Strawberry Cheesecake Smoothie

I'm always in search of easy options for quick and filling bfasts OR a 2nd dinner/snack option for B after swim pracitce -- this is IT!!!  So yummy and quick to make!!  I sometimes throw some spinach in there too for good measure :)

Ingredients:

1 cup frozen strawberries

1 scoop vanilla protein powder

1/4c cottage cheese

1/4 c greek yogurt

3/4c almond milk

1T peanut butter

1T honey

3-4 cubes of ice

Mango Juice

Evan picked Zimbabwe for the country we "ate" tonight, so I got creative on the sweet portion!!!  Since grocery stores don't have plantains, I made up this mango juice instead!!  B was hoping it was a Pina Colada ;)  BUT we still all thought this was refreshing!!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup mango chunks (fresh or frozen)

• ½ cup orange juice

• ½ cup water

• Ice

• Optional: mint or lime wedge for garnish

Instructions:

1. Blend mango, orange juice, water, and ice until smooth.

2. Serve chilled with a fun straw!

Grinch Sangria

Serves 8

Ingredients

• 1 bottle Pinot Grigio
• 1 1/2 cup Midori Melon Liqueur
• 1 cup Pineapple Juice
• 1 splash Sprite
• 2 lbs Strawberries
• 1 tbsp red sugar sprinkles
• 3 tbsp honey
• 1 heart-shaped strawberry

Instructions

Glass Prep

• Spread the honey out on a small plate the size of your punch glasses.
• Spread the red sugar sprinkles on another small plate.
• Dip the punch glasses in the plate of honey to coat the rim

Drink Instructions

• In a large pitcher or punch bowl, add the Pinot Grigi, Midori, sliced strawberries, and pineapple juice.
• While gently stirring the ingredients together add in a splash of Sprite.
• Garnish with a heart-shaped strawberry. See the tips above for tips on creating easy cut-outs.
• Dip the honey-coated rims of the punch glasses in the red sugar to completely cover the rim with sugar.

Fun NYE Kid Cocktail

I was looking for a fun NYE drink for the kids -- they all loved this!!!

Ingredients:

7up or Sprite

Cotton Candy

Cool whip

Sprinkles

Dunk the rim of cup in the cool whip.

Then put the sprinkles onto of the coolwhip.

Fill with 7up/Sprite -- drop in a chunk of cotton candy!!!  CHEERS!!!

Apple Cider Floats

I need a tasty fall drink for my luncheon, and this was PERFECTION!!!  Why have I never thought of making these before?!  SO YUMMY!!!  Boys are going to be PUMPED to have these :)

Ingredients:

Apple Cider

Ice cream (can also use dairy free ice cream)

Caramel ice cream topping (can use dairy free caramel sauce)

Cinnamon

In a glass add two scoops of ice cream. Then drizzle a spoonful of caramel ice cream topping on top of the ice cream. Also add a pinch of cinnamon on top.

Pour in the apple cider until the ice cream is covered. Then add another scoop of ice cream on top. Drizzle another spoonful of caramel on top and add another pinch of cinnamon on top of that.

Serve cold with a spoon or straw.

Watermelon Margarita Recipe

This was DELICIOUS!!!  This is my perfect summer drink :)  The fresh watermelon juice is KEY!!

Ingredients

Watermelon Juice

• ▢1 small seedless watermelon - or half of a large watermelon

Chili Salt Rim (optional)

• ▢1 tablespoon ancho chili powder
• ▢1 tablespoon kosher salt
• ▢1 tablespoon granulated sugar or brown sugar

For One Margarita

• ▢2 fluid ounces fresh watermelon juice
• ▢1 fluid ounce fresh lime juice
• ▢1.5 fluid ounces tequila
• ▢Lime - cut into wedges
• ▢Sliced watermelon - to garnish

Instructions

• Prepare the watermelon juice - Fill a large blender with ripe, cubed watermelon and blend until juiced. At this point, you may wish to strain your blended watermelon through a fine-mesh strainer to remove any solids or leftover seeds (this step is completely optional and may depend on the efficiency of your blender). Note - the total amount of juice produced will far exceed that needed to make 1 margarita. Transfer leftovers to a mason jar and keep them stored in the refrigerator for a light and refreshing drink or margaritas later in the week.
• Mix the chili salt - Add the chili powder, salt, and sugar to a shallow plate and mix together to combine.
• Prepare your glass - Using your favorite cocktail glass (I used rocks glasses) run a lime wedge around the rim of each glass. Invert your glass and dip the top into the chili salt mixture, tilting the glass slightly to completely coat the surface. Fill each glass with ice and set them aside.
• Make your margarita - To make your margarita, add 2 ounces of watermelon juice, 1-ounce lime juice, 1.5 ounces of tequila, and a scoop of ice to a cocktail shaker. Shake vigorously to combine and chill. Taste and adjust - does it need more watermelon juice? Lime juice? Sweetness? (see notes)
• Serve - Strain your margarita into your prepared glass and garnish with a fresh lime wedge or chopped watermelon, if desired.

