Color Me Kris: drinks

Showing posts with label drinks. Show all posts

One of my favorite childhood memories is making fresh squeezed lemonade... OK, If I'm going to be real here, making lemonade as a kid, for me, meant ordering water with lemon from a restaurant and emptying infinite packets of sugar into the glass, watching it float to the bottom.

Thankfully I've upgraded my lemonade making skills.

My children and I really enjoy making homemade lemonade together. I do hope that it becomes one of the memories they hold near and dear to their hearts as they get older. It's fun, easy and refreshing on a hot summer's day.

We took about 5 or 6 lemons and sliced them each in half. The kids took turns juicing the lemons with a fruit juicer. (If you don't have a juicer just poke the halved lemons with a fork and squeeze the juice into a cup, you may have to strain or scoop out the seeds).

While the kids were juicing the lemons, I made a simple syrup on the stove. That's just basically dumping a cup of water and a cup of sugar in a pot and stirring until the sugar dissolves. Literally less than 5 mins.

Once the kids were done, I cut an additional lemon into slices. Filled a pitcher with 5 cups of water added the freshly squeezed lemon juice, and the simple syrup. I gave everything a stir, then added the lemon slices and placed in the fridge to chill.

Tip: It tastes sweeter if you drink it over ice, while listening to Beyonce's Lemonade album. Aye!!!

Here's What You Need:

6 Lemons
5 cups of water
1 cup sugar
1 cup of water

Here's What You'll Do:

1. Slice 5 of the 6 lemons in half.

2. Using a juicer, juice the lemons (you should have 10 halves). If you are not using a juicer, poke the each of the halves several times and squeeze the juice from the lemons into a cup. You may need to remove seeds.

3. In a pot over medium heat add 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved about 5mins.

4. Fill at pitcher with 5 cups of water.

5. Add squeezed lemon juice and simple syrup to the pitcher; stir.

6. Cut the remaining lemon into thin slices. Add to pitcher.

7. Place lemonade in fridge to chill.

8. Serve in a glass over ice.

Hey love! Have you ever walked into a spider web? You know, you feel it, freak out for a sec, then check yourself over to convince yourself you're good and carry on. That happened to me this morning, while I was putting my son on the bus. When I came back inside, I sat down in the living room. I felt a weird sensation, looked down and there it was...a HUGE spider crawling up my shirt! I seriously almost killed myself trying to get it off of me and get away. I tripped over my dog, and stubbed my toe on the edge of the couch in the process. I eventually mustered up enough courage to grab a shoe and seal its fate. I appologize in advance to all you bug enthusiast out there.

If you're wondering, I'm okay. I did need a little something celebrate the fact that I didn't get eaten by that vicious ugly spider. Which was totally a small spider, but don't judge me, it looked 100x bigger when it was on my clothes!

This sunshine smoothie was enough to calm my brain. It deliciously incorporates bananas, clementines, and vanilla yogurt. Yum! This recipe is enough to share, so half it if you'd like, or if you're having a morning like me just enjoy it! {If you love smoothies check out this:blueberry muffin smoothie or peach cobbler smoothie}.

Here's What You'll Need:
2 clementines
2 bananas (ripe ones are best)
6oz. Vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup milk (I use 2%)
1 cup ice

Here's What You Do:
1. Peel your fruit and break it apart.
2. Place all ingredients into blender and blend til smooth.

My days of smoking weed are long gone, but, that doesn't stop me from drinking it. Well let me be more clear, I drink dandelions. My wife thinks I'm nuts, but I freaking love it.

Here's What You'll Need:
1 Tbsp dried organic Dandelions (chrysanthemum)
8oz. water
1tsp of honey or more to taste

Here's What You Do:
1. Warm water until right before boiling point.
2. Place Dandelions in a cup and pour water over them.
3. Cover the cup and allow the tea to steep for 5-10mins.
4. Remove cover and discard dandelions.
5. Stir in honey to taste.

So you may remember my recent discovery of Earl Grey tea. I added a splash of French vanilla creamer (just as I do with my coffee). Well, I kind of found out that was actually a thing...sorta. There's think drink called a London Fog. The traditional London fog doesn't use the french vanilla creamer, instead it uses milk and vanilla syrup. It's equally as delicious! I added whip cream because I had a sweet tooth. #Heavenly
Here's the recipe. You're welcome.

Here's What You'll Need:
1-2 Earl Grey tea bags (2 if you like a stronger tea)
8oz of water
4oz of milk
1oz vanilla syrup
whip cream (optional)
SN:(A sprinkle of loose leaf tea was added on top just for kicks & giggles)
Here's What You Do:
1. Boil your water (in whatever way works for you) I just toss my in the microwave for 2 mins.
2. Steep tea bags in tea for 3-4mins.
3. While tea is steeping steam your milk (again I just warm mine in the microwave about a min.).
4. Remove tea bags, pour in milk.
5. Pour in vanilla syrup and stir.
6. Enjoy

Blueberries. My kids eat blueberry everything, blueberry bagels, blueberry muffins, blueberry yogurt. They love them!

