Strawberry Banana Smoothie

Last month when I was away at Sisters' Weekend, Jesse broke our blender.  It really wasn't Jesse's fault.  We just haven't had good luck with blenders.  We loved the Kitchen Aid one Mom and Dad gave us, but it broke awhile ago and we replaced it with a cheap Wal-mart blender.  So this time I did more research.  I finally decided on another Kitchen Aid.  I got a re-furbished one from Overstock. The original one sells for $140; I got the refurbished one for $65.  It comes with a poly-carbonate pitcher, which is light-weight and easier to handle than a glass pitcher.  And the blades come attached to the pitcher; it's all one piece.  My neighbors had one like this and loved it, and the blender had a 5-star rating.  And the pitcher is 56 oz, which is bigger than most blender pitchers.

Anyway, since I got a new blender, I had to try a new recipe.  And it's a keeper for sure.  I would never have thought of adding buttermilk to a smoothie, but I loved the depth of flavor it added.  I don't know if it was the buttermilk or the blender, but the smoothie was very smooth, just like a smoothie should be!  I think this recipe could be very versatile.  Just think of the possibilities:  raspberry/peach, blueberry/peach, etc.  I'm sure you could come up with a favorite fruit smoothie!

Strawberry-Banana Smoothie
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 cup frozen unsweetened sliced strawberries
1 cup milk
3 medium bananas, broken into quarters
3 T. orange marmalade (I didn't have this ingredient, so I added 3 T. sugar)

Place ingredients in pitcher of blender.  Cover and blend at LIQUIFY 15-20 seconds, or until smooth.  Makes 5 servings (1 cup each), 170 cal per serving.

Note:  When I read the instructions to blend for only 15-20 seconds, I thought, "Yeah, right."  Guess what?  It really worked!  My smoothie was done in 15 seconds!  So far I LOVE my new blender!