Strawberry Blueberry Banana Smoothie brings summertime straight to your glass. Sweet and creamy, this good-for-you smoothie is an easy way to start your day or refuel in the afternoon.

My family loves smoothies and I make them several times a week either with our breakfasts or as snacks. Pink, purple, green, blue, brown, they come in countless colors and flavors. Strawberry Smoothies and Blueberry Banana Smoothies are some of our favorites that get made often.

A while back, I combined both of those smoothies into this one and it was an instant hit.

Strawberry Blueberry Banana Smoothie

This is a very simple combination that we all agree is delicious. I like to freeze all of the fruit ahead of time so that the smoothies get cold without any ice needed. On the rare occasion that I forget to pop some berries in the freezer in advance, I’ll add an ice cube or two but it waters down the flavor a bit.

When strawberries and blueberries are on sale I buy a ton to freeze so we always have smoothies on hand. If you prefer, ready frozen berries from the freezer section work beautifully in this smoothie recipe, too.

I prefer smoothies that are similar to a milkshake consistency and frozen bananas are the key. I buy extra bananas and simply peel them and put them into a ziploc bag in the freezer.

When I am ready to make a smoothie, I just grab however many I need and toss them in the blender. It’s also a great strategy for using bananas that are getting overripe and gives smoothies the perfect consistency.

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Creme Brulee Amish Baked Oatmeal

Have you tried baked oatmeal before?? It’s so delicious, I can hardly stand it! We are huge oatmeal lovers, but this Amish creme brulee version wins the grand prize!

A few years ago some friends went out to brunch with us (yes, we are total brunchers and if you haven’t caught that bug, by all means JUMP IN!!) and we had this glorious amount of food delivered to our table. When in a group, always order many things so you can sample the menu, am I right?! I knew, absolutely KNEW that the french toast at Gourmandise was going to be my winner and was flabbergasted (when’s the last time you wrote that word? 😏) when it was the oatmeal!

Now, you know I am an older woman at heart, so it shouldn’t surprise you that I LOVED the oatmeal, but to be the winner? That takes something special. Well, since I’ve been on this baked oatmeal kick, why not try a Gourmandise Creme Brulee Amish Baked Oatmeal?!

Just try to not pick off the entire topping, it is HEAVEN!!

What is Amish Baked Oatmeal?

Amish baked oatmeal like a warm oatmeal cookie but in casserole form that is made with oats, milk and a few other ingredients you will already have on hand. Traditional oatmeal is like cereal with a creamy porridge consistency. Baked oatmeal is more like a casserole or bread pudding. It is super versatile with endless amounts of add-ins or toppings. I’ll go into that more later in this post.

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Cheese Stuffed Pretzels

Why are soft, salty homemade soft pretzels so dang good? Picture a golden chewy pretzel dotted with coarse grains of salt and…wait for it…stuffed with melty cheese! Bam!

Pretzels are going to take over the world. Or my blog. Probably both. We love our soft pretzels with cheese sauce, but I started thinking what if I put cheese on the inside? Nailed it! So good! For our sweet tooth people, we have our cinnamon roll pretzel bites that are heavenly and I just can’t stop thinking about variations of soft pretzels!

These cheese stuffed pretzels blow Annie’s in the mall out of the park. Dude, do not tell me you don’t secretly love those hot, salty, bready pieces of deliciousness dipped in oh, so very fake cheese. Gosh, I can taste it sitting here!!! Sometimes you just need one of those to get you through the shopping!

But these homemade pretzels are so much better! The outside is all chewy and salty and wonderful, and the inside is like pure squishy, soft flipping perfection, but then, oh my gosh, then you hit the cheese. It’s blasted wonderful! It’s so melty! And, and, it’s not fake cheese! It’s the real deal!!!! And when you tear a piece off, it like stretches with the bread like an awesome piece of pizza. HECK YES!

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Welcome to the weekend, my friends! We had a crazy storm here this week and one of our biggest trees came down. Fortunately, no one and nothing else was harmed, just a brief power loss. Super fun times over here. So, my guys have spent today starting to break it down for firewood. The boys are learning all kinds of nifty new things this week.

ON THE BLOG this week: This Sweet and Spicy Pineapple Shrimp Stir Fry is a skillet full of sautéed shrimp tossed in a spicy barbecue sauce with sweet chunks of pineapple and red peppers. This quick and easy meal earns two thumbs up from my whole family every time I make it.

Tender pieces of flank steak are simmered in their own juices creating a rich and super flavorful broth to create the Carne en su Jugo recipe (a.k.a. Meat in its Juices) that my family loves so much.

Would you believe that cauliflower can be air fried to crispy perfection with a simple package of frozen cauliflower? I’m here to tell you that this garlic paprika air fryer frozen cauliflower is absolutely delicious. All it takes is ten minutes and a few simple seasonings.

Sweet and slightly tangy, this creamy poppyseed dressing recipe has had a regular home in our refrigerator for several years now. Easy to make and adaptable as can be, this is the best poppy seed dressing I’ve ever tasted.

Cheesy, saucy, pizza quesadillas are as flavorful as you imagine they might be. They’re a messy, super fun, lightning-fast way to satisfy your next pizza craving.

Carrot Cake Pancakes topped with Maple Cream Cheese Syrup, just the name is enough to make me grin. This was a real breakfast treat.

Juicy fresh pears are topped with a generous cinnamon sugar crust to make this cinnamon spice pear cobbler. This unforgettable cobbler manages to be both buttery and flaky while never becoming soggy, even after a day or two in the refrigerator.

What I’m CRAVING: Ina Garten’s Chocolate Cake is what chocolate lover’s dreams are made of, my friends. My friend Sue shared the recipe and it’s been in my thoughts all week. It’s definitely time for me to do some baking.

My FAVORITE THING this week is this tiny keychain jewelry holder. It’s very small, and clips to your keychain, bag, or water bottle for the gym. It easily holds a few rings and I love how secure i

Tender pieces of flank steak are simmered in their own juices creating a rich and super flavorful broth to create the Carne en su Jugo recipe (a.k.a. Meat in its Juices) that my family loves so much.

Right at the end of the cooking time, pinto beans are stirred into the pot and then this deliciousness is scooped into bowls and topped with bacon, onion, cilantro and plenty of lime.

Here we are almost to Valentine’s Day, also known as my 22nd wedding anniversary, and there is quite literally no better way to say “I love you” to my house full of boys than to hand them a fragrant bowl of Carne en su Jugo.

A bowl literally full of “meat in its juices?” That’s a guaranteed win around here.

Our friends Mel and Jon invited us over to their house for dinner a few weeks ago and Mel was awesome enough to make this for us. My kids went crazy over it.

There wasn’t a drop left in the pot after dinner and on the way home, ALL of my guys asked when we could make it again.

Carne en su Jugo

Mel and Jon worked as missionaries in Guadalajara for several years and Carne en su Jugo is a local favorite in that region of Mexico.

Mel was kind enough to share her recipe with me and I made it immediately.

I’ve tweaked it just a bit to match my family’s tastes: we like a little heat with our recipes, so I upped the serranos to 3. Feel free to only use 1 pepper if you’d like to avoid the heat.

That said, there might be little or no heat with three peppers. It really depends on how hot the available peppers are.

Also, because this is a HUGE favorite with my guys, I typically double the recipe when I make this.

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