Frankly, when I think of blueberries, I think of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, you know the first one (I'm probably dating myself) but the one where the girl is so spoiled she turns into a big blueberry and gets rolled away. That was always my favorite scene of that movie, and funny enough I tell my kids that they should be "turning into a blueberry right now" when they are acting a bit ornery.

I made this smoothie with the boys in mind. They've been hinting around to wanting to join me on my smoothie adventure and I knew they'd love something like this. It's a tad but sweeter than my normal smoothies, just to ensure they don't get turned off the first time. The boys couldn't get enough of this and I was super excited! Let me know what you think.

Here's What You'll Need:
1 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 banana
3 tbsp brown sugar flavored granola
1 tbsp agave nectar or more to taste
1 cup vanilla almond milk
6 ice cubes

Here's What You Do:
Place all ingredients in blender til smooth.
Top with additional blueberries and granola if desired.

Can you believe the 2016 is almost gone? Thanksgiving is just a few days away. I won't being going home to VA this year, I'll be spending the holidays here in TN with my wife's family. There's been a lot going on for me lately and with the impromptu trip to Georgia last weekend, I'm just not in the mood for traveling.

What I have been in the mood for is pumpkin pie. Is it just me or do we all get a little sweet tooth around this time of year? Here's a delicious pumpkin pie smoothie, to get you in the holiday spirit.
It's all the yumminess of pumpkin pie, with a lot less guilt!

Here's What You'll Need:
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
4-5 broken graham crackers (can be substituted with 1/2 cup rolled oats)

1 cup vanilla almond milk (or your choice of milk)
1 cup ice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Here's What You Do:
Place all ingredients in blender and blend til smooth.

As you know my wife and I just celebrated an anniversary. Spending a decade (9 years married) with the same person (and not literally choking the crap out of them) is a pretty joyous occasion. Of course my drunken mermaid self celebrated with a little bubbly, but my wife doesn't do alcohol, so it was important for me to create a drink she can enjoy during the festivities as well.

This year we did mimosas. Now the key to any good mimosa is juice, bubbly and a nice garnish. The combinations are endless, and I'll be sharing a few of my favorites (both with and without the booze).

She has a thing for tropical, so I knew I was gonna take that route. Sure, I'm aware it's fall, but it's still in the high 80's here so I'm just gonna keep the theme going. The weather will dictate when it's time to season things up a bit. :)

(Pictured is Fruit Punch (to show you what the container looks like), We used the all tropical and the trash was taken out before I got a pic).

For this virgin Mimosa I used Minute Maid Premium tropical punch, Big Win's pineapple coconut sparkling water and a few frozen peach and pineapple slices. Oh my gosh, the flavors just burst in your mouth! It's soooo flippin' good! If you're like my better half, and have a thing for tropical flavors, this one's a winner. The flavor is pretty intense, a bit on the sweet side, but we're celebrating here, so why not live a little?!

The frozen fruit adds so much because they are the "ice" and then as they thaw in the drink they soak up all the yummy tropical goodness and you get to enjoy them as a treat. Unless of course you're like me and just decide to pour yourself another (while sneaking in a splash of Vodka for good measure..I'm so bad, I know).

The kids (AKA party animals) wanted to try it so I ended up just making a whole pitcher.

[Warning: If your kid runs up to you and tells you "there's been a shipwreck", don't ward him off as crazy, and give a quick "ok." If you do, you will learn the hard way, as you nearly kill yourself slipping on a peachy tropical wet floor.]

Tropical Peach Mimosa

Here's What You Need:
4oz. Minute Maid Tropical Punch
4oz. Big Win Pineapple Coconut Sparkling Water
2 frozen peach slices, 3pineapple chunks

Here's What You Do:
Place frozen peaches and pineapples in bottom of glass
Pour in tropical punch
Pour in sparkling water
Give a quick stir and enjoy.

To make more than a pitcher:
Mix equal amounts of tropical punch and sparkling water
Add in a good amount of frozen peaches and enjoy.

My wife came home with a huge bag of fresh mint that one of the guys at her job gave her. As usual she had no purpose for it, and handed it straight to me. Mint is one of my all time favorite flavors, but I'll admit I don't use fresh mint often. I washed the mint leaves, placed them in a gallon sized ziplock bag and put them in the fridge. I wasn't quite sure what I was gonna do with them, but I knew I wasn't gonna let them go to waste.

Fast forward 2 days later and both Laila & Shon woke up saying they didn't feel well. What the heck! It's only the 2nd week of school! I swear my children are fine the entire summer and then boom, school hits them like a train, full speed ahead, with infectious germs and icky ewwws (yep, I totally went with that). It drives me bonkers.

As they lied in bed, I thought about the mint leaves. Oh my gosh, why not make them fresh mint tea?! It's perfect as a natural decongestant (the scent helps break up phlegm) and it also helps relieve a sore throat.

It's a pretty simple process. Just grab fresh mint, boil a little water and add a sweetener if desired. The kids prefer tea sweetened with sugar, I add a teaspoon of honey to mine. Either way is delicious.

