Category: Entrees

  • Make your own Calzone with Family Favorites

    Make your own Calzone with Family Favorites

    This shop has been compensated by #CollectiveBias Inc and its advertiser #FamilyFavorites. All opinions are mine alone. 
     
    #FamilyFavorites #shop #cbias #recipe
     
    It’s Friday, and that means Pizza Night around here. You all know how sick of regular old pizza I get though, right? I know you do because I keep sharing ways to change it up with you. We made our own Calzones earlier this week. The kids were skeptic of this “Pizza in a sandwich” idea I presented, but after only one night this has been added to our list of family favorites. 
     
    Speaking of family favorites, we picked up Heinz Classico Family Favorites line from Walmart to create these Calzones because I knew there would be a favorite for everyone in the family. Princess C was especially happy to find her Traditional Sauce. 
    #FamilyFavorites #shop #cbias #recipe
     
    The majority of the family however prefers the meat sauce. Princess V especially loves her meat and meat sauce. After spreading the sauce around (oops, don’t spread your sauce!), she just had to stick her fingers in it for a little more taste. 
    #FamilyFavorites #shop #cbias #recipe
     
    I love having the kids in the kitchen with me, but sometimes I make really complicated meals, and it’s just too hard to have them underfoot. The calzones are so incredibly easy though the kids had a blast, and we didn’t spill any sauce on the table! Which is impressive with Princess R and her “I can do it myself” attitude.
    #FamilyFavorites #shop #cbias #recipe
     
    Hey now, just because I said we didn’t spill sauce doesn’t mean we didn’t spill anything else.  Cheese was pretty much flying around the room. Are you ready to add these to your family favorites?
     
    #FamilyFavorites #shop #cbias #recipe
     
     
     
    Calzones
    Let everyone stuff their own Calzones with their favorite sauces
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    Ingredients
    1. Classico Family Favorites Sauce
    2. Crescent Roll dough
    3. Shredded Cheese – we used a mix of Mexican blend and Italian blend
    4. Pepperoni
    5. Sausage
    Instructions
    1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
    2. Leave the dough in a roll, and split it into fourths. We used 3 tubes of dough for our 6 family members.
    3. Form the dough into a ball and roll out flat. Top one side with sauce, toppings and cheese. Fold in half and pinch the sides together.
    4. Place on baking sheet, and bake for 15 minutes, or until the bread is a golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool 2-3 minutes before eating.
    5. The inside will be extremely hot!
    Home Maid Simple https://www.homemaidsimple.com/
     
    #FamilyFavorites #shop #cbias #recipe
     
    Personally I love the Parmesan & Romano sauce, but what Sauce would you choose?
     
    COUPON!
     
  • Cilantro Lime Chicken Skillet Recipe

    Cilantro Lime Chicken Skillet Recipe

    Make dinner easy and delicious with this recipe for Cilantro Lime Chicken Skillet. A cilantro lime sauce covers these chicken thighs, yellow beets, and rice all in one skillet to make dinner clean up a breeze. 
    Cilantro Lime Chicken Skillet meal

    Every Monday night we like to cook up a skillet meal. It means few dishes and great tasting food. After getting a couple bunches of Cilantro in our produce box last week, the idea of Cilantro Lime Chicken kept coming to mind. I’m sure it’s a recipe I’ve seen somewhere else, but I completely made this my own. 

     

     
     
    Who knew that the yellow beets would add a wonderful twist and bright coloring to this dish! Seriously, when I shared the Beet and Cilantro round up on Monday, I hadn’t really considered combining the two. To me, they didn’t seem like ingredients that would normally be paired together . It sure worked though. Even the kids ate the beets without complaint – well most of them at least

    I honestly didn’t know yellow beets existed before this weeks produce delivery. I’ve still got a purple one in the fridge to use, but now that I’ve tried the yellow, I know the purple is going to be great. Never did I think I would enjoy those weird looking veggies my mom always loved. Turned out she was onto something and I was the one missing out.

