Margarita Floats

The last two weeks, I have been out of town learning how to teach physics. The big problem I seem to be having with this is that I don't really seem to KNOW physics. 

When I graduated from college, I had changed my major enough and taken some magical combination of classes that allowed me to add physics to my license. Oddly, only one of those classes covered what is traditionally taught in a high school physics course, and that class appears on my transcript next to the lowest grade I received in any class. Ever.

So I have been spending 8 hours a day with a bunch of other teachers trying to keep up with the vectors, vaguely familiar trigonometry and the ever popular Isaac Newton. 

My brain hurts.

One night we went to supper at Whiskey Creek. On their drink menu they had what they called a margarita float. Since I hadn't done my homework at that point, I figured I had better not chance it. But that picture just kept coming back to me. It sounded so good. Why hadn't I ever heard of this?

And do I even need to mention the weather???? 

So I set out to discover my own. The only thing I could remember from the description was Tequila and Triple Sec. Not much to go on. Now, I love margaritas, I just have never given much thought to how I would make them at home.

So I guessed. Well, I Googled it. Do you know how many recipes there are out there for margaritas? Hmmm...now that I think about it, I didn't check to see if there were any for margarita floats. Did I mention my brain hurts?

For each serving, mix together 1 tablespoon Triple Sec, 2 tablespoons Tequila and 1/4 Cup Lime Juice. Add 1 cup of Tonic Water.

Add in a nice big scoop of sherbet. I was going to use lime or raspberry, but all my grocery store had today was the rainbow. I wasn't terribly disappointed because all flavors of sherbet taste pretty much the same to me.

That tonic water makes a beautifully fizzy foam on the top.

Aren't these gorgeous?

Incredibly tasty, too. Maybe a tad strong. I think I would not add full tablespoons next time. But that sherbet swirls in and gives a nice refreshing sweetness to the limes.

Oh, here's another tip. If you happen to be experimenting with drinks made from multiple variations of alcohol, it is probably a good idea to invite a friend over. Just sayin'

Click here for Printable Recipe

Margarita Floats
1 oz Triple Sec
2 oz Tequila
1/4 Cup Lime Juice
1 Cup Tonic Water
Scoop of Sherbet
Mix it up and enjoy.

Note: It is a good idea to have all the liquids chilled before mixing since there is no ice added.

Watermelon Sorbet

The other day, I came home from the grocery store with the biggest watermelon I have ever seen. I nearly had to abandon The Boy to get it in the car. Thinking that not even this family can eat that much watermelon, I went about searching for watermelon recipes.

Turns out there are an awful lot of them. I have never really used watermelon for anything but eating, so this opens up a whole new world for me.

This recipe comes from Rachael Ray. I hadn't been over to her site for quite some time, and I ended up spending way too much time surfing over there.

You need some watermelon puree. Cut the watermelon into cubes and put it into a blender. Hit puree. (Haha, Goonies reference!)

Zest one lime. This is the hardest part of the whole thing. It's kind of like eating lobster. Lots of work and not much to show for it.
Add one cup of your puree to the lime zest and a half a cup of sugar. Simmer this for a few minutes so the sugar gets good and dissolved.
Add three more cups of puree and a pinch of salt. Then whisk in a can of sweetened condensed milk.
Pour this into your ice cream freezer.
Follow your freezer's directions.
When that gets done, you are left with this...
I loved this. It is so refreshing and the lime comes through a lot more than I thought it would. The one teaspoon is all you need. The kids didn't like this as much as I did, but I think it was more because of the lime. Next time I am going to leave that out and see if they like that better.

Click here for Printable Recipe

Watermelon Sorbet
6 Cups chopped up seedless watermelon
1/4 Cup sugar
Grated peel of 1 lime
Pinch salt
1 Can Sweetened Condensed Milk
Using a blender, puree the watermelon; you will need 4 cups watermelon puree.
In a large saucepan, bring 1 cup watermelon puree, the sugar and lime peel to a simmer over medium-low heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves; season with the salt. Pour in the remaining 3 cups watermelon puree, then whisk in the milk until incorporated. Pour the watermelon mixture into your ice cream freezer and follow it's instructions.

