Changes coming

I will be gone for about a month to California and then to Idaho. When I get back I hope to organize the recipes into categories so they will be easier to find. I will also add some yummy recipes that I've been excited to post. See you all then!

Fusilli with Spinach and Asiago Cheese

1 pound fusilli pasta (that's the curly kind)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 mince garlic clove
1 bag fresh spinach, roughly chopped (big pieces)
8 ounces cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup grated Asiago cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan (I just used the cheap Kraft)
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
(I added chicken that had been cooked in Fat Free Italian dressing and cubed - I always have some in my freezer so it didn't add any time)

Brink a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite (8-10 minutes). Drain pasta but keep 1/2 cup of the liquid.

Meanwhile, microwave precooked chicken (or cook chicken). Warm olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Turn down heat to medium and add the spinach and tomatoes and cook until the spinach wilts (just a bit) - about two minutes. Add cooked pasta and chicken and toss. Add the cheeses, salt, pepper and the pasta cooking liquid. Stir and serve. Yummy.

OK - so I'm finally making a contribution! This is a recipe that I am using all the time these days. You would be surprised just how easy and versatile this recipe is. Plain yogurt can often be substituted for sour cream in recipes. Mix it with fruit, make smoothies - there's just all kinds of stuff you can do!

Traditional Yogurt

3 1/2 cups milk (I just make powdered milk - great way to use the food storage and your taste buds won't know the difference - really!)
1/4 - 1/2 cup powdered milk (in addition to what you may have just used - this makes the yogurt thicker)

Place in a microwave safe bowl (I use my 1.5 quart pyrex casserole), place in microwave and bring to a boil. This takes 10-12 minutes. This is to get rid of any possibility of undesirable bacteria. After the milk has come to a boil let the milk cool to 115 - 120 F.

In a small bowl place a couple of heaping tablespoons of live culture yogurt - doesn't have to be fancy, just make sure that the yogurt says, "live culture yogurt," on the container. I've used the kids stuff in the tubes before to start my yogurt! Pour a little of the warm milk in with the yogurt and mix, then return to the main container. Cover the container with a lid or plastic wrap and incubate for 6-8 hours at 110-115 F. The longer you incubate, the more sour tasting the yogurt will be. After the yogurt has reached the desired thickness, store in the refridgerator.

Incubation: You do not need to have anything fancy to incubate your yogurt. Basically, you need a source of heat (very low heat) and insulation. I use a heating pad on the lowest setting inside my insulated carrying case for my 9 x 13 pyrex pan. I've heard of people putting the yogurt inside the oven with the oven light on (just don't forget it's in there and turn on the oven!). I've also heard of people using a cooler with a heating pad inside.

Orange Julius

1 (6 ounce) can orange juice concentrate
1 cup milk (do not use skim milk)
1 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 T sugar
8 ice cubes


Place all ingredients except for the ice cubes into a blender.
Add the ice cubes one by one until smooth. If you have a Bosch then just throw in all the ice cubes.
Serve immediately-- enjoy!

Orange Rage

Okay so I was REALLY upset when I found out that they don't have any Jamba Juice's in the Fort. So I purchased the book Jamba Juice Power and it has a lot of amazing smoothies. Here's one of my favs.

Orange Rage
1 cup orange juice
1 small banana
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 container of vanilla yogurt
6-7 ice cubes

Blend together. If you would like to use fresh strawberries, then use 1 cup of nonfat vanilla frozen yogurt instead of the container of yogurt.