    I was actually blown away but how flavorful this skillet was. I find most skillet meals help combine flavors while still making it easy to taste each component, but this one just blew the rest out of the park. I’ve actually cut the lime juice down quite a bit here, even though I used a lot more when I actually made it. That was the only adjustment we all agreed on….too much lime flavor.

    Cilantro Lime Chicken Skillet 

    Cilantro Lime Chicken Skillet
    Cilantro Lime Chicken Skillet has a twist even the kids will never guess!
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    Ingredients
    1. 3 Chicken Thighs
    2. 1 yellow beet, peeled and chopped
    3. 1/2 shallot chopped
    4. 3 Mushrooms sliced
    cilantro lime dressing ingredients
    1. 1 baby yellow sweet pepper
    2. 2 crystallized ginger pieces
    3. 1/4 cup lime juice
    4. 1 TBS red wine vinegar
    5. 1/4 cup cilantro
    6. 1 clove garlic
    7. 1/4 cup olive oil
    8. 1/4 cup white rice
    Instructions
    1. Begin cooking chicken in a medium skillet over medium heat.
    2. In your blender or food processor combine pepper, ginger, garlic, lime juice and vinegar. Process until smooth. Add the cilantro, and again blend until smooth. Slowly add the olive oil until well combined.
    3. Add mushrooms, beets and shallot to chicken pan. Saute.
    4. Pour the cilantro lime dressing over the chicken and vegetables. Add rice. Cover and let simmer for 10-15 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and rice is done.
    Home Maid Simple https://www.homemaidsimple.com/

    What’s your favorite way to eat beets? 

  • Easy Meals for Busy Nights with #KraftRecipeMakers

    Easy Meals for Busy Nights with #KraftRecipeMakers

     

     
    Ever have those nights where you’re running around, picking kids up from school, dropping them off for sports, music, and other extra activities. Then you’ve got a movie date with your spouse, and still need to get quick family meals on the table. I recently came across Kraft Recipe Makers thanks to another blogger, and had to pick up a couple. These are the BEST easy meals I’ve ever come across, that I still feel good about serving up.
     
    It was about a month ago I came across a recipe using the Kraft Recipe Makers. I had never heard of this before and wasn’t even sure what I was looking for when I went to the store the first time. When I found them though, I got pretty excited about the variety of flavors. That first time I picked up a couple different varieties and used the Sweet and Sour Chicken that night to create a kid favorite!
     
     
    The other night Mark sent me a message about a fun family activity going on that night at the library. It looked fun, but left little time to put dinner together. I was so glad I had the Chicken Bruschetta Pasta on hand.  This meal kit was absolutely delicious, and fit right into the time frame I had. 
     
     
    I loved the easy to follow directions and photo’s on the back of the package. Have you ever actually measured your pasta before?  Normally I dump the whole bag into some water, but decided to follow measurements this time.
     
     
    My family are big pasta eaters, so I was worried it wouldn’t be quite enough, but it was plenty. Once I had the pasta going, I moved onto the chicken.
     
     
    Next time I make this (because we will be making it again!), I’ll make sure to cut the chicken into a bit smaller pieces. Simmering the chicken in the Basil Garlic sauce, made our house smell divine!
     
     
    Once the chicken and pasta are cooked, you combine them add the finishing sauce and some Parmesan cheese. Voila, dinner served!  I didn’t time it exactly but I’d say it was close to a total 30 minutes from start to finish. Quick easy meal served!
     
     

     

     
    The only thing I wish I’d done different was seen this tip while still at the store. We were out of croutons, but I have a feeling they would have been the perfect addition to this pasta!  Since I missed grabbing some croutons I tossed some garlic toast in the oven to add to the canned green beans on the side. A perfectly balanced meal in my book.
     
     
    Not only was this an easy meal to prepare, but the kids loved it too – especially Prince L. Just check out the smiles he gave as the pasta was shoved in his mouth.  
     
     
    We had just enough leftover for my lunch today (my lunch, not the kids..). I should have expected it, but Prince L’s sandwich was tossed on the floor and I found him on my lap stealing pasta. He knows where the good stuff is. 
     
