Three Great Beverages for that Backyard BBQ

Great food and beverages just go together with great friends and a good time... so here are three great beverage recipes for you to make...






Sweet Tea - once upon a time you only found Sweet Tea in the South.. not so anymore... seems everyone is drinking Sweet Tea these days.. and with good reason... it's delicious!



Lemonade - I grew up drinking lemonade on hot summer days.. for me.. just the smell of lemons brings back memories of those lazy days of summer.



Sangria Punch - this was a recipe from my sorority.. what was a Kappa party without our punch recipe?.. my Mother wanted it for one of their parties.. my Father scoffed at the thought.. his friends wouldn't drink that... but drink it they did... in high ball glasses... making repeated trips for refills... so much for them not drinking it.

Recipe: Sweet Tea

I hadn’t heard of Sweet Tea until I met Warren… yes … I know… I must have been living under a rock… but you have to remember I’m a Yankee now in the south… and in the south Sweet Tea is on every menu and everybody drinks it.. well … all except me… I see it showing up on McDonald’s menus up north now.. so the Yankees have discovered Sweet Tea in the last couple of years too…

As for me… well… no one seems to believe this… but I’m allergic… yep… allergic to tea. I never cared for it.. and as a kid, I did become violently ill at summer camp when the nuns fed it to me… and yes… I’ve been tested.. I’m off the charts… a few years ago at a company barbeque I had some iced tea by accident … I thought it tasted like punch.. I never knew it was iced tea until I started to itch… everything but my teeth itched… thank God I only had a little… so… no… I’m fine drinking lemonade… I let everyone else enjoy Warren’s Sweet Tea.


Warren is the self professed Sweet Tea guru… so for this recipe.. I enlisted his help. We bought Luzianne specially blended tea bags for iced tea (family size)…. and he took over from there.


TIPS

He made it in a 10 cup drip coffee maker… make sure you clean it out well before using.

You will need a gallon plastic pitcher… you can find an inexpensive one at Walmart.

It was a quick and easy way to make that luscious Sweet Tea everybody loves…. so here’s how to make it…






Recipe: Sweet Tea

All you need:

2 family size Luzianne Iced Tea bags
¾ cup sugar
Water

All you need to do:

Put two tea bags in the top of the coffee maker (where you would ordinarily put the coffee filter).

Fill the coffee maker pot to the 10 cup mark… and pour it into the coffee maker.
Flip it on and let it drip.

After the coffee maker has brewed the tea… turn it off and allow it to cool a bit.

Put the sugar into the large plastic pitcher.

Pour the tea into the pitcher and stir.

Add enough water to make 1 gallon and stir.

Refrigerate until cold.

If serving guests… pour the tea into a pretty pitcher and serve in tall glasses filled with ice cubes.

Recipe: Banana Berry Yogurt Smoothie

Good Morning Sunshine! It's Fruit Smoothie Time! After months of cold, snowy weather… spring is here! … well in the US that is.. sorry Australia… you had beautiful weather when we didn’t… so now it’s our turn.

With warmer weather… I like cooler and mostly lighter meals… starting off with breakfast. When my son was growing up.. I was a smoothie queen… truly… had a scepter and all…. well maybe not a scepter… but I did have a blender… a marvelous invention.

I don’t know about you and your family… but my son was just impossible in the morning.. oh he got up alright… getting him to move was another story. Time for breakfast?...he barely had time to put his shoes on.. let alone eat a breakfast. He went to a school near where I worked… which was about a 45 minute commute … so inevitably… I would pack his breakfast and he ate while we sat in traffic… I can’t tell you how many times he ate Coco Puffs in a tupper… and yes… I added milk to them… all the comforts of home in my Ford Escort.

During warmer weather… I made smoothies… and he loved them… he would sip them as we drove… he actually thought they were a treat and not breakfast… but they were loaded with good things… milk or juice or yogurt as the base.. loaded with fruit… and I admit a little sugar or honey or syrup for something sweet… but if it got him to love all the other good things in there.. I thought it was worth it.