Notes

Should you use bottled lime juice? Bottled lime juice will work in a pinch, but the juice from fresh limes is always best (key limes are even better).

Save time: If you plan on making a big batch of margaritas, I highly recommend using a citrus juicer as they will really extract all the juice from all those tasty limes.

What tequila is best? There are two main categories of tequila sold - mixtos and 100% agave. When shopping for tequila, you always want to buy 100% Blue Agave Tequila. For this particular recipe, I used silver tequila, also known as Blanco tequila, but feel free to use your favorite.

Make a sweeter margarita: Add a teaspoon or two of your favorite sweetener (agave, honey, simple syrup). You can also add 1/2-1-ounce of triple sec or Cointreau, an orange-flavored liqueur.

• 1 ounce = 2 tbsp

How to Pick a Good Watermelon?

• Pick one that feels heavy for its size.
• Look for the yellow spot where the watermelon was resting on the ground. It should be a creamy, yellowish color and found on only one side of the watermelon.
• Look for sugar spots and pollination points. Sugar spots are areas on a watermelon where sugar has seeped through. Pollination points are usually found in the same area as sugar spots. They're brownish rough patches with dark brownish/black dots in rows. These ugly-looking patches on watermelon are actually good things!
• Tap your watermelon. Does it sound hollow? Good.

Apple Cider

 The perfect drink when it's cold outside :)

Just heat up some apple cider with some cinnamon sticks in a crock pot and make everyone happy :)

Pink Lemonade Vodka

 Well how cutie is this drink for Easter?!  It was delicious and such a fun treat!!!

Ingredients:
1 cup pink lemonade

1/2 cup vodka

Peeps

Santa Hat Martini - Pomegranate Martini

 This was delicious and such a cute idea for Christmas!!  Could have drank these all night long!!

Ingredients

·      1.5 OZ. Pama Liqueur

·      1 OZ. Vodka

·      .5 OZ. Cointreau

·      1.5 OZ. Cranberry Juice

·      Combine all ingredients into a martini shaker. Add ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a martini glass.

Pink Lemonade

Ingredients:
Can frozen pink lemonade concentrate
Bottle club soda/Bottle Sprite (2 liter bottle)

Empty pink lemonade into tall glass pitcher...add in bottle of club soda or sprite...and yummy!

Blue Punch

I hosted Nicole's baby shower - and we had a "fishing, crab, whale" themed party...SO I made up this yummy "ocean water" punch to go with the theme!!!

 

 

Ingredients:

1 package of Blue Raspberry Kool-Aid
1 can of Minute Maid Frozen Lemonade
2 Liter bottle of Sprite

First mix the Kool-aid and Lemonade, add water (a little less than you would add if you were making the lemonade) then add the sprite.  Add water to taste. 

White Sangria

Had P's wedding shower today, and I was in charge of drinks....I've never made sangria before, but I was told this was very tasty!  (I'll be honest - I had to have a sip because fruit / white wine was too good to pass up - so sorry Little One, but even that little sip was delicious!)

I was nervous when I was making it - because I didn't understand how people wouldn't have like chunks of fruit floating in their cups, but it worked pretty good....and actually, I was told that spooning some of the fruit in with your glass actually was better :)

Makes 8 cups

Ingredients:
1/2 cup superfine sugar
1/2 cup cognac
1 mango, peeled, pitted, and thinly sliced
1 peach or nectarine, pitted and thinly sliced
1 red apple, cored and thinly sliced
1 Granny Smith apple, cored and thinly sliced
1 to 2 plums, pitted and thinly sliced
2 bottles (750 mL) dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio, chilled
Ice cubes, for serving


In a large pitcher, stir sugar and cognac until well combined. Stir in fruit slices until fully coated; let stand, refrigerated, overnight.


