Egg Nog Smoothies

November 3, 2014 in Kitchen

We are HUGE smoothie fans around here. In fact, when I won my Blendtec blender a few weeks ago and brought it home, my kids were more excited to see it come through the door than they were to see me. It was given a prominent spot on the counter, plenty of love, and even a name befitting the newest member of our family: Lola.

blendtec

Seriously huge smoothie fans. So when Williams-Sonoma invited me to help them kick off Smoothie Week, I jumped at the chance!

This week’s mission is “Not Your Average Smoothie.” Fun!

Honestly, we usually stick to the same kind of smoothies. We have our favorites and we make them over and over… and over some more. But I really do love to mix things up, so I loved the challenge to do something wild and crazy.

My first thought was Mexican. I’m sure Lola would love that for a change. Throw a little cilantro and some beans in there, avocado, onion, tomatoes… then it started sounding more like a burrito than a smoothie.

As soon as we put away the Halloween costumes, my brain switched right into holiday mode. We spent this morning dancing in the kitchen to our well-worn Charlie Brown Christmas CD. And that’s when it hit me. Two simple words: Egg Nog.

I loved, loved, loved egg nog as a kid. We had a simple homemade recipe and made it all the time. So I thought, how fun would it be to play around with the egg nog I loved as a kid and make it a smoothie my kids will adore, too???

Lola and I spent the morning making the perfect blend of smoothie goodness, and now I get to share it with you.

So let’s get started with the egg nog. Only a handful of ingredients and a few seconds in the blender is all you need to whip up this family favorite.

egg-nog



Egg Nog

  • 1 c milk
  • 1 egg
  • 1 Tb sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • Dash cinnamon
  • Dash nutmeg
  • Dash salt (optional)

Toss everything in the blender and blend until combined.

I can’t even remember the last time I had this egg nog, so naturally I had to whip up a batch first to make sure my memory wasn’t playing tricks on me. It tastes just like it did when I was a kid. Simple, sweet, delicious.

Then it was time to play. mwahahaha

egg-nog-smoothie



Orange-strawberry-banana sounded like the perfect flavor combination, and oh boy, was it ever. This makes a ridiculously creamy smoothie with a flavor that is subtle and delicious. It tastes great at first, but then that hint of vanilla and banana hit you and it tastes even better, so rich and creamy!

I can’t wait for the girls to get home so I can share this new and improved version of a little taste of my childhood with them.

Egg Nog Smoothie

  • 1 c milk
  • 1 egg
  • 1 Tb sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • Dash cinnamon
  • Dash nutmeg
  • Dash salt (optional)
  • 2-3 Tb frozen orange juice concentrate
  • 1/2 frozen banana
  • 2 frozen strawberries

Toss everything in the blender and mix until it’s combined.

There’s just something about tossing an egg in the blender and drinking it that makes me feel like Rocky Balboa.

egg-nog-smoothie-blendtec

Yo, Adrian!

I gave the first taste to Steve, who proceeded to drink the entire thing. So I made up another batch and added a bit too much strawberry this time. It tasted like dessert. Still delicious, but I liked it better when strawberry wasn’t the predominant flavor.

egg-nog-strawberry-smoothie



I am seriously in love with Lola. I could NOT believe it when my name was called in the drawing where I won her. I’ve had dreams of free Blendtec blenders, but I never thought that dream would come true. If you’re still deciding which blender to dream about, check out the fabulous blenders at Williams-Sonoma.

I can already tell this Egg Nog Smoothie is going to become a fast family favorite. Adding eggs to my smoothies? I’ll be catching chickens, scaling huge staircases, and beating Apollo and Mr. T in no time. Yo, Adrian!

Are you stuck in a smoothie rut? Make it your mission to do something better than average with your blender. We’ll be sensational smoothie creators before you know it!

In the meantime, celebrate Smoothie Week with Williams-Sonoma and this Strawberry • Orange • Banana Egg Nog Smoothie. It’s my new fave!

What is your favorite smoothie concoction? Or one you’re dying to try?

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, which means I will receive a small percentage if you purchase a product through one of the links. All content and opinions expressed are my own.

