I'll See Your Flu Germs...And Raise You An Immunity Boosting Smoothie!

Now that you have seen the sick boy that I was with all week you may be asking yourself, "Wow...how did you not get sick too???"  Well, it would just be rude of me not to tell you.  The answer is in the smoothie.  How can a smoothie have such super human powers??? Because you cover up the nasty taste of that healthy crap with sugary fruity goodness!  Have any of you ever tried liquid echinacea?  Gag me with a rag...that stuff is just plain nasty!  And, how many of us truly enjoy the taste of raw kale?  Sure, there may be some freaks of nature out there that dig on eating raw greens for fun, but I am not one them.  So, in order to down all of the good things that my insides love and my taste buds despise I blended them together with lots of citrus, berries, and frozen yogurt.

For some reason this smoothie can sometimes have a bit of a gray color to it, but I swear on my love for bacon that it always tastes delicious!  So, trust me on this one, and if you feel a bit of sick in the air give this thing a try!  In a blender, dump 1 tbs. of flaxseed meal, 1 tbs. of Trader Joe's Very Green Powder ( it has all sorts of goodies in it, like wheatgrass, barleygrass and almost every other type of grass that is legal in the U.S.), and one dropper full of liquid echinacea.  Now, the rest of the ingredients I don't really measure.  I usually just eyeball what sounds good at the time, but for recipe purposes I will try to guess at what they would be, roughly.  Add one banana, one handful of fresh blueberries, one handful of fresh red grapes, one scoop of frozen pineapple, one scoop of frozen mango, one scoop of frozen kale or frozen greens blend, one scoop of frozen strawberries, 2 scoops of frozen berry medley, one scoop of nonfat plain frozen yogurt and enough orange juice or juice of choice to fill up to about 3/4 of the blender's contents.  Puree that baby and chug, chug, chug!  You can hear the screams of a thousand germs dying as you get down to the bottom.  Now build up that immune system and fight off those cranky microbials!

Why Did The Chicken Cross the Stove? To Get Into Doyle's Stomach.

A cough here...a sniffle there...all of the sudden you are surrounded by cold medicine, balled up tissue filled with all sorts of colorful little surprises and the faint sound of whining and wheezing in the background.  Ah, yes, we have all been there before...in the presence of a sick boyfriend!

Since I had to take care of him for a week I also get to embarrass him a bit on my blog!?  Though this may be a bit mean now that he is better I was nice to him while he was ill...I promise!  In fact, I did what every good girlfriend should do when their boyfriend has bed sores from not being able to get off of the couch for seven days...I made him a fresh pot of chicken soup!  Nothin' says lovin' like..."Babe...I made this soup for you".

Start by dicing 2 russet potatoes, 3 stalks of celery, 2 carrots, 4 cloves of garlic and 1 yellow onion.  Throw those items in a stock pot with some olive oil and salt and cook overt medium low heat for about 5-10 minutes.  While those items are sauteing, heat up an additional smaller pot of water.  Once the small pot starts to boil put in one chicken breast and cook in the water for about 15 minutes.  After the vegetables have began to soften add 2 bay leaves, 1 sprig of fresh thyme, one sprig of rosemary, 1 tbs. of  21 seasoning salute (A Trader Joe's items for those of you that are not already one of Joe's hoes), 1 tsp. of paprika, a dash of cayenne pepper, 1 tbs. of oregano and some fresh or dried basil.  Let the flavors combine for about 5 minutes before adding one carton of chicken stock (4 cups).  While the stock pot is coming to a boil remove the chicken breast from the pot of water and dice into bite sized pieces.  Once the stock is boiling turn it down to a low simmer and add the diced chicken breasts, 1/4 c. of wild rice, 1 c. of frozen corn kernels, 1/2 c. of frozen peas and 1 additional c. of water.  Simmer covered for 35 minutes.  Once it is finished serve it to your significant other with a dash of love and some saltine crackers!  They will be feeling better in no time...or at least they will have their mouth full and won't be able to whine and complain for a good half hour!

What a Royal Panang in the Butt!!!

With allergy season in full bloom what better way to keep the sniffles at bay than with some super spicy curry!?  The pro about making this dish at home is that you can control the spice (this is for us white people out there that aren't man enough for all that thai lovin'!).  This dish gets thrown together pretty quickly and you definitely squeeze about four meals out of it.  Alright kids, lets get those tissue boxes handy because that nose of yours is going to be dripping like a leaky faucet while you eat this stuff!

In a separate pot cook one cup of white basmati rice according to the packages directions.  Also, add to the pot 3-4 torn lime leaves for additional flavor.  After the rice has been turned down to a simmer and covered you can begin working on the fun stuff!  Take three chicken thighs and dice into cube sized pieces.  In a frying pan or wok heat up 2 tbsp. of canola oil and 2 tbsp. of panang curry paste over medium low heat.  While that is heating through you can dice one red bell pepper and about half of a head of broccoli.  After the paste and the oil are heated through to the point where they blend together into easily toss in the diced chicken and let cook over medium heat for a few minutes until it begins to brown.  Add the diced peppers and broccoli and  3 torn lime leaves.  Cook for an additional 5 minutes.  Stir frequently so that the vegetables and chicken don't burn.  Add one can of coconut milk, 1 tbsp. of sugar and 1 tbsp. of fish sauce.  Cook for an additional 10-15 minutes depending on how shallow your pan is.  Garnish with some fresh sliced thai basil and lime wedges.  Now the heat is on...in your mouth!  Enjoy and don't forget...if there is too much spice do not try to wash it away with ice cold water!!!!  That is a big "No No" as it will only make it worse!  If your mouth is on fire and tears are running down your cheeks go for a glass of milk and lots of plain rice.  The burning sensation should dissipate shortly thereafter.