This is a recipe from my late father-in-law, Phil Maillie. He loved to make this for his grand children during the spring and hot summers here in North Carolina. Everyone loved these smoothies – they were just so good! It’s not truly a sole blueberry smoothie recipe as it has other fruits in it like bananas, but you will love it nontheless.  Here is this cherished recipe! I guarantee you will love it.

Ultimate Blueberry Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 Cup of fresh bluberries

1 whole banana (peeled of course)

Splash of orange juice

3/4 Cup of ice

1 container of plain yogurt (8 oz.)

3 tsp of sugar

Directions:

This is the simple part – put all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy.  Serve and enjoy.  You can garnish the smoothie with mint leaves in a fan shape or some sliced fruit like strawberrys, cherries, orange slices, etc. to acieve that look of perfection.

Although I find myself using my mother’s recipe quite often because it makes me feel as though she made it.  It brings back many great memories of family around the table eating and enjoying each other’s company.  I like to experiment a bit and made my own sauce and this is the recipe for that sauce.  This does a little tricky with the spices because I do everything by taste in this one.  So be forewarned this one is a little harder than most other recipes on this website but the results are an awesome sauce unlike any other.  You will definitely want to give this one a try. 

Melissa’s Best Italian Sauce

Ingredients:

3 large cans (28 oz.) crushed tomatoes

1 can tomato sauce (28 oz.)

1 can tomato paste (6 oz.) or more if you like thicker sauce

extra virgin olive oil

Hot Italian sausage (hockey is key for flavor here)

2-3 tsp sugar (start with 2 then taste)

3-4 fresh garlic cloves

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Approximately 1 table spoon or more of the following to taste:

       parsley

       oregano

       basil

       Italian seasoning

1 cup of red wine (merlot is my preference)

Directions:

in a large saucepan or extra virgin olive oil and make sure it’s enough to cover the entire bottom of the pan.  Crush the garlic clothes and add them to the pan and fry them.  Be sure not to let them get too brown.  In a separate frying pan fry down the hot sausage.  Be sure and put a dab of oil in the pan first.  I have found that if I cook the sausage a bit lengthwise more juice comes out and it also fries faster. 

While that’s frying and your garlic is done put all three cans of crushed tomatoes and one can of sauce in next.  Start today at your seasonings.  After the sausage is done put it in the sauce.  Be sure and save the sausage juice as you will add it to the paste.  I fry the paste in the sausage juice for a few minutes.  Then poured that into the sauce for added flavor.  This is a key step here as a really makes this recipe and sauce stand out miles above anything else you’ve ever had.

Doesn't this sauce just make your mouth water? It tastes even better than it looks!

After this I add the wine.  I have found my experience that Merlot works best for me, but feel free to try other red wines if you like.  Next cook the sauce on low for several hours with a lid on it.  The longer you cook it for the better it will end up tasting.  Then serve and enjoy.  You will definitely not be disappointed with this recipe!

We all know that spinach is a very healthy vegetable and the USDA actually claims to be a super food because it is so packed full with vitamins minerals and nutrients.  But spinach has one big problem – most kids and adults absolutely hate its taste.  Well, this recipe changes all that and more.  Just try it and you’ll see what I mean. 

My Fast andEasy Spinach Side Dish

Ingredients:

1 bag of spinach (16 oz.)

1 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp salt

1 TBL garlic powder

3 oz. cream cheese

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions:

I squeezed out the juice and put 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan and sauteed it.  I added 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of garlic powder and 1 teaspoon of nutmeg.  Then I thought it could use something else so I added 3 ounces of cream cheese and let that melt into the spinach on low.  Next I put the crushed tomatoes in and cooked it for several minutes on low.

Then I garnished the spinach dish with Parmesan cheese and it was ready to serve.  This is, as I said, a quick and easy dish that tastes great at the same time.  Serve and enjoy.

Broccoli salad

Ingredients:

8 strips of bacon

1 cup of Mayo

1/2 cup of sugar

2 tsp. of white vinegar

1-2 heads of broccoli

Directions:

First chop the broccoli heads only discarding the stem pieces.  Fry up the bacon and drain off the excess grease on some paper towels.  Allow the bacon to cool.  When cooled crumble up the pieces of bacon into tiny pieces and bits. 

