Mango Milkshake

Hope everyone had a great weekend! It's been really hot here in Texas, and one of my favorite drinks on a hot day is a mango milkshake! I used fresh mangos and blended them, which adds a ton of fiber! You can use the canned mango pulp, but it usually has a lot of extra sugar so fresh is always better! The shake keeps you full and is definitely satisfying in this heat, try it out and let us know what you think!

Ingredients
- 2-3 fresh mangos peeled and cut into cubes
- 1 cup milk
- 2 cups ice
- 4 scoops vanilla ice-cream

Directions
- Blend mango pieces on high until a smooth puree forms, (if the mango is very fibrous, you can run it through a sieve if you want).
- Add milk, ice and ice cream until smooth and thick.
- Pour into glasses and serve immediately

Indian Style Bean Soup

Hello and Happy Sunday friends! I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend and is looking forward to the week ahead.  My apologies for not posting last week but I was out of town and had one heck of a week after I got back.  However, I will be posting this week and next to make up for it. :)  Today's recipe is a staple in my house because it is so delicious and oh so good for you.  It doesn't take long but requires just a bit a prep work - and by a bit I mean soaking beans for a couple of hours and that's it.  It's so easy that I am sure it will become a staple in your house too.  Enjoy!  

Ingredients:
1 cup dry moog beans
2 cups water
1 TBSP EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
1-2 tsp grated/crushed ginger root
1-2 tsp crushed serrano peppers
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 TBSP sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp turmeric
1-1.2 TBSP cumin & coriander powder
1 tsp red chili powder
3-4 curry leaves
1 roma tomato, diced (optional)
Colored bell peppers (optional)
Cilantro to garnish
Fresh yogurt (optional)

Directions:
1.  Soak the moog beans in 2 cups of warm water for a couple of hours prior to cooking.
2.  In a pressure cooker, heat EVOO on medium to low heat, add cumin seeds, and wait for the seeds to start roasting (you will smell it and the seeds will turn a darker shade of brown).
3.  Remove from heat and add curry leaves, ginger, serrano, tomato, & bell pepper and sauté for a couple of minutes.
4.  Add the soaked moog beans with the water and the remaining ingredients.
5.  Cook for roughly 20 -30 minutes in a pressure cooker (3-4 whistles if you're using an Indian style pressure cooker).
6.  Garnish with cilantro and serve warm with rice, tortillas, or enjoy it by itself.

Italian Stuffed Shells

My sister was home for about a month from law school, so it's been so great having her around and getting her to help me with wedding planning! So for her birthday I made one of her favorite dishes- Italian stuffed shells. Usually these shells are stuffed with different cheeses (mainly ricotta) and spinach but that usually gets way too heavy so my secret ingredient is tofu. I add some in for extra protein, and you can not tell the difference! I also load it up with loads of veggies- mushrooms, peppers, spinach, olives, tomatoes and zucchini. You can use your favorite pasta sauce and top with your favorite blend of cheeses, this is a great dish to make ahead of time and pop in the oven 30-45 minutes before dinner. Hope you will enjoy it as much as my family did!

Ingredients
- 1 box jumbo shells
- 8 oz Part skim ricotta cheese
- 12oz firm tofu crumbled
- 1 frozen box chopped spinach thawed
- 1/2 cup red bell pepper diced
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms sautéed
- 1/2 cup zucchini diced and sautéed
- 1/4 cup olives
- 1/2 cup diced tomato
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
- 1 TSP oregano
- 1 TSP crushed red pepper
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 3 cups of your favorite pasta sauce
- 2 cups shredded cheese

Directions
- Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and add the jumbo shells with a large pinch of salt, shells with cook in 9-11 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water and set aside.
- In a medium bowl combine ricotta and crumbled tofu and mix thoroughly until everything is well combined. Add basil, oregano, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper to taste, mushrooms, thawed spinach, bell pepper, olives, tomatoes and zucchini and mix together.
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Take cooked shells and stuff them with a heaping TBSP of ricotta mixture (do not over stuff).
- In a large lasagna pan pour 1/2 cup pasta sauce at the bottom, add shells and pour remaining pasta sauce over shells (pour less if you like it a little dry). Sprinkle shredded cheese on top and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is light golden and bubbly.
- Serve immediately!