Smoothies!

We've been on a smoothie kick as we try to salvage some of the summer produce. You don't need a fancy Magic Bullet or juicer for these, but a good blender goes a long way! 

Think of these smoothies as a way to use some overly ripe produce, or just a way to be refreshed as summer winds down.

Green Smoothie 

Makes 2, 12 oz smoothies and is good for 2 days

Ingredients:

• 1 avocado
• 2 cored, peeled and chopped medium sized apples (we used gala but up to you)
• 4 cups chopped and de-stemmed spinach (very important step to ensure non-chunky smoothies!)
• 3 cups apple juice

What you need to do:

Make sure your ingredients are chopped/diced before tossing in the blender. Use the "chop" or "mix" setting on your blender for about 2 mins. then, switch to "purree" or "liquify". Blend until smooth and add any flax or chia seeds as desired.

Mixed berry smoothie

Makes 2, 12 oz smoothies and is good for 2 days 

• 2 cups frozen mixed berries (do not defrost)
• 1 cup plain yogurt (regular, as we thought Greek would be too tart)
• 1 banana, sliced
• 1 cup milk (we used plain almond milk, but can see the merits of vanilla almond milk!)

Make sure your ingredients are chopped/diced before tossing in the blender. Use the "chop" or "mix" setting on your blender for about 2 mins. then, switch to "purree" or "liquify". Blend until smooth and add any flax or chia seeds as desired.

Vietnamese BBQ Pork & Noodle Salad

This is a new one for us-trying Vietnamese flavors at home. Pork, delicate rice noodles and some great spice make for a light yet filling meal. The rice noodles are called "rice sticks" or "rice vermicelli" and can be found in most large grocery stories in the Asian food aisle. Don't be fooled by the actual rice noodles, which are flatter and a bit larger.

The recipe calls for pork loin, but we wanted to use chops for thrifty reasons (natch).

It's a great meal for the week as it stores separately and heats up great.

This is from the September 2014 issue of Cooking Light and has been adapted to take advantage of our pantry and tastes, which tend to run a bit spicier than most.

Prep time: 25 mins
Cook time: 60 mins + 1 hour marinate time

What you need:

• 5 teaspoons of sesame oil (not usually found with the other oils, but is in a smaller bottle in the Asian food aisle)
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons sriracha paste (it's not the type with the squeeze top, but a screw top)
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 large shallot, chopped (or 2 medium shallots)
• 6 pork chops. thinly sliced 
• 1 package rice vermicelli 
• 1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
• 1 cucumber, thinly sliced
• 1 bunch of carrots, julienne cut
• 2 tablespoons chopped, dry roasted peanuts

What to do:

• Combine 1 tablespoon sesame oil, soy sauce, sriracha paste, brown sugar, garlic and shallot in food processor until smooth. Reserve 1/4 cup of the marinade.Place pork in ziptop bag and marinate with remaining sauce for at least an hour. 
• Cook noodles according to directions, toss with 2 teaspoons of sesame oil. 
• Pre-heat broiler and place pork on broiler pan covered in foil. Broil about 3 minutes on each side, until pork is no longer pink in center.
• To serve, plate amount of noodles desired with 1/2 cup lettuce, 1/4 cup cucumber, 2 tablespoons carrot and drizzle with 1 tablespoons of marinade. Top with pork chop and 1.5 teaspoons chopped peanuts and enjoy.