    The debate is on now – Asian Fish Tacos next, or Verde Chicken Enchiladas?  We don’t have many crazy busy nights yet, but I know they’re going to start creeping up on us. I’ll be keeping a couple Kraft Recipe Makers in the pantry for an easy meal maker.
     
    Keep up to date with new Kraft products by visiting their Facebook page.
     
     
  • Impossible Cheeseburger Pie – Guest Recipe

    Impossible Cheeseburger Pie – Guest Recipe

    Try this Impossible Cheeseburger Pie the next time you need a simple family-pleasing meal. With flavors kids love made at home, you’ll love this too.

    Try this easy weeknight meal of Impossible Cheeseburger Pie.

    By the time you read this, I’ll be settling into a large cabin by a lake in the mountains of Utah. Perhaps I’m sitting on the porch with a lemonade visiting with aunts, uncles and cousins, watching the kids run free.  Every 4 years my mom’s side of the family holds a reunion. The location changes depending on who is in charge that year.  Lots of fun things are planned, from paintball to swimming. It should be a wonderful weekend.

     
    Since I’m headed out I asked Tammy from Creative K Kids if she would guest post for you today. I just haven’t had time to create any new recipes, or perfect some in the works recipes. She kindly accepted my request, and is sharing what looks like a yummy and kid friendly meal!
     
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     
    Hi!  My name is Tammy Doiel, and I am the mom of the Creative K Kids.  They are not always creative, but they do like to pretend, color, craft, and cook.  All of my four girls names begin with K, so thus our blog name was born!  You can find our blog at Creative K Kids
     
    The following recipe for Impossible Cheeseburger Pie is super-duper easy.  My  mom used to make it in my growing up years, and now I make it for our family.  All of the ingredients go in a pie dish, bake it, and voilà!  It’s done!  Even though it takes 25 minutes to bake, after you brown the ground beef, the rest of it can be thrown together very quickly.
     

    Recipe for Impossible Cheeseburger Pie

     
    Impossible Cheeseburger Pie
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    Cook Time
    25 min
    Cook Time
    25 min
    Ingredients
    1. 1 pound ground beef
    2. 1 cup chopped onion
    3. 1/2 teaspoon salt
    4. 1 cup milk
    5. 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
    6. 1/2 cup Bisquick baking mix
    7. 2 eggs
    Instructions
    1. Cook ground beef and onion; drain.
    2. Stir in salt.
    3. Spread in greased 9″ pie plate; sprinkle with cheese.
    4. Stir remaining ingredients with fork until blended.
    5. Pour into the plate.
    6. Bake 25 minutes at 400F or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.
    Home Maid Simple https://www.homemaidsimple.com/
     

     

    You can follow Tammy on Social Media with Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest
     
     

    Features from Foodie Friday


    Orange upside Down French Toast
    from Lean and Luscious Corner
    Baking instead of frying makes this French toast “puffier and fluffier”. Sounds good to me!


    cream puff2
    Chocolate Drizzled Cheesecake Cream Puffs
    from The Home Heart
    I love cheesecake. I don’t care for Cream Puffs. Combined, I want to eat them all!


    smores fudge recipe 2
    S’mores Fudge
    from Long Wait for Isabella
    I’m all about s’mores this summer. This non-messy treat is sure to delight just as much.

  • Asparagus and Pork Stir Fry

    Asparagus and Pork Stir Fry

    This has been a very long, very straining week. So I did what I don’t normally do, and made a very easy meal, and am now going to share it with you. Please visit my co-host Diane on her blog Simple Living and Eating, for another great recipe!
     
