Perfect Summer Bevvy – MOJITO SLUSHIE

Put this recipe in the memory bank because it will be a staple F O R E V E R.  Okay, that might seem a bit much but this a an easy, fresh, fun to make, delicious, cool you down in the heat of summer, Martha Stewart original drink.

A Slushie + A Mojito = Genius

We set up a table with all the ingredients, a blender, ice, and glasses and everyone took turns making these.  It was entertaining and did I mention de-lish!

Mojito Slushy Recipe

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

*mix these two in the blender to dissolve the sugar

Fill blender 3/4 the way full with ice

1/3 cup lemon juice about 3 lemons

1/3 cup lime juice about 5 limes

1 cup white rum

1 cup fresh mint

Blend until smooth.  *Fresh squeezed lemons and limes in what makes this drink

* Fresh mint in super easy to grow at home but if you don’t have it on hand swing by the farmers market or oriental market for a better selection at a lower price than the local grocery store.

Dehydrate

Thought that was a typo, hmm.  No hydrating here.  We are dehydrating!  I was up to late one night, on amazon, and somehow ended up ordering a Dehydrator.  I was wanting to make yummy snacks, like beef jerky and fruit chips.  Sounds so fun right!  While the in-laws where in town one day, us ladies made these snacks while the fellas were building something.

This was my first go at it so feel free to leave advise if you have any.  Here is what we did.

1. Slice Fruit. We did apples and peaches.

2. Soak fruit in something acidic for 5 mins.  I have pineapple juice on hand.

3. Arrange fruit in a single layer on provided dehydrator trays.

4. I left the machine in the garage because the fan is a bit loud and it puts off warm air, it’s hot enough in Florida.

5.  6-8 hours later we had fruit snacks.

6.  As an experiment, we made a fruit roll up with some crushed pineapple. The roll up was nice but the pineapple was to tart for me.

All in all it was easy and tasted great. Perfect good for you summer snacks.

Fruit Roll Up




The Work Horse.

GRILL ON THE HILL. 2013.

Who doesn’t love a little BBQ? Especially when it’s a fundraiser all about the kids! Will’s son Liam used to attended EDS which is how all this started. Liam has since transferred schools, however, no one wanted to miss out on the competition. Did I mention we took home multiple awards last year? Check it out.

Team “Willy Good Q” consisted of my hubby Jeff, his co-worker Stephen, and Willy himself.

The weather was typical Florida spring. Gorgeous! Everything was grilling up nicely until one of the smokers died, uh oh. Lucky for us the neighbor grillers has this sweet toy.

An electric flame thrower! The guys weren’t so sad after all.

But BBQ must go on.

Stephen’s wife Becky and their sweet baby girl Payton came to join the party as well.

After all the grillin, smokin, saucin, and sass talkin we DIDN’T win. Turns out you can’t win if you don’t have a kid at the school. BUMMER.
We knew they had to give the ‘W’ to the parents who still pay to have their children enrolled, so we let it slide 😉

Cranberry Butter Crock Pot Pork

Remember the Christmas Cranberry Butter?

Well, a few days ago I had a big pork roast in the freezer and thought I might be able to come up with something good using cranberry butter (CB).  After it thawed out, I covered it in some salt, pepper, rosemary, garlic, and some CB.  I placed a few apples, some apple juice, and the decked out pork all comfy in the crock pot then left it for the day. When I got home the house smell great, which I love that about the crockpot, and dinner was almost ready.  I whipped up some fresh green beans and corn and tossed some rolls in the over and wha la. The pork was lean and had a great crust.  The flavor was mild which was great for left over remakes.  We used it later in the week for BBQ sandwiches and pulled pork tacos.

Checkout the Cranberry Butter here.

DIY Christmas Gifts

Ever since I was a kid making gifts was just how gift giving was done. Well, good or bad that tradition stuck. I don’t enjoy the pressure/stress of finding the perfect gift during the holidays. The thought of the mall in December… UGH! If you think DIY gifts are lame, sorry. If you dig them here are a few ideas you might be able to use.

DIY CLEAN CRANBERRY BUTTER, CLEAN APPLE BUTTER, AND VANILLA EXTRACT.

The CRANBERRY BUTTER is perfect for the holidays and the color is BEAUTIFUL.  Even if the lucky recipient isn’t into cranberries the butter will look great on the holiday table.  Oh and it is SUPER easy.

Three ingredients. Cranberries, Honey, and Vanilla Extract (see next DIY idea)

This is a CLEAN recipe so no processed sugars in this butter.
Just  10cups cranberries,  2cups honey,  2tsp vanilla
I double this and I still wanted more!

Start but warming the berries

Be careful to heat the mixture slowly so the honey doesn’t burn. Low and slow wins this game.

Once the mixture starts to get warm through, about an hour or so, I used a potato masher to squash everything together.

Then ran the mixture through a food mill to remove the rough skins

Then jar it up

And WA LA! GORGEOUS!

 

DIY CLEAN APPLE BUTTER

I love apple butter and thought for sure this would be my favorite of the two.  I actually really love the cranberry but apple butter is a classic that everyone loves.  Here’s how I did it.

12 apples – cut in wedges but core and skin ons

2 cups no sugar added apple juice

2 tablespoons molasses

1/2 cup honey

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp allspice, nutmeg, cloves, salt

I place all the ingredients into the slow cooker, stirred it up, and set it on low for 12 hours.  I stirred it once or twice during the day.  After 12 hours it was a nice dark brown color.  I put the whole pot in the fridge until the next morning.  Then ran the mixture through the food mill.  Then place it in jars and it’s ready to give away.

 

 

 

DIY VANILLA EXTRACT

This recipe and versions like it are all over pinterest and other blogs so check out a few and find what you like. Mine was simple to make. I ordered Tahitian vanilla beans online because it was way less expensive and purchased a big bottle of vodka. Then all you have to do is make a slice down the side of the vanilla beans place them in a large jar (half-gallon to gallon) and fill with vodka. And wait. I actually started my batch over thanksgiving 2011, yes 2011, and forgot about it because I put the jar in a dark safe place like I was suppose too. Well, my sweet hubby found it when we moved, YAY.

Im going to use the leftover vanilla seeds for homemade ice cream. YUM

Ready to give



Best of luck with your next DIY gift!