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Lynsey Lou's

Enjoying Life One Bite at a Time!

Cocktails

Blackberry Lemon Spritzer

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Blackberry lemon spritzer is full of bold and refreshing flavors. Sweet blackberries paired with earthy basil and tart lemons. This spritzer comes together in just a couple of minutes for a single serving, but could easily be multiplied to make a pitcher for entertaining.

Blackberry Lemon Spritzer

The lazy, carefree days of summer are upon us!  During this warmer months I can think of nothing better than a simple, cool, refreshing drink that utilizes some of natures candy.

Blackberries are one of my favourite fruits.  I can pop them in my mouth one after the other and truly indulge myself, or throw them in a pie, cobbler or tart. 

Another option is to drop them into the bottom of a glass, muddle them and whip up a delicious cocktail or mocktail. 

And that’s exactly what I did with the last batch of blackberries I purchased.  Folks, I think this is one of my favorite beverages to date and it is so. incredibly. simple!  A handful of blackberries, fresh basil leaves, a hint of lemon and zesty ginger beer.  These are a match made in heaven.

This blackberry lemon spritzer is slightly tart, sweet, with a hint of earthy basil.  The lemon adds a touch of brightness and the ginger beer lends a hint of spice.  This is summertime perfection in a glass. 

Blackberry Lemon Spritzer

Blackberry Lemon Spritzer

Yield: 1
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes

Light, refreshing and bursting with flavor. This spritzer combines some of my favorite flavors; juicy blackberries, tart lemon and peppery basil. These all pair wonderfully with the zesty flavor of ginger beer yielding a perfectly, refreshing beverage.

Ingredients

  • 3-4 Large basil leaves, roughly torn
  • 6 Blackberries
  • Juice from quarter of a lemon
  • Ginger beer
  • 2 Oz vodka, if desired*

Instructions

  1. Place basil and blackberries in a glass. Using a muddle, or the back of a spoon, gently press to release the blackberry juices and basil oil.
  2. Squeeze the lemon juice in the glass, add vodka (if using) and gently stir to combine.
  3. Fill glass 3/4 full with ice and then top with ginger beer. Stir to combine.
  4. Garnish with a lemon wedge and basil leaves, if desired.

Notes

*This beverage is delicious without alcohol, but to make it an adult beverage add the liquor of your choice. I used vodka, but rum would be a great addition as well.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 1 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 467Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 172mgCarbohydrates: 85gFiber: 3gSugar: 79gProtein: 1g

Nutrition is gathered and calculated based on the ingredients used by Nutrionix. Nutrition can vary for a recipe based on numerous factors such as precision of the measurements, brands of products, freshness of ingredients or the source of the nutritional data.

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Category: Beverages

Hard Cherry Lemonade

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I’ve had 3 bottles of cherry ginger beer sitting on my shelf for several months.  Every time I walk past them I hear them screaming at me, “uuuuuse meeee”.  And for the past few months I’ve ignored their plea. 

…..Until now.

I finally had enough time to devote a little thought to write a recipe that utilized the amazingness that is this ginger beer.  And just in time for the warmer weather and Memorial Day. 

This has to be one of the simplest cocktails I’ve ever made.  I mean, it comes together in under 5 minutes and is pure perfection. 

For those of you that are new, you must know that I’m obsessed with ginger beer and all it’s awesomeness.  It’s light, refreshing, crispy, with a hint of spice.  It’s perfect in mules, in fact, that’s how I was first introduced to it.  But it’s also great in mojitos and to brighten up several other cocktails.  And the other day, well, I used it to make a hard lemonade.

I came across this cherry version of one of my favorite beverages in the super market a few months ago.  It’s got all the flavors and characteristics I love about ginger beer but with a subtle cherry undertone.  This ginger beer is amazing and the perfect thing to add to lemonade.

So, when the temps dipped and the humidity subsided I whipped up this hard cherry lemonade.  Oh-mah-goodness, it was love at first sip. 

Fresh, tart lemon juice, crispy, slightly spicy, cherry ginger beer, a splash of rum and a sprig of mint come together in this perfectly delicious and refreshing hard lemonade.  This is one of those drinks that comes together in no time, but would be easy to multiply to make a big batch making it easy for serving a crowd. 

This hard lemonade is summer in a glass.  Refreshing, bright, fizzy and pretty. 