Add wine to pitcher and stir until well combined. Serve sangria over ice.

Patriotic Punch

Ok so I tried to find something fun and easy to bring to our 4th of July celebration.....and it was fun....and easy - but it didn't turn out :)

Here is what my drink looked like:

and here is what it was supposed to look like:

So yeah....I tried.  It still tasted very sugary and awesome :)  Just didn't look as pretty....if you try it and it works, let me know :)

Ingredients:
Hawaiian Punch (red color)
Diet Sierra mist (white color - also works for you preggers out there!)
G2 Gatorade (blue color)

Then all you do is fill your glass all the way to to the top with ice.  Start with red (or whichever has the highest sugar content) - and fill up the glass 1/3 of the way.  When you pour your next two layers pour them slowly, right over and ice cube, down the side of the glass.  (this part didn't work for me....mine just blended as soon as I poured.  I tried like 4 glasses too...)

Mojitos

So we only had vodka and dark rum in stock at the Sodahls house, so instead of having miss Anna buy a whole bottle for 1 drink - we just decided tot make these virgin motijos :)  They still tasted very refreshing!!  This went really well with our Cinco de Mayo theme! 

Ingredients:

8-10 large mint leaves

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 7 small limes)**a tip - buy a juicer! haha or a fork worked great too!

24-oz. bottle of sparkling water (like Perrier)

Finely chop the mint leaves. Place the chopped mint leaves in a bowl or non-reactive pitcher and press them with a pestle or the back of a spoon to release the oils. Add the sugar and press the mint leaves and sugar together with the back of a spoon. Add the lime juice and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved and no longer grainy.

If you haven’t been mixing the mint and sugar in a pitcher, transfer to a glass or plastic pitcher. Right before serving, add the sparkling water and serve immediately over ice. Garnish with lime slices and mint leaves.

Caramel Apple Cider

So I really only like to drink diet coke, but that's getting old (yes...I said it!).  So when I found this recipe I got really excited!  This was such a great warm drink! The whipped cream, caramel sauce, and cinnamon on top was AMAZING too!!

OBB Cookbook

Ingredients:

1/2 gallon apple cider (64 oz or 8 cups) **Get cider...totally different than apple juice
1/2 cup orange juice, fresh squeezed or good quality bottled like Simply Orange
1 orange
8 cloves
2 cinnamon sticks (if yours are more than a year old- buy new ones!!)
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/3 cup jarred caramel sauce* more to taste if needed
Sweetened whipped cream

*For a delicious twist, substitute maple syrup for the caramel sauce in this recipe.

Pour 8 cups of apple cider into a large stock pot on the stove pot. Set heat to medium-high. Add orange juice, cinnamon sticks, and allspice.

Thoroughly wash your orange and then gently stab the whole cloves into it. If you find it hard to do that without destroying the cloves, use a toothpick to poke little hole first and then insert the cloves.  (If you are doubling the recipe, you can still just use one orange, just double the number of cloves you poke into it).

Gently drop the whole orange into the pot. Bring cider to a boil and then reduce heat to a low simmer. Simmer on low for 60 minutes and longer if you wish. If you’re keeping the pot on the stove for an extended period, keep an eye on the orange. If at any time it splits open, remove it from the pot. If the white pith is exposed it will add a bitter taste to your cider. If you’re going to have the pot warming for hours on end, take out the orange. After you’ve simmered for an hour, add caramel sauce and stir to combine and dissolve. Add more caramel to taste if needed.

When ready to serve, ladle into mugs, top with whipped cream, and give it a drizzle of caramel and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Shamrock Milkshakes

We had cookbook club tonight and we had a GREEN theme in honor of St. Patrick's Month - so check out our lovely menu:

Appetizer: Shamrock Nachos

Entree: Stuffed Green Peppers

Dessert: Shamrock Shakes

Everything was so good and so shamrocky :)  Who needs to spend $$ at McDonald's getting shamrock shakes...not this girl - we found the recipe and made our own!!  These shakes were so good - and it takes like 5 seconds to make!!

Altered from McDonald's recipe

Ingredients:

2 cups vanilla ice cream

1 1/4 cups 2% low fat milk

1/4 teaspoon mint extract

8 drops green food coloring

Combine all ingredients in blender and blend on high until smooth.  If needed, stop blender and stir with a spoon to help blend in ice cream.  

Pour into 12-oz cups and serve each with a straw.  (a GREEN straw...that's right....)