Boozy (or not) Brazilian Lemonade

It has been hot, hot, HOT here this week. 
Like,  insanely hot.  And it is only June 1st.  June 1st and a whole lotta summer to go.  I remember last year being actually shocked at how hot it gets here in ol' NC.  Shocked, but the newness of it made it a tad novel.  There was no novelty this week when the temperature got into the high 90's...just a sad sigh of concession.
Thankfully, I made a new friend to help me through these "so-hot-your-head-throbs-as-the-back-sweat-meets-your-ass-sweat" type of days.  This friend is light and super refreshing, not to mention a whole lotta fun!  Now you can make this a virgin drink and it is still super yum-i-lucious, but throw in some RRRRRum (roll those R's!)and you have got yourself a par-tay!  So go put some lime in your coconut (rum) and call me in the morning.

Boozy (or not) Brazilian Lemonade

• 1 lime
• 2 TBSP superfine sugar
• 2 TBSP sweetened condensed milk
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 1/4 cup Malibu Coconut Rum, it was spectacular!  If you chose to go virgin, add an additional 1/4 cup water.  If you would like a virgin with the wee-hint-o-coconut, add the 1/4 cup additional water with 1/2 tsp coconut extract.
• 1 cup ice, plus extra for serving
• OPTIONAL, you could throw in some mango or stawberries for an additional layer of flavor

Wash lime thoroughly. Cut off the ends and slice in half, then quarter each piece so that you end up with a total of eight wedges. Place lime in a blender with the sugar, sweetened condensed milk, water, and 1 cup of ice.
Pulse blender 5-6 times times. Trust me, it will be enough.  Strain through a fine mesh strainer to remove rinds. Serve over ice.  Yeild 2 servings.
**Word of warning - so not make a big batch of this and expect it to keep.  The limes will keep working and turn bitter.  Make 'em as you drink 'em!

This recipe has been linked up at:
Simply Sweet Home
Tidy Mom
Mommy's Kitchen
This Chick Cooks

Go Green Smoothie for Earth Day

This smoothie goes by many names in our house:
Monster Smoothie
Shrek Juice
Nickelodean Slime
Today, we are dubbing it Go Green Smoothie for Earth Day!
This is such a GREAT and HEALTHY smoothie.  My kiddos absolutely LOVE it and they have no clue what gives it it's lovely green color, because you CANNOT taste it!  Trust me!  Make it, but don't tell your kiddos, and you can pat yourself on the back knowing you got them to eat a serving of spinach for breakfast! 

Go Green Smoothie

• 1 cup milk - your choice regular, skim, Almond, Coconut, Rice, or Soy...sweetened or not, vanilla or plain.
• 1 banana - I like to use frozen, but use what you have
• 1 cup pineapple*
• 1/2 cup mango*
• 1 large handful baby spinach leaves
• 1/2 cup ice

optional:

• 1 TBSP Agave Syrup, or other sweetner, if desired
• 1-2 TBSP Vanilla or Italian Sweet Cream non-dairy creamer.  I like the creaminess this lends to any smoothie
• 1 TBSP physillium husks or flax seed for an added boost

In a blender, combine milk, banana, pineapple and mango.  Blend until smooth and creamy.  Add spinach leaves and continue to process until smooth.  Add ice and any or all optional ingredients.  Blend again.  ENJOY!

*Note:
I have swapped out the pineapple/mango for strawberries or blueberries.  They both taste just as fabulous, just remember it will change the color from the vibrant green!

