Fruit Frappe

Another yummy recipe from my father in law Doug. You may remember these that were from him. This slushy drink is easy, yummy, and really refreshing. It would be perfect for a shower or party. My husband loves it!

Juice of 2 medium oranges
Juice of 2 lemons
2 bananas, mashed
1 1/2 Cups sugar
2 Cups water
1 liter Lemon-lime soda

Combine sugar and water; heat until mixture boils and sugar dissolves, cool. Blend in juice and mashed bananas. Freeze until firm. To serve, chop to a slushy state and blend with soda. (We just blend by hand when we mix the frozen part with the Sprite.)

Brazilian Lemonade

My new friend Ashley is an amazing cook. Every time she has us over, she creates some yummy new thing I have never had. One Sunday she made us this delicious drink. Dave loved it and has been begging me to make it ever since. So I finally did and it was a hit!

Brazilian Lemonade
Serves 4-ish

4 juicy limes (try and find ones with thin, smooth skins; they’re the juiciest and the thin skin cuts down on the chance of your drink being bitter)
1 cup sugar
6 cup cold water
6 Tbsp. sweetened condensed milk

Mix cold water and sugar very well and chill until ready to use. This step can be done ahead of time.

Wash limes thoroughly with soap (I just use hand-dishwashing soap or regular hand soap); you need the soap to get the wax and pesticides off of the limes because you’re using the whole lime. Cut the ends off the limes and then cut each lime into 8ths.

Place 1/2 of the limes in your blender.

Add 1/2 of the sugar water, place the lid on your blender, and pulse 5 times. Place a fine-mesh strainer over a pitcher (the one you’ll serve the lemonade in) and pour the blended mixture through the strainer and into the pitcher. Use a spoon to press the rest of the liquid into the pitcher. Dump the pulp and stuff in the strainer into the trash. Repeat with remaining limes and sugar water. Add sweetened condensed milk; DO NOT leave this step out unless you will die of a horrible sweetened condensed milk allergy because this is the secret ingredient! You may want to taste test it at this point; If it’s bitter, just add some more sugar and maybe a little more milk.
Serve immediately over lots of ice. This does not keep well, so don’t make this in advance (although you can cut the limes, mix the sugar water, and measure the sweetened condensed milk in advance).

CITRUS DRINK

I've been a slacker lately and haven't contributed to the blog in a VERY LONG time. Let's just say I had a few good excuses but you all don't want to hear them (so boring to listen to others' excuses) so I will spare you. Anyway...I have had this recipe for a really long time and I think I got it from another food blog but I can't remember when or where. A formal apology to that blog and I'm not taking credit for the recipe. (Oh, and I borrowed the photo from Google too!) We just REALLY like this drink, especially in the summer even though it's made with citrus which is a winter fruit. It's so refreshing and good for you too.


5 lemons
5 limes
5 oranges
6-7 cups of water
1 1/2 cups to 3 cups sugar or sugar substitute (I sometimes use Splenda)

Juice all the fruit and add the water. If you don't like pulp, strain the juice. Add the water and sweeten to your taste. It really depends on how sweet/tart the fruit is and how much juice you get out of them. It also depends on how sweet you like your drink. Serve over ice! So delicious.

Smoothies

I have wanted to get into smoothies for a long time.

They look so good and sound so healthy.  I just wasn't sure where to start.

What fruit do I use?  Do I use yogurt?  What liquid?  How much?  Do I need ice?  Do I need to sweeten it?

So many questions that I put off figuring it out for months.

I finally started experimenting to see what kind of smoothie was going to suit my fancy.  It took some trial and error, but I have found my smoothie groove.

Frozen fruit (peaches, pineapple, berries, mango, bananas)
Fresh fruit (whatever is in the fridge)
Greek Yogurt (I like FAGE Total 0%)
Spinach
Almond milk

*I take some frozen fruit (and a little fresh fruit, too, if I want), about 1/2 cup of Greek yogurt, a handful of spinach, and enough almond milk to cover it all up.  Then I blend it until it's nice and smooth.  No need to use ice if you're using frozen fruit and no need to add any sweetener if you don't mind a little tartness to your smoothie.  You can't even taste the spinach, so why not?  I know that people also use fruit juice, water, or regular milk for the liquid.  I like the creaminess of almond milk and it's a lot less calories than juice or regular milk.

*What are your smoothie secrets???

Healthier Peachie Smoothie

I've been trying to do this post for two days now and Google keeps telling me that I am out of space and cannot upload anymore pictures.

So two nights ago I paid 5 bucks for more space because I'm not computer savvy enough to figure out things like photobucket, and the space has not become available yet.

I have no idea what that means or why it takes so long, but to make a long story even longer, I can't put my picture of my smoothie on this blog.

But the smoothie was really good and pretty and healthy, so here you go:

1 large peach (preferably Utah) cut up

3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt (I like FAGE Total 0%)

2 Tbs. honey (eyeball it)

1/2 cup crushed ice

Splash of milk

*Blend until smooth and enjoy!

Orange Julius

Growing up, we made orange julius drinks a lot. We'd make them after school, at night, or Saturday mornings. They are easy to whip up and are perfect for a warm day!

6 oz. can frozen orange juice
1 cup milk
1 cup water
2 Tbs. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
12 ice cubes

Put all ingredients in blender. Mix until smooth.

Italian Cream Sodas

Chances are that many of you have already experienced the amazingness of these Italian Cream Sodas. But in the event that you have not, we feel obligated to spread the good word. These are so fun and easy to serve to a big group. The flavor possibilities are endless and you will find yourself going back for more and more.

Torani flavored syrups (available at Smart and Final)

Sonic ice

half and half

whipped cream

club soda

straws

clear plastic cups

*Grab a cup, fill 3/4 full with ice, squirt in flavors of your choice (4-6 squirts depending on size of cup), fill cup with club soda, pour in 1-2 Tbs of half and half, top with whipped cream, grab a straw and stir. Seriously people...you have got to try this. I first had them at a bridal shower and wanted to try every possible flavor combination. Thank you to Heidi Allen for letting me borrow her syrups for Nat's shower and for teaching me how to make these delightful drinks.

Summer Smoothie

I needed to make a smoothie that was all fruit and no sugar. So I looked around on a couple blogs and this is what I came up with:

1 handful frozen strawberries

1 handful frozen raspberries

1 handful frozen blueberries

1/2 of a banana

1 cup 100% apple juice

*Blend until blended.

(I'm in love with the apple juice from Fresh and Easy. Not the one on the shelf, but the one in the refrigerated section. It's way expensive so I wait until it goes on special for 1/2 off and then I stock up.)

Peachie Smoothie

This is for you Julie...

1 large peach, peeled and pitted (I used two medium)
1 cup vanilla yogurt
1 cup crushed ice
1/4 cup sugar

*Blend in blender until smooth. This was a hit on Sunday night. We'll be making lots more of this yummy goodness.