There are a million recipes for smoothies floating around out there in Pinterest-land. But sometimes you just need a good, basic recipe. I love this one for it’s simplicity and the fact that you can change it up with a few small adjustments. We regularly make smoothies for breakfast but these can be lunch, after school snacks or a meal replacement when there isn’t quite enough time to eat dinner before sports practice or games.

The list of ingredients is short and hopefully things you have on hand – we usually do!

Start with 2 cups of fruit (I used frozen peaches and strawberries), yogurt (I used plain Greek), milk (I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk) and honey or sugar.

Throw your fruit in the blender and puree (if using frozen fruit like I did, skip this step and blend all the ingredients together instead). Once the fruit is smooth, add in the rest of your ingredients and blend to your desired consistency.

That’s it! So simple and let me tell you – this smoothie was DELISH!

This does produce a rather thick smoothie so if you’d like yours to be thinner, replace some of the yogurt with more milk.

Chicken!  So many delicious flavors, marinades, sauces….and just as many ways to prepare and eat it!

This recipe is one of my favorites when it comes to making grilled chicken and you won’t believe how flavorful this chicken turns out with such a short ingredient list.

All you need to add to your chicken is:

• Lemon Juice
• Basil (fresh or dried)
• Garlic cloves
• Olive Oil
• Sea Salt & Freshly Ground Pepper 

I generally buy a big bag of individually frozen chicken tenderloins every time I make my monthly trip to Costco. I like to use tenderloins for this recipe because these thin, tender pieces of chicken really soak up the marinade much better than larger breasts. Of course you can use whatever chicken you have on hand or like best: breasts, legs, thighs, bone-in or boneless. It’s all delicious.  

If you like to stock up on chicken when you see a great sale this is also an easy way to prepare it before it goes in the freezer. I will make multiple gallon freezer bags of the marinade all at once, throw in my cheap chicken and then pop it in the freezer. The chicken will freeze in the marinade and when you take it out to defrost it will start to marinate without all the prep! It’s always nice to have several bags in the freezer for unexpected company or a busy night.

To make this delicious recipe simply combine all your ingredients in a gallon zip top bag, throw in your chicken, turn until all pieces are coated and marinate at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.

Grill your chicken over medium heat (300 – 350 degrees) with the lid closed for 20 – 30 minutes, depending on the thickness of your chicken pieces.

That’s it! How easy is that?

(Recipe adapted from The Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook)

It’s worth the effort to double this recipe and make extra chicken. The leftovers are a delicious addition to chicken salad, sandwiches and salads! YUM.