Also, there are times where I just simply place the whole sprigs in a cup and let them steep. It gives a lighter tea which is really good. If your prefer a stronger tea then you would pull of the leaves off and break them up.

Wanna know a secret? I always add a bonus ingredient to my tea while it is steeping. A lemon cough drop. If you add it while the tea is still super hot, it will crack (I love to hear the sound of it) and begin to melt. It serves as the tea's side kick, the aroma aides as a decongestant, helps with soar throats, and brings a calming feeling. It's that perfect touch.

Fresh Mint Tea

Here's What You'll Need:
2 sprigs of mint (or about 7-10 mint leaves)
8oz water
your choice of sweetener (if needed)
lemon cough drop (completely optional)

Here's What You Do:
1. Rinse mint sprigs to remove any dirt.
2. For a lighter tasting tea, place full sprigs of mint into a tea cup. For a stronger tea, remove leaves from stems and roughly break leaves apart and place into a tea infuser or right into the bottom of a tea cup.
3. Pour 6-8oz of boiling water over mint.
4. Allow to steep for 5-10 (longer if you like it stronger). If you are adding a cough drop, do so now.
5. Remove sprigs or leaves.
6. Add sweetener.
7. Enjoy.

Apples are one of my favorite fruit. So naturally this smoothie is near and dear to my heart. It shares the same concept as my peach cobbler smoothie. Same process different fruit! By the way did you know you could freeze apples?

Here's What You'll Need:

2 apples, sliced, cored; frozen

1.5 cups milk (your favorite kind)

1tsp cinnamon

1tsp vanilla

2 tbsp honey

3tbsp quick (or rolled) oats; dry

Here's What You Do:

Place all ingredients in blender. Blend til smooth.

As you may know, my sister recently had a baby. My nephew is now 2 months old, and Tiffany is ready to start attempt to get back to her pre-pregnancy weight.
I'm the eldest and have always been the motivator in the family, but being at a distance now, has made this more challenging.
I am determined to take this journey with her (as I can stand to shed a few pounds) so I created a private online group for us to share, meals, workouts, and other helpful info. One of the things I've found myself sharing often, is the smoothies I make at breakfast. So it hit me, why not share them with you guys also?!

Up first is the peach cobbler smoothie. Tons of peachy goodness and it's soooo perfectly cinnamony (wait is that even a word?).

This is among my favs to enjoy in the morning. One of the reasons I love it so much is because, not only is it a delight to the taste buds, it is also very filling. It's the goodness of dessert without the guilt factor. Now tell me that isn't awesome!

This smoothie incorporates the sweetness of peaches and cinnamon, bathed in vanilla milk and sprinkled with oats.

Here's What You'll Need:

2 peaches; frozen

1.5 cups milk (your favorite kind)

1tsp cinnamon

1tsp vanilla

2 tbsp honey

3tbsp quick (or rolled) oats; dry

Here's What You Do:

Place all ingredients in blender. Blend til smooth.

What are your favorite smoothies? Leave a comment I'd love to hear!

It's national wine day, so I couldn't let the day slide without giving wine some sort of props. After all it plays a huge part in my life and well being. Well I don't wanna sound like a wino, but hey if the glass fits, well you know the rest.

I made these amazing wine cubes enhanced with yummy strawberries. So much perfection in this.

You'll need a bottle of wine, I used a white wine. some sort of mold or ice tray (I used the heart mold, I had left over from Valentine's day).

You will also need a straw (if your a rebel or a true wino (as myself) then, the straw is optional)

I chopped up the strawberries into pieces that were small enough to fit in the mold. I used a heart mold (leftover from valentines day) but you can of course use whatever you have.

The heart molds were filled about a 3/4 of the way with wine.
If you noticed you have small spills or misplaced drops (it happened to me) this is where the straw comes in. Grab that bad boy and sip those drops up! We don't waste alcohol around here!

And as I mentioned if you're a bit of a rebel or didn't have a straw on hand, don't grab a paper towel, sip those amazing drops of wine on up, like no ones watching! And if no one is watching take a small sip for me too! :)

The strawberries pieces were then added and the mold was placed in the freezer to harden.

These are perfect to add to your wine, to keep it chilled, without watering it down.

Or if you just need a quick shot but don't want to formally sit and have a glass of wine. You know the days, you're cleaning, chasing after the kids, watching tv and cooking all at once. Or if your mother in law says something insultive and you need to bite your tongue. Just pop one of these in your mouth to keep your composure, trust me I've used this method more than once.

And of course keep them out of reach of the kiddos.

Here's What You Need:

1. A bottle of wine
2. lollipop or ice tray mold
3. strawberries
4. straw (optional)

Here's What You Do:

1. Rinse strawberries and cut them in quarters, or small enough pieces to fit inside of your mold.
2. Pour wine into your molds, filling each mold about 3/4 the way.
3. If wine is spilled use straw to suck up spills (or clean up the way you choose).
4. Place mold in freezer about 3 hours or until frozen.
5. Use whenever you are enjoying a glass or wine, or when you need a quick shot of wine.