Hard Cherry Lemonade


Ingredients:

1/2 Medium-large lemon, cut in quarters
2 Tsp sugar
4 Oz rum
1 bottle cherry ginger beer
Ice
Mint, optional
Maraschino cherries
Directions:

Place 2 lemon wedges in 2 glasses.  Muddle to release the juices.  Add 1 teaspoon of sugar to each glass, stir to combine.  Divide rum between two glasses and mix.  Fill each glass with ice, fill with ginger beer, stir to mix.  Garnish with a lemon wedge, cherry and sprig of mint if desired.
Serve.
Recipe source: A Lynsey original

Sweet Peach Tea

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Y’all, this is the first time in I don’t know how long that Arkansas has actually had a spring “season”.  Usually we have one or two days of pleasant weather before it turns scorching hot and it feels like the temps are in the 1000’s.  So, I have been enjoying every single second of these amazingly cool, spring days. 

These temps also motivated me to get out on my back patio and give it a long over-due makeover.  I mean, I haven’t done anything with it since I moved in the house (almost 13 years ago…eek).  The previous owners had definitely DIY-ed some stuff; there was some not so smooth concrete poured at some point, the patio was extended by burying some cinder blocks and the covered area was extended at some point too.  So it’s safe to say that there have been a lot of add-ons over the years.

So, since there was a hodge-podge of surfaces along the patio I decided it was due time to make some improvements.  Granted, I didn’t want to spend a ton on said improvements so I did a little research then headed to Home Depot to get some supplies.  A few hours later I had said supplies and headed home to dive in.

I’m proud to say 2 weekends of hard work, different colored fingers, and lots of sore muscles and I know have a patio I’m extremely proud of.  Y’all, the hubs cemented over the cinder blocks and I taped, dyed and dyed some more and it now looks like a tiled patio.  I’m beyond proud of how it all turned out.

Not only am I proud, I’ve been itching for amazing weather and trying to find any excuse to enjoy the new patio and layout.  To break it in just right, I decided to whip up a truly southern beverage to sip on while I sat on my new patio.

There’s nothing more southern and summer-like that sweet tea.  This particular tea is sweetened with the most amazing peach syrup.  Life changing stuff y’all.  And lucky for all of you, I whipped up this recipe just in time for the kick off of summer, Memorial Day. 

This tea is perfect for the warmer temps that will definitely be upon us.  It’s delicious, refreshing, can be made in bulk and will be a hit at your cookout.  You can combine it and pour it from a pitcher or set up a little drink bar and allow everyone to customize their own drink.  Either way, just make sure this is part of your celebration and a staple of the summer season.

You can even make this a hard iced tea by adding a splash of bourbon to the mix.  This tea is amazingly refreshing.  It’s strong, sweet and bursting with peach flavor.  And to brighten it up just that much more I muddled in a few mint leaves.  Ah-mazing people. 

This is the summer anthem right here!

Sweet Peach Tea


Ingredients:

For the tea-
2 Tea bags
3 Cups water
For the peach simple syrup-
1/2 Cup water
2/3 Cup sugar
1 Peach, sliced
To assemble-
Fresh mint
Bourbon-optional
Directions:

Pour water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil.  Once the water has reached a boil, remove from heat, add tea bags, cover and allow to steep for 30 minutes.
Pour in a pitcher and refrigerate until ready to serve.
For the simple syrup-

Place water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer and stir until sugar is dissolved.  Add the peach slices, cover and allow to sit for about 45 minutes.  Pour into a mason jar and refrigerate until ready to serve.

To serve-

Remove peaches from syrup (either discard or place in airtight container and use for ice cream or cake topping) and pour into a small pitcher or jar. 

Place mint in the bottom of a jar and muddle to release the oils.  Add desired amount of peach syrup, 2 ounces of bourbon if using) fill with ice, pour tea over ice and stir gently.  Serve.

Recipe source: A Lynsey Original

SRC: Prairie Mule

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Mules are one of my favorite cocktails.  Tart lime juice paired with spicy, refreshing ginger beer and a splash of vodka; a simple drink that is so delicious.

For this month’s Secret Recipe Club assignment I was given Our Good Life.  Terri is a retired school principal who has a passion for reading, baking, photography, traveling and socializing, much like myself…well, minus the principal part!  I ready one, after another after another of her delicious recipes and after perusing tons of various, mouthwatering recipes I decided to make her recipe for the Prarie Mule.