This recipe has been linked up at:
Teaching Your Middle Schooler
Tide Mom
Simply Sweet Home
Mommy's Kitchen

Iced Coffee

I grew up in an itty bitty small town in Colorado.  I always knew I was destined for the "big city".  After all, out of the whopping 32 (?) people that were in my graduating class, 12 of us (the Dirty Dozen) started kindergarten together.  With barely a wave goodbye later, I went to college in the Seattle area and fell in love with it.  One thing Seattle is known for, aside from rain, is coffee.  I became addicted instantly, especially to iced coffee drinks.  On my first trip back home, depression set in when I saw there was not a coffee stand in sight.  I just sat on a hay bale and watched the tumble weeds blow....sigh.  Just kidding.  Well, kinda :)
Eventually, marriage and kids takes over and you find other things to do with your money than spend $5.00 a day on a coffee drink.  $5.00 a day....$35.00 a week....$151-ish a month....$1820 a year.  Yeah, it adds up.  So, I tried doing the "responsible" thing and make them at home.  I would take hot coffee and pour it over ice.  Bleck, it was just a watered down mess.  I would take leftover coffee and put it in the fridge, but it always turned bitter and acidic.  So, imagine the happy dance I jigged when I saw Mommy's Kitchen put a technique on her site that cold brewed coffee into a coffee concentrate, that you simply added milk and flavorings.  YES!  I tried it and immediately fell in LOVE!  Do yourself a favor and start a batch of this tonight and tomorrow you too can sip on a scrumptious, just the way you like it, stickin' it to the man Iced Coffee!


Ingredients:

• 1-Cup ground coffee - fresh ground is great but not necessary
• 32 ounces cold water
• Milk
• Flavoring - I like using the flavored coffee creamers. Especially the Sweet Cream flavor, but you can experiment and use any of your favorite flavored syrups that you can buy at the grocery store.

Equipment:

• 1 Glass container with lid to hold at least 32 ounces. You can use a canning jar, or like me, a washed large applesauce jar.
• 1 smaller glass jar with lid to store coffee concentrate in fridge. I used a washed out spaghetti sauce jar.
• French Press

        OR

• Strainer
• Coffee filters - largest you can find. Not the cone shape, but the bucket/basket shape. I changed filters after straining half of the mixture.

Place coffee grounds in container. Pour 32 ounces (4 cups) cold water over the coffee grounds. Put on the lid and gently swish to get all the grounds wet. Let it sit on the counter overnight, or 12-15 hours. Por coffe mixture into your french press and press this amazing concentrate OR place your strainer over a large bowl, and put a coffee filter inside the strainer. Slowly pour coffee into the filter and allow it to sit until it has drained through. As I said, I changed filters about half way through. Keep straining the coffee mixture through a filter until jar is empty. Pour coffee concentrate in another smaller jar to keep in fridge for further use.

To make the iced coffee, fill a glass with ice and mix equal amounts of coffee concentrate and choice of milk, or water depending how you like it. Add sweeteners or flavorings of choice. I have made it using 1/2 cup coffee concentrate and 1/2 cup chocolate milk making a yummy mocha-ish drink, I have also made it using 1/2 cup coffee concentrate and 1/2 cup rice milk, adding 2 TBSP Italian Sweet Cream creamer. You could even get fancy and blend the coffee concentrate with ice, add some chocolate chips and milk or chocolate milk...Viola! Mocha Frappacino! OR, blend the coffee concentrate with milk, ice, and a couple TBSP caramel sauce...CARAMEL Frappacino! What is great about this is you can totally adjust it to how you like it with flavors or control the amount of sugar and fat with the type of sweeteners and milk product you use.

You can also make 1-cup hot coffee by using the same method and heating it up.

Mango Mojito

There is a restaurant south of Denver that introduced me to my favorite drink. La Sandia makes, in my mind, the perfect Mango Mojito. It doesn't make a normal mojito and just substitutes Mango Rum for regular Rum, nor does it use Mango syrup to achieve the Mango taste of a Mango Mojito. Since I have moved across the country, I can't call my friend Amanda and go to La Sandia for this Mangolicious yummy, so I have been forced to figure this one out on my own. Good news Amanda, and everyone else who likes Mango Mojitos, I think I did it! It is thick with sweet Mango puree, crisp taste of mint and lime, with a hint of bubbly.


