Drinks Archives - Eat. Drink. Love.

Blueberry Lemonade

May 13, 2013 by Stephanie

Blueberry Lemonade

I think about really weird things when I watch tv or movies. I think about things that really don’t have any importance to the storyline, it’s just stuff that crosses my mind. Like on Game of Thrones, they show a lot of naked ladies and I always wonder how these women are shaving their legs. I mean, these people go days and days without showering, yet their legs are always so perfectly smooth.

We’ve been watching Mad Men on Netflix. We started last Thursday and we are already into season 2 (we are so lame…). There was one episode where they were all talking about how hot it was and they didn’t have air conditioning. I can’t even imagine. I like for it to be as cold as possible, especially at night. When the A/C breaks, I want to die. I know, I’m so dramatic.

Blueberry Lemonade

So, this blueberry lemonade. It’s perfect for the summer heat, with or without A/C. I love any baked good that contains blueberry and lemons, so why not make one of my favorite flavor combos into a lemonade?! Making your own lemonade isn’t a lot of work and it’s so much better than the powdered stuff. And I’m not sure what I love more about this blueberry lemonade, the taste, or the gorgeous color!

Blueberry Lemonade

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients

For the blueberry syrup:

1 cup fresh blueberries
1 cup water
3/4 cup sugar

For the lemonade:

6-7 lemons (1 cup), juiced
5-6 cups water (you can also use sparkling water)
1 cup blueberry syrup (or to taste)

Instructions

To make the syrup, heat a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the water and sugar. Once the sugar dissolves, stir in the blueberries. Bring the mixture to a light boil and continue to cook for about 5-7 minutes or until most of the blueberries have broken down, stirring every 2 minutes or so.
Remove the pan from the heat. Pour the syrup through a fine mesh sieve. Discard the solids. Set the syrup aside and let the syrup cool completely.
In a pitcher, stir together the lemon juice, water, and the blueberry syrup. Chill. Garnish with fresh blueberries and lemon slices if desired.

http://eat-drink-love.com/2013/05/blueberry-lemonade/

Blueberry Lemonade

Looking for other lemonade recipes? Try these:
Raspberry Peach Lemonade
Sparkling Strawberry Lemonade

Filed Under: Drinks, Kid-Friendly · Tagged With: blueberry lemonade, fresh blueberries, homemade, sparkling 31 Comments

Skinny Strawberry Margaritas

April 24, 2013 by Stephanie

Skinny Strawberry Margaritas

So I just realized like yesterday that Cinco de Mayo is coming up. You guys know how much I love Mexican food so any holiday that will allow for me to eat copious amounts of guacamole and drink a bunch of fruity margaritas is fine by me!

These skinny strawberry margaritas are inspired by my skinny raspberry margaritas. Margaritas are one of my favorite drinks, but the amount of sugar most restaurants put in them is just horrifying. I often feel like I am just drinking pure sugar more than anything else.

It takes a little more work to strain the seeds or you can choose to leave them in if you don’t mind them! This margarita comes in at about 190 calories. I sweetened it with agave nectar, but you could also use sugar if desired. I also lightly rimmed my glasses with some raw sugar.

Skinny Strawberry Margaritas

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Yield: 2 margaritas

Calories per serving: 190

Ingredients

4 oz. fresh or frozen strawberries
4 oz. silver tequila
1 lime, juiced
6 oz. club soda
1 tbs. agave nectar (or to taste)
Splash raspberry liquor and/or Triple sec (optional)
raw sugar, granulated sugar, or salt (for the rim, optional)

Instructions

Add the raspberries to a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Place a fine mesh strainer over a bowl. Pour the puree into the strainer to remove the seeds.
Add the remaining ingredients plus the strained raspberry puree into a pitcher. Stir to combine. Serve over ice.

http://eat-drink-love.com/2013/04/skinny-strawberry-margaritas/

Skinny Strawberry Margaritas

Filed Under: Cocktails, Drinks, Low-Sugar/Sugar-Free · Tagged With: cinco de mayo, cocktail, low calorie, low-sugar, skinny strawberry margaritas 16 Comments

Spring Sangria

March 29, 2013 by Stephanie

Spring Sangria

I think that if I were ever to write a cookbook, I could write a book filled with sangria recipes. Sangria rocks my world. And with the warmer weather comes my desire to make cool and refreshing cocktails.

Work has been getting super crazy lately. Lots of new projects. Lots of manuscripts to write, review, publish, blah, blah, blah. I had so much fun visiting with my family last weekend, but I think I need a vacation from that vacation. If I could just have at least a few days where I don’t have to do anything. I can just be super lazy. All. Day. Long. Or a cruise. I would also be very happy with a cruise. I guess for now I will just have to sit on my patio with a pitcher of this spring sangria and pretend I am somewhere really fabulous.

