Frozen Whipped Lemonade

This is a recipe Kate likes to make and it's so delicious. Super simple with just a few ingredients. And one can of sweetened condensed milk is enough to make this a few times. --Mark

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups ice cubes 

1/4 cup cold heavy cream

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 2 medium lemons)

1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk

Whipped cream, for topping (optional)

Lemon slice, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

Place 1 1/2 cups ice cubes, 1/4 cup cold heavy cream, 1/4 cup lemon juice, and 1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk in a blender, preferably high-speed. Using the tamper if needed, blend until smooth, about 1 minute. 

Pour into a glass and garnish with whipped cream and a lemon slice if desired.

Notes

We used light cream instead of heavy cream and it worked just fine.

Cold Brew Coffee

Stacy loves her cold brew in the morning, and for a while we'd just buy whatever the grocery store had. Then I discovered this easy recipe and now it's pretty much all we do.--Mark

Ingredients  

2/3 cups coffee grounds

1 quart of water

Directions

Put the coffee grounds in a quart sized container. Mason jars work well for this. Fill the jar to the top. Shake well. Let stand for 10 to 12 hours.

Filter coffee. Pour into larger bottle and add water.

Notes

We use the iced coffee bottles you can buy at the store to contain our coffee. These are just about perfect for diluted the filtered coffee.

Wassail

I remember drinking this a long time ago after a night of caroling. It was powdered and still good. This recipe is wonderful. We all loved it, and it's so easy to make. --Mark

Ingredients:

1 gallon 100% orange juice (or a mixture of 100% juices)
1 orange, thinly sliced
10 whole cloves or a pinch of ground cloves
5 cinnamon sticks, or 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Instructions:

Place all ingredients into a pot and bring to a boil. Simmer and serve

Notes:

To make a smaller amount just estimate and enjoy.

Butterbeer, Version 2

We are on a quest for a great butterbeer, and this one is pretty good. Stacy came up with the mixture and it's almost as good as the real thing. Close your eyes, picture The Three Broomsticks, and enjoy!  --Mark

Ingredients:

Cream soda
Butterscotch ice cream topping
Caramel creamer (Coffeemate's Natural Bliss works well)

Instructions:

Coat the bottom of a glass with the butterscotch topping. Add a small amount of creamer. Fill the glass with soda. Stir and enjoy.

Notes:

Play with the amounts until your tongue dances with utter joy.

Homemade Hot Chocolate

We drink a lot of hot chocolate in the winter (and all year for that matter). This homemade hot chocolate is the bomb! It's so good, and so easy  --Mark

Ingredients:

1 tsp cocoa powder
2 tsp sugar
1 T water
1 drop of vanilla extract
pinch of salt
3/4 cup milk

Instructions:

1. Mix all of the ingredients except for milk in a small saucepan.

2. Once the mixture is smooth, add the milk and warm over low-medium heat. Do not let it boil.

3. When the milk is warm enough, serve with whipped cream.

Notes:

We often use less sugar and more cocoa for a richer flavor. A little more vanilla doesn't hurt either.

Non-Alcoholic New Year's Eve Punch

This is a great, fresh drink. Perfect to lighten a New Year's feast!  --Mark

Ingredients:

3 1/2 liters ginger ale
2 quarts orange juice
2 oranges, sliced into rounds
20 maraschino cherries

Instructions:

In a large punch bowl mix ginger ale and orange juice. Place sliced oranges on top of punch and arrange the cherries on top of the orange slices.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Non-Alcoholic-New-Years-Eve-Punch/

Butterbeer

Yes, we found recipes for that famed drink of the Harry Potter world. We tried three different recipes and liked all of them for different reasons. There are 2 hot ones, which is how the "authentic" recipe from the books is served. There is a cold one based on the recipe being used at the Harry Potter attraction at Universal Studios--it is officially endorsed by J.K. Rowling. I'm guessing a hot drink wouldn't go over too well in Florida. --Mark

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The Cold One

From http://www.chicaandjo.com/2010/08/12/butterbeer-recipe/

Ingredients:

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

2 T powdered sugar

24 oz. cream soda

2 tsp vanilla butter and nut flavoring

Instructions:

Whisk cream and powdered sugar until firm, but still able to be poured.

Mix soda and flavoring. Pour into glasses. Top with about 1/2 inch of foam.

Notes:

We substituted melted butter and vanilla for the flavoring and it tasted pretty good. We wonder what it would have been like if we could have found the actual flavoring.

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From http://www.mugglenet.com/misc/rosmertas/butterbeer.shtml

Ingredients:

1 cup (8 oz) cream soda
½ cup (4 oz) butterscotch syrup (ice cream topping)
½ tablespoon butter

Instructions:

Measure butterscotch and butter into a 2 cup (16 oz) glass. Microwave on high for 1 to 1½ minutes, or until syrup is bubbly and butter is completely incorporated. Stir and cool for 30 seconds, then slowly mix in club soda. Mixture will fizz quite a bit. Serve in two coffee mugs or small glasses.

Notes:

We heated the butterscotch and butter over the stove until it was bubbly. We would have heated the cream soda slightly, or at least worked from room temperature.

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From: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/semi-homemade-cooking-with-sandra-lee/butterbeer-recipe/index.html

Ingredients:

1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup butterscotch topping
2 tablespoons whipped butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups vanilla cream soda

Instructions:

Combine condensed milk, butterscotch topping, and butter in a glass heatproof measuring cup. Heat in microwave for 1 minute. Remove and stir until butter has melted and incorporated into mixture. Meanwhile heat cream soda in another heatproof measuring cup for 1 minute 30 seconds. Divide butterscotch mixture between 2 (10 to 12-ounce) mugs. Fill mugs with heated cream soda and stir thoroughly.

Notes:

Again, we heated everything on the stove and it worked really well.

Orange Julius

This was a treat I remember making at home, which was much better than anything you can buy at any chain restaurant. This recipe came from Stacy's college roommate, Julia. --Mark

Ingredients:

1/2 can frozen orange juice concentrate

1 1/2 cups water

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

crushed ice cubes (about one tray)

Instructions:

Put all in the blender and blend.

Hot Chocolate

This isn't your run-of-the-mill, Swiss Miss-y kind of hot chocolate. This is all natural, homemade, on the stove, no additives or preservatives, perfect kind of yummy. It's super simple and super good. --Mark

Ingredients:

1 T cocoa powder (Hershey's Special Dark is excellent)
2 T sugar
2 T water
1 cup milk
a bit of vanilla, if desired

Instructions:

Combine cocoa, sugar, and water in a small saucepan. Heat it on low heat, stirring occasionally to prevent the paste from sticking to the pan. After about 1 to 2 minutes, add milk and vanilla. Mix it all together until it reaches your preferred temperature.