Drink of the Summer...Spiced Limeade

I think I've found my new drunk drink for the summer!  It is so good, so refreshing, so easy and once you make it, you'll be making it over and over again!  It is hot, hot, HOT in Kansas right now, and this adult beverage will cool you down.  Just be careful (speaking from experience here), it goes down very easy.  All you need are four ingredients:  ice, water, frozen limeade concentrate and Captain Morgan Spiced Rum. 

Did you know that Captain Morgan was a real person?  According to http://www.captainmorgan.com,

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"In 1654 a young Henry Morgan left his native Wales for the West Indies. He never looked back. A born leader, he quickly made became Captain Henry Morgan and became famous as a legal pirate or Buccaneer, defending British interests and generally rocking the Caribbean.  Captain Morgan’s awesome exploits on the high seas earned him a knighthood and by 1680 Sir Henry Morgan was a plantation owner and Governor of Jamaica. There he lived out his final days until his death in 1688.
Centuries later Henry Morgan became the figurehead for a company that became as famous as the man himself… The Captain Morgan Rum Company."

www.minutemaid.com

 OK, OK, I'm finally getting to the recipe...

Spiced Limeade
1 can frozen limeade concentrate
1 can water
1 can Captain Morgan's Original Spiced Rum

In a pitcher mix the limeade concentrate, water and rum together.  Chill.  When ready to serve, fill a glass completely with ice (this is important!)  Pour the limeade mixture over the ice.  Garnish with a slice of lime.  Enjoy~

Although I haven't tried this, I'm sure it would be great...fill a blender full of ice, pour the limeade mixture over the ice and blend!  Frozen Spiced Limeade!

Now that I've spent the last 37 minutes writing this post, I guess I should get back to writing my dreaded dissertation.  pffftttt...

Easy (and cheap) Wine Punch

So on Friday night, I hosted Bunco for a great group of girls.  Once a month we get together and throw the dice in hopes for winning some money at the end of the night.  More often than not, I go home in the hole.  But that's OK...  I have fun...  Our group has been playing for 3 years now and we have a great time each month.  The hostess provides the drinks, so I made hot chocolate (see other post) and wine punch.  The wine punch is easy to make and everyone likes it...besides it's cheap, too!

Doesn't get much cheaper than Strawberry Hill!

Easy Wine Punch

1 bottle Boone's Farm Wine (OK, I know it's not really wine, but it makes it sound classy)
1 container frozen juice concentrate, thawed
7-Up or Sprite

Mix the "wine" and the juice concentrate together.  Pour into a gallon Ziploc type bag and place in the freezer. 

When ready to serve, fill a cup with the "wine" slush (about 3/4 full) and top with 7-Up.  Enjoy~

You can use any kind of flavor combinations.  Boone's Farm comes in lots of flavors, as does juice concentrate.  I usually use 5-Alive, but be creative and enjoy!  This is really good on a hot day...or on a cold day...or a warm day...or... well, you get the picture!  :)

Hot Chocolate for Cold Nights

It is cold here in Kansas!  We've had 2 snowstorms 2 weeks in a row, which is unusual for our area.  Plus, we're supposed to get more snow tonight!  I have this theory that when Jeff is deployed, we have a horrible winter with lots of cold and snow....like the winter we had the ice storm and were without power for a WEEK!  And then on the flip side, when he's home, the winter is mild.  However, this year is looking to break that theory....which, don't get me wrong, is OK!  I'm glad he's home to help with the snow, cold and all the added stuff that goes with it!

Last night it was cold...a perfect night for hot chocolate!  It was also my turn to host Bunco.  The hostess supplies the drinks for the night, so I thought hot chocolate (and wine punch) would be an awesome addition to our night...and it was!  Thanks ladies for such a great time!  :)

Jen's Hot Chocolate 

1/4 c. cocoa powder
1/3 c. sugar
2 c. half & half (I use fat free half & half)
2 c. milk (I use skim)
1 c. mini marshmallows
dash of salt
1/4 t. vanilla


Whisk the cocoa powder and sugar together.  Pour the milk and half and half into a saucepan and whisk in the cocoa mixture.  Warm over medium heat, but do not boil.  Stir in the marshmallows, salt and vanilla.  The marshmallows will melt and will add a frothy, creaminess to the drink.  When the hot chocolate begins to steam, it is done!  Serve with mini marshmallows or whipped cream (or both!)  Enjoy~