Spring Sangria

One of my favorite things about spring is all of the bright and fresh fruits that come into season! Citrus is big for springtime as well as pineapples. Citrus and pineapple? In sangria? Oh yes. Let’s do this.

Spring Sangria

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

1 (750 ml) bottle of fruity white wine
3 cups Sprite (you can also use lemon lime sparkling water)
2 cups pineapple juice
1/2 cup orange juice
sliced lemons, lime, and oranges (and pineapple if you want!)

Instructions

In a large pitcher, stir together the wine, Sprite, pineapple juice, and the orange juice. Then gently stir in the slices of fruit.
Refrigerate the sangria for about 2 hours and serve.*

Notes

Soaking citrus fruits for too long can result in a bitter taste. If you are not going to serve the sangria within a few hours of making it, I recommend waiting to add the fruit until you are ready to serve it.

http://eat-drink-love.com/2013/03/spring-sangria/

Spring Sangria

Filed Under: Cocktails, Drinks · Tagged With: citrus, cocktail, drink, lemon, lime, orange, pineapple, Spring sangria, springtime, white, wine 15 Comments

Pomegranate-Pear Champagne Punch

February 8, 2013 by Stephanie

Pomegranate Pear Champagne Punch

The typical beverage of choice for most people during the Super Bowl is beer. But, not for me. While watching the game last week, I was sipping on some of this pomegranate-pear champagne punch. I guess I just like to be fancy. And also, it was Sunday, which is my day for cooking and photographing everything for the blog, but whatever. Oh, and like always, I don’t want to drinks to go to waste, so I end up drinking both of them in the middle of the afternoon. I have no tolerance anymore and so then I fell asleep. I am so lame.

Pomegranate Pear Champagne Punch

We don’t have any big plans for Valentine’s Day. I think since we have been together, we have only attempted to go out on Valentine’s Day like maybe once. We hate crowds so we are going to do what we always do for special days: Sit at home in PJ’s, eat a lot of fondue, and probably watch more Bones on Netflix. We are out of control!

I love pom juice, but I think my favorite part about this drink is the pear nectar and of course, the pretty pink color! This punch fruity and addicting! I think I will fancy things up this V-Day by mixing up more of this punch! Nothing says Valentine’s Day and romance like a glass of champagne, am I right?!

Pomegranate Pear Champagne Punch

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients

1 1/2 pomegranate juice
1 cup pear nectar
1/4 cup orange-flavored liqueur (like triple sec)
1 bottle (750 ml) champagne

Instructions

In a pitcher add in the pomegranate juice, pear nectar, and the orange liqueur and stir together. Slowly pour in the champagne. Chill before serving or serve over ice.

Notes

Recipe from Martha Stewart

http://eat-drink-love.com/2013/02/pomegranate-pear-champagne-punch/

Pomegranate Pear Champagne Punch

Filed Under: Cocktails, Drinks, Holidays · Tagged With: champagne, drink, holiday, pear, pomegranate, punch, valentine's day 24 Comments

Purple Monster Smoothie

January 22, 2013 by Stephanie

Purple Monster Smoothie

There is something about winter time that just winter that makes us eat less fruits and veggies. Most fruits are consumed in the form of pie and cookies. Not totally a bad thing, but you know, not so great either.

I have been trying to eat more fruits and veggies since the holidays, but I know it’s still not enough so I have been trying to get more in though smoothies.

Purple Monster Smoothie

The first time I made a green smoothie years ago, I kind of wanted to barf. To mask out the taste of spinach, I used only an apple and maybe some pear and it just didn’t do it for me. After lots of tweaking, I came to realize that I was just not a green smoothie kind of gal.

Purple Monster Smoothie

So, what kind of gal am I? A purple monster smoothie gal (or a purplish brownish one, whatevs). I like berries in my smoothies. I’m okay with that.

Purple Monster Smoothie

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Yield: 1 smoothie

Ingredients

1 small banana, sliced
2 cups fresh baby spinach
1/2 cup plain non-fat yogurt (regular or Greek)
1 cup frozen berries (I used mixed berries)
1 tbs. chia seeds (optional)
orange juice or water to thin the smoothie out, if needed

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Notes

Feel free to experiment with this smoothie. You can also use pineapple and/or apple if you don't want to use the banana.

http://eat-drink-love.com/2013/01/purple-monster-smoothie/

Purple Monster Smoothie

Filed Under: Breakfast, Drinks, Kid-Friendly, Low-Fat, Snacks · Tagged With: berries, breakfast, chia seeds, green, healthy, low-fat, purple monster smoothie, snack, yogurt 16 Comments

Boozy Coffee Milkshake AND a Giveaway!

