Green Smoothies

Today I am going to talk about something very healthy -- so if that is where you are, you will like this post but for those of you who aren't there, just cover your ears and hum something like -- The Battle Hymn of the Republic. If you're still with me, read on.

A few weeks ago I was introduced to the concept of green smoothies. I thought it was a very interesting concept: Make a healthy drink by mixing fruit and vegetables together in a high-speed blender with ice cubes and you will have a good tasting, very healthy snack (or meal).

My daughter tried it, and loved it. She has been raving about how good she feels with smoothies added into her daily diet. I wanted to try it then, but I had one drawback. My blender had recently died and I just had not had enough time to replace it.

Last weekend, I bought an Oster Fusion blender. It probably won't last as long as the high powered Vitamix blenders but so far I really like it. It chops and crushes ice with ease. I'm not sure how long it will last but it has to last as long as my last blender. I figure I can't loose because the Vitamix is $300 + and the Fusion blender was around $50.

I am still amazed that my carrot, which is usually chopped (at best) in the blender was pureed so finely that I didn't notice any texture. Really amazing!

My recipe:

1 carrot, peeled and sliced
1/3 mango, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup almond milk
4 drops of liquid stevia
a handful of lettuce with radicchio
ice

I mixed the carrot, mango, lettuce and almond milk until it was smooth and then added the ice and stevia. It was so creamy and smooth. I could not believe it.

You can add other fruits, especially frozen berries, peaches or/and seeded oranges.

Adding spinach, kale or watercress would probably be healthier than the lettuce, but I didn't have any. Wouldn't this be a good way to get kids to eat more greens?

I added stevia but you could start with Splenda. After you get used to the taste, you could use less and less sweetener.

The idea is to eat whole fruits and vegetables. I love fruit and vegetable juice, but they are not as beneficial as including the whole fruit with the fiber. The blender grinds it up so well that you don't know you aren't just drinking juice. Make sense? Try it. You may like it and you would be healthier for it.

All You Magazine

While I am recommending magazines, I thought I should include "All You." I found out about this magazine from Holly, my wonderful daughter-in-law, who is a legend in our family for saving money and coupon shopping. She tells me about the great deals she finds and saves me money every week.

This is a magazine that on the surface is not the most inspiring magazine I've ever seen, but it does have hundreds of tips about fashion, food, shopping, emotional issues and more. This issue has a great feature on new hairstyles and the recipes sound interesting.

But, the best thing about this magazine -- the coupons. Really, really good coupons for substantial savings that don't expire in a week. You can see on the cover that the coupon savings are $49.57, and I can see that. I like the coupons because they are for really useful products I use all the time. In fact, I just bought a 6-pack of Viva paper towels for under $4, thanks to a coupon I clipped from the latest issue.

The down side -- you really must read before you clip because as you cut out the coupons you cut out the helpful tips and recipes! It really does pay for itself in a very short period of time.

Taste of Home magazines

I didn't want to get off the subject of "Taste of Home," without showing you some of their magazines. It looks as though they have extended their line of magazines in the past year or so to include the regular "Taste of Home" magazine plus a "Simple and Delicious" and a "Healthy Cooking" magazine.

Their parent company is Reiman Publications and they focus on target marketing, which means, for potential customers like me -- they find out what people want and give it to them. I will say that their cooking publications are absolutely filled to the brim with recipes. Each issue is cover to cover recipes, photos and tips. They don't have ads in their publications but I did notice they have coupons which is a little different from the past. In the publications I picked up at the show there are hundreds of recipes, plus every one who attended received a free magazine subscription. That made the ticket a great value.

They have a website with recipes, too. You can find it here.

Working the cooking school

Every year about this time, Newnan Utilities and The Times-Herald sponsor the "Taste of Home Cooking School." It is a huge success each year in our community and is presented to a sold out crowd at The Centre for Performing Arts, in Newnan. This year Angela, the editor of Newnan-Coweta Magazine and I had the opportunity to work behind the scenes and we didn't hesitate to say, "Yes, we would love to work." You can read her account, plus more photos on ther blog.

Above, the show is about to begin and people are filing in over an hour before the start of the show. Outside the auditorium, vendors set up booths and people sign up for free drawings.

Michelle Roberts, a member of the "Taste of Home" staff travels all over the southeast, entertaining everyone while whipping up around ten dishes in front of the crowd, while handing out cooking tips and funny quips.

Above, Michelle does a last minute check before the show begins.

Local sponsors provide door prizes that are given out during the show. This year, the giveaways included a Microwave from Knox, many gifts from Newnan Utilities, a gift card from The Times-Herald and gifts from other local businesses. Roberts gives away a number of pretty cookbooks and the food that is cooked during the evening become extra prizes, given away on serving dishes. Everyone who comes is a winner because everyone automatically receives a bag full of "Taste of Home" magazines, coupons from local advertisers and samples from Viva and Ziploc.

Susan, above, was thrilled to also work behind the scenes. She is an avid baker and has attended the cooking school every year it has been held. This year, she was a part of the show. When we arrived at 8:30 am to help with preparations, we had to begin by washing dishes and then we chopped vegetables, cooked foods and measured out everything for the show. Some things we prepared entirely, other things were made while the audience watched.

