Try This: Cranberry Mango Smoothis

When I am feeling a little sluggish in the morning, I get out my blender and throw this delicious smoothie together. It's adapted from the recipe for Superfood Smoothie from Martha Stewart's website. It gives you great energy.

2 tablespoons soy milk or cow milk
2 tablespoons orange juice
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/2 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
2 big spoonfuls mango sorbet
1 tablespoon honey
2-4 ice cubes

Put all ingredients int he blender and and blend until smooth. Serve immediately.

Try This: Mushroom and Gruyere Scramble

Here's a new weekly entry-- a quick recipe to try, just for you, the one who loves to eat new things all the time, but has to make the same things over and over for the rest of the family. This week, a savory breakfast dish.

Mushroom and Gruyere Scramble (serves 1)

3-4 white mushrooms
1 - 2 tsp olive oil
pinch Mexican oregano
2 jumbo eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup shredded smoked Gruyere

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and saute until golden brown on all sides, 4 -6 minutes.
Add oregano and wait 30 seconds. The fragrance will be lovely. Add the eggs and stir until cooked through, about 3 minutes. Turn off the heat. Add the cheese and stir to combine. Wait a minute for the cheese to melt before transferring to a plate. Salt and pepper to taste.

I recommend making this daily until you run out of ingredients.

Tacos with home-made flour tortillas

Tacos are just about one of the easiest meals to prepare. My family also loves them. So that's why we make them about once a week. This week I decided to change things up a bit and make our own tortillas from scratch. I found a recipe online then tweaked it slightly. It added about an hour to the prep time, but it was fun to do with the kids. Plus they loved the taste of them!

For the tortillas:

2 cups white flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp ground flax seed
1 tbsp vegetable oil
3/4 cup warm water

In the bowl of an electric mixer, with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and flax seed. In a 1 cup measuring cup, combine the water and oil. With mixer on low, slowly add the water mixture to the flour mixture. Once mixed well, switch the paddle for the dough hook and knead for 4 -5 minutes. Cover with damp cloth and let rest for 20 minutes.

Pinch off golf ball sized sections of dough and roll them into balls. You will have 8 - 10 balls of dough. Place on cookie sheet and cover with a damp cloth. Let rest for 10 minutes.

Heat a cast iron or non-stick pan to medium-high heat. Working with one ball at a time, roll out the dough on a floured work surface. Roll it as thin as it will go. It will puff and thicken in the pan, so don't worry if it looks too thin. Your tortillas should be between 6 and 7 inches in diameter.

Place the tortilla on the dry, hot pan and cook for 30 seconds. Flip and cook for 30 seconds more. Place cooked tortilla inside a dry towel on a plate. Repeat with remaining dough balls. Place the plate of covered tortillas in a warm oven while you make the rest of the meal.

For the tacos:

Brown one pound beef in a skillet over medium heat. Add 2 teaspoons taco seasoning while it is cooking. Or make your own seasoning. Mine usually has some combination of the following:

cumin
garlic powder
chili powder
salt
Mexican oregano
pepper

Place beef in warmed bowl and put in oven while you make the rest of the condiments and sides. Make rice or beans, or both. (We like to spread a little of this bean dip on the tortillas before we start filling them. It helps everything stay put.). Chop up some lettuce and tomatoes and put them in a bowl. Put some shredded cheese in a bowl. Put out some salsa, taco sauce, and sour cream. Put everything on the table and ask everyone to dig in!