Frozen Strawberry Dessert

Since I've been so long gone, I'll give you another gem I got in a Taste of Home last fall. Now that I reflect on that, it seems odd that this recipe for a frozen dessert wouldn't be in the spring or summer issues, but oh well.

This was wonderful. It does have to freeze overnight, though, so don't try to squeeze it in and hope it will be solid enough to eat in four. It will not be. But the strawberry "soup" was good, too.

For the crust, mix together brown sugar and 1 cup of flour.
Add in 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans.
Cut in 1/2 cup butter. Use your hands. It is easier.
You will get a crumbly mixture that may or may not appear to be completely mixed. That's okay, because when it cooks, it will all even out.
Bake at 350 until browned and let that cool.
When it is cool enough, take a fork and crumble it all up. This is a good time for a taste test. In truth, I could have eaten the entire crust all by itself. It is divine. Save about 1/2 cup back to use as a topping.
Now for the filling. Add a cup of sugar and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice to 2 cups of frozen (thawed) strawberries.
Let that sit while you whip the whipping cream into a frenzy.
This will take a few minutes to get it good and thick.
At which time the naked (and filthy) Boy will hear the mixer and come to investigate.
And want to help.
Mmmmmm.....homeade whipped cream. I could eat this all by itself, too.
Fold the whipped cream into the strawberries. Gentle folding is important, because you are going for fluffy here. Again, let the boy help, but be careful.
He is very sneaky.
It will be all swirly when you get it folded in.
Pour the filling into the crumbled up crust.
Take that reserved topping, if you haven't eaten it, and sprinkle it on the top.
Freeze overnight or for 8 hours. Four is not enough.
I've made several frozen concoctions this summer, and I think this one might be my favorite. I think it would be wonderful with pineapple. Or peaches. Bananas anyone?

In reality, this was bit too sweet for me, so I think next time, I will cut back on some of the sugar in either the crust or filling. But my mom assures me it was perfect for her!

Click here for Printable Recipe

Frozen Strawberry Dessert
1 cup all purpose flour
¼ cup packed brown sugar
½ cup cold butter
½ cup chopped pecans
2 cups frozen, unsweetened strawberries, thawed
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped until thickened In a small bowl combine the flour and brown sugar; cut in the butter until crumbly. Stir in pecans. Press into ungreased 9 inch square baking pan. Bake at 250 for 14 – 16 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.
Crumble the baked pecan mixture and set-aside ½ cup for topping. Sprinkle the remaining mixture into an 8 inch square dish.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the strawberries, sugar and lemon juice until blended. Fold in whipped cream. Spread evenly into dish. Sprinkle with reserved pecan mixture. Cover and freeze for 8 hours or overnight. Let stand a half hour at room temp before cutting. In the summer it might not take that long to defrost, but in kitchen that day, it took a half hour.

Cookie Dough Pie

Since I started following blogs, I have elevated my recipe collecting to an entire new level. I had no idea all this was available at the click of a mouse.

I am addicted to Google Reader. Please help me.

I found this incredible creation on Carrie's Cooking and Recipes, which she found on the Big Red Kitchen. The Girl has made this twice in the last two days, and Jeff has yet to get a chance to even taste it. It goes that fast. And it is amazing how few people actually believe me when I tell them what it is made of.
Dip a Chips Ahoy into a bowl of milk for a count of 5.
Allow the excess milk to drain off. You just want the cookie to soak up a little bit of milk to make it mushy. Any more and you will have milk pooling at the bottom of your pan...ew.
Layer the cookies into the bottom of a pie pan (or in my case, a small casserole dish). Put them in close together, you want a fairly solid layer.
Spread a thin layer of whipped topping (Cool Whip) over the cookie layer.
Add another layer of cookies.
And another layer of whipped topping.
At this point, instruct your daughter on proper sanitation procedures. She ended up washing her hand about four times. But who among us can really resist the Cool Whip???
One package of Chips Ahoy will make three layers. Top with the rest of the whipped topping. Then pop that in the freezer for a couple hours. The first one we made was just put in the refrigerator. It got REALLY soggy. Still good, but the one we put in the freezer was better.
The second time we made this, we doubled the recipe and put it into a 9 x 13 pan. Two packages of cookies would have worked perfectly if The Boy and Jeff had not sneaked away with several cookies.

