Category Archives: Drinks

Drinks, Holiday Treats

Champagne Jello Shots

Leave a comment

champ 1

The end of the year is upon us. It’s a time for sparkles, glitter, and champagne…jello shots 😛 This recipe is incredibly easy (only about 15 minutes of active time), and will definitely be a crowd-pleaser. Just look at those bubbles!

With only six ingredients (it’s really five, water doesn’t count, right??), they’re ready in a flash!! And don’t worry – unflavored gelatin can be found at almost every grocery store, in the baking aisle.

Ingredients:

  • 3 tablespoons (3 envelopes) unflavored gelatin powder
  • 2 cups cold water
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups cold champagne
  • 1 1/2 cups cold ginger ale
  • 1  1/2 cup sliced fresh strawberries

Active Time: 15 minutes

Inactive time: 3 hours

In a saucepan, sprinkle the gelatin evenly over the cold water, and allow the gelatin to absorb the water for 2 minutes. Bring the water to a boil over high heat, and stir until the gelatin is fully dissolved. Remove from the heat.

Transfer the gelatin mixture to a bowl, add the sugar, and stir until dissolved. Stir in the champagne and ginger ale. Refrigerate until thickened (about a 1.5 hours). Fold in the strawberries gently, and spoon into 7 to 10 individual molds or cups. I used clear disposable plastic cups. Refrigerate until firm (1.5 additional hours). Unmold the shots by dipping the cups in warm water for about 15 seconds, then use an offset spatula or knife to ease the jello out of the cup. I served them upside-down on a platter with the extra strawberries I had.

champ 2

Advertisements
Drinks

Detox Water

Leave a comment

Being the planner that I am, I decided to make some detox water before I went out with my friends tonight. I taste tested it before we left, and it was wonderful! I can’t wait to drink it tomorrow once it’s fully steeped. To make it, I used:

  • 2 liters of water
  • 1 sliced cucumber
  • 10-12 chopped, fresh mint leaves
  • 1 sliced lime
  • 1 sliced lemon

025  026

I put all my ingredients in a large pitcher, and popped it in the fridge. It’s literally that simple. YAY FOR DETOX WATER!! And not being hungover 😀

027

Drinks, Healthy Options

My Favorite Flavored Water

3 Comments

I made a drastic life change and decided to give up diet soda today. It was kind of sudden and out of the blue, but it really needed to happen. I usually drink at least 3 diet sodas a day….which is terrible. So I have been experimenting with flavored water as a healthy alternative. And I’ve realized that water can taste even better than soda! Who knew. My favorite flavored water is made with:

  • 1 large pitcher of water
  • 10-12 chopped mint leaves
  • 1 cup blueberries (frozen or fresh)
  • 2 sliced lemons
  • 1 sliced peach or nectarine

003 004

Throw everything together in a pitcher and let it steep over night. You can use fresh or frozen fruit – I always prefer fresh if it’s in season. You can always mix it up or throw in your favorite fruits.

010

Drinks

White Wine Sangria

Leave a comment

I recently made red wine sangria, and thought it was about time I tried out a white wine sangria! You can really add whatever fruit you want to sangria, so I chose my favorite fruits and used the following ingredients:

  • 1 bottle white wine (I used chardonnay)
  • 12 oz. ginger ale (you could also use club soda)
  • 1/2 cup triple sec
  • 2 kiwis
  • 1 pint strawberries
  • 2 lemons
  • 4 limes
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 pint blueberries

009 015

I put everything into a large pitcher and let it sit in my fridge overnight. It was perfectly chilled when I pulled it out for my birthday party! And MAN was it tasty – it was crisp, refreshing, and perfect for a summer night fun 😀

014014014

Drinks, Popsicles

Drunken Gummy Bear Popsicles

1 Comment

Vodka soaked gummy bears, and seven-up. It’s that simple. I soaked a bag of gummy bears in a cup of vodka over night, and then evenly distributed the gummy bears into my popsicle molds.

Image Image

I then filled them up with sprite, and let them freeze overnight. They turned out great! I love how playful they look 😀

 Image Image  Image

Drinks, Sweets

Creamy Margarita Popsicles

Leave a comment

I still can’t believe my birthday was yesterday! I am a little nervous about being 23, but I’m sure it’ll be great. I mean, I’m definitely started the year off right by having a big birthday party 😀 Of course my party had tons of drinks, apps, and….popsicles? YES! I saw this recipe for creamy margarita popsicles and couldn’t wait to make them. This got me thinking about alcoholic popsicles…and inspired me to also make these vodka gummy bear popsicles. That’s a different story though. For my margarita popsicles, I used:

  • 1¼ cup fresh lime juice (about 8 limes), plus 4 limes for stabilizing the popsicle sticks
  • 1 (14oz) can of sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 cup water
  • ¼ cup tequila
  • 2 tablespoons orange juice (optional)
  • Kosher salt or margarita salt
  • a drop of green food coloring
You will also need:
  • 12 (3oz) Dixie cups
  • popsicle sticks

In a pitcher, I combined the lime juice, sweetened condensed milk, water, tequila, food coloring, and orange juice. It is important to combine the ingredients in a container that has a spout because it will make it much easier to pour the mix into cups.

040 041 042

I then lined the Dixie cups on a baking sheet (to make it easier to get them in and out of the Fill each Dixie cup 90% of the way with the tequila mixture. I sliced the limes into ¼ inch thick rounds and pushed a popsicle through the center of each lime round, so that half of the stick poked out from each side. I topped the mixture with the lime sticks, and made sure the lime was resting directly on top of the tequila mixture.

048 049 057

I let them freeze overnight, and then sprinkled the tops with salt before I served them. They were delicious! I will definitely be making these again throughout the summer 😀

Drinks

Blueberry Mojitos

Leave a comment

Summer….time for sunshine, fun, and cocktails! I was at a friend’s house this weekend, and after a long afternoon at the beach we needed some refreshments. I saw a recipe for blueberry mojitos a while back, and thought it would be perfect for the evening. So I gathered my ingredients:

  • 1 cup frozen blueberries
  • 1 cup rum
  • the juice of two limes (I got an extra to cut up as a garnish)
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup fresh mint

I definitely eyeballed the measurements of my mojitos, since I didn’t want to wander aimlessly through my friend’s kitchen, but they still tasted delicious! They were a bit strong, but that’s how I like my drinks 😀 I first filled the pitcher up with some ice, then poured in the sugar, lime juice, and mint. I attempted to muddle this (but it was was more of a vigorous stir). I then added a hefty pour of rum, and the seltzer water. The finishing touch was tossing in the frozen blueberries and lime garnish.

013    015

In an ideal world, I would have pureed the blueberries, chopped the mint leaves a bit smaller, and properly muddled the limes and mint. But life is too short to worry about being perfect! Everyone enjoyed them, and the pitcher was gone before we knew it.