I will be posting recipes for fruit and calcium packed drinks that are delicious… great for kids and for those just trying to eat healthier… this is a delicious way to start your day.

Smoothies really defy recipes… you can adjust them… change them .. switch ingredients and quantities to your heart’s content… and best of all… if you start out with healthy ingredients.. you have yourself a healthy quickie meal.

TIPS

For the smoothie I made for today’s recipe… I used a non-fat light yogurt… any brand will do… I happen to try a store brand this time… use whatever yogurt you like.

You can go light on fat and calories by using non-fat yogurts and non-fat milk… I also use light yogurts … I do think, depending on the fruit and how ripe they are… will determine if you need to add any sweetener… I found the produce still not quite as sweet as I like them to be.. so I add a bit of sugar, honey or even a little syrup… I added about a tablespoon of red raspberry syrup … it added great flavor and really didn’t add that many calories… you could also use artificial sweetener if you really want to watch the calories.

Just an additional note about the syrup… I actually used Knottsberry Farm Red Raspberry syrup…. I eyeballed the amount… add a little… blend and then taste it until you get the amount of sweetness you like.


To make sure the smoothie was ice cold and shake-like thick….I cut up a banana and froze them in an air tight container… I also popped the yogurt in the freezer when I brought it home from the grocery store…. Just before making the smoothie… I ran hot water over the lid to loosen it a bit and took the lid off… made sure all foil pieces were off… then popped it in the micro for 25 seconds on high … just to loosen the yogurt.

You can also freeze blueberries and strawberries…. Clean and cut-up the strawberries before freezing.

This recipe makes about 2 (6 oz.) servings.

So without any more chit chat… here is a delicious smoothie for you to try…






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Recipe: Banana Berry Yogurt Smoothie

All you need:

1 (6 oz.) container non-fat strawberry yogurt (frozen)
1 banana, peeled, cut-up and frozen
2 large strawberries, cut-up
1 cup non-fat (skim) milk
1 tablespoon raspberry syrup

All you need to do:

Put all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.

Recipe: Hot Cocoa

Earlier I posted a Sugar-Free Hot Cocoa….. well now it’s the regular Hot Cocoa’s turn… as Grill… one of my fellow bloggers and regular readers pointed out… he has sworn off chemicals… so the regular hot cocoa it is….

Actually I had planned on posting this earlier today… and well…. the day just got away from me…

The recipe is actually the same as the sufar-free version… just instead of a sugar substitute … you use sugar… the actual Hershey recipe says 2-3 teaspoons of cocoa (3 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon) and I found you really need the full tablespoon for the best cocoa flavor…. so I’m listing it in the ingredients as 1 tablespoon..

This makes 1 serving.

I listed whipped cream and mini marshmallows as optional... as you can see from the picture... I'm a whipped cream girl.... it does add a nice richness to the hot cocoa.

Again…. I recommend a change from the Hershey method… instead of putting the cocoa and salt in a cup and adding the milk…. heat the milk in the microwave on high and add the rest of the ingredients to it… whisk it a few times and it’s done and well mixed… just pour into a cup and enjoy!






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Recipe: Hot Cocoa

All you need:

1 cup milk
1 tablespoon cocoa
Dash of salt
2 tablespoons sugar
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Whipped cream (optional)
Mini Marshmallows (optional)

All you need to do:

Heat the milk in a large measuring cup in the microwave on High for 1-1 ½ minutes until hot.

Add the remaining ingredients and whisk until all ingredients are well incorporated.

Top with whipped cream or mini marshmallows if desired.

Recipe: Sugar-Free Hot Cocoa

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrr… it’s cold here…. Okay… I know it’s not as cold as most other places…but I’m just not used to the cold anymore… we usually don’t get this cold or stay this cold for as long as it’s been.

