Fresh Strawberry Milkshake

Ice cream is a weakness of ours.

We just love the creamy goodness but sometimes we like to shake it up a bit from our usual scoop of ice cream.

This time we turned our favorite dessert into a creamy, dreamy, Fresh Strawberry Milkshake!  Oh man was it good! We had just come from the farmers market and had bought extra strawberries to make a shortcake with but I couldn't help myself, and decided to put them in a milkshake.

Now I typically gravitate toward a chocolate milkshake, but something about these strawberries were calling me.  Might have been the nice spring weather, or the bright red colors. Whatever it was I was disappointed because these berries were just delicious!

A milkshake is easy to make, you just through everything in the blender and turn it on.  Voila, a perfect milkshake is born.

So now we are sitting on our patio enjoying the beautiful cool weather and a delicious Fresh Strawberry Milkshake.  Life is good!

Enjoy!



Fresh Strawberry Milkshake

serves 4

8 ounces strawberries, cored and sliced
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 pint low-fat vanilla ice cream
1/4 cup 2% milk

Pour all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into glasses and serve immediately.

It's Cinco de Mayo Time!

It's Cinco de Mayo Time!

This holiday is really big in Los Angeles. A wonderful celebration of Mexican heritage and pride, marking the victory over the French in the Battle of Puebla. Just around the corner it land this year on Monday, May 5th. The poster above is from 1901 in honor of the victory.

So what better way to celebrate than with food? I can't think of anything. Of course in Los Angeles, we can go down to Olvera Street, which is located in the oldest part of Downtown, Los Angeles. This area was established by Spanish settlers back in 1781 and today the area is a modern Mexican-style marketplace with vendors and restaurants to enjoy the culture that abounds.

And the food is to die for...!

So today, I've gathered some of my favorite Mexican dishes that would be perfect for your Cinco de Mayo celebration!

Grab Some Tortilla Chips - 

Chunky Guacamole


Black Bean Salsa

Twisted Tacos 

Baked Tacos


Chicken Verde Tacos


Tex-Mex Soft Tacos

Main Dishes!

Black Bean Tostadas


Baked Chicken Taquitos


Black Bean Burritos


Beth's Favorite Chicken Enchiladas


Latin Empanadas


Cilantro Lime Flank Steak with Avocado Poblano Salsa

Let's not forget dessert!

Mexican Chocolate Pudding

Slow Cooker Pepper Steak

I am obsessed with my slow cooker!

Here is another meal that I made using my new Breville Risotto Plus, which is a multi-tasker (steams, sauté's, slow cooker etc.) but any slow cooker will work just fine.

I had several bell peppers left over this week and I thought I better put them to good use.  Remembering my mom making Pepper Steak growing up I decided to re-create this for the slow cooker.  This technique allows you to use a tougher cut of meat that will be melt in your mouth tender once it's done!  I used a top round steak, which is perfect since it will hold it's shape in long strips and doesn't shred on you unless you cook it too long.

My version of Pepper Steak doesn't completely have an Asian flavor.  I don't recall my mom's being Asian in flavor, so I guess that why mine turned out a variation on the typical dish.  Mine included a little soy, but the big bang is the tomatoes and the seasoning sauce from Dales, or beef broth that you put in the dish.  Of course the end result is certainly about the peppers and the beef, and it's delicious!

Kitchen Note:  I don't really want soggy peppers in this dish so I put the peppers in the slow cooker about 2 hours prior to serving.  They were slightly tender, so if you want yours more on the crisp side put them in 1 hour before serving. 


**You can find Dale's (low sodium) Seasoning Sauce here.




Slow Cooker Pepper Steak


Serves:  4

Cooking time:  6 hours
Total time:  6.5 hours

1 lb top round steak, cut into strips
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 red onion, diced
1/4 cup water
3 Tablespoons Dale's Low Sodium Seasoning Sauce (or use beef stock)
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 14oz can of stewed tomatoes, with the juice
3 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 orange bell pepper, cut into strips
1 red bell pepper, cut into strips

In a skillet over high heat add steak and saute 2 minutes until browned on each side.  Add steak to the slow cooker.  Sprinkle garlic powder over the steak.  Add the diced onion.  In a small bowl add water and seasoning sauce plus the cornstarch and whisk to combine.  Add to the slow cooker.  Note:  you can use beef broth in place of the water and seasoning sauce, adding cornstarch to it.

Add the tomatoes and their juice, and the soy sauce to the slow cooker.  Cover and cook on low 6 hours.  2 hours prior to the end time add the bell pepper strips, recover and continue cooking.

Serve over rice, or even mashed potatoes.