Berry Good Smoothie

Tired of the same ol' cereal bars for the kids and a "delicious slimfast shake for breakfast" for mom, I decided to try something different. This morning I made a smoothie with frozen berries and bananas and yogurt. Has to be healthy, right? It was very good, and a nice change of pace for us. Two of the kids ate/drank theirs. One didn't like all the seeds, and the pre-teen didn't make it to the table for breakfast, so busy primping was she. AFG loved it and can't wait to try this recipe out on the Artist. Here's what I did:

Berry Good Smoothie
1 medium banana that I had cut into several 1/2 inch slices and frozen, pieces separated, in a ziploc the night before.
2 cups plain fat-free yogurt
2 cups frozen strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, and red raspberries. (These all came in a frozen sack labeled "Berry Medley")
2 T Honey

Throw it all in the blender and blend til smooth. My hand-me-down blender is apparently not meant for smoothies so I had to stir it around a few times to get the icy fruit at the top to go to the bottom. True confessions: I added a little, teeny, tiny bit of powdered sugar. Like 1 T. Okay, maybe 2. I was scared it wouldn't be sweet enough. But I will leave that out next time. Promise.

This was my first time to make a smoothie. It feels like I've just joined the smoothie club, and I understand now why it has so many members.

Prepping for Tropical Storm Faye

Busy today preparing for a rainy weekend. Hubby has been tracking Faye since the beginning. Our favorite place to do this is noaa. Currently Faye has max sustained winds at 45MPH. She does seem to be leaving a lot of rain in her wake. Our ground is already saturated from a rainy summer, but we are high so I doubt we will have any bad flooding on our farm. Faye should be here this afternoon with the center of the storm coming around 4-6am.

I have gotten out the board games and am washing towels and sheets so I can let the kids help me fold later. We are all getting our computer time in early so we can unplug once the storm gets here. I have made rice krispy treats, always a huge hit at our house.

Here's the recipe:

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup clear Karo syrup
• 1 cup peanut butter (I use Peter Pan Plus to add vitamins)
• 6 cups rice crispies
• 12oz. semi-sweet chocolate morsels
• 12oz. butterscotch morsels


• Melt butterscotch chips, then add chocolate chips. I use a double boiler for this.
• Add sugar and Karo syrup to large saucepan. Heat on medium heat, stirring frequently, until it is clear and bubbles begin to form.
• Remove saucepan from heat. Stir in peanut butter.
• Stir in 6 cups rice crispies.
• Grease 13x9 pan. Spoon rice crispy mixture into pan.
• Spread the melted chocolate mixture over the rice crispies
• Allow to cool completely and set before cutting.
• Store covered. Enjoy!
  
  See ya on the other side of Tropical Storm Faye.