Now…. I know some of you will roll your eyes about the sugar-free part of this recipe… but with my eating during the holidays and staying indoors to keep warm and not moving around much… to keep my butt from becoming the size of Alaska… I figured I’d try the Sugar-Free Hot Cocoa recipe from Hershey… and I was pleasantly surprised… I really liked it and it was easy to make.... I figured I'd share this recipe with you.

TIPS

I used Equal for the sugar substitute… I personally like it... and it measures the same as sugar… so converting it in recipes from sugar is easy… you can use whatever substitute you want.

I did make a slight change in the method for this recipe… their recipe says to put the cocoa and salt in your cup and then pour in the hot milk… I found that it didn’t mix as well as when I mixed it in a measuring cup and then poured the finished product into a cup. I used my larger measuring cup… nuked the milk then added the rest of the ingredients and whisked it a few times… it came out perfect.

This makes 1 serving.

I don’t usually post the nutritional info… but according to Hershey…. this recipe has only 110 calories and 0.5 gm of fat…. not too bad… and it tastes great!

So for those of you out there shivering and want something sweet to warm you up but not have it go directly to your hips (and not pass go)…. Try this recipe… I think you’ll like it.... oh and by the way the cookies on the side of the saucer are vanilla wafers... a serving size is 8 of them for 140 calories.... they are addicting though...






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Recipe: Sugar-Free Hot Cocoa

All you need:

1 tablespoon Hershey’s Cocoa
Dash of salt
1 cup nonfat milk
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Sugar substitute with sweetening equivalence of 2 tablespoons sugar

All you need to do:

In a large measuring cup, heat the milk in the microwave at HIGH for 1-2 minutes or until very hot.

Add the cocoa, salt and vanilla extract and whisk until all ingredients are completely incorporated.

Pour into mug and enjoy!

Recipe: The All- American Milkshake (Vanilla or Chocolate)

Americans have been in love with milkshakes for over a hundred years… ice cream parlors of yesterday are a part of many American’s memories…. especially New Yorkers. I have always made milkshakes for my son… I was thinking about that recently when I wrote the “New York Egg Cream” post. So just for the heck of it I looked around for various recipes… because… you guessed it… this is one of those things I make by eye.

To my surprise…. I found that my recipe was different to begin with… Most recipes use vanilla extract with no sugar (definitely not right)…. or with sugar (better but not quite right) or just milk and ice cream (also definitely not right)….. I use three ingredients… ice cream, milk and syrup.

So I sighed and realized I would just have to make one and watch how much of each ingredient I used…. and then ….of course… I would just have to taste it to be sure it was right… oh darn… the things I must do for this blog…. LOL… believe that? I have a bridge I can sell you real cheap…LOL

I was pretty satisfied with my recipe… but I may have to make another tomorrow just to be sure!

I decided to make a vanilla milkshake, but surely you can use your imagination and make whatever flavor combination you wish… I used Torani’s Vanilla Syrup.

Torani makes a complete line of wonderful syrups… in fact… 80 flavors to choose from…. and of course, there is the famous Fox’s U-Bet Syrups that New York ice cream parlors have used for over 100 years now.

What’s nice about this… is you can use fat free ice cream and fat free milk if you wish.

Make sure the ice cream is frozen hard so you get a thick consistency… do not over blend.

This recipe makes 2.

Enjoy!



Recipe: All American Milkshake (Vanilla or Chocolate)

All you need:

4 cups milk
1 ½ cups ice cream
3 tablespoons syrup

All you need to do:

Put everything in your blender and blend until everything is incorporated…. and still thick.

Pour into glasses and enjoy!

Recipe: New York Egg Creams

I have no idea where Egg Creams got the name Egg Cream…. They do not contain Egg or Cream… but they were a tradition in ice cream parlors in New York ….

According to most historians a candy store owner named Louis Auster created this New York tradition…. But alas it is dying out. Any New Yorker will tell you that you must use Fox’s U-Bet Syrup to make the authentic egg cream. It was made from three ingredients…. syrup… milk and seltzer.