I had a laundry list of recipes I wanted to make from Terri’s blog, but since the weather has been amazing here lately I couldn’t pass up this drink.  We really don’t experience much of a spring here in Arkansas, the weather typically goes from winter to 900 degrees with the drop of a hat.  So since we’re actually experiencing a few true spring-like days I am taking advantage of every single one of them!  Most recently by sitting on my back porch and sipping on this mule.

The Prairie Mule is much like the infamous Moscow Mule, but she enjoyed the restaurant’s beverage so much she tried to snag the recipe for herself.  And you know what?  She did!  This is pretty much identical to the Moscow Mule, but it uses Prairie’s vodka.

Now, the original recipe for the Prarie Mule sounded delicious, but I love my mules with a hefty helping of fresh mint.  So I grabbed a handful from garden and muddled it into the mix.  The end result was perfection.

Toast the spring and summer by making a batch of these mules and sitting out and enjoying the weather.

Prairie Mule


Ingredients:


1.5 Oz Vodka
4 Oz ginger beer
Juice of quarter of a lime
2 Tbsp mint
Lime wedge for garnish

Directions:


Add the ingredients to a copper mug, stir to combine then fill with ice.  Garnish with a lime wedge and mint (if desired) and enjoy!

Recipe source: Our Good Life

Ginger Beer Cupid Floats

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Valentines day is less that a week away!  Can you believe it?  2016 has rolled around and we seem to just be cruising on through!

I’m dedicating this week to all things Valentines!  Whether you celebrate with your special someone or cozied up on the couch with a glass of red and your favorite movie, I’m sure there will be a recipe or that you can enjoy!

While most people consider Valentines day a celebration strictly between you and your sweetheart, that doesn’t mean kids can’t join in the fun.  Since Tucker has come into the picture, Valentines is a day we all celebrate together.  Tucker gets a card, a few presents and ALWAYS joins us in the kitchen to cook our special celebratory meal.

These floats are another fun way to involve your kids in the celebration. They can help scoop the ice cream, pour the fizzy beverage and garnish with as much whipped cream as they want!
This cupid float is so easy to make and would make a great addition to your special meal, dessert afterwards or even as a quick afternoon snack.  Instead of traditional soda, I used a cherry ginger beer.  Before you keep scrolling because you think this isn’t kid friendly, let me tell you, the ginger beer is alcohol free.  It gets it’s name because it’s made more like a beer to help yield a more crispy, ginger flavor.

Anyway, so ice cream gets to take a swim in this incredibly crisp ginger beer that has a slight bite and a subtle cherry flavor.  A splash of maraschino cherry juice lends another element of cherry flavor as well as a fun pink color to the mix.  Whipped cream and a cherry bring it all together for a fun presentation! Annnd, if you want to make it an adult float then just add a splash of your favorite vodka.

This is a delicious float like no other.  So go ahead and grab some ginger beer, ice cream and cherries and make this fun float for you and your special someone(s).

Oh, and be sure to enter my giveaway for a $75.00 pre-paid American Express.

Cupid Floats

Ingredients:

6 Scoop vanilla ice cream
2 Tbsp maraschino cherry juice
1 Bottle Cock n Bull Cherry Ginger Beer

For serving-
2 tall, skinny glasses
straws
Whipped cream, optional
Maraschino cherry, optional

Directions:

Place 3 scoops of ice cream in each glass, followed by 1 tablespoon of cherry juice in each, then top off with ginger beer.  Garnish with whipped cream and a cherry and serve.

Recipe source: A Lynsey Original

Brown Sugar Bourbon Apple Cider

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While I love my fun in the sun, splashing in the pool, and toes in the sand, there is part of me that longs for the weather to turn cooler.  Soups and stews and everything comforting are some of my favorite things that come along with cooler weather.  But apples and cinnamon might possibly be my most favorite things that come along during this time of year.

Apples are readily available year around, but this time of year is apple season.  This is when apples are truly the best and this is also the time of year that those bottles of apple cider start lining the shelves of the market.  Oh, and do you know I discovered a new cider this year?!?!

Honeycrisp cider.

A cider made from my all time FAVORITE apples.  Those deliciously tart and sweet apples.  YUM.  I could barely contain my excitement when I saw it in the store.  It’s like the heavens opened up, the angels were singing and the lights got a little brighter.  Okay…maybe that didn’t really happen, but my excitement meter was through the roof!  And it’s just as delicious as the apples themselves.

