Peach Lemonade

Miss F's school participates in the program, One School, One Book, every summer. The whole school reads the same book and activities are planned around it during the start of school. This summer, they read The Lemonade War.  The kids were encouraged to have a lemonade stand over the summer.  Miss F wanted to incorporate the fresh Palisade peaches we were loving in Colorado in her lemonade and the results were fantastic.  As a side note, our house in Colorado came furnished, complete with a peach and lemon breakfast table.  I despise it and hope to replace it soon, but it was the perfect backdrop for fresh peach lemonade.  Miss F made some pocket money after purchasing her supplies and had a great time with the lemonade stand.

Peach Lemonade

8 cups water
1 cup sugar
2 large peaches, pitted and chopped
1 cup lemon juice, from about 5 large lemons

In a small saucepan, combine 2 cups of water with the sugar and the peaches. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes. Place a sieve over a bowl and pour the peach liquid from the saucepan through it. Press to extract all the juice from the peach pieces. Stir together the remaining 6 cups water, the lemon juice and the strained peach juice. Refrigerate and serve over ice.

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Cucumber Lime Vodka Spritzer

A month or so ago, I went to Lake Charles for the weekend with a group of girlfriends. We stayed at the Golden Nugget and had an amazing time, I highly recommend it as a much cheaper alternative to Vegas. The drive was short and the hotel was quite lovely.  We ate a Vic and Anthony's one night and three of us ordered a cucumber lime cocktail.  And three of us looked at each other in horror when we tasted it, it was awful.  I love tart tart tart cocktails, but this was too much for even my taste.  We sent the drinks back, replaced them with something much more tasty, but I still craved a cucumber and lime cocktail.  I hosted a 40th birthday for a friend and decided to try something similar, but not terrible, on my own.  This cocktail is refreshing and tasty, without being terribly tart.

Cucumber Lime Vodka Spritzer
makes 16 cocktails

8 12-ounce cans club soda
2 cups vodka
½ cup fresh lime juice
1 English cucumber, thinly sliced

In a pitcher, combine the club soda, vodka, lime juice, and cucumber. Serve over ice.

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Cranberry Margaritas

I have been wanting to make Confections of a Foodie Bride's Cranberry Margaritas for quite some time. My friend Courtney hosted a booze exchange last Christmas and it was so much fun. She was in the middle of moving this year, so I deicded to take over hosting. I served TexMex appetizers, chips and queSNOW, short rib FELIZ empanadas, chicken and spinach SANTAquitos, vegetables with jalapeNOEL ranch, with Mexican HOHOHOt Chocolate cupcakes for dessert. It was great to get all my girlfriends together for an evening of fun. I thought I had made too many margaritas (2 gallons,) but we polished them all off.

Cranberry Margaritas

1 ¼ cup cranberry juice cocktail
2 to 3 tablespoons sugar, to taste
1 ¼ cup fresh cranberries
¾ cup fresh lime juice
¾ cup tequila
½ cup orange liqueur

Add the cranberry juice, sugar, 1 cup of the cranberries, lime juice, tequila and orange liqueur into a blender. Blend for a minute or so, until smooth. Pour through a strainer to catch the cranberry pulp. Pour over ice and garnish with the reserved ¼ cup of cranberries.

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White Wine Peach Sangria

It wasn't long ago that I made a batch of Sparkling Sangria for my Foodbuzz 24x24 party. The real reason behind making it was to do a trial run for a baby shower I was hosting. Both bottles of champagne exploded all over the kitchen floor, so I thought it best to try a sangria without the explosion potential. When I saw the recipe on An Apple a Day for White Wine Sangria, I knew that it would be perfect for the shower. And it was! Though, it wasn't without a struggle. The lovely drink dispenser just stopped working after 30 minutes or so. I transferred the Sangria to a punch bowl and the guests were able to scoop the fruit into their glasses, so it worked out for the best anyhow.

White Wine Peach Sangria

¼ cup sugar
¼ cup water
2 bottles white wine (I use Walgreen's Southern Point Chardonnay, it's ~$3 and has a great light taste)
¼ cup brandy
1 can peach nectar
2 large peaches, sliced
5 strawberries, halved

Bring the sugar and water to a boil in a small saucepan over high heat to make a simple syrup. Stir until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool. In a large pitcher combine wine, brandy, nectar and simple syrup. Stir to combine. Add peaches and strawberries. Serve over ice.

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Triple Berry Smoothie

I make this smoothie a couple of times a week for breakfast. Miss F probably drinks more than I do, she loves the smoothie. I am tearing through my frozen stash of Froberg Farms strawberries, it is going to be a sad day when they are all gone. Spring is so far away and I am already wanting to pick strawberries again. Triple Berry Smoothie ¾ cup frozen strawberries ¼ cup blueberries ¼ cup blackberries ½ cup plain non-fat yogurt Small handful of ice 2 teaspoons of honey Combine all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth.

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