Ask any New Yorker old enough to remember the ice cream parlors….about Egg Creams… and you will likely take a trip down memory lane. I remember my friends and I used to stop into an ice cream parlor in Brooklyn on the way from school to where my Dad worked…. We’d all have Egg Creams….

I’m partial to Vanilla…. What I made is, unfortunately a pale imitation of what I remember…. but really good nonetheless.

I had trouble finding U-Bet syrups and had to settle with other brands for the vanilla and chocolate syrup… and honestly you can tell the difference…. I couldn’t find seltzer so I had to use club soda… which should be okay… both are carbonated and should be able to be used interchangeably … however… I think the seltzer water keeps the fizz longer while in the glass… at least it has been my experience anyway. The “head” on the egg creams was deflating as I was taking the pictures…. Another annoyance… but … I happily drank mine anyway!

Enjoy!



Recipe: Egg Cream

All you need:

Milk
Chocolate Syrup or Vanilla Syrup
Seltzer or Club Soda

All you need to do:

Take an 8 ounce glass and pour about 1 inch of milk in the glass.

Add 1 inch of chocolate or vanilla syrup.

Add the seltzer of club soda to within 1 inch of the top of the glass…. Stir vigorously with a long ice tea spoon.

Serve immediately.

Recipe: Lemonade

This recipe is so simple and so good…. very refreshing… perfect for a hot afternoon.
You need to make a simple syrup first (sugar and water) then simply add fresh lemon juice and water…. what could be easier than that….

Serve lemonade with delicious Blueberry Muffins... that recipe is extremely easy also.

Enjoy!



Recipe: Lemonade

All you need:

1 ½ - ¾ cup sugar (depends on how sweet you like your lemonade)
1 ½ cups lemon juice
8 cups water

All you need to do:

In a small pot, combine the sugar with 1 ½ cups of water.

Bring to a boil and stir until the sugar is dissolved.

Let cool.

Cover and refrigerate until cold.

Juice the lemons making sure you leave the pulp but remove any seeds.

In a large pitcher combine the chilled syrup, lemon juice and remaining water.

Stir.

Pitcher by Reco International, available at Romertopf online and other fine stores.

Tips for Making Coffee for a Crowd

Tip of the Day

The secrets to making great coffee for a crowd are accurate measuring, brewing time, a clean pot and, of course, the coffee itself.

Whether you’re renting, borrowing or you own the coffee maker… it is important to start out clean as a whistle….

Simple Operating Tips

Use cold water and fill the coffee maker to the proper level… remember accurate measuring is as important with water as it is with the coffee itself.

Make sure you use the proper outlet… if renting be sure to ask any questions you may have before you leave the rental store. Do not feel intimidated … different makers have different instructions… so it’s always wise to ask…. remember this is your party and you want it perfect… that’s all that matters.

Ask the rental store for any operating manual they may have or instructions regarding the use of the coffee maker.

If borrowing it from a friend, neighbor or relative… be sure to ask them for the information.

Ask the owner about cleaning instructions (rental store or person you borrowed the coffee maker from).

Always remove the coffee grinds when the coffee is finished brewing.

Cleaning Tips

Always rinse the coffee maker before returning to the party rental store.

Never immerse the coffee maker in water.

Brewing Time

This is a handy little piece of information to help you plan your time accordingly:

30-60 cups takes 60 minutes
90-100 cups takes 90 minutes

I was surprised myself at how long a pot for 100 cups can take… certainly you would need to start it well in advance of when you need to serve it.

Coffee Equivalents

1 pound of coffee is equal to 4.75 cups of ground coffee.

Always measure accurately when measuring your coffee… it can make a big difference.

30 cups = 2 cups of coffee
55-60 cups = 3.5 cups
90 cups = 6 cups

One final note…. The quality of your coffee matters too…. get a good quality coffee… don’t skimp.. assuming you’re making coffee for 100… you would use about 2-3 pounds (see the coffee buying guide post)… and assuming the difference in price is 3 dollars a pound between great coffee and passable coffee… do you really want to do that for a total savings of $6 or $9?…

Coffee and Tea Buying Guide for a Crowd

In keeping with my buying guides for large celebrations… I am including tips for coffee and tea. This is a guide to help you determine the amounts of coffee, tea, cream and sugar to purchase…

I hope you find this helpful.






