Mango Smoothie

It is so easy to make your own smoothies at home. All you need is frozen fruit and citrus juice. It's that easy, and it's good for you. And you can use any frozen fruit you have on hand to switch it up. Use whatever you like. Oh, and I'm sorry there's no picture; I drank it all before I took one!

Serving Size: 1 smoothie

Ingredients:

1 cup frozen mango chunks

1/4 cup frozen whole strawberries

juice of 1/2 lime

1/4 cup orange juice

1. Put juices and frozen fruit in a blender. Blend on high for 1 minute, or until smooth. (If frozen fruit doesn't break up easily, add a little more orange juice.)

2. Serve and enjoy your healthy smoothie!

Potato Cake

I don't know how or why I thought about doing potatoes like this, but I did. And I will be doing it a lot more, because I loved it.

Ingredients:

1 large potato

extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons milk

salt and pepper

1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped

2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Drizzle a small cast iron skillet with about 1 tablespoon olive oil.

3. Thinly slice potato into round chips. Place potatoes in layers in the skillet. Drizzle layered potatoes with 1/2 tablespoon olive oil and 2 tablespoons milk.

4. Place butter (cut into small pieces) randomly around the potatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, chopped rosemary and parmesan cheese.

5. Cover pan with aluminum foil and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until potatoes are cooked through.

6. Remove aluminum foil. Increase oven temperature to 480 degrees Fahrenheit. Continue cooking potatoes for 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown and cheese is bubbly.

7. Remove from oven and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese. Let potatoes sit for 5 minutes, then slice out portions to serve. Enjoy!

Granny's Okra

Yes, this is okra. No, it's not deep fried. That's right, a Southern okra recipe that is not deep fried. But it is delicious. This is the way my granny has always cooked hers every Sunday for lunch for our entire family.

Ingredients:

fresh okra

corn meal

vegetable oil

salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Slice the okra on a diagonal into 1/2-inch pieces. (The amount of okra you slice depends on how many people you are serving. I use about 5 whole okra for one person.)

2. In a bowl, combine okra and enough corn meal to lightly coat. Sprinkle with about 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper.

3. In a large preheated skillet with about 1/4-inch vegetable in the bottom, add the okra. Spread out to an even layer. Stir occasionally. (If the corn meal absorbs all the oil, you will need to add more.) Cook for about 5 minutes, or until okra is slightly soft.

4. Transfer okra pieces to a baking sheet and cook in oven for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy.

5. Remove from oven and serve. Enjoy!

Easy Strawberry Cake

Want an easy alternative to strawberry shortcake that tastes even better? This strawberry cake is the way to go. It's so decadent-tasting, no one will know you took a few shortcuts.

Ingredients:

1 package (2-layer size) white cake mix

1 package (3 ounces) strawberry flavor gelatin

4 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup water

1 cup fresh strawberries, mashed and divided

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

2 cups thawed whipped topping

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine cake mix and dry gelatin mix. Add eggs, oil, water and 3/4 cup strawberries. Beat with an electric mixer until well blended.

3. Pour mixture into 2 greased and floured 9-inch round pans.

4. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool cakes in pans for 10 minutes.

5. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely. Meanwhile, drain the remaining strawberries.

6. For topping, in a large bowl beat cream cheese until creamy with an electric mixer. Gradually beat in sugar. Add drained strawberries and mix well with a spatula. Whisk in whipped topping.

7. Stack cooled cake layers on a presentation plate. Spread 1 cup of topping in between layers. Frost the top and side with the remaining whipped topping mixture. Keep cake refrigerated until ready to serve. Enjoy!