Drinks, drinks, drinks!

I sometimes feel as though I get in a "drink rut," choosing only drinks I recognize and know, and when my girlfriends and I make dinners and have girls night in, we are always at a loss of new and fun drinks to try.  Here are some great new drinks to try out, and the best part, they don't break the bank!

1. Peach Lemonade Coolers, a delicious-and cheap-drink I found perusing the blogging world!

Ingredients:

2 medium sized, ripe peaches, peeled, halved and pitted

1/2 cup lemonade

1 ounce vodka of choice

To make:
Puree the peaches and lemonade in a blender until smooth.

Pour vodka over ice in a rocks glass.  Top off with peach-lemonade puree.

2.  This next drink is not only delicious, but LOW CAL.  How amazing. Thank you to Linda Wagner's blog for introducing us to a "Skinny Girl Cocktail," White Sangria Sparkler.

Ingredients:

1-2 bottles of crisp white wine (she used 1 bottle of Sauvignon Blanc and 1 bottle of sparkling Vino Verde)

2 ripe local peaches, sliced

1 pint raspberries

2 kiwis

Several sprigs of mint

Stevia (or any sugar free sweetener) However, if you are anything like me, let's pour in that regular sugar, ladies.

To make:

 Simply add the sweetener and sliced fruit to the mixed wine until desired sweetness is reached.    Let sit for at least an hour in the fridge to let the flavors infuse.  As a tip, she adds that in the summer, adding frozen fruit to glasses before serving acts as great ice cubes.

3. Raspberry and Honey Bellini, okay, not only is this drink delicious, but it looks beautiful in a glass!

This drink takes a little bit longer, but works wonderfully!

First, you need to make a Honey-Raspberry Puree, to do so, just take 1 1/2 frozen raspberries thawed, and one tablespoon (or however honey-ish you want it to taste) and place them in a fine strainer, that has been placed over a bowl.  Drizzle all that honey over the raspberries, and stir, stir, stir!  The raspberries will get mushy, but keep on smashing those berries so all the juice puree drizzles into the bowl below.  When those raspberries have no more juice, toss them out!

Now on to the fun part, the drink.  Take one tablespoon of the puree and add that to a glass of champagne.  To make it nice and beautiful, add some fresh raspberries to the glass, and stir lightly with a spoon before serving!

4.  The Lava Flow, which as listed on the website, is the perfect drink for a summer get together.

Ingredients:

1 oz light rum (Bacardi works nicely)

1 oz Malibu coconut rum

2 oz fresh or frozen strawberries

1 small banana

2 oz unsweetened pineapple juice

2 oz coconut cream

Prep:

Blend the 2 rums and strawberries in a blender to form a smooth paste.  Pour this mixture into a tall glass.  Rinse the blender, then blend the banana, coconut cream, and pineapple juice in blender with crushed ice until smooth.

Pour this mixture into the glass with the rums and strawberries mixture very slow, and watch as the strawberry mixture oozes its way to the top along the sides of the glass, creating the flowing lava effect.  Garnish with a pineapple wedge, umbrella, or whatever your heart desires!

5.  Redhead in Bed, and the recipe even comes with a positive review!

Ingredients (serves 10):

3 pounds of strawberries, coarsely chopped

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons citrus vodka

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

Ice

1/3 cup chilled Riesling

Directions:

Toss strawberries with the sugar and let stand, stirring occasionally, until the strawberries release their juices, or about 10 minutes

In a blender, combine half each of the strawberries and their juices, the vodka, and lime juice with 1 cup of ice and puree.  Pour into a pitcher, and repeat with the remaining strawberries, juices, vodka, and lime juice.

Fill ten glasses halfway with ice, and pour the cocktail into the glasses.  Top each with about 1/2 tablespoon of Riesling, and serve!

Okay, okay, enough with the sweet and fruity drinks.  Lets get into the to die for chocolate drinks, one is non alcoholic too!

6.  Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Martini, yes this is a real drink.  Also, check out the rest of this blog, Daydreamer Desserts. Enough said.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 oz Reese's Mini Peanut Butter Cup Infused Vodka (recipe below)

4 oz milk

1 teaspoon Hershey's Chocolate Syrup

4 mini peanut butter Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, for garnish

To Infuse the Vodka:

Combine 6 oz good quality vodka and 1/4 cup of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups in a clean mason jar.  Close jar tightly and store in a cool dry place for 7 days.  Give it a good shake once or twice a day. Once vodka has been infused, strain into a clean mason jar using a fine mesh sieve or cheese cloth.  Store in a cool place or freezer.

To Make the Martini:

Combine infused vodka,  syrup, and milk (you can always stir the syrup and milk beforehand if you wish) in a cocktail shaker filled halfway with ice.  Shake for 30-40 seconds and pour into martini glasses.  Garnish with the candies, and you have yourself a very delicious dessert-I mean drink!

7. Nutella Hot Chocolate.  It is two of my favorite things in one, and has no alcohol, so can be enjoyed by everyone!

Ingredients: 

4 cups milk

1/2 cup Nutella

Mini marshmallows or whipped cream (or both!)

To make:

In a medium sauce pan over medium-low heat, whisk together milk and Nutella until the Nutella is melted and milk gets nice and warm.  Serve in mugs topped with marshmallows and whipped cream!

Happy sipping!