Citrus Bourbon Slushies

Ingredients

  • 1 cup bourbon whiskey (we used Jim Beam)
  • ¾ cup fresh lime juice
  • 10 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (we used 8 tablespoons)
  • 1 ¾ cups simple syrup (We did a 50:50 ratio of sugar and water with our simple syrup and let it cool down to room temperature afterwards)
  • ¾ cup chopped fresh mint leaves (we finely chopped our mint)
  • ¼ cup water
  • Lemon slices and mint leaves, for garnish

Directions

  1. Add all the ingredients to a large plastic freezer-safe bag. Seal the bag and place it in the freezer for anywhere from 6 hours to overnight so the mixture gets frozen. Once frozen, take the bag out and massage it with your hands until the mixture takes on a slushy consistency. Pour into glasses and garnish with lemon slices and mint leaves.
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They called this “Citrus Bourbon Slushies” but we call it Swamp Slushies ! Don’t let the looks decieve you, this is a delicious drink to have on a hot day. Hell, it’s a delicious drink to have anytime of the year ! There’s a nice level of sweetness without being overpowering, you can taste the bourbon but it’s not overwhelming (oh, you will feel it as well !) and the mint gives it a nice freshness. The lime and lemon juice brightens the drink but doesn’t make it pucker-inducing at all. We don’t know what happened ‘cause the photo for this drink made it look yellow-ish but ours ended up looking like swamp water. The drink was too good to not post even though it visually didn’t turn out the same as the magazine’s picture did. So we decided to embrace the difference and give it the name that seemed fitting ! This is a great drink to have for the summer time but it could be a fun drink to serve in October for a Halloween party !

We got this recipe from People magazine.

We weren’t paid in any form to promote Jim Beam or People magazine.

Take care everybody !

Vietnamese Chicken Salad

Ingredients

  • ¾ cup mayonnaise
  • 3 Tbsp. minced shallots
  • 1 Tbsp. chili garlic sauce
  • 1 Tbsp. sugar
  • 2 tsp. grated fresh ginger
  • 2 tsp. fish sauce
  • Minced zest of 1 lime
  • 2 tsp. fresh lime juice
  • Salt to taste (we used kosher salt)
  • 4 croissants, split (or 1 baguette*) (we used a baguette)
  • 3 cups diced rotisserie chicken (we used breast meat)
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh mint
  • ¼ cup shredded carrot
  • Romaine lettuce (we used 1 lettuce leaf per sandwich)

Directions

  1. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the first 8 ingredients, seasoning it with salt.
  2. Spread 1 tablespoon of the mayonnaise mixture onto each cut side of your choice of bread.
  3. Take a large mixing bowl and add to it the chicken, mint, carrot and remaining mayonnaise mixture, stirring to combine (we seasoned this with more salt at this point). Serve the chicken salad on the bread along with the romaine.

*If you’re using a baguette, cut it into 4 pieces, cutting each piece in half. Scoop out some of the center soft bread where you’ll be placing the chicken salad (we forgot to scoop out the bread but the sandwich still turned out just fine).

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The flavors of this are more on the subtle side but you can still taste the fish sauce and mint. The crunch from the lettuce is a nice contrast against the tender chicken. This would be a great picnic sandwich !

We got this recipe from Cuisine at Home.

We weren’t paid in any form to promote Cuisine at Home.

Take care everybody !

Old-Fashioned Lemonade

Ingredients

  • 1 1/3 cups sugar
  • 5 cups water, divided
  • 1 Tbsp. grated lemon peel
  • 1 ¾ cups lemon juice (about 10 large lemons) (we bought more than 10 lemons since we didn’t know what counted as “large” for lemons)

Directions

  1. Take a large saucepan out and mix the sugar, 1 cup of water and the lemon peel together in it. Set the heat to medium and stir the mixture for 4 minutes or until the sugar’s dissolved. Take the saucepan off the heat, stirring in the lemon juice and remaining water afterwards. Place the lemonade in the fridge and leave it there until it’s cold. Serve the drink over ice and enjoy !
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This is a delicious classic lemonade. It’s sweet but you can still taste the lemon in this without it being pucker-inducing. A great drink to enjoy on a hot day.

We got this recipe from Taste of Home.

We weren’t paid in any form to promote Taste of Home.

Take care everybody !

Tex-Mex Beef Wraps

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste (we used somewhere between ¾ to 1 teaspoon)
  • 1 boneless beef chuck pot roast (2 ½ to 3 pounds), cut into 4 pieces
  • 1 medium onion, chopped (we used a yellow onion)
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 cup salsa, divided (we used Restaurant-Style Salsa)
  • 12 flour or corn tortillas (6 to 7 inches), warmed (we used corn tortillas)
  • 1 cup shredded Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese (we used finely shredded pepper jack cheese)
  • 1 cup chopped tomato*
  • ¼ cup chopped cilantro*
  • 1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted and diced

Directions

  1. Take a slow cooker (we used a 6-quart slow cooker) and spray the inside of it with cooking spray. In a small container, mix together the chili powder, cumin, salt and cayenne pepper. Take the spice mixture and rub it all over the roast. Take the onion and garlic and place it in the bottom of the slow cooker. Place the meat on top of the onion and garlic. Spoon ½ cup of the salsa over the meat, putting the lid on the slow cooker afterwards. Let it cook on LOW for 8 to 9 hours or on HIGH for 3 ½ to 4 ½ hours on HIGH or until the meat’s very tender (we cooked ours on LOW).
  2. Take the meat out of the slow cooker and place it on a plate. Shred the meat using two forks. Skim off and throw away any fat from the juices you can, placing the meat back in the slow cooker afterwards, mixing well. Place the meat on the warmed tortillas, topping the meat with the cheese, tomato, cilantro and avocado. Fold it up to wrap** and serve with the remaining salsa.

*We decided to use some pico de gallo instead.

**It’s easier to eat this like a taco instead of a wrap. Maybe if the tortillas had been bigger we would’ve done wraps.

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They called this a wrap but we call it delicious no matter how you eat it ! Even though we increased the cayenne, the other flavors still came through in the meat. The pico de gallo brought a freshness to the dish and the avocado added a nice creamy goodness. The salsa is already delicious all on its own so naturally it only made the wrap taste even better !

Recipe source unknown.

Take care everybody !

Easy Sesame-Hoisin Salmon

Ingredients

  • 2 Tbsp. hoisin sauce
  • 1 Tbsp. brown sugar (we used light brown sugar)
  • 1 Tbsp. reduced-sodium soy sauce
  • 1 Tbsp. rice vinegar
  • 2  tsp. toasted sesame oil
  • 1 tsp. grated ginger
  • ¼ tsp. crushed red pepper
  • 4 (6-oz.) salmon fillets
  • Cooking spray
  • ¼ tsp. kosher salt
  • 2 Tbsp. sliced green onions

Directions

  1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Take a baking dish (we used a 13- x 9-inch baking dish) and spray the inside of it with cooking spray. In a small bowl, mix together the first 7 ingredients together until combined. Place the salmon in the baking dish (we put ours in skin-side down), sprinkling the salt over the fillets afterwards. Pour the sauce over the salmon and stick the dish in the oven for 15 minutes, basting occasionally (we basted around every 5 minutes). Sprinkle the green onions over the salmon and eat right away.
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This really is an easy dish to make. It’s sweet and has some heat to it. We didn’t taste the sesame oil really but we enjoyed the other flavors a lot !

We got this recipe from Cooking Light.

We weren’t paid in any form to promote Cooking Light.

Take care everybody !