health information, you have no worries about riboflavin.  Eleventh, Brazil is the world's largest supplier of oranges by far.  They produce about 17.8 million tons a year.  That's almost a third of the total world production.  Twelfth, this is the last note.


--Dustin

A Real Recipe!

Here's a shocker--I'm including a recipe that takes a tad more skill than my previous recipes. I made pizza ymesterday, and I used this for the dough. It was quick, easy, and tasted great. I've found a new favorite.

Super Quick Pizza Dough

Ingredients

• 1 (.25 ounce) package or    2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 2 1/2 cups bread flour
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. Stir in flour, salt and oil. Beat until smooth. Let rest for 5 minutes.
3. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat or roll into a round. Transfer crust to a lightly greased pizza pan or baker's peel dusted with cornmeal. Spread with desired toppings and bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Let baked pizza cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Don't worry-next week I'll return to recipes that the Mullen girls can handle making!


--Dustin

Roast Vegetables

So I got adventurous at Superstore last week and bought myself a butternut squash and a sweet potato. I also bought red pepper because they happened to be a much better deal than green peppers that day and I remembered to grab a bag of potatoes too. I know what you're thinking. This story has such a fabulous beginning that you can't imagine how amazing the rest of the story will be.
Well, the next day I found myself searching the internet for butternut squash recipes. One of the first ones I came across was a roasted vegetables recipe on allrecipes.com, which had rave reviews. It looked so delicious! I read the ingredients:
-1 small butternut squash (WOW... mine was even small)
-2 red peppers (what are the chances that red is cheaper than green?)
-1 sweet potato (okay...really? This recipe is my destiny)
-3 Yukon Gold Potatoes (well, they aren't Yukon, but the recipe even specifically states that other potatoes can be substituted)
-1 red onion quartered (are you serious?? I don't have onions... something that I ALWAYS have)
-1 Tbsp fresh chopped thyme (1 tsp dried)
-1 Tbsp fresh chopped rosemary(1 tsp dried)
-1/4 cup olive oil
-2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
-salt and freshly ground black pepper

Well, since I had previously decided this was my destiny, I sent Jarom to Liz's house to borrow an onion as I followed the directions:

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees F (245 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, combine the squash, red bell peppers, sweet potato, and Yukon Gold potatoes. Separate the red onion quarters into pieces, and add them to the mixture.
3. In a small bowl, stir together thyme, rosemary, olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Toss with vegetables until they are coated. Spread evenly on a large roasting pan.
4. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven, stirring every 10 minutes, or until vegetables are cooked through and browned.

It was sooo yummy and highly nutritious too:

Amount Per Serving Calories: 123 | Total Fat: 4.7g | Cholesterol: 0mg
(and these are REAL numbers... this is not my husband posting)

Suggestions:
-I took one comments suggestion and put in the peppers 15minutes before done time... this keeps them bright and pretty and a little crisper.
-I think next time I'll use carrots instead of squash as another comment suggested just because my kids weren't big fans of that particular vegetable.
-I threw some cooked seasoned chicken in at the end so I could make it the main course and I think it worked. Of course, it's probably more proper to make some fancy main dish and make this a fancy side dish... but to each his own!

Orange you glad I didn't say banana?

Well, last week I was lucky enough to have Jarrett post a comment!  I don't think I've ever seen that happen.  He promised to post a recipe soon, so keep your eyes out.  I can't wait to try it out.  I won't spoil what it is (even though you can find out by reading the comments from the lasagna recipe), but I thought I'd do a recipe in the same category--bevarages.

As you can tell, the title of this post is fruity.  So, without further ado, I give you this week's recipe:

-1 gallon milk

Steps:  Either purchase from store, or milk a cow.  If you milk a cow make sure you pasteurize it somehow.  Either way, it's best to keep milk in the fridge.  I've heard milk doesn't do a body good if you don't.  The next step is to remove it from the fridge.  This can be tricky.  Some refrigerators have the handles on the left, and some have them on the right.  And on some models, you can even switch it up.  Consult your owner's manual, and if all else fails try google.  After removing the milk, you then need to unscrew the cap.  On store-bought gallons, you probably have to also break off the little plastic ring they have on at the top.  Then pour into a bowl of cereal, a glass, or whatever suits your fancy.  Maybe you have a cat and you are pouring it into a saucer.  Afterwards, put the cap back on and return the milk to the refrigerator.  Make sure and finish the gallon off by the expiration date or you risk being fined by the Dairy Association.  Last I checked it was a $217 fine so watch out.  

I won't even begin a discussion on 2%, 1%, skim milk, or homo.  Too many people have too many opinions about this. With all the real problems in the world, I'd like to focus on solving them before having to worry about which type of milk is best.

--Dustin