January 8, 2013 by Stephanie

Attention coffee lovers! This recipe AND giveaway is for you!

I’m so excited to be sharing a great new product from my most favorite coffee company, Barnie’s CoffeeKitchen. I first experienced Barnie’s coffee while living in Florida and became immediately addicted! They provide a wide variety of coffees that is sure to satisfy all coffee lovers!

The great folks over at Barnie’s CoffeeKitchen were so kind to send me a package with their latest product, Pronto! brewsticks. I am seriously in love with these little brewsticks! Pronto! are individual packs of liquid concentrated coffee. I love that they are liquid as opposed to a powder. It makes mixing them up so much easier!

Pronto Product 2 mark

Pronto! is perfect for me because I am the only coffee drinker in my house and it’s so much easier to just use a packet of Pronto! instead of dragging out and dirtying my coffee pot. And you can use them for hot or iced coffee! I like keeping a few in my office for when I need an afternoon pick-me-up.

And now, you can enter for your chance to win a great package of Pronto! in a variety of flavors from Barnie’s CoffeeKitchen! Just scroll down to the bottom of this post to enter!

Pronto Product 1 mark

While I love just making plain hot or iced coffee with Pronto!, I wanted to find a new way to use them! And what better way than to mix them up in a boozy milkshake?!

Boozy Coffee Milkshake

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Yield: 1 milkshake

Ingredients

1 Barnie's CoffeeKitchen Pronto! Brewstick (or 1/4 cup strong brewed coffee*)
2 oz. Bailey's Irish Cream
2 tbs. chocolate syrup
1 cup vanilla ice cream
1/4 cup milk (can use more or less to adjust to reach desired thickness)

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Notes

If using brewed coffee, you may want to omit the milk, otherwise the shake may be too watery. Or you can just add more ice cream! :)

http://eat-drink-love.com/2013/01/boozy-coffee-milkshake/

GIVEAWAY TIME!

Please use the Rafflecopter below to place your entries. There are 5 ways to win so make sure you check off each one in the box below to ensure all of your entries are put into the drawing!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: The views expressed herein are my own. Barnie’s CoffeeKitchen provided me with samples of the Pronto product to try and review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for this post.

Filed Under: Drinks · Tagged With: Barnie's CoffeeKitchen, booze, boozy, coffee, giveaway, milkshake, Pronto! 47 Comments

Gingerbread Martini

December 17, 2012 by Stephanie

Everyone has a certain flavor that reminds them of Christmas. For some it’s eggnog, for which I am still just not so sure how I feel about. For others, it’s peppermint.

Speaking of peppermint, I have a confession. I think it’s time I come clean about something. We’re all friends here, right?

Ok, here it goes…I don’t really like peppermint.

I know, I’m sorry. Please don’t throw garbage at me. I don’t HATE it, I just don’t really care for it. I only like mint flavor in a few things: toothpaste, gum, tea, mouthwash, mint chip ice cream, and..well, that’s about it. I don’t like peppermint bark either. This is also because it contains white chocolate, which, by the way, I really do hate.

My favorite Christmas flavor is gingerbread. I’ll skip the peppermint, just give me the gingerbread. In all forms. Cookie, latte, and now, martini. And just a warning, this thing is dangerously addicting. The gingerbread syrup is really where it’s at with this drink, so add as much or as little as you like. I kind of want to pour the syrup on everything though.

Gingerbread Martini

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Yield: 2 martinis

Ingredients

For the gingerbread syrup:

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 tbs. molasses
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

For the martini:

2 ounces vanilla vodka
1.5 ounces Kahlua
1.5 ounces Bailey's Irish Cream
3 tbs. gingerbread syrup (or to taste)
2.5 ounces half and half (plus about 2 tbs. for the rim)
gingerbread cookies (for the rim and for garnish)(I like Pepperidge Farm)
whipped cream (for garnish)

Instructions

For the syrup:

In a small saucepan, heat the water, brown sugar, molasses, ginger, and cinnamon on medium heat until the sugar dissolves (about 5 minutes).

For the martini:

Crush about 2-3 small gingerbread cookies in a zip lock bag with a rolling pin. Place the crumbs in a saucer and set aside.
Pour the 2 tablespoons of half and half into a small saucer. Dip the rims of the martini glasses into the half and half. Then dip into the gingerbread crumbs and set the glasses aside.
In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, combine, the vodka, Kahlua, Bailey's Irish Cream, gingerbread syrup, and the half and half. Shake well and pour into martini glasses. Place a dollop of whipped cream on top and then place a gingerbread cookie on top of the whipped cream and serve.

