Dairy Free Pumpkin Creamer

Finding a good dairy free creamer is like searching for a needle in a haystack.  I've tried every brand that is sold in Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and Harris Teeter.  One brand is okay and my go to, but I don't love it.  So, it's time to start making my own.  

Since Fall is upon us, it seemed like making a pumpkin creamer would be necessary.  And guess what?  This actually has pumpkin in it!  So you are getting the health benefit of a veggie in your creamer.  Love it.  

I love this creamer.  I could actually just drink it right out of the jar.  But I don't like it in my coffee.  I have kind of turned into a coffee snob (not sure how that happened) and I am kind of particular with how my coffee tastes.  I was kind of disappointed but then tried it with some chai tea.  JACKPOT!  So delicious.  I am enjoying a cup right now.  Mmmmm.  Try this in your coffee or tea and let me know your thoughts!

Ingredients:

1 cup soy milk (or almond/coconut milk)

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

1 tbsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp maple syrup

1 tsp cinnamon

dash of cloves

dash of nutmeg

Directions:

Heat ingredients in a pan over medium heat.  Stir until well blended.  Remove from heat and store in a sealed container for 1-2 weeks.  I used a mason jar.

If you want to make pumpkin spice chai tea, heat 1/2 cup chai tea.  Add creamer to your liking.  I taste as it warms.  Stir to combine.  I also added another dash or two of soy milk to the pan as it was too thick for me.  

Sip, and enjoy!

Surprise Peach Tea

Surprise, it has Bourbon in it!

Jordan's mom gave me this recipe a few weeks ago. She makes it during the summer and I've never had it until this year. I don't like iced tea so I've always steered clear from it. I finally got the nerve to try it - and guess what? It doesn't taste like tea at all!

The original recipe calls for a package of Crystal Light Peach Tea. Crystal Light has aspartame in it and makes me feel kind of sick. I bought regular peach tea and added about 3-4 tablespoons of sugar to the hot water while the tea was seeping. (My house smelled wonderful while it was seeping by the way!) I used the 4 1/2 cups of water with 6 peach tea bags. We took this to a Memorial Day BBQ so I doubled the batch and almost all of it was gone by the end of the evening. It's a nice drink to have on a hot summer day!

Ingredients:
1 container Crystal Light Peach Ice tea mix
4 1/2 cups of water
1 cup of orange juice
1/2 cup bourbon (We thought it needed more like 1 cup)
Garnish with orange slices if desired

Directions:

Mix together and refrigerate. Give a good stir and serve over ice with a slice of orange.

Give it a try, it's very refreshing!

My Strawberry Margaritas

For those of you who say you do not like Margaritas - you've never had one of mine!! Well....actually got this recipe from my friend Tommy Arboneaux so really it's his recipe. :)

The cast of characters that are a MUST! Tequila, Triple Sec, frozen strawberries, & frozen limeade.



If you want to use a different brand of Tequila by all means go ahead. We always buy Jose Cuervo so that's what I use.

I have a little side tip for you. When you buy fresh strawberries and they are starting to go bad; wash and hull them & put them in the freezer. Frozen strawberries help keep the margaritas slushy whereas fresh ones make them a bit watery.

Oh, and by the way, you also need a blender!

I very rarely measure the amounts but I tried to this time as I knew I'd be putting this recipe up. Here's what I did:

Pour in blender:
6 ounces of tequila
2 ounces of triple sec
6 ounces of frozen limeade (half of a 12 oz can)
handful of strawberries
fill the rest of the blender with ice



Blend until smooth - about 45 seconds - depending on your blender.



These turned out good, but were a little strong and not quite as slushy as I like. I was also using someone else's blender so it might have been that I couldn't fit as much ice in as I normally do. Play around with the alcohol amounts until you have them at the strength you like.