Pumpkin Smoothie

Fall is coming, so I am excited to start cooking with pumpkin.  I made a tasty pumpkin smoothie yesterday that was really creamy and has very few calories.  Plus, I have lots of pumpkin puree left over, so more pumpkin recipes will follow this one. :)

Pumpkin Smoothie

1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 banana
1/4 cup nonfat vanilla Greek yogurt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp honey
1 cup crushed ice

Blend all ingredients until smooth.  Enjoy!

Sangria

I love sangria.  This was my first attempt in making it myself, and it couldn't have been any easier or more delicious.  I will say this, though: I highly recommend a designated driver.  It's dangerous!  I started making this from Pioneer Woman's recipe, but I added orange juice just to have something in the pitcher that wasn't completely alcoholic.  I will definitely make this again.

It's a shame that I didn't take a picture of the pitcher when it was full, but it was beautiful. 

Sangria

1 bottle red wine (I used Cabernet Sauvignon)
1 bottle white wine (I used Chardonnay)
1/2 cup rum
1/2 cup vodka
1/3 cup orange juice
3/4 cup sugar
1 orange, cut into slices
1 lemon, cut into slices
2 limes, cut into slices

Combine all ingredients in a large pitcher, and allow it to refrigerate overnight before serving.  Serve cold or over ice.  Have tongs out to retrieve fruit.

Low Calorie Margarita

A good margarita is certainly helping my evening.  After working late, and especially after getting my taxes done, I wanted needed a good drink.  Thankfully, Hungry Girl has a recipe for a great margarita that has only 115 calories!  I was excited to try it, and let me tell you, it is GOOD.  You honestly won't know the difference between this margarita and a restaurant's margarita, and you will not miss the hundreds of calories and grams of sugar you would otherwise be consuming.  Honestly, this recipe is surprisingly sweet for a margarita; you could just use one of the packets of lemonade mix and be fine.

This recipe is just for one serving.  You may want to make two or three at a time.  According to the cookbook, the entire recipe has 115 calories, 0g fat, 55mg sodium, 2g carbs, and less than 0.5g sugars.  You don't have to feel guilty! 

Low Calorie Margarita

3/4 cup (6oz) diet lemon-lime soda
3 Tbsp (1.5oz) tequila
2 packets (two 5-calorie servings) sugar-free powdered lemonade drink mix
2 Tbsp lime juice
5 to 8 ice cubes or 1 cup crushed ice

Stir all ingredients together except for the ice.  For a frozen drink, place mixture in a blender with the ice and blend until smooth.  Alternately, just pour mixture over ice and enjoy.

Firefly Cocktails

We've been lucky enough to have two beach trips this summer, and let me tell you, this is the drink you want to have in your hand while you're sitting in the sand (or while you're sitting on the back porch, or probably while you're sitting at your office desk).  It will also be a great tailgating drink when football season starts.  This is our new favorite.  If you haven't tried Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka yet, go get some.  Now. 

In the picture is (what's left of) the Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka and Firefly Lemonade Vodka.  (And yes, they're in coffee mugs.  We're renting a beach house, and we apparently hadn't yet found normal cups or glasses.)  I like the drink much better with plain lemonade.  The lemonade vodka is over the top for me since there's already sweet tea vodka in the drink, but it's up to you.  I am telling you--you will love this drink.

Firefly Cocktails

1 part Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka
1 part sweet tea
1 part lemonade

Stir and serve over ice.

Pineapple Margaritas

These are good and strong! One or two will do the trick, and you'll be thanking your designated driver. They don't have an overwhelming tequila taste, but you can just taste that they're strong. They're not quite as sweet as I was expecting, but still very good. (And also--Geaux Tigers!) The original recipe is from Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa. I cut the lime juice down to one cup instead of two, as the recipe reviewers suggested.

Pineapple Margaritas

2 cups tequila
2 cups triple sec
2 1/2 cups pineapple juice
1 cup lime juice

Mix ingredients and serve over ice.