Anyway…sorry about the detour.  Back to the recipe at hand.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE apple cider.  I can’t tell you how many times I make the stuff once the winter weather hits.  Now, most people pop the top off, heat it up and sip as is and that’s perfectly fine.  But, I do a little extra flavoring before I start my sipping.

I pop it in a saucepan along with some cinnamon sticks, red hots and a splash of orange juice and let it simmer till those candies are nothing but a bright red memory.  Aside from this making a deliciously flavored drink with the perfect balance of sweet and spicy, it also makes the entire house smell like cinnamon apples.  YUM!

I decided to take my basic cider recipe, change it up a touch and spike it!

It still has the sweet cider, spicy red hots and cinnamon but I’ve added a bit of brown sugar to give it an almost caramel note.  I also added a splash of lemon juice for some acidity and balance and then a healthy glug of bourbon.  Your house still smells amazing and you’ve got a delicious cocktail perfect for cooler weather!

Brown Sugar Bourbon Apple Cider

Ingredients:


1 Cup apple cider
1 Tbsp red hot candies
1 Cinnamon stick
1/2 Tsp brown sugar
1 Tsp lemon juice
1 1/2-2 Oz bourbon

Directions:


Combine apple cider, red hots, cinnamon stick and brown sugar in a small saucepan.  Place over medium-low heat.  Stir to combine ingredients, then continue stirring frequently until the sugar has dissolved and the red hots have melted.  Remove from heat and allow to steep for about 5 minutes.

When ready to serve, add lemon juice and bourbon to a mug and stir to combine.  Top off with the warm cider mixture, stir, garnish with an apple slice and enjoy.

*I drizzled the inside of the glass with salted caramel sauce.  I love the addition of flavor the salt brings, but this step is totally optional.

Recipe source: A Lynsey Original

SRC: Hot Toddy

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It’s the last Monday of the month, so we all know what that means.  Right?  It’s reveal day for The Secret Recipe Club.  This month I had Wendy’s blog, A Day in the Life on the Farm.  Wendy is a retired police officer who now lives on a farm with her husband, also a retired police officer.  Wendy keeps her plate full with gardens, chickens, dogs, hosting exchange students, scuba diving, painting, quilting and of course cooking.  Whew, I’m tired just typing all that!

Wendy has a ton of recipes on her blog that sound amazing.  Bacon waffles (can you say YUM!), rhubarb berry coffee cake, pull apart pizza bread, key lime coconut bundt cake, and Tagalong bundt cake are just a few of the very drool-worthy recipes that caught my eye while perusing her blog. I was torn by so many recipes, but ultimately ended up deciding on a beverage.

A warm beverage, because well….it’s down right frigid outside.

I decided to make her husband, Frank’s, infamous hot toddy recipe.

I stuck pretty close to the original recipe, really only straying from the type of liquor that was recommended.  Frank swears the secret to the perfect hot toddies are true Polish brandy.  BUT I’m not really a brandy kind of girl, so I strayed a little and used a blackberry bourbon rather than blackberry brandy.  And I must say, this version is pretty darn delicious.

I have always been a huge lover of black tea and I believe it’s the perfect base for this cozy beverage.  The blackberry bourbon, tart lemon juice and sweet honey balance one another perfectly and create a smooth and delicious hot toddy.

Grab a blanket, plop on your couch and cozy-up with this warm hot toddy.

Hot Toddy

Ingredients:


1 Cup hot black tea
1 Oz blackberry bourbon
1 1/2 Tsp honey
1/2 Tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

Directions:


Add bourbon, honey and lemon juice to a mug of hot black tea.  Stir to incorporate all the ingredients and enjoy.

Recipe source: barely adapted from A Day in the Life on the Farm

Apple Cider Whiskey Sour

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Whiskey sours are a classic cocktail that have been around since long before my time.  People from all over have long enjoyed sipping on this classic cocktail.   If you’re a whiskey person, odds are you’ve had at least one or two of these cocktails.

Although I could I could sip on the original version of this cocktail throughout the year, it’s always a little fun to dream of seasonal variations.  Since we’re in the dead of winter; apples and cinnamon are some of the first things that come to mind.

Incorporate those into this classic cocktail and you’ve got a delicious spiced apple cider whiskey sour.

Instead of traditional simple syrup, this version is sweetened with a cinnamon brown sugar simple syrup.  It adds just the right amount of spice and caramel-like flavor to the cocktail.  There’s also a good dose of fresh lemon juice and a splash of orange juice which add a burst of tartness and help to balance the sweetness from the cider and simple syrup.