Notes

- If you can't find gingerbread cookies, you can also use gingersnaps or Biscoff cookies.

Adapted from Hampton Roads Happy Hour

http://eat-drink-love.com/2012/12/gingerbread-martini/

Filed Under: Cristmas, Drinks, Holidays · Tagged With: christmas, cocktail, drink, entertaining, gingerbread, holiday, martini 18 Comments

S’mores Hot Chocolate

December 10, 2012 by Stephanie

So…S’mores hot chocolate.

When you think about it, when you make regular hot chocolate and top it with marshmallows, you’re like already three quarters of the way there. Just throw in some graham cracker crumbs and toast those marshmallows and you are done. So simple.

But, there is something about this version. It’s fancy. So much fancier. Toasted marshmallows might be one of the greatest things ever.

If you want to make this more grown-up friendly, add a splash of Kahlua or Bailey’s.

S’Mores Hot Chocolate

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Yield: serves 2

Ingredients

3 cups milk + 1/4 cup (any kind will do)
1 cup milk or dark chocolate chips
sugar to taste
graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup mini marshmallows
chocolate syrup (for garnish)
splash of Kahlua or Bailey's (optional)

Instructions

Using the 1/4 cup milk, rub some of the milk along the rim of each mug. Pour some graham cracker crumbs onto a plate. Dip the mugs into the crumbs until the rims are well-lined.
In a saucepan, heat the remaining milk on medium heat until heated through. Add in the chocolate and whisk until melted. Add sugar to taste. Pour the cocoa into 2 mugs.
Sprinkle 1/4 of the marshmallows on top of each mug. Using a kitchen torch, toast the marshmallows until brown. If you don't have a torch, you can use your broiler. Place the mugs on a baking sheet and broil until the marshmallows are toasted.
Drizzle some chocolate syrup over the top and sprinkle with extra graham cracker crumbs if desired.

http://eat-drink-love.com/2012/12/smores-hot-chocolate/

Update: The mugs pictured here are from Pier 1.

Filed Under: Drinks · Tagged With: drink, hot chocolate, kahlua, marshmallows, s'mores 18 Comments

Apple Pumpkintini

November 9, 2012 by Stephanie

It’s Friday! I am back home in Florida for my friend’s wedding this weekend. It’s nice to see my family again. My little brother has been calling me a “ditcher” since we moved to Arizona. He also thinks I moved 5,000 miles away. In my birthday card that he gave me right before we moved, he wrote, “Happy Birthday, Sis. You’re a ditcher. See you in the year 2020.”

It’s okay. We are going to spend the whole day together today. I ain’t no ditcher!

In celebration of it being the weekend, I have created a yummy martini for you. Apple and pumpkin in one awesome drink! This drink is the perfect drink to serve your Thanksgiving dinner guests…or you could be like a certain someone and drink one and a half of them at 11:30 in the morning because you made them to photograph and you don’t want it to go to waste so you drink them and then end up with a raging headache for the rest of your day…

Apple Pumpkintini

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Yield: 2 martinis

Ingredients

2 1/2 tbs. pumpkin puree
3 ounces apple cider (I used the Spiced Cider from Trader Joes)
2 ounces vanilla vodka
1 ounce ginger ale
cinnamon and sugar (for the rim)

Instructions

In a shallow dish, mix together a couple of tablespoons of sugar and about 1/2 tsp. cinnamon. Rub some apple cider along the rim of each martini glass. Dip the rim in the cinnamon sugar mixture to coat.
In a cocktail shaker, add about 3-4 ice cubes. Add in the pumpkin puree, apple cider, vodka, and ginger ale. Shake well and pour into the martini glasses and serve.

http://eat-drink-love.com/2012/11/apple-pumpkintini/

Filed Under: Drinks · Tagged With: alcohol, apple, drink, fall, martini, pumpkin, thanksgiving, tini 24 Comments

Witches’ Brew

October 29, 2012 by Stephanie

Ok, so I’ve got one more last-minute Halloween recipe for you! Much like monster munch, this witches’ brew is a really easy recipe that you can pretty much do whatever you want with! Mix it up in a cauldron with a little dry ice and you’ll have a fun and festive drink to serve on Halloween after all that trick-or-treating!

Witches’ Brew

Ingredients

3 cups ginger ale
2 cups cranberry grape juice (or just plain cranberry juice)
3 cups apple cider
For adult witches: add rum, vodka, chambord, etc.
For little witches: add gummy worms, eyeball candies, or any other creepy thing you want to add!

Instructions