Sunrise Smoothie (aka Strawberry Orange Julius)

My kids love smoothies so I'm always looking for something new, healthy and kid friendly.  We love the balance of OJ, strawberry and creamy, vanilly goodness that is in this Sunrise smoothie.

I was inspired by this delicious Skinny Strawberry Orange Julius from Classy Clutter.  We just adjusted it for our taste.  If it's just for the kids, I will swap out the water for more milk because neither of them drinks enough milk. 

On a side note, I have issues with drinking waaaay to much smoothie because they are soooo good.  To work on my portion control, I've started serving up my smoothies in my kid's Take N Toss cups with the straws.  It may sound cheesy, but they hold the perfect amount for a snack sized smoothie or for when you want to have a smoothie WITH  breakfast and not INSTEAD of breakfast.  This recipe makes enough for three of those cups or 2 regular sized smoothies.
 
Simple Sunrise Smoothie
(aka Strawberry Orange Julius)

In blender layer:
6 ice cubes
(mine are moon shaped for reference)
1/2 c. frozen strawberries (heaping)
2/3 c. milk
1/2 c. water
3 Tbsp. frozen OJ concentrate
1 tsp. vanilla
Stevia to taste (I started with about 2 Tbsp and added another after tasting.)

Blend until smooth and frothy.   Add additional sweetener if needed.  Serves 2.

5 Minute Cinnamon Scones

I love scones, but they take more time and effort than I currently have to give.  I found this cinnamon biscuit recipe from Mama Buzz and had to give it a try.  I decided to change it up a bit by adding cinnamon chips and shaping them like scones.  No, they're not exactly like a scone, but they definitely satisfy your scone cravings. 

One important note is that you really need to chop up the cinnamon chips or they will sink to the bottom and burn. 

You could also use mini chocolate chips, nuts, etc...  I am hoping to come up with a pumpkin spice version soon. 

Picture coming soon...

5 Minute Cinnamon Scones
Ingredients
Biscuits:
1 Bisquick Buttermilk Biscuit Mix
1/2 cup water
3-4 tsp cinnamon/sugar mixture
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 c. cinnamon chips, chopped

Frosting:
1-2 cups powdered sugar
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla
Milk

Directions:
Mix biscuit mix, water, vanilla, cinnamon chips and cinnamon sugar mixture.  Dump mixture out onto lightly floured surface.  Pat into an 8-9 inch circle.  Cut into 6 wedges and place on baking sheet.  Bake according to package directions.  Remove from oven and drizzle with frosting while warm.  Add more drizzle once they are slightly cooled.

Steakhouse Slow Cooker Roast

This was super yummy, easy and would make a great freezer crock pot meal.  To make a freezer crock pot meal, place all ingredients (uncooked) into a freezer bag.  To cook, thaw overnight and place in crock pot the next morning.  You may need to add to cooking time if it is still partially frozen.

Picture coming some time in the future....

Steakhouse Slow Cooker Roast
Ingredients
3 lb. boneless beef chuck roast, cut into 2 inch chunks

2 sweet onions, sliced or chopped
1 c beef broth
1 6 oz can tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, mashed
2 Tbps balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 Tbsp Montreal Steak seasoning

Directions:
Place roast in slow cooker that has been lightly coated with cooking spray.  Top with onions.  Combine remaining ingredients in a small bowl and pour over roast.  Cover and cook on low 6-7 hours.  If sauce is too thin at the end of the cooking time, it can be thickened with a little cornstarch.  Serve over buttered egg noodles.

Strawberry Pretzel Dessert {4 WW Pts. +}

Strawberry Pretzel Dessert (also known as Strawberry Pretzel Salad) is a light and refreshing spring/summer dessert that's been around forever, but never gets old.  In order to reduce the calories, fat and sugar content of this recipe, I made some substitutions and loved the result!

Double this for a 9x13 pan and a surefire potluck hit.  For a festive Memorial Day or Forth of July dessert, add at handful of blueberries in with the strawberries. 
 
Strawberry Pretzel Dessert
Ingredients:
3/4 cups crushed pretzels
2 Tbsp. Splenda
1/3 c. light butter, melted
1/2 cup Splenda
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 (8 ounce) packages light cream cheese
1 1/2 c. Cool Whip, thawed
1 small pkg. sugar-free strawberry flavored gelatin
1 cup boiling water
2-3 ice cubes
8 oz. strawberries, sliced (about 1 1/2 cups)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Mix together the pretzels, 2 tablespoons Splenda and melted butter. Press into the bottom of an 8x8 or 9x9 inch pan. Bake for 10 minutes, or until lightly toasted. Set aside to cool completely.
2. In a medium bowl, beat the 1/2 cup Splenda, vanilla and cream cheese until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Spread evenly over the cooled crust.  (Make sure you seal the edges of the pan with the cream mixture so the gelatin layer doesn't leak through).  Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes.
3. In a medium bowl, stir together the gelatin mix and boiling water. Add ice cubes to help it cool faster.  Mix in strawberries. Pour over cream cheese mixture in pan. Refrigerate until completely chilled, at least 1 hour.

4 WW Points + for 1/16th of recipe.

Sweet Garlic and Herb Pork Tenderloin

Pork tenderloin is one of my favorite cuts of meat.  When cooked properly, it's tender and juicy and melts in your mouth which is not a characteristic you normally find in such a lean cut of meat.  It's also one of those things that I don't think to make. 

That's why I was excited to find this recipe from Lick the Bowl Good.  This Sweet Garlic Herb Pork Tenderloin recipe takes your basic tenderloin and kicks it up a notch to a company worthy dish. Monica has awesome step by step instructions on her blog and an amazing selection of dessert recipes so go check her out.

Normally, I like to mix things up a bit, but the only thing I did differently was to marinate the pork in the fridge for a bit to enhance the flavor.   I used herbs de Provence because I had some on hand that I have been anxious to try out.  You could also use rosemary or thyme.    

This recipe serves 6-8 depending on your family.  We have 2 adults and 2 small children so we had enough for dinner and shredded the rest to make pork bbq sandwiches later. 

The entire family enjoyed this recipe and went back for seconds so I'll be adding this to the regular rotation. 

Sweet Garlic & Herb Pork Tenderloin
Ingredients:
2 pork tenderloins, about 2 lbs. total
3-4 garlic cloves, sliced into thin pieces
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
4 Tbsp. honey
2 T. fresh orange juice (or grapefruit juice)
1 1/2 tsp dried herbs de Provence (thyme or rosemary)
1/2 tsp black pepper
3 T. olive oil

Directions:

1. In a gallon zipper bag combine, soy sauce, mustard, honey OJ, herbs, pepper and olive oil.  Seal bag and shake to combine.
2. Remove tenderloins from package, rinse and pat dry.  Cut 1 inch slits into front and back of tenderloins.  Place garlic pieces in the slits.  Add tenderloins to bag.  Remove air from bag and seal.  Marinate 2-4 hours.
3. Empty tenderloins AND marinade into greased 9x13 pan.   Bake for 40-45 minutes at 350° or until a meat thermometer inserted in thickest part reads 160-165°.  Baste at least once while cooking.  If juices start to dry up, add some hot chicken broth, a little at a time.  Remove from oven, cover with foil and allow to tenderloins to rest 10 minutes before slicing.
4. When serving, slice into 3/4 - 1 inch slices and spoon juice over the top.  

This would be delicious on a bed of rice!
WW- 8 servings @ 5 Points + each (I entered all ingredients into WW recipe builder.)

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