    Asparagus and Pork Stir Fry
    When I’m short on time and ingredients, one thing I can always count on to be in my pantry is a bag of rice. The addition of vegetables, meat, and a bit of soy sauce will always turn out a winner at my house. 
    Stir Fry is a great way to use up leftover meat as well. In this one, I’ve used pork spareribs, but chicken, beef, and turkey will all work! Of course, if you want to go meatless, that is always an option as well. I often scramble in a few eggs, but again not absolutely needed. 
    What really makes this dish easy though is the use of frozen vegetables. Admittedly not my favorite way to make stir-fry, but it saves time and comes together quickly when you’ve had a long day.
    Asparagus and Pork Stir Fry
    Quick and Simple use of leftover Pork
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    Ingredients
    1. 2 cups Minute Rice
    2. 2 cups Water
    3. 2-3 TBS Olive Oil
    4. 1 bag Flav-R-pac Asparagus Stir Fry*
    5. Leftover BBQ Pork Ribs**
    6. Soy Sauce
    7. .
    Instructions
    1. In a wok, or large frying pan, heat the oil. Once the oil sizzles with a little water droplet, add the Asparagus Stir Fry mix, and pork.
    2. While the veggies are cooking, heat the water in a medium saucepan. When it begins to boil, add the rice. Cover, and remove from heat.
    3. Once the Veggies and meat are heated through, remove from pan. Serve over the rice with a little soy sauce dribbled on.
    Notes
    1. *If you prefer to use fresh veggies, the mix contains asparagus, carrots, celery, green beans, and cauliflower. Julienne the carrots and green beans. Chop the cauliflower and celery into bite size pieces. Cut the Asparagus into long strips, almost like Julienne, but leave the stalk intact.
    2. **The meat can be left out. I always enjoy a little added meat to our dishes though. For an extra boost of protein instead of meat, you can use some scrambled eggs. They would also be delightful in this dish
    Home Maid Simple https://www.homemaidsimple.com/
     


    ~FEATURES~ 
    from Cook With Sara
    This would be the perfect twist to plain old coleslaw.
     
    from Peace but not Quiet
    This dressing will go well over any of your summer staples – salad, chicken, tacos. Yum!
     
    from Something Sweet Winnie’s Blog
    I’m in heaven. These are the perfect treat for a long week. 
     
    Did you know? I have a pinterest board dedicated to all the Foodie Friday Features(plus ones I really really like, but didn’t feature).
     

     

     
  • Nachos – Made for Dinner

    Nachos – Made for Dinner

     After indulging in my Nachos made for dinner, head on over to my cohost Diane for some delicious looking Carrot Chickpea Soup!

    Mark has requested a few more manly type meals. In truth he doesn’t request much, but he came home one day with a bag of chips and a #10 can of Nacho sauce. The challenge was on!

    He of course only expected chips, cheese, salsa and sour cream. He was not expecting what he came home to – a high pile of chips, shredded chicken, beans, cheese, tomatoes, green onions, sour cream and guacamole.

    I could not in good conscience serve my family nachos as a meal. Unless of course I found a way to balance it with a slightly more healthy take.  This my friends, this was good. I even had some as leftovers for lunch one day.

    Nachos
    Manly Nachos made for dinner
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    Ingredients
    1. 2 chicken breasts
    2. 2 tsp Wildtree Fajita Seasoning
    3. 1 cup water
    4. 1 bag tortilla chips
    5. 1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
    6. 1 cup cheese sauce, divided
    7. 1 avocado
    8. 1 TBS Wildtree guacamole mix
    9. 1 tomato , chopped
    10. 4 green onions, chopped
    11. sour cream dollops
    Instructions
    1. Place the chicken, fajita seasoning and water in your crockpot on high for 3-4 hours. Once the chicken is cooked through, use forks to shred the chicken. Set it aside.
    2. On a large baking sheet (a 9×13 baking dish would also work well) spread out half of the tortilla chips. Spread half of the chicken, and half of the pinto beans on top of the chips. Pour 1/2 cup of the cheese sauce over the first layer. Repeat the layer of chips, chicken, beans and cheese.
    3. Place your nachos in a 350 degree oven (can be preheated or not), for 30 minutes. While the nachos are heating up, cut the avocado in half. Remove the pit and peel. Mash the avocado with a fork, and stir in the guacamole mix. Place in fridge.
    4. Remove Nachos from oven. Top with tomatoes, green onions, and dollops of sour cream and guacamole. Enjoy!
    Home Maid Simple https://www.homemaidsimple.com/
      
    And if you’re wondering – this recipe makes enough to serve a small army…I’m not kidding, it’s a lot and pretty filling. Mark’s only “complaint” was not enough cheese.
     