We each took a tray with detailed instructions and scurried around getting ready, asking questions of Roberts to make sure we were right.

One of Angela's tasks was to make a cake to decorate during the show.

One of Taste of Home's field editors Kay Rainwater, from nearby Fayetteville attended and presented the recipe she is shown above preparing, during the show.

After many preparations were done, we took everything out of the refrigerator and then repacked it for the show.

The next thing was to get each tray ready for the show.

After a two hour break, we came back and met again to decide on tasks for the show and then we prepared our recipes and the tasks for the show.

Michelle and Angela are preparing for the show.

It all went so perfectly and even though we were all a little nervous before the show, it was easy and went off without a hitch. We worked hard and it was a long day that ended about 9:45 pm, when we had to repack all the items so Roberts could travel to her next show, but we all agreed we would be happy to do it all again.

See the photo of the "behind the scenes" group in our pretty red aprons we wore during the show on Angela's blog. We were excited to receive them as a gift.

Honey-Glazed Grilled Turkey

I only have one oven in my kitchen. This isn’t usually a problem, except for Thanksgiving Day.

A couple of years ago, my husband suggested grilling our Thanksgiving turkey to solve the oven dilemma and I nervously agreed. It was an experiment that turned into a tradition. Not only did we free up the kitchen, but the grilled turkey was tasty and even more tender than when roasted in the oven.

There are some items you will need before grilling a turkey. The most important is a meat thermometer.

The second is a foil pan with wire handles (the kind with the wire that goes underneath the pan). This adds stability when removing the hot turkey from the grill. You also will need large oven mitts, a basting brush and heavy duty aluminum foil.

It is also nice to have a small rack to place under the turkey. You can make one by covering a small metal pan or even a foil pie pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil and placing it underneath. This helps keep the turkey out of the drippings. The grill should be a four-burner covered grill, and it is helpful (but not necessary) to have a temperature gauge on the grill to make sure the temperature remains constant. One of the most important tips: always start with a full tank of gas.


If your grill has a top or warming rack, remove it for grilling the turkey. Use a foil pan with handles and prepare by inserting a covered rack or pan in the bottom of large foil pan. Pour 1/2 cup of water in the bottom of the pan. Place turkey in the pan, checking to make sure all cavities are empty (unless of course you are stuffing the turkey).

Honey-glazed Grilled Turkey

12-pound fresh or fully thawed turkey, giblets removed
1/2 cup water
Pam or other cooking spray

Basting sauce:
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons of olive oil or butter
Cook above ingredients in a saucepan until it comes to a boil and sugars are melted. Use in the last 30 minutes to baste the turkey.

Cover with aluminum foil that is sprayed inside with cooking spray, so it won’t stick to the turkey. To prepare the grill, turn all burners on until temperature is between 300 and 325 degrees. Turn off the inside burners and put the turkey in the center of the grill. Monitor the grill to keep the temperature around 325 degrees.

Cook the turkey approximately 4 hours and check temperature after about 2 to 2 1/2 hours. The temperature should steadily rise. In the last 30 minutes of cooking, remove the foil and baste with the glaze.

Baste every 10 to 15 minutes and watch carefully that the turkey doesn’t get too brown. Remove when internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. Put on a plate and garnish with greens, herbs and small pears and apples.

I don’t generally stuff the turkey because I usually make cornbread dressing, but according to the USDA, the internal temperature of a stuffed turkey must be 165 degrees.

It really is time I made my menu for Thanksgiving. Even though I am making a menu, it doesn't mean I can't made adjustments. It also is good for assigning dishes for others to bring. You can just look at the list and assign something from the list.

Sometimes I get ideas from magazines, but I will admit, my family doesn't really like it when I change things too much or experiment with this meal. I would love to have all new recipes, but they would really hate that.

This year, I will also try to incorporate things from the garden. This is just a start. I haven't decided about appetizers yet.

Grilled Turkey
Grilled Ham
Cornbread Dressing and Oyster Dressing with gravy
Green beans
Collards
Sweet potato casserole
Butter beans
Creamed corn
Pear and walnut salad
Broccoli casserole
Deviled eggs
Slaw
Cranberry sauce
Dilled pickles, Pickled hot peppers, Chow chow
Pumpkin yeast rolls
Tea and coffee
Carrot cake
Italian cream cake
Pumpkin pie
Mini cranberry tarts

This incorporates most of my family's favorites and all the traditional items.

Slim pickings

Yesterday I went to the garden, and though I didn't have much to put in my basket, I still have quite a few things left for later. There are not too many peppers left but I did find a few. I found some Italian parsley, a few pods of okra and it is hard to see, but I have some chives in the basket. I am thinking some of these things would be good in a soup and some would be really great to freeze for my Thanksgiving meal.

I am being forced to think about my Thanksgiving menu this week because I've already had some people asking what I want them to bring for our big dinner on the 26th. My answer was, "I'll let you know," but that was my cue to get on the ball and plan my menu.

I really want to include some things from my garden. Vegetables I have frozen -- like green beans, some canned items -- like pickles, hot peppers and chow-chow, and I really want to include my collard greens, above, that are growing day by day and should be really nice on Thanksgiving. They are definitely going on my menu. More on the menu later.