Perfect Fresh Lemonade

May 16, 2014 in Kitchen

Welcome to Day #5 of Kick Off to Summer Week, a multi-blogger event co-host by Lauren of From Gate to Plate and Summer of Summer Scraps.

With summer quickly approaching and Memorial Day in a few weeks, we want to make sure you have plenty of ideas for your Memorial Day activities. Each day we will be serving up a variety of different appetizers, main dishes, desserts, decor, printables and more all centered around the up-coming Memorial Day. We hope you enjoy all of these wonderful ideas.

Tune in each day starting with Monday, May 12 and ending on Saturday, May 17. We have great prizes up for grabs throughout the week so you will not want to miss out on any of the days! Follow #KickOffToSummerWeek2014 on Twitter to keep up to date with all of our spectacular ideas and giveaways!

 

Nothing says summer BBQ more than a perfect glass of lemonade, and that’s exactly what I am sharing today.

lemonsPerfect Fresh Lemonade

  • 1 c fresh lemon juice
  • 1 c sugar
  • 2 quarts water (that’s 8 cups)

Mix, chill, enjoy!

I’m serious about the “fresh” part. If you use lemon juice out of a bottle or a plastic lemon, it will NOT be perfect or delicious.

So be sure to juice actual lemons for your lemon juice, and then you will get perfect lemonade. Of course, you can adjust the juice or sugar amount as needed to get it exactly as tart or sweet as you want.

 

If you want to do something a little fancier, you can add some fruit to make fun flavors. I L.O.V.E. flavored lemonade. These require a bit more work, but they are totally worth it. mmm-mm-mm

 

strawberriesStrawberry Lemonade

  • 1 c fresh lemon juice
  • 1 c sugar
  • 1-2 c strawberries, hulled and sliced
  • 7-8 c water (divided)

Start by making sugar syrup: mix 1 c sugar and 1 c water in a small saucepan. Heat to a simmer and stir until the sugar melts completely. Then remove it from the heat and let it cool to room temperature.

Puree your strawberries in the blender or with an immersion blender (less clean up is generally my favorite choice), then pour the strawberry puree into the cooled sugar syrup.

Fill a large pitcher with the water and ice (more or less water according to your taste preference) and add the strawberry syrup and lemon juice. Add lemon and strawberry slices to make it pretty or for garnish on your glasses.

Raspberry Lemonaderaspberries1

Make raspberry lemonade just like the strawberry lemonade, but instead of strawberries, use 3/4 c raspberries and only 4-6 cups of water according to taste. If you don’t want raspberry seeds in your lemonade, you can strain the berries before adding them to the sugar syrup.

 

peachesPeach Lemonade

  • 3/4 c sugar
  • 2 c fresh peaches, coarsely chopped
  • 4 c water
  • 1 c fresh lemon juice
  • 4 c ice
  • 1 peach, sliced

In a saucepan, combine water, sugar, and peaches (not the slices). You’re going to strain this mixture later, so you don’t need to worry about peeling the peaches. Just slice in half, remove the pit, and chop.

Bring this mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 3 minutes. Let it cool for a few minutes, then blend it to a puree in a blender or with an immersion blender. Refrigerate for a few hours until cool, then strain. Keep the liquid and discard the solid stuff.

Add the lemon juice to the peach mixture and serve over ice. You can add the peach slices to the whole pitcher, with the ice in the individual glasses, or on the rims as garnish.

Any way you serve it, fresh lemonade is always a hit!

Looking for more ideas? Check out the rest of the Kick Off to Summer Week bloggers below!

Lemon Brookies by From Gate to Plate
Easy Red Wine Strawberry “Coolers” by Keep it Simple, Sweetie
Memorial Day: How to Make a Wreath by Lil Huckleberries
Banana Ice Cream Sandwiches with Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
Perfect Fresh Lemonade by Forty Eighteen
Sparkling Cupcakes by Lady Behind the Curtain
Seaside Pasta Salad by The Freshman Cook
Crumb Topped Blueberry Pie by It’s a Keeper
Peanut Butter Mousse Pie by Life on Food
Fiesta Fruit Slush by Little Dairy on the Praire
Sweet and Sour Cucumber Salad by Love in the Kitchen

What is your favorite lemonade flavor?

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