     

    ~FEATURES~

    Banh Mi Asian Burgers
    I have never heard of Banh Mi before, but she had me at “drippy eggs”. I will do about anything for a nice soft egg yolk.
     
    Anyonita Nibbles: a trio of white chocolate & maple caramel eclairs with orange & star anise cream & chipped almonds
    White Chocolate and Maple Caramel Eclairs with Orange and Star Anise Cream and Chipped Almonds
    Have you noticed anything yet? If it has maple, I’ll probably feature it. If it’s got maple and caramel, there’s no way I’m passing it up!  I’m headed to a food coma just looking at these…someone pull me away from the screen!
     
    Lightened Strawberry Rhubarb Cake Food Done Light #strawberrycake #rhubarbcake #strawberryrhubarb #lightcake
    Strawberry Rhubarb Cake
    Guess what I found growing in my backyard this week? RHUBARB! This cake will be making it’s way into our house this summer.
     
     
     
  • Jerusalem Dinner

    Jerusalem Dinner

    I hope you all had a wonderful Easter Weekend. It fell right in the middle of our Spring Break, so we got a lot done on our bathroom remodel, but we also kept it fun and Spiritual for the kids. To celebrate Easter simply we had this Jerusalem dinner. 

    Saturday we went to the town’s Easter Egg Hunt. It was absolutely wonderful, and the kids may make it in the local newspaper!  We got way too much candy though, so the Easter Bunny left one basket of goods for the family to share.  I was actually pretty happy with this route, because it meant we could spend Sunday focusing a little more on the true meaning of Easter.

    After church, we turned on The Testaments. A beautiful movie about faith in Christ, that ends with his Resurrection and his visit to the America’s (as told in The Book of Mormon). You can purchase it through Deseret Book.

    After the movie, and some nice Sunday relaxation we ended our day with what I’m calling a Jerusalem Meal. I got the idea from SugarDoodle.  While most families I assume were eating Easter Ham, we had a much simpler meal consisting of what Christ would have eaten.  The only thing we were missing was some Lamb, because I couldn’t find it at our local grocer, and I didn’t want to make the drive out to Walmart.

    Want to create your own Jerusalem Dinner?
    A few musts –
     Unleavened Bread, Grapes, Plums, cheese, and grape juice. 

    I added the hard boiled eggs because we have quite a few in the fridge. You could also add some lamb to your meal, and trade the juice for milk.  Not pictured here is honey. I think the honey really made a nice addition to the bread.

    I used Catholic Cuisine’s recipe for Unleavened Bread, but I added about 1 tsp of Rosemary to ours. It was quite good.

    The kids and I loved this meal, Mark would have enjoyed it more with a little meat.  It was a great lesson to teach the girls about the food ate during Christ’s time on earth though.

     
  • Baked Spaghetti Alfredo

    Baked Spaghetti Alfredo

     
    Have leftover spaghetti? Try this baked spaghetti alfredo with your leftovers and never waste a good meal again. 
    Spaghetti used to be a weekly staple around here. Until I ran out of spaghetti sauce. And then continually forgot to put it on the grocery list. One day I was just wanting a good spaghetti and thought maybe I could create my own alfredo.
    I won’t share that recipe with you because it was not very good. 
    What was good though, was my creation from its leftovers. I tossed in some more liquid, covered it in cheese, and this baked speghetti alfredo was born. The whole family loved it, and I hope you will too. 
     
    The recipe can be made either from scratch or with leftover Alfredo Spaghetti.
     