This is wonderful. This is so simple. I just gave 7 yo Girl the ingredients and she made it all by herself.

I can also see this made with other kinds of cookies. Oreos come to mind. Oh, Nutter Butters would be delicious. The possibilities are endless. I'll let you know...

Click here for Printable Recipe

Cookie Dough Pie
15.25 ounce package Chips Ahoy Cookies- original kind
8 ounces Cool Whip
1-2 cups milk
Dip cookies in milk for a count of 5, let the excess liquid drip off, and layer in 9 inch pie plate. Spread a thin layer of Cool Whip onto the first layer of cookies. Repeat twice more making last layer of Cool Whip a bit thicker. Garnish with chocolate syrup if desired. Place in freezer 2-3 hours before serving and serve frozen. Note- You must dip quickly or your pie will be soggy. Make sure to shake off excess milk as well so that you do not have a puddle of milk in your pie.

Frozen Banana Pops

Continuing on my adventure into the land of frozen desserts, I came across a recipe for Frozen Banana Pops in Taste of Home. This intrigued me. My kids love popsicles, so much so that I have started to worry about sugar as their only nourishment.

This just seemed like the perfect snack.

Melt 1/2 cup of chocolate chips with 3 tablespoons of honey on LOW heat. Do not get impatient here.
Once that is melted, stir in 1/4 cup peanut butter.
This is going to be a pretty thick mixture, so add in 2 tablespoons of milk.
Did you know? Most measuring cup sets come with a 1/8 cup measurement. This is 2 tablespoons. I teach high school, so I am no longer surprised be the number of people who do not know this.
My family is messy. Apparently it's genetic. Watching The Boy eat is eerily similar to watching Jeff eat. There will never be any doubt that child belongs to him. The original recipe called for a half a banana to be dipped in the chocolate mixture and put on a stick. I knew that a good portion of that half of a chocolate covered banana would end up on my couch. To head this off before it got out of hand, I chopped the banana into about half inch slices. About this time The Boy noticed I had bananas and started eating. I have to cook REALLY fast with him around.
To distract him from his ever raging hunger, I convinced him to help me. He threw (his word) the bananas into the chocolate.
Now if you have ever tried to coat a banana with anything, you know that they resist this sort of thing. It takes a little patience and a willingness to not worry about perfection to get this job done.

Toss the bananas around a bit and lay them out on to wax paper. If you so desire, you can sprinkle on some sprinkles or chopped nuts at this point.
Put in the freezer for a few hours until the chocolate has set up.
I am going to state the obvious here. The bananas were cold. Really, really cold. My sensitive teeth had a hard time with these.

But not everyone was slowed down by this. This is The Boy with a half inch slice of banana. I am so glad I didn't do the half banana.
Although these went really fast (I can't tell you the number of times the freezer alarm went off), they were a bit too chocolaty for me. I couldn't really tell there was peanut butter in the mix. I think next time I will cut back on the chocolate chips and add a bit more peanut butter.

Click here for Printable Recipe

Frozen Banana Pops
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup peanut butter
2 tablespoons milk
4 medium firm bananas, sliced
In a small heavy saucepan, melt chocolate chips and honey over low heat, stirring constantly. Add peanut butter; stir until smooth. Remove from the heat and stir in milk.
Peel bananas and insert wooden sticks into one end. Spoon chocolate mixture over bananas to coat. Place on a waxed paper-lined baking sheet. Freeze for at least 1 hour. Serve frozen.