In a separate bowl mix the mayonnaise, sugar and vinegar and then pour over the broccoli and bacon.  Mix and then serve.  Just like with the 6 ingredient salad, be sure and make this the day you plan on serving otherwise it will get soggy – nobody wants a soggy salad.  This recipe, as I stated earlier, is great for getting finicky kids to eat their vegetables.  Serve and enjoy.

As an added plus you will stay healthier this winter with this excellent butternut squash soup recipe – it is loaded with vitamins A and C and great for boosting your immune system!  It is also excellent to eat when you have the flu or are feeling sick.

Butternut Squash Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

2 medium or 1 large squash

1 C oil

5 Cups chicken broth

1 jalapeno pepper

Salt and pepper

The directions here are pretty simple.  You peel and cut the squash into 1 inch cubes to make about 5 cups worth.  Then brown 1 cup of squash in the oil.

In a large pot add all the squash along with 5 cups of chicken broth.  Then slice one small jalapeno pepper to give it a little added zing or spice – this makes the soup really exceptional and stand out. 

Boil all the ingredients in the pot until soft, then put it in a blender to purée.  Follow this by seasoning with salt and pepper to your taste and then enjoy.  This is a great soup served either hot or cold.

You can also make this soup a great anti-cold or anti-flu remedy by adding some garlic (either ground or fresh) to the soup before serving.  I’ve used this remedy myself to weather many a nasty flu bug or cold.  If you didn’t know already, garlic has great anti-cold and anti-flu properties and has been proven through medical science and research to be extremely effective in fighting off viruses like the flu and even H1N1.  Soups are also great to have when you’re sick with or without the garlic.  The garlic just tends to help that much more.

Doesn't the 6 ingredient or layered salad look delicious?

This special salad recipe I craved everyday when I was pregnant.  I literally made it every 3 to 4 days and ate it every night for dinner.  I guess I could’ve craved a lot worse – and it was absolutely delicious!  Your family will love this 6 ingredient salad recipe also.  Hint – kids love this salad and it is a great way to get them to eat their vegetables!

Heavenly 6 ingredient salad

Ingredients:

1 head of shredded lettuce

1 head of cauliflower or broccoli in bite-size pieces

1 medium chopped onion

1 lb. bacon crumbled into pieces (or you can use 4 jars of Hormel Black Label real bacon bits)

8 oz. or 2 Cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 pint mayonnaise

1/4 C sugar

1/8 C vinegar

Mix the Mayo dressing and ingredients seperately in a bowl (1 pint Mayo, 1/4 C sugar, 1/8 C vinegar).  Put all the ingredients listed above (except the Mayo dressing and the shredded lettuce else the lettuce will wilt and not be soggy) in a salad bowl and mix well.  Then add the mayo dressing you just created.  Lastly add the shredded lettuce and toss the salad well. Serve immediately and enjoy.

Easy Southern Corn Pudding

Easy Southern Corn Pudding

Ingredients:

4 C. Corn

6 TBL sugar

1 tsp salt

4 eggs

2 TB flour

1 C. half n half

1 C. heavy cream

2 TBS melted butter

1/2 tsp nutmeg

Directions:

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.  Melt the butter and then add it to the mix.

Bake in the oven at 350° for 45 minutes.  Watch the corn pudding for the last five minutes of baking.  It should be done when the top starts to brown a bit.  Sit and let cool.  Enjoy.

Best baked beans

Ingredients:

2 large can’s of baked beans (I prefer Bush Baked Beans, but you can use whatever you like)

1 T spiced or Dijon mustard

1 Lg. chopped onion

1 chopped green pepper (you can use different peppers to add and vary the resulting spice and flavor of your baked beans)

1 C ketchup

1 C brown sugar

1/2 C maple syrup

Mix all the ingredients together with a wooden spoon and pour into either Corning Ware or an iron dish with a lid.  Be sure and spray the container first with vegetable spray.

Bake at 350° in the oven for 2 to 3 hours.

These are the best baked beans you will ever have!

And presto you have magnificent best baked beans that people will be remembering for years to come.  You will definitely be the talk of any tailgate party or barbecue!

* in a pinch I have made these without the green pepper’s and they still came out delicious.  You can also play around with this baked bean recipe and it’s ingredients here to make to make it your own and cater to your own personal tastes and preferences.