Coping with the Holidays

I think we all need a little help getting through the craziness of the holidays.  Here are two things that I think will help you cope…

1.  Waffles

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You can cope by adding a little crack cocaine to your waffle batter like the woman in this vintage advertisement or you can try this recipe…

Chocolate Peppermint Sundae

Ingredients

Stonewall Kitchen Double Chocolate Pancake & Waffle Mix

1 quart vanilla ice cream

Stonewall Kitchen Chocolate Peppermint Sauce

¼ cup crushed peppermint candy

Preparation

Make 1 recipe Double Chocolate Waffle Mix according to canister directions.  Cut each waffle into quarters.  Warm Chocolate Peppermint Sauce in the microwave or over low heat in a small saucepan.  Make each serving by topping a waffle section with a scoop or two of ice cream.  Drizzle chocolate sauce over ice cream and sprinkle with peppermint candy.  Serve immediately.

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2.  Booze

Booze will always help with the holiday hustle and bustle.  Give this a try.

Santa Shot

Ingredients

1 part grenadine syrup

1 part green crème de menthe

1 part peppermint schnapps

Preparation

Pour grenadine to about 1/3 of your shot glass.  Carefully layer the crème de menthe, then the pepperming schnapps.

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Gross Halloween Candy and a Swamp Cocktail

When I worked full-time, I always had a candy bowl in my office.  The weird thing about it is I never really ate much of the candy in the bowl.  I can truly resist candy…until it is in a bowl in my house waiting for Halloween.  I’m not sure why I test this theory every year, but I do and the results are always the same.  Candy wrappers are all over my house and the bowl has to be refilled prior to Halloween night.  Sometimes, the bowl even has to be re-filled twice.

When I was growing up, my mom had me so worried about razor blades in our candy that it was barely enjoyable to eat the candy.  Every piece had to be inspected except for those gross candies that came in the red and black wrappers…those we could eat, but who wanted to actually eat those?  Does anyone even remember what those things were called??  Yuck.  That is one throw back from the seventies that I do not want to revisit.  I remember one year, as the candy was being thoroughly inspected by my mom and probably eaten by my dad, I watched an episode of Saturday Night Live.  I remember staring at those horrible orange and black wrapper piece-of-shit candies and then looking up to see Gilda Radner (has there ever been another person named Gilda?) playing a kid getting a story read to her.  John Belushi played her dad.  She was scared of monsters in the closet and a weird creature kept coming out of the closet (not in the gay sense, but in the actually walking out of a closet sense) trying to get her.  She’d scream, the monster would disappear and John Belushi would come in and get mad at her.  It was pretty funny and clearly funny enough that I remember it over 30 years later.

On another note, this is a pretty cool and tasty Halloween cocktail.

Swamp Water Halloween Cocktail

Ingredients

1 ½ oz spiced rum

10-12 fresh mint leaves

1 tbsp brown sugar

½ of lime, juice of

2 oz club soda

Splash of cola

10-15 fresh blueberries

Preparation

In a cocktail glass, combine the brown sugar, lime juice and mint.  Pound together to break up the mint and bring out its flavor.  Fill the glass up about ¾ of the way with crushed ice.  Pour the rum over.  Add club and a splash of cola to give it a swampy color.  Throw in some blueberries and serve.

Cocktail Source

Spiked Cranberry Lemonade

Today = Yard work, Beyond Scared Straight marathon, football, beer and crescent roll appetizers!  Word Up!

The weather is just about perfect for cocktails around a pinion wood fire.  I think I’ll fix up a batch of this for fire time.

Spiked Cranberry Lemonade

Ingredients

1 (64 oz) bottle chilled cranberry juice cocktail

2 cups vodka

½ to ¾ cup chilled lemon-mint simple syrup (recipe follows)

Sliced lemon

Granulated sugar

Preparation

In a large pitcher, combine cranberry juice cocktail, vodka and lemon-mint simple syrup, stirring to combine.  Gently stir in ginger ale.  Add lemon slices.