    Baked Spaghetti Alfredo

    Baked Spaghetti Alfredo
    Whether you use leftovers or make it from scratch, this baked spaghetti alfredo will be a family hit.
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    Ingredients
    1. 8oz Spaghetti
    2. 16oz jar alfredo Sauce
    3. precooked meatballs (or make your own)
    4. 4 mushrooms, sliced
    5. 1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
    Instructions
    1. Cook spaghetti according to the package directions. Preheat oven to 350 F.
    2. Grease a 9×9 pan.
    3. Once the spaghetti is cooked, drain, and put in the prepared 9×9 pan. Mix the mushrooms and meatballs in a small bowl with the alfredo sauce. Pour over the noodles evenly. Top with Parmesan and bake for 25-30 minutes.
    Notes
    1. Is using leftover alfredo spaghetti, add a bit of whipping cream and evaporated milk before baking.
    Home Maid Simple https://www.homemaidsimple.com/
     
     
     A quick way to do this is just to toss leftover spaghetti in a pan with some sauce and add cheese to the top. You can make it so many ways, and have many different flavors to choose from depending on what you have leftover from a Spaghetti night, or what sauces you choose to use.
     
    My failed attempt at an alfredo sauce had me adding a little whipping cream and evaporated milk to my dish to get a little more moisture. Now go, have fun, and know that even a disaster can be turned into something yummy!


     

    ~Features~

    Post image for Recipe: Roasted Asparagus Soup (Paleo Pals)
    Roasted Asparagus Soup
    We’ve had a serious cold front hit this week, and I’m looking for warming to the core healthy soups. This one is just lovely.
     
    Crab and Chipotle Aioli Deviled Eggs
    Is she serious? I about died and went to heaven looking at these beauties. I’m a pretty traditional deviled egg kinda girl, but these are going on the must try!
     
     
    Strawberry Custard Powder Cake
    We’re in the midst of planning a Strawberry Shortcake party for my almost 5 year old, so when I saw this custard, I knew it was going on the drawing board for the party.
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  • Chipotle Lime Taquitos

    Chipotle Lime Taquitos

    We’ve been craving some Mexican lately, and I’ve felt some inspiration from some Taquito Recipes I found on past Foodie Friday’s.  These Chipotle Lime Taquitos turned out quite nicely, and the kids even enjoyed them. This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you click on and purchase through them.
     
    I have had quite the week in the kitchen.  It was mostly one day, but it felt like the whole week.  Sunday night I decided it was high time I use the pitted cherries in my freezer. I had been sitting on a recipe for Cherry Vanilla Butter for quite some time.
    Well, a crock pot of burnt Cherry Butter later, and I decided to try something safe – bread in the bread machine. It shook itself right off the table, and someone unplugged it before the bake cycle. I saved it in the oven, but I was a bit nervous to make anything else on Tuesday.
     
    Thankfully I had a successful dinner Tuesday night with Hezzi-D’s Bruschetta Chicken Pasta.  Thank you, Heather for a yummy recipe on a crazy day. 

    Chipotle Lime Taquitos

     
    Chipotle Lime Taquitos

    Chipotle Lime Taquitos
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    Ingredients
    1. Corn Tortillas
    2. 1 can refried beans
    3. 1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese
    4. 1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
    5. 1 tsp Wildtree Chipotle Lime Rub (more or less depending on how spicy you like it)
    6. 1 1/2 cups Mozzarella
    7. 3 Roma Tomatoes, chopped
    8. Guacamole
    Instructions
    1. Mix the guacamole according to the directions on the seasoning. Set aside in the fridge.
    2. Preheat oven to 350 F.
    3. Grease a 9×13 pan with cooking spray.
    4. In a medium bowl, mix the beans, 1/2 cup mozzarella, Parmesan, and chipotle lime rub.
    5. Working with 2 at a time, microwave the corn tortillas for about 1 minute.
    6. Place a heaping spoonful of the bean mixture on one side of each tortilla.
    7. Roll the tortilla, and place in the prepared pan.
    8. Repeat with the rest of the tortillas.
    9. Once the pan is full, top with the rest of the mozzarella.
    10. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until cheese is melted.
    Notes
    1. Enjoy with Sour Cream, Guacamole and fresh chopped tomatoes
    Home Maid Simple https://www.homemaidsimple.com/


     

    ~FEATURES~
    Poppy Sesame Vinaigrette tossed with Greens, Cranberries, Chicken and More
    Sometimes after a lot of hearty winter meals, a salad is the perfect meal.
     
    Bacon Hash
    This is the perfect hearty breakfast for cold mornings.
     
    orange julius recipe
    Orange Juice Smoothie