blueberry banana coconut smoothie

My daughter and I made this smoothie for the family during "Sunday stations" when we decided to blend up something we'd never tried before.  I wanted to use up some coconut cream so we found this recipe.  It was a super big hit.  After making one recipe we made another batch because everyone wanted more.  It's thick and really smooth.  One of my husband's favorites for sure.

blueberry banana coconut smoothie (adapted by eating made easy) 
1/2 can (15.5 ounce) coconut cream from Trader Joe's
2 tablespoons water
2 ripe bananas
2 cups frozen blueberries 

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.  Add 2 tablespoons more water if necessary.

orange julius

A couple weeks ago I pulled up to my friend Shonda's house to pick up my kids and all of our kids were lined up on the top step of the front porch sitting and sipping orange julius's out of canning jars with striped straws.  The whole scene could've made the cover of Country Living.  Our orange julius's that I made last night weren't as cute and we slurped them around the kitchen table.  BUT,  they were a huge hit especially with my husband who hadn't had one in years.  He raved about this recipe.  What I love is that the ingredients are simple and I usually have them on hand.  An easy way to please a family!!

orange julius (my friend Shonda)
6 ounces frozen orange juice concentrate
1 cup water
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
1-2 cups ice (I used 2 cups)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Blend and serve!

coconut watermelon refresher

I had plenty of watermelon in the fridge and a can of coconut milk and a great memory.  I remembered a great drink I tried while living in Hawaii many moons ago.  This is a simplified version but you can add coconut and pineapple if you wish.  I thought this was just perfect.

coconut watermelon refresher (a quick search and I found Global Table Adventure although I didn't really follow the recipe)
watermelon
light coconut milk
ice cubes

Fill a blender with cubed watermelon.  Pour in half a can of light coconut milk.  Blend until you get the consistency you want.  Pour ice cubes into a goblet followed by your coconut watermelon refresher and add a straw!  Swirl the drink around with the straw to get it nice and cold.  Enjoy!

orange jupiter

This is a great drink!  When I went to church yesterday there was a table with items up-for-grabs.  I saw a cookbook and flipped through it.  This was one of a few recipes I thought I should give a go.

orange jupiter (Deseret Recipes, 1981)
3 cups orange juice
1 cup powdered milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
9 or more ice cubes

Blend together orange juice, powdered milk, vanilla and sugar.  Add ice cubes and blend until well blended.  Makes 4 large servings.

What I have to say- next time I will use half the sugar; it was pretty sweet.

watermelon frosty

Everyone in our family loves watermelon so why not enjoy it as a frosty?  Besides, every drink is a bit more special when you get to drink it with a straw!

watermelon frosty (adapted from blog: Healthy Happy Life )
2 1/4 cups frozen watermelon cubes
1/2 cup (plus more if you need it) water
1 large lemon, squeezed
1 1/2  fresh bananas

Place the bananas, lemon juice and water into the blender.  Add the watermelon and blend until done.

berry lime sparkler

This is a nice drink that you can jazz up with some fresh or frozen floating raspberries.  My friend Kris served this drink from a fancy glass drink dispenser.  It was rather large dispenser so she made quite a large amount.  It's going to be 58 degrees today.  Cheers to that!
P.S.  This drink is a great color to serve on Valentine's Day.

berry lime sparkler (my friend Kris)
3 cans Minute Maid berry punch
1 can limeade
1 liter Ginger Ale soda
frozen berries to float and make extra fancy

Mix ingredients in a punch bowl or drink dispenser.  Add frozen berries when it's time to serve.  If you like a tart drink, you can make the punch and limeade a 1:1 ratio.

pumpkin spice steamer (steamed milk drinks)

This year I couldn't wait to give my husband his birthday present.  On our first date he took me to a symphony followed by steamed milk at a little corner cafe on a busy street in his funky college town.  I'd never had steamed milk before but I liked it and I certainly enjoyed being with him, chatting in a cafe.  It sort of felt like we should have the starring roles in a romantic movie.
I thought I'd have to buy an appliance that would cost a few hundred dollars to create a frothy drink at home- I am pleased to report that I was wrong.  I saw this post and knew I had my answer.  This aerolatte is awesome!  We spent the morning drinking all sorts of fluffy, frothy drinks, both hot and cold.  Mmmmm!  The following recipe is great...or you could use Almond Roca syrup with whipped cream and chocolate sauce drizzled on top!

pumpkin spice steamer (idea from blog: Your Home Based Mom)
milk
pumpkin spice syrup
whipped cream
caramel sauce
aerolatte (I got my husband's at amazon.com or Bed, Bath and Beyond has them!)