On a small plate, pour a small amount of vodka.  On another small plate, place sugar.  Dip rim of each glass in vodka and then in sugar.  Add ice and cranberry mixture to glasses.  Serve immediately.

Lemon-Mint Simple Syrup

Ingredients

2 cups water

2 cups granulated sugar

3 tablespoons lemon zest

2 (1 oz) packages of fresh mint

Preparation

In a medium saucepan, combine 2 cups water and sugar over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves.  Add lemon zest, and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes.  Cover and seep for 15 minutes.

Into an airtight container, pour mixture through a fine wire mesh strainer, discarding solids.  Cool completely.  Cover and chill for up to 2 weeks.

Raspberry, Lime and Tequila Cocktail

This is really all I can muster today.  I’m watching all of the Planet of the Apes movies, eating chips, drinking cocktails and periodically napping.  Enjoy.

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Raspberry, Lime and Tequila Cocktail Recipe

Ingredients

8 raspberries

1 teaspoon honey

Juice of ½ lime

2 fresh mint leaves

1 ounce tequila

Cold sparkling water

Preparation

Place raspberries, honey and lime juice in a small measuring cup.  Muddle mixture until raspberries release their juices.  Strain through a fine mesh sieve, pressing down on solids to remove all liquid.  Add mint leaves to the strained mixture and muddle to release mint fragrance.  Pour mixture over ice and top with tequila and sparking water.  Serve immediately.

Cocktail Recipe Source

Malibu Rum Strawberry Breeze and I Should be a Doctor

I’m pretty sure I missed a good chance to be a doctor.  This patient went to the doctor with the presenting symptoms of an extreme headache and fatigue.  I’m no expert, but I think I know what the actual diagnosis might be. 

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Look at this drink recipe!  YUM!!!

Strawberry Breeze Caipirinha

Muddled strawberries

Limes

Simple syrup

Malibu Rum

Top with ginger ale

Cocktail Recipe Source

Coconut Melon Rum Martini

This was what was in my fortune cookie yesterday.  I feel certain this finally means I will hit the big time and possibly be asked to compete in the upcoming Olympics.  Other than not being able to do any gymnastics at all (click here for more information), I think gymnastics will be my great sports opportunity.

Along with the inflatable pool filled and ready to go, I’ve also have these things…

A pecan crusted cheesecake (I used Jell-O instant cheesecake mix and instead of graham-cracker crust, I just ground a bag of pecans to make the crust.  There is just something about an instant Jell-O cheesecake that I will never outgrow or get too hoity toity about.) and sugar-free Strawberry-Banana Jell-O shots in the fridge.

Fire crackers!!

I also have brats at the ready and friends bringing noodle salads and beans.  If this isn’t the way to kick off the 4^th of July week…I’m not sure what is.  My house is also clean!  I’m one happy housewife who fully intends to relax and enjoy this day.  Perhaps, I’ll have one of these in my hand, too.

Coconut Melon Rum Martini

Ingredients

3 ounces Malibu Rum

1 ounce white rum

2 ounces Midori

4 ounces Pineapple juice

Zest of ½ lemon

Preparation

Fill shaker with ice and add rums, Midori and pineapple juice.  Shake vigorously and pour in 2 cold martini glasses.  Twist 1 lemon zest into each glass.

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TCB and a Lemon Drop Martini

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Today is all about getting stuff done!  I did give myself an inflatable pool break, but other than that, I’ve been taking care of business (TCB – shout out to Elvis).  This morning, I got the groceries for the week, I got stuff organized for my camp next week and mowed the backyard.  Later today, I’m going to clean the kitchen and bathrooms, dust and do the floors.  Then, I’ll make dinner and plop down in the chair to watch The Silence of the Lambs and True Blood.  It always feels good to get the house cleaned before watching a good psychological thriller and/or anything about vampires!  I have no doubt the dogs will do their damndest to mess it up again, but that’s just the way it goes.  More than likely, I will also treat myself to many many a delicious cocktails to go with my evening.  Those That cocktails will be this one!  Give it a try.

