Back in Orange ;)

Hello dearies!  So happy to be back after my life break :)  The kids are almost out for the summer, which means a renewed interest in new recipes.  Especially because I am going to be teaching them how to cook and bake as part of our summer fun!  Ideally, they will each hone some skills and be able to use them together to make Hubby and I a meal once a week :)

This week we tried out a new Paleo smoothie recipe that was perfect for a spring, after school snack.  Anything with coconut milk is delicious, but this was amazing!  I doubled the recipe, used frozen bananas instead of ice and added some honey.  Easy peasy!

Try it frozen as a popsicle!  http://www.forageddish.com/blog/2015/3/26/paleo-carrot-cake-coconut-smoothie

Herbed Pasta Salad

After enduring one of the last days of school before summer and working hard in the garden, our family needed a quick and light dinner to match the sunny skies and high temps.  This new favorite herbed pasta salad was just the ticket!

It is from doTERRA's Essential Oil blog, so of course it includes their essential oil in the dressing :)  (Do NOT consume any other brand's basil essential oil - only doTERRA is pure enough to take internally!)  Regardless, I didn't have doTERRA's basil essential oil yet, so I instead used a zesty Italian dressing instead of making theirs.

It was the perfect meal, coming together in less than 30 mins and being filling without heaviness.  There was even enough left over for another dinner :)  With the exception of child #3 disliking the peppers and onions, and child #4 refusing to eat the tomatoes, the family gave it their thumbs up!  Hubby even complimented me several times through the meal and didn't end up making himself "second dinner" later in the evening.  I think I just found my new go-to summer meal! :)