Beverage
A few weeks ago one of my friends hosted a “Night In”, in honor of the lost art of cocktail parties. I love this idea, especially now that a night out includes the need for a babysitter on top of everything else.
While I’m always down for a casual night in, I’m also in favor of something a little fancier, require you me to dress up {as opposed to my mom-attire gym pants uniform} every once in awhile. The beauty of celebrating at home is that you have a little more room {in time and budget} to get a little fancier with the festivities.
I decided to merge the two somewhere in the middle and create a drink centerpiece that can go either way. Make a true Southern affair with mason jars, jeans, and wildflowers, or kick it up a notch with cocktail glasses and heels. Either way, I’ve got a drink for you:
Meet the Beergarita.
What once was deemed a classless action, dumping a beer bottle upside down in your margarita glass, has now become fanfare for celebration. It’s a drink in and of itself and it’s delicious.
You can even make it a Mockarita if you so choose to skip the beer part, or if you’re in need of refreshment and it’s just not quite cocktail hour yet.
This version keeps health in mind too, without going wild and crazy on the calories or the sugar.
Kick it up another notch for summer and freeze some of the juice ahead of time. Then toss it in the blender with a little more juice or even some chunks of frozen fruit for a nice refreshing slushie. {Save the sparkling water for the end so you don’t make a ‘rita explosion.}
Top it with lemon, limes, oranges, or whatever fruit you have on hand. You can even get a little adventurous and toss some mint or basil in the mix. Omit the beer and double up on the sparkling water for a mocktail version.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some fruit to drink. 
by with a Side of Sneakers
- 1 bottle beer (12 oz) {a light lime beer would be great. I used my favorite gluten-free pale ale}
- 1 can fruit-flavored sparkling water {I used a cherry lemon. Lime would be delicious too}
- 1 lime
- 1 orange
- 12 oz Trop50 Raspberry Acai juice
- Optional: basil or mint for garnish
- Optional: ice cubes for slushie version
Combine beer, sparkling water, and juice.
Squeeze in juice from lime and orange.
Stir to combine.
Pour over ice {or frozen juice cubes}.
Serve cold.
Also try frozen and blended!
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Trop50 has the great taste and goodness you expect from Tropicana, but with 50% less sugar and calories and no artificial sweeteners.
Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Trop50 via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Trop50.
What’s your favorite healthy drink for a Girls’ Night In? For more ideas on how to make a rockin’ girls’ night in, check out the Foodie Girls Night In Pinterest board or the collection on Foodie.com {see below}.
Beverage, Recipe
Sometimes you just need something easy, light, and refreshing, especially in the midst of this seemingly unending summer heat wave.
This sparkling grapefruit zinger kicks the fancy factor up a notch with snazzy basil, peach, & lime ice cubes. Feeling really fancy? Make it a cocktail instead.
These ice cubes will add fun & pizazz to any summer beverage, but I especially love them paired with the crisp flavor of the grapefruit juice.
by with a Side of Sneakers
- Water
- Lime juice
- Peaches
- Basil
Dice peaches & rip basil into small pieces.
Fill ice cube trays half full with water.
Add a few peaches & basil pieces to each cube.
Fill remaining space with lime juice.
Freeze & add to favorite beverage or water.
by with a Side of Sneakers
- Sparkling water
- Grapefruit juice
- Batch of Peach Basil Ice Cubes
Place a few Peach Basil Ice Cubes in each glass.
Fill glass with half sparkling water & half grapefruit juice.
Serve & enjoy ice cold.
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What’s your favorite way to cool off during the summer?
Recipe
Judging by my love of both pumpkin and lattes, you’d think I’d be all about some Starbucks’ pumpkin spice lattes.
But surprise, surprise, I’m not. I think they’re disgusting.
But let’s be clear. I love pumpkin.
And I really, really love lattes. Or anything coffee.
I make a lot of pumpkin things. I won’t bore you with anymore…just yet. But I will let you in on a little secret of mine.
Iced Coffee.
[Tweet “How to make cold-brew coffee at home.”]
Fall is the perfect time of year for many reasons, one of which is the ability to be comfortable while wearing jeans and still drinking an iced coffee drink.
Only problem is, I don’t have a barista living in my kitchen.
Or do I?
The secrets to the perfect iced coffee:
Step 1. Cold brew coffee. It takes a little forethought, but so does driving to Starbucks.
I was always a little confused why Starbucks didn’t make decaf iced coffee, since they always have a pot of decaf sitting around anyways. This, my friends, is why. It’s a whole different animal- it’s a stronger brewed, less acidic-y coffee. {For the record, you can get a decaf iced Americano and it’s the same as a decaf iced coffee. I think it’s even 10 cents less.}
Update: you no longer need to hack cold-brew coffee. Try a cold-brew coffee maker!
Mix 1 1/3 cup coffee grounds with 8 cups cold water. Be sure to choose good coffee- crappy coffee grounds make even crappier iced coffee. {This is my favorite decaf coffee.} Stir and place in the fridge overnight.
In the AM, straining the liquid out of the coffee grounds. I find it easiest to throw a coffee filter on top of a strainer and let it do it’s thing. Ok, I’ll be honest- I really hover over it and pick the coffee filter up and squeeze the liquid out because I’m rather inpatient.
You can skip this next step, but I hear it’s all the rage. You want to be in on the trendy things, right? 
Step 2. Whip up some vegan sweetened condensed milk. I suppose you could also just crack a can of the pre-made stuff, but that’s awfully sugary for my liking. Apparently iced coffee with sweetened condensed milk {and even extra cream} is called Vietnamese iced coffee. Who knew?!
Boil a can of coconut milk with a tablespoon or so of agave nectar. {More if you like it sweet- I don’t.} When the milk comes to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer or slight rolling boil, and let it cook away. Reduce the coconut milk by about half or two thirds. Remove from heat and chill.
Step 3. Fill up your glass with ice cubes. Or, be sneaky like me, and make coffee ice cubes with leftover coffee. It makes it even less likely to get all watered down. {trays}
Step 4. Pour in your cold brewed coffee.
Top with your homemade sweetened condensed milk. Adjust coffee-to-cream ratio per your liking. {This was probably too much coffee.}
Stir, sip, and sit back and relax.
Good news is, you only have to go through the whole process occasionally- you’ll have enough cold brewed coffee and sweetened condensed coconut milk to last you a few glasses. You can always make extra up front too. {Or just use milk or cream.}
{A sippy straw is, of course, completely necessary.}
[Tweet “The secret to perfect homemade iced coffee”]
On a side note, find out what it’s like being 21 weeks pregnant.
Recipe
Nothing says winter like hot-spiced cider.
I couldn’t track down the whole spices I wanted, but never fear, I cheated. And it worked 
1, Cut square of cheesecloth.
2. Add spices: cinnamon, cloves, allspice, nutmeg.
3. Tie into a bundle.
4. Put the spice sachet in a pot of apple cider.
5. Add some orange peel.
6. Simmer and bubble away while you finally go hang Christmas lights outside.
7. Find super cute winter-themed mugs.
8. Enjoy.
Practice run for tonight’s party! Don’t want to poison anyone. Although this version’s missing a key party ingredient. Bourbon. 
Time to get cooking – there’s dips to be made, brownies to baked, and popcorn to be popped!
What’s your favorite party dish?
