Author: thestlouiscooks

The St. Louis Cooks have a love for food and St. Louis. We share recipes, local restaurants, and small businesses.
Drinks, Family, Kids

Summer Smoothies

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Banana Strawberry Smoothie

We love smoothies in the summer time.  Heck, we like them all the time. There are so many different types of smoothie recipes out there, but this first one is my absolute favorite.  I always have all the ingredients in the kitchen. Yogurt is always in the fridge and Costco‘s Kirkland Frozen Three Berries or any other frozen berry variety. My best recommendation is to double the recipes.

The Banana Berry Smoothie

Ingredients

  • 1 banana
  • 1/2 cup of vanilla yogurt or any berry type
  • 3/4 cup of orange juice
  • 1 cup of Costco’s Kirkland frozen three berries (any kind is fine)

Directions

  • Blend all ingredients for 30 seconds to make 2 healthy servings.  Yummy!

Here is another great smoothie recipe based on ingredients we had at home…

The Banana Pineapple Smoothie

Banana Pineapple Smoothie

 

Ingredients

  • 1 banana
  • Hand full of ice cubes
  • 1/3 cup of fresh pineapple or canned pineapple
  • 1 cup of orange/pineapple juice (or any variety)
  • 1 tsp. of vanilla

Directions

  • Blend all ingredients for 30 seconds to make 2 healthy servings. Yummy!

The beautiful thing about smoothies is you can get creative, try different flavors, use what you have at home and enjoy!

Drinks

Peach Birthday Martini

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Perfect Martini with a little flavor
Perfect Martini with a little flavor

It was Friday, June 21st.  The first day of summer, the longest day of the year, and my birthday.  Of course, the celebration of my birth has become “just another day”, but I still like to celebrate.  I could not believe that we did not have baseball or dance.  After a very long week of four dance recitals, two baseball games, and work, it was time to relax.

My husband and I enjoy trying different martini’s and different flavored vodka’s.  Tonight was extra special when he mixed up a batch of Peach Birthday Martini’s.  I asked him for the recipe.  He said it was a secret recipe that he could not share so I will have to leave you guessing for this one.  There’s several ways you could make this martini depending on your preference.  Do you like it more sweet?  Do you like the perfect martini?  On the rocks or up? Do you prefer Absolut, Grey Goose, Three Olives and the list goes on?  The options are endless. 

Cheers!

Family, Food, Kids

Mexican Casserole and it’s light!

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This mexican casserole was a huge success! It’s hard to believe it is light and only 6 points for those watching their weight watcher points.  Plus my kids absolutely loved it!

RECIPE

What you will need…Mexican Casserole Ingredients

  • 1 lb extra lean ground beef (drained)
  • 1/2 cup onion (chopped)
  • 1/4 cup canned jalapeno slices, chopped or green chilies
  • 2 cups fresh tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 (15 ounce) can kernel corn (drained)
  • 1 (15 ounce) can black beans (rinsed/drained) – Ortega
  • 1 (1/14 ounce) package taco seasoning mix – Old El Paso
  • 8 corn tortilla’s – Mission
  • 3/4 cup non fat or light sour cream
  • 1/3 bunch of cilantro, chopped to taste (less or more)

Directions:

  1. Brown ground beef and chopped onions in large skillet; brown 10-12 minutes or until cooked, stirring constantly. Drain well to remove fat.
  2. Add corn, black beans, tomatoes, chilie’s or jalapeno’s and taco seasoning; mix well. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile spray  a 12 x 8 inch (2 quart) baking dish with non stick cooking spray. Cut each tortilla in half, place 8 halves in bottom of sprayed baking dish, overlapping slightly.
  4. Spoon half of beef mixture evenly over tortillas. Spoon sour cream over beef mixture; spread evenly. Top with remaining 8 tortilla halves and remaining beef mixture. (Cover tightly with foil and freeze for later or cook as directed below).
  5. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven; sprinkle with cheese. Cover; let stand 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro. Serve with fresh lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, black olives, etc…

DSCF2408

This recipe is super easy, but it does take a little time in the kitchen.  I made this casserole on my own with out my little helpers.  It was a “solo cooking day” where I put on my tunes, enjoy a nice glass of wine, and cook dinner for the family. 

Do you have any great Weight Watcher recipes like this one?  This one is delicious!

Family, Food, Snacks

Festive Flag

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Festive Flag

It doesn’t have to be Memorial Day, Fourth of July, or Labor Day, to enjoy this awesome snack.  Last year, I came across this idea from Pinterest.  I saw this cute picture of a flag snack using skewers.  I had a ton at home so I decided to try out the recipe, but I changed it up a bit.  The recipe that I found on Pinterest used bananas for the white part.  I swapped the bananas for marshmallows because I worried the bananas would brown and I figured it would add a little more excitement!  It was a HUGE hit at the house!

This year the kids demanded that I let them make it all by themselves.  I was a little reluctant, but I gave the go ahead. My oldest, Melanie, was the head chef, Jack and Nick were the assistants (plus my hubby was in the living room listening/monitoring).  I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the finished product!

Festive Flag

  • Servings: 8-10
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Print

Ingredients:

What you will need…

12 Total Skewers, blueberries, strawberries, and marshmallows

Directions:

  • 6 Skewers with 10-12 blueberries, 3 strawberries and 2 marshmallows on each one
  • 6 Skewers with 5 strawberries and 4 marshmallows on each one
  • Use the picture to follow pattern
  • Lay on a flat cookie sheet or nice platter

The kids love this snack and it’s a great side dish for a party!  Your guests will be impressed!

Enjoy!

Food, Garden

Introducing…The St. Louis Cooks!

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The St. Louis Cooks
The St. Louis Cooks

Cooking in the kitchen is a family affair at this household.  We love to cook and we try to involve one of the kids in almost every meal.  We are a family of five…Mom (Angie), Dad (Bobby), Melanie (10), Jack (9), and Nick (5).  Do we cook every day?  Heck no, however we do cook several times a week.  Some meals are easy and simple, while others are more elaborate.  At the Sievers home, cooking is fun for everyone! Spending time together in the kitchen, and at the table is important to us, because we live a crazy, busy life full of business meetings, trips, homework, soccer games, basketball, volleyball, dance competitions, and the list goes on.

My name is Angie Sievers.  I’m a midwest girl, born and raised in St. Louis, MO. Most of the time you will hear from me, but the other four will also write some posts from time to time. We may also have a few guest bloggers too.  I love to write so I figured that starting a blog would be the best outlet, and what’s the big deal in adding something else to my “to do list”.

We will feature lots of things that we like to do in this blog.  The emphasis will be on food, but it will also focus on family.  You will hear about our Sievers Sunday dinners which are typically spent at my mother n law’s house.  It’s the gathering place for all the aunts, uncles, cousins, and some friends too. She has a huge back yard with a swimming pool and lots of space for the kids to play. The kids look so forward to our Sunday dinners at MaMa’s house.

We also like to dine out so we will feature some of our favorite local hot spots in and around St. Louis, MO.  I might even add a few places from my travel experiences while on business too.

The St. Louis Cooks have planted our second garden this year.  I was so lucky to have such a great experience with our garden last year.  It was my first time EVER planting seeds.  I grew up a city girl so we didn’t spend much time gardening.  We planted zucchini, watermelon, cucumbers, carrots (which I won’t ever do again), and sunflowers.  We had so much success last year that we have planted another one for the Summer of 2013.  Stay tuned for more on the garden…

Sunflowers in Bloom
Sunflowers in Bloom

I hope you will join us as we share some recipes, our Sunday dinners, some local favorites, and so much more!