Lemon Drop Martini

Ingredients

Enough sugar for dipping the rim of the martini glass

¼ lemon

Ice

2 oz citron vodka

1 tbsp grapefruit-infused simple syrup

Simple syrup: To make grapefruit-infused simple syrup combine 1 cup of water, 1 cup of grapefruit and 1 cup of sugar in a small saucepan. Stir over high heat until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil and let boil for a minute. Turn off the heat. Let cool completely. Pour into a glass jar and store covered in the refrigerator.

Place the sugar in a bowl slightly larger than the mouth of the martini glass. Take the wedge of Meyer lemon and rub it along the rim of the glass. Turn the glass over and dip the rim in the sugar bowl. Shake off access and set aside. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Squeeze the wedge of Meyer lemon over the ice. Add the citron vodka and the simple syrup. Cap the shaker and shake (the longer you shake, the more dilute). Strain into martini glass. Makes a small martini. If you have large martini glasses, you may want to double the recipe.  Does anyone really have a small martini glass??

Cocktail Source

Thunder Up

I can’t really write anything about “True” History today because the NBA Finals are tonight.  I’m a Thunder fan.  I can’t believe my home state actually has an NBA team much less such a kick ass team.  It was like a really big thing in the 1980s when we got a mall with a movie theater.  This is big time stuff.  Naturally, I am wearing my Thunder gear and will be watching the game with friends in a bar.  I’m hoping to pretty much convert the entire bar to cheer for the Thunder.  I’ll do this with a mix of charisma and obnoxiousness.  Perhaps I’ll buy each patron one hot wing to win them over to my side.  I’m pretty sure I’ll be drinking beer, but I’m also going to order a Blue Hawaiian with an orange slice just to have my team colors in a drink in front of me.  The likelihood of me not drinking this drink and then not ordering another one are slim, but I will do my part to keep this appropriately colored drink in front of me at all times this evening.

Blue Hawaiian or Thunder Thirst Quencher

Ingredients

¼ cup cream of coconut

5 tbs pineapple juice

2 tbs Blue Curacao

1/6 cup light rum

Orange slice to garnish

Preparation

Blend light rum, blue curacao, pineapple juice, and cream of coconut with one cup ice in an electric blender at high speed.  Pour contents into a serving glass.  Decorate with slice of orange and serve chilled.

Patriotic Jell-O Shots

This picture sums up my weekend...

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I’m pretty sure your Memorial Day cookout plans will be incomplete if you don’t make these Patriotic Jell-O shots.

Patriotic Jell-O Shots

Ingredients

Red Layer

1 pack red raspberry Jell-O

1 ½ cups water

½ cup Pomegranate Vodka

White Layer

1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk

2 cups water

2 packs Knox Gelatin

Blue Layer

1 pack berry blue Jell-O

1 ½ cups water

½ cup Blue Curacao

Preparation

Red Layer:  Boil 1 cup water.  Add the Jell-O to the boiling water, stir until dissolved.  Mix the vodka with ½ cup cold water, stir slightly.  Wait for the Jell-O mixture to cool slightly, and then stir in the cold water and vodka mixture.  Pour into 1 oz Jell shot cups (portion cups or Dixie cups will do), about 1/3 the way full.  Chill in the fridge.

White Layer:  Boil 1 cup water, mix in the milk, and then set aside.  Sprinkle the gelatin over ½ cup cold water, let stand for a few minutes.  Boil ½ cup water, and then blend into the gelatin mixture.  Stir until dissolved.  Blend the milk and gelatin mixtures and let cool to room temp.  Once the red layer has set, carefully pour this onto the shot for another 1/3 height.  Place in the fridge.