Tea

Tea is, of course, a little easier than coffee. You need to figure on a coffee maker for hot water… and the amount of tea bags to purchase… thankfully, unused tea bags don’t generally go to waste… but it is helpful to consider purchase amounts when figuring your budget.

I tried finding a guide for purchasing tea for large parties (not tea parties) just to see how my amounts compare… and couldn’t find a good resource… so these are my suggestions.

When figuring how much tea to buy…I usually figure ½ the number of guests… unless you know that most of your guests would prefer tea over coffee…tea bags aren’t expensive… I’d rather have a few too many than not enough… the cream and sugar is figured in with the coffee purchase guide below….

Don’t forget to purchase lemon for the tea drinkers…. The easiest solution is to get bottled lemon juice… I never get the one in the green bottle… I always get fresh or frozen… either the one in the produce section that is in a plastic lemon container or the frozen Minute Maid one in the freezer section. You could also serve lemon wedges.

To heat the water for tea…you can usually rent a large coffee urn for $20-25(US) for large parties…. or use a 12-cup coffee maker for smaller parties…or if you have them…. you can also use insulated coffee urns and fill them with hot water …again, depending on the size of the party.

Don’t be afraid of asking friends or relatives to borrow a large coffee maker… many people have them… and it could save you some money.

Coffee

The following coffee serving guide is from Pillsbury’s Spring Celebrations soft cookbook, Pillsbury Classics 27, 1983.

Amounts to Purchase

Coffee - Serving Size = 1-1 ½ cups

For 25 Servings = ½ to ¾ pound
For 50 Servings = 1- 1 ½ pounds
For 100 Servings = 2-3 pounds

Coffee Cream - Serving Size = 2 teaspoons

For 25 Servings = 1 pint
For 50 Servings = 1quart
For 100 Servings = 2 quarts

Sugar Cubes - Serving Size = 1-2 cubes

For 25 Servings = ¾ pound
For 50 Servings = 1 ½ pounds
For 100 Servings = 3 pounds

Recipe: Non-Alcoholic Margarita Punch

This is non-alcoholic Margarita Punch recipe is definitely a winner… It’s great for adults, as well as, teens….

And it’s easy… what could be better?

Enjoy!

Non-Alcoholic Margarita Punch Recipe:

All you need:

1 can frozen lemonade concentrate (12 oz)
1 can frozen limeade concentrate (12 oz)
½ cup confectioner’s sugar
4 egg whites
6 cups crushed ice
1 liter bottle club soda
1 lime, sliced for garnish
Bar salt for glasses
Lime wedges to prepare glasses for salt rim

All you need to do:

In a large container…. About 4 quarts… combine lemonade, limeade, sugar, egg whites and crushed ice. Mix well using a hand mixer.

Cover the container and freeze for about an hour before serving.

Prepare glasses by rubbing a lime wedge around the rims of the glasses. Dip the glass rims in a dish of salt. Set aside.

When ready to serve… pour the slush into a large punch bowl with the club soda and mix with a hand mixer.

Float lime slices.

If a large punch bowl is unavailable… you can make this in batches in a blender and put into the prepared glasses or pitchers. Blend 2 cups of lemonade slush to 1 cup club soda in a blender.

Serve.

Recipe: Non-Alcoholic Strawberry Margarita

I am a firm believer in making non-alcoholic beverages available for guests. I also think it’s important to make them as festive as the alcoholic ones…. So here is a recipe for a non-alcoholic Frozen Strawberry Margarita…

Cheers!

Non-Alcoholic Strawberry Margarita Recipe:

All you need:

2 ounces of non-alcoholic Strawberry Schnapps
½ ounce Sweet & Sour Mix
½ cup of crushed ice

All you need to do:

Mix all ingredients in a blender until smooth.