Sangria

It is hot, hot, hot here.  How hot you may ask?  Hot.  The temperature is 103* and the heat index is 115*.  Hot.  Hot days call for cold drinks.  I wanted an adult beverage that was something fruity and  something that would quench my thirst.  This sangria fit the bill.  I combined several recipes that I found on the internet and came up with this concoction.  Enjoy~


Jen's Sangria

1 bottle red wine
1/2 c. Amaretto
1/2 c. orange flavored liquor (I used tangerine schnapps)
1/4 c. lemon juice
1/2 c. orange juice
1/2 c. lemonade concentrate
1 lemon, thinly sliced
1 lime, thinly sliced
1 orange, thinly sliced
10 Marciano cherries

2 liters seltzer or soda water (or Lemon-lime soda)

Mix the bottle of wine, liquor, juices and fruit all together in a large picture.  Refrigerate until cold, the longer the better.  To serve, fill half of a glass with the sangria mix, fill the rest of the glass with the seltzer water.  Garnish with sliced fruit.  Enjoy!

Sweet Tea

It's supposed to be in the mid to upper 90's in Kansas this week, so I thought I'd share my best ever iced tea!

One of my favorite things to drink is iced tea.  I love it!  In fact, I have a gallon iced tea container in my fridge all year, not just in the summer.  But for those hot summer days, nothing quenches my thirst like a big, frosty glass of iced tea. 

I wasn't always a sweet tea drinker.  For years, I drank unsweetened tea.  I liked it, it was good, all was well with the world.  It was my standard drink to have at a restaurant (and no, it wasn't LONG ISLAND iced tea...I stopped drinking those at Geddy's with my Alpha Phi sisters!)  Anywho...unsweetened iced tea was my drink of choice...until I moved to Georgia in 1995/96.  I went out to eat with my newlywed husband and ordered iced tea...and surprise, surprise, I got a glass of sweet tea!  It was so good!  So sweet!  But so much sugar!  I tried to replicate it by ordering unsweetened iced tea and stirring in endless packets of pink or blue sweetener, but it just wasn't the same.  I bought sugar free iced tea mix and it was OK, but not the same as that Georgia sweet tea.    I just kind of gave up on sweet iced tea and saved the sugar version for a once-in-a-while treat. 

Fast forward to last summer.  I began to experiment with making sweet tea with Splenda.  I tried, tried and tried.  We had gallons of tea that were OK, not OK, kind of OK and finally I managed to get it right.  So enjoy my version of sweet tea.  Feel free to replace the Splenda with sugar, if you're so inclined...or even mix half sugar/half Splenda!

 Jen's Sweet Tea

2 One gallon sized tea bags (I use Lipton...I buy them at Sam's Club)
1-1/3 c. Splenda
scant 1/2 c. lemon juice (just a little less than half of a cup, but a little bit more than 1/3 of a cup!)

Place ingredients inside an empty gallon container (I got mine at Walmart.)  Fill to the top with cold water.  Refrigerate and serve! It will take about an hour to be ready.

That's it!  No boiling, no sitting it in the sun,

Enjoy~

Strawberry/Banana/Orange Smoothie

We love smoothies in my house.  They are easy to make, and healthy, too!


Strawberry/Banana/Orange Smoothie


1-1/4 c. plain, fat-free yogurt
8 ounces frozen strawberries (I use VIP's whole frozen strawberries, no sugar added)
2 bananas
1 c. orange juice

Place all of the ingredients into a blender.  Blend until smooth.  You may need to stop the blender and stir the ingredients so everything will get blended.  I use the button "ice crush" or "liquefy" on my blender.  And voila...you have a smoothie.  Makes about 5 cups.

Substitutions:  There is no added sugar in this smoothie recipe, so you may find it a little tart.  You can add 2-3 T. honey or sugar if you find it too tart.  You can use whatever frozen fruit or juice (or even milk!) you'd like...this is just the combination we like the best.  Also, you can use low-fat vanilla yogurt instead of the fat-free.

Review:  This is very refreshing on a hot day!  It makes for a great breakfast drink, or snack during the day.  You may want to add a little sugar/honey to sweeten the smoothie, but we like it without the added sugar.  Enjoy~