Ingredients for 1 drink:
• 1/2 cup frozen mango chunks, slightly defrosted
• 1/8 cup good quality light rum
• 1/2" thick round slice of lime, cut in half
• 4 mint leaves
• 1 TBSP superfine sugar or simple syrup *
• 1/8 cup-1/4 cup club soda

In a cocktail shaker or glass, muddle together the lime, mint leaves, and fine sugar or simple syrup. To achieve this, I used the handle of my potato masher, and squashed everything together, making sure to get the lime juice out of the slice and bruise the mint leaves. Set aside.
In a blender, blend together the slightly defrosted mango chunks and rum until combined. If you would like a few chunks of mango, don't blend completely.
Empty the rum mango puree into cocktail shaker with the muddled mixture. Starting with 1/8 cup club soda, add to mango mixture, stir with a spoon to combine.
Fill a short glass with ice and pour mixture over it, adding an additional 1/8 cup club soda if desired.
Grab a friend, some guacamole, and enjoy this fabulous drink with some good laughs!

* You can buy superfine sugar or you can make it. To make superfine sugar, simply place 1 cup regular sugar into a small food processor and process until very fine in appearance. To make simple syrup, take bring 1cup sugar and 1 cup water to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Allow to cool. Bottle it up and keep in fridge for future use.


This recipe is being linked to:
Tidy Mom's I'm Lovin' It
Simply Sweet Home's Friday Favorites

Blueberry Tea

I am inspired to share today's post with you because I am not feeling well. Anytime I am not feeling well, this is my "go-to" drink, but I have been known to drink it when I am feeling perfectly skippy because it is yummy. The medicinal power of this tasty treat cannot be overlooked though. I first started drinking this back when I was singing. Well singing after college for those NC friends who are gasping in disbelief. It does an amazing job cleaning out your throat, sinus, head, and...well....mucus. Gluck, I cannot believe I just used the word mucus in a food blog. Sorry. ANYWAY it really is amazing, just ask any of my friends whom I have made it for when they were feeling icky. Even my hubby has been known to drink a couple of these teas and wake up perfectly healthy. Can I get a witness?!?! So, here we go...whether you are feeling ill or just want a fabulous hot beverage!

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces hot decaf black tea
• 1 shot Amaretto
• 1 shot Grand Marnier
• BIG squeeze of lemon

Pour your Amaretto and Grand Marnier into your hot tea, squeeze the lemon over top and stir to combine. Amen.
This post is linked at:
Tidy Mom's I'm Lovin' It
Mommy's Kitchen Sunday Potluck

Pina Colada Ice Cream Float

Are you all as Febru-weary as I am? I am so done with winter!!! One time when I lived in Seattle, I was sick of the rain and in order to get myself out of the funk I was in, I had a "Fiji night". I cranked up the heat in my apartment, turned on some steel drum music, and laid out on a beach towel wearing my swimsuit and sunglasses. Sipping on a fruity adult beverage, I was able to relax, unwind, and make through 6 more weeks of winter. Here is a fun beverage loaded with that beachy flavor we could all use right about now. If you would like to make it more adult, I am sure some coconut rum would be fabulous in it!

Ingredients

• 1 20 ounce can pineapple chunks in 100% pineapple juice, no sugar added. I used the Dole Tropical Gold which is AWESOME.
• 3 TBSP brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp coconut extract *
• Vanilla ice cream
• 1 liter club soda

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Drain pineapple chunks, reserving the juice and spread out on a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with brown sugar and bake for 15-20 minutes until browned. While pineapple is baking, take reserved pineapple juice and put it in a measuring cup, add water to juice to make 1 full cup. Put pineapple juice/water in a pot along with the sugar. Stir to combine, dissolve, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and coconut extract. Once pineapple is roasted, remove from oven and allow to cool, along with the pina colada simple syrup. Once cool, divide pineapple between 4 glasses. Pour 2 TBSP of the pina colada simple syrup over the pineapple in each glass. Add 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream to each glass and top off with club soda. Once glasses are full, add an additional 2 TBSP of pina colada simple syrup to top. Enjoy!!!

* If you do not like the taste of coconut, like my daughter and husband, then feel free to omit the coconut extract. Up the vanilla extract to 1 tsp and enjoy as a Pineapple Ice Cream Float!