Pour into a chilled glass rimmed with sugar.

Using Flavored Syrups in Non-Alcoholic Drinks

Tip of the Day

You can use delicious flavored syrups in beverages that you are making to mimic alcoholic beverages such as Margaritas. There are a number of companies that produce these products…. Here are two of them and links to their websites that you may find helpful.

The Franco Cocktail Mix company makes a non-alcoholic Triple Sec. Triple Sec is used in numerous cocktails including Margaritas. You can find more information about their products here.

The Monin company makes a wide assortment of flavored syrups that you can use in place of Schnapps in your cocktail recipes. You can find more information about their products here.

Recipe: Frosty Mocha Shake

This is another quick and easy dessert or snack from the folks at Betty Crocker. It’s from the little recipe book called “Simple Healthy Recipes” published several years ago. It really is delicious….

The recipe calls for vanilla fat-free no-sugar added ice cream… obviously if you use a sugar version of fat free ice cream it will add calories …. but do at least try using at least the fat free ice cream… in things like shakes .. you can’t tell … and it is so much healthier. Warren wrinkles his nose at the thought of fat-free ice cream… he didn’t even know I used it when he tried it… so my advice is… don’t tell them…well…. maybe after they’re done drinking it.

This recipe as written makes 4 servings…the Total Fat is listed as 3g and 160 Calories.


Frosty Mocha Shake Recipe
All you need:

1 cup water
2 tablespoons instant coffee granules
½ cup chocolate flavor syrup
2 cups vanilla fat-free no-sugar-added ice cream
2 cups ice cubes

All you need to do:

In a blender, place water, coffee granules and chocolate syrup.
Cover and blend on high speed until well blended.

Add the ice cream.
Cover and blend on high speed until smooth.

Add the ice cubes.
Cover and blend on high speed until ice is crushed.

Pour into 4 serving glasses.

Serve Non-Alcoholic Beverage Alternatives

Tip of the Day:

My tip today is a follow-up to yesterday’s tip….

You can add pizzazz to you Brunch or Party without alcohol. It is always a good idea to have non-alcoholic alternatives when serving alcohol. By non-alcoholic alternatives I don’t just mean soft drinks and juices… you can make fancy “cocktails” without the alcohol.

A “Virgin Mary” recipe is the same as the Bloody Mary recipe, just leave out the vodka.

Your guests will appreciate a non-alcoholic alternative that is just as festive as the ones containing alcohol.

Enjoy!

Recipe: Non-Alcoholic Mimosa

All you need:

2 cups of orange juice
32 ounces of gingerale

All you need to do:

Fill champagne flutes ¼ full with orange juice. Top off each glass with gingerale.

Recipe: Great Grape Punch

All you need:

5 cups pineapple juice
5 cups orange juice
5 cups white grape juice
4 tablespoons lemon juice
32 ounces gingerale

All you need to do:

Combine fruit juices in a punch bowl. Gently pour gingerale down the sides of the bowl to limit the fizz.

Float orange slices in the bowl for garnish.

Makes 20 servings. (If you need less, this recipe easily divides in half).

Recipe: Fuzzy-less Navel Punch

All you need:

3 cups peach nectar
9 cups orange juice
24 ounces gingerale

All you need to do:

Combine the peach nectar and the orange juice in a punch bowl. Carefully pour the the gingerale down the sides of the bowl to limit the amount of fizz.

Float orange slices for garnish.

Serve over crushed ice or ice cubes.

Recipe: Non-Alcoholic Holiday Mimosa

All you need:

7 ½ cups cranberry juice
3 ¾ cups orange juice
22 ½ ounces 7-UP

All you need to do:

Combine the cranberry juice nad orange juice in a punch bowl. Pour the 7-UP down the sides of the bowl to limit the fizz…

Float orange slices and whole cranberries in the punch bowl for a festive look.