Blue Layer:  Boil 1 cup water.   Add the Jell-O to the boiling water, stir until dissolved.  Mix the Curacao with ½ cup cold water, stir slightly.  Wait for the Jell-O mixture to cool slightly, and then stir in the cold water and Curacao mixture.  Once the previous layers have set add and this mixture cools a bit, pour on top of the other layers about 1/3 height or until the top of the shot is reached.  Chill in the fridge until ready to serve.

Recipe Source

Bird Attacks and Hippie Juice Cocktails

Our dog Cujo is the pee-ing-est dog ever.  I’ve never seen anything like it.  He can drink water and two minutes later he has to pee.  He is almost like a strainer.  Anyway, Tiffany took him out the other day and noticed he has apparently pissed off some birds.  They are building a nest and expecting eggs and they are ready to jack up anyone or anything that gets near “their” tree.  Cujo lumbered past the tree the other morning on his usual pee routine.  This set off some screaming followed by a series of aerial dive-bombs at Cujo’s head and ass.  I kept trying to catch it on video with no luck.  The birds seemed to be camera shy.  Tiffany finally caught them in the act.  This has been cracking us up for days.  I hope you’ll think it is just as funny as we do.

We’ve got the kiddie pool inflated and filled with water.  Summer is upon us…this means pool time and cocktails.  This will be our drink of the summer (or at least one of our drinks).

Hippie Juice

Ingredients

Water

Glacier Freeze Gatorade (the next day your electrolytes will thank you)

Country Time Pink Lemonade Mix

Fresh Strawberries

Smirnoff Watermelon Vodka

Triple Sec

Malibu Coconut Rum

Empty 59 ounce Simply Brand Juice Container

Preparation

Wash out your empty Simply Brand Juice container.  Use a funnel to pour 4 scoops of pink lemonade mix into the container.  Next, measure 1 cup of the vodka, 1/3 cup triple sec and 1/3 cup coconut rum and 1 cup of the Gatorade and use funnel to add to container.  Using cold water, fill the rest of the container up to the base of the neck.  Rinse 4 strawberries and cut across top to remove the stem and cut into four even pieces.  Drop the strawberries in the mixture and add water to the top, cap and shake gently to mix.  Refrigerate and when ready enjoy your hippie juice.  Peace!

Recipe Source

Start of Saint Patrick's Day with a Bloody Mary Guinness

Bloody Mary Guinness

Ingredients

1.5 oz vodka

4-5 dashes Worcestershire sauce

2 pinches celery salt

1 dash hot sauce

1-2 dashes lemon pepper

1/8 tsp horseradish

3-4 oz tomato juice

1.5 oz Guinness

Celery (and whatever other garnish you prefer)

Preparation

Use cold beer and juice, frozen vodka.  Pour in order:  vodka, spices, tomato juice, Guinness.  Stir with celery stalk.  Garnish however you please.

Recipe Source

Please stop pinning this baby on Pinterest, posting it on facebook and tweeting about it on Twitter.  ENOUGH WITH THIS BABY ALREADY. 

Horse iPad and a Mint Julep

We have a busy day today.  I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow.  In the meantime,  I’ll leave you with this video about the iPad for Horses and a Mint Julep recipe.

Mint Julep

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Ingredients

4 fresh mint springs

2 ½ oz bourbon whiskey

1 tsp powdered sugar

2 tsp water

Preparation

Muddle mint leaves, powdered sugar, and water in a Collins glass. Fill the glass with shaved or crushed ice and add bourbon.  Top with more ice and garnish with a mint sprig.  Serve with a straw.

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Happy Leap Year and a Leaptini Recipe!!

Happy Leap Year!!!  You should look at all these fantastic pictures by Philippe Halsman (click here to see more) while listening to the Pointer Sisters singing Jump.  I plan to quote last Thursday’s episode of 30 Rock all day.  I really don’t care who I annoy!  Have a great day and make yourself a Leaptini!!

Leaptini 

Ingredients

2 ounces of Vodka

½ ounces agave nectar

½ ounce lime juice

Fresh basil


Preparation

Combine and muddle all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice.  Shake to blend and chill.  Strain into a martini glass.

Recipe Source