This is the perfect balance of flavors and such a fun, seasonal take on the classic.

So build a fire, shake up this cocktail, cozy under a warm blanket and enjoy!

Cheers!

Apple Cider Whiskey Sour

Ingredients:


For the cinnamon brown sugar simple syrup-
1 Cup water
1/2 Cup granulated sugar
1/2 Cup brown sugar
2 Cinnamon sticks

For the Whiskey sour:
2 Oz bourbon (or more depending on taste)
6 Oz apple cider
1/2-1 Oz lemon juice
1 Oz simple syrup
Splash of orange juice

Directions:


For the simple syrup-
Combine water and both sugars in a saucepan and place over medium heat.  Allow mixture to come to a simmer, and stir until the sugar dissolves.  Once the sugar has dissolved remove from heat, add cinnamon sticks and allow to steep until cooled.

Once cooled, place in a well sealed container and refrigerate.

For the whiskey sour:

Combine all ingredients in a shaker and shake to combine.  Taste, add more bourbon or lemon juice if needed.  Divide mixture between two ice-filled glasses and enjoy.

Recipe source: A Lynsey original

Pink Starburst Cocktail

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If you were to give me a package of Starburst and tell me to pick out my two favorite flavors you would see a pile of pink and red quickly form.  But, if you told me I could only choose one flavor, it would have to be the pink Starburst hands down.

From the first time I tasted Starbursts, pink had my heart.  Not only is it my favorite color, there’s just something about that beloved pink candy that tastes so darn good.

So, when I saw that a person (who could only be deemed a genius) came up with a cocktail that held all the same great tastes as my favorite candy I was over the moon ecstatic.  Not only does it hold the flavors it, it also dawns the perfect shade of pink!

This perfectly pink cocktail comes together in about a minute, seriously!  It’s tart, sweet, creamy, everything that you expect from a Starburst.  And it’s got a slight fizz from the splash of soda which helps bring everything together.

This cocktail could easily be a mocktail by omitting the alcohol.  This pink concoction would be great for all those Race for the Cure celebrations this week, and perfect for Halloween parties taking place closer to the end of the month.

Cheers!

Pink Starburst Cocktail

Ingredients:


1 Oz Pinnacle whipped vodka
1 Oz half and half
1 Oz fruit punch
Orange juice
Lemon Lime soda, for topping off

Directions:


Combine vodka (if desired), half and half, and fruit punch in an almost 12 ounce glass glass.  Stir to combine.  Fill glass almost all the way with orange juice, stir to combine.  Top off with soda and serve.

Recipe source: Happy Food Healthy Life

SRC: Gin, Lemon and Mint Martini

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I have been on a minty cocktail kick this summer.  Between the various flavors of mules I’ve enjoyed to one of my favorite series ever, mojito Monday; I’ve been sipping the mint packed, cocktail goodness.

And for this month’s Secret Recipe Club things haven’t changed too much.  This cocktail may not a my regular mule or mojito but it’s got the mint and the citrus so it was calling my name!

I browsed over Karen’s blog, Karen’s Kitchen Stories, from one mouthwatering recipe to the next. Baby baked burritos, caramelized onion jam, tomato, corn, and chipotle salsa, and apricot braided loaf are just a handful of the numerous recipes that caught my eye.  But in the end a cocktail claimed the victory.

It didn’t matter how many recipes I looked at, the combination of lemon and mint were sticking in the back of my head.  So, with that I knew what I was making for this month’s swap.

I’ve long enjoyed the combination of mint and lime, but for some reason had never thought about combining mint and lemon.  Well…until now.  I have to say, it’s an amazingly delicious combination.

Like Karen, my mint plant is overflowing so I snagged a handful of mint,grabbed a lemon from the fruit bowl and began cutting, muddling and shaking.  It wasn’t long before I was sipping on one mind blowing martini.

Cheers.

Gin, Lemon and Mint Martini

Ingredients:


2 Oz good quality gin (vodka could be substituted as well)
1/2 Oz lemon
Handful of mint leaves
1 Tsp agave syrup or 1 Tbsp simple syrup

Directions:


Muddle the mint leaves in the bottom of the cocktail shaker or a large glass.  Add ice, gin, lemon juice, agave (or simple) syrup and shake or stir until mixed.

Pour in a chilled martini glass and enjoy.

Recipe source: Karen’s Kitchen Stories

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