In a latte cup (now I know I need to pick those up!), fill 1/3 full with milk.  Warm in the microwave if you'd like your drink warm or hot.  Add some syrup then use your aerolatte to foam it up.  Top with whipped cream and caramel sauce.

candy corn coolers

Happy Hour was at 4:15 yesterday when I presented these drinks to my kiddos and their friend whom was over for dinner.  Aren't these so fun?  I was going to save this recipe for Thanksgiving dinner but I couldn't wait.  We'll have them again!  Every year I looked forward to when my mom served Martinelli's over the holidays.  I have to say this is way more fancy!

candy corn coolers (my friend Mandy at blog: Gourmet Mom on the Go) 
24 ounces orange juice or lemonade
18 ounces Torani orange syrup (we used Le Sirop de Monin because we couldn't find Torani)
refrigerated aerosol whipped cream

Fill six 8-ounce glasses half full with juice.  Carefully pour 3 ounces orange syrup into each glass.  Top with whipped cream and serve!

What I have to say- I used 16-ounce glasses and it was way too much drink for my kiddos.  It was the perfect size for my husband!  If you're serving children, stick with the 8-ounce glasses.

creamy cinnamon drink

This is a really yummy cinnamon drink that's fun because you can use your favorite flavor powdered creamer and make all kinds of variations.  We've made Irish Creme and Hazelnut.

creamy cinnamon drink (my friend Shelli)
2 cups powdered instant milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup powdered creamer (your favorite flavor)
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

Combine ingredients in a gallon size zip-lock baggie.  When you're ready to use, put 1/3 cup creamy cinnamon drink mix in 8 ounces of hot water or for restaurant-style pour into 8 ounces of hot milk. 

pineapple lemonade slushy

Here's the "recipe" for the pineapple lemonade slushy my friend Shelli brought over when I was sick last week.  This totally hit the spot and my kids think she is an awesome cook. 

pineapple lemonade slushy (my friend Shelli)
fresh pineapple
Crystal light lemonade
ice

That's all I have folks.  You put some of the above in a Vita-mix blender and lo and behold- a slushy!  I'll try to get some more exact measurements out of her.

homemade strawberry julius

Who doesn't love a nice strawberry drink in the summertime?!  This is a great strawberry drink.  It's not so much the "Strawberry Julius" I remember from when I was a kid but it's close enough.  My husband said, "That was the best strawberry julius I've ever had."  I've learned to follow up with a question that goes like this, "Was that your first strawberry julius?"  To which he responded, "It could be."

homemade strawberry julius (blog:  Amy's Cooking Adventures)
1 1/2 cups (8 ounces) fresh strawberries, stems removed
3/4 cup water
2 teaspoons meringue powder plus 2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cups sugar
2 cups ice

In a small bowl, whisk together the meringue powder and 2 tablespoons of water.
Pour the meringue mixture, strawberries, water, vanilla, sugar and ice into a blender.  Mix 2-3 minutes or until completely smooth.  Pour into glasses and garnish with additional strawberries.  Makes 3 drinks (if you make them the size I made mine you'll make about 2).

camie's strawberry banana smoothie

Too many smoothies have added sugar.  Not this one.  This is one of our favorites!

camie's strawberry banana smoothie
1 banana
6 strawberries
handful of ice
1/2 cup of milk

Put ingredients into a blender and blend on high until thick and smooth.

cucumber and lime spritzer

I needed something green to drink for St. Patty's Day but I'm not big on sweetened beverages so I opted for this. It's really refreshing and went perfectly with our Reuben sandwiches which were delicious.

cucumber and lime spritzer (idea from Real Simple Magazine, July 2009)
club soda
fresh lime juice
English cucumber, thinly sliced
ice cubes

Since it would be unlikely for me to make a big pitcher full, for an individual serving I used 1 tablespoon lime juice, about 12 ounces of club soda and 3 slices of cucumber, halved.

the real orange julius recipe

The number of oranges my family has consumed recently got me thinking about how long it has been since I’ve had an Orange Julius so I tried to find a copy cat recipe. I remember going to the mall with my mom and every once in a while we would share an Orange Julius or a Strawberry Julius. I wasn’t ever a huge fan of sweets but they always tasted so good. I can easily remember the frothy sweetness and the plastic oranges in the store window. Delicious!

the real orange julius recipe (grouprecipes.com)

Serves 3

6 ounces fresh squeezed orange juice or any orange juice will work

6 ounces clear water

3 ounces simple syrup (recipe below)

8 ounces shaved or crushed ice

1 teaspoon of powdered milk or instant vanilla pudding

Put all ingredients in blender and serve!

simple syrup

2 parts sugar, 1 part water

Bring the water to a boil and dissolve the sugar into the boiling water. Once the sugar is dissolved completely, remove the pan from heat. Allow to cool completely and bottle.

When I used 2 cups sugar and I cup water it made exactly two cups simple syrup.

What I have to say- I’ve tried different versions and this one is the closest yet. I used the instant vanilla pudding and the flavor is right on. The consistency isn’t quite there but it’s a great tasting drink!! I had my neighbor friends over for a drink and Shannon, who remembers Orange Julius said it tasted just like it.