Watermelon Wars!

Hello, Summer!  We welcomed summer in our Memorial Day post, but on Tuesday, June 20th at about 11:00 pm it became official.  Don’t you just love summer?  Our favorite part about summer is fresh vegetables and fresh fruit. Rhonda grew up a Midwest farm girl, and fresh fruits and vegetables are a big part of summer to her.  This week we wanted to welcome in summer with the fruit of the summer- watermelon!  Rhonda found a recipe in Southern Living Magazine’s July 2017 issue.  Craig found a recipe through his friend Mark.  We had a taste off and ended in a tie, so we bring to you Watermelon Wars!  We are introducing two recipes this week. Both meet the criteria of easy, tasty and fresh.  We want you to decide, which drink wins.

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Contestant Number 1: (Rhonda’s Choice)

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Seagram’s Spiked Watermelon Lemonade

This awesome drink is very fruity and just the right amount of sweet.

Combine ½ cup of fresh watermelon juice.  (I used my ninja to make the juice, but you can easily juice a watermelon in the blender.  You only need 3-4 small pieces of watermelon to make ½ cup of juice.)

½ cup of simple sugar (See directions for simple sugar below.)

¼ cup of Seagram’s Watermelon Vodka,

and 3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice in a cocktail shaker.

Cover and shake vigorously, about 15 seconds.

Strain into a glass filled with ice.  Garnish with mint spring and a slice of watermelon.

Serving size = 1

Seagram's Spiked Watermelon Lemonade

To make simple syrup combine 1 part sugar and 1 part water.  Heat until boiling. Remove from heat and cool.

Contestant Number 2: (Craig’s Choice)

spiked honey limeade2

Seagram’s Watermelon Spiked Honey Limeade

This drink is a little more “boozy” as Craig would say (is that a word????).  He also says the drink is more alcohol forward.  You be the judge.Combine 1.5 ounces of Seagram’s Watermelon Vodka

1.5 ounces of Corralejo Reposado Tequila

1 ounce of Honey Syrup (See directions below)

1 ounce of lime juice

2 ounces of watermelon juice

Cover and shake vigorously, about 15 seconds.

Strain into a glass filled with ice.  Garnish with a watermelon slice.

Serving size = 1

spiked honey watermelon limeade

To make honey syrup combine 1 part honey with 1 part hot water.  Stir until dissolved.

honey syrup

Now you have our two fabulous drinks of the summer.  These drinks are perfect for serving at your upcoming 4th of July picnic!  To make a pitcher of either drink, just multiply the ingredients by the number of servings you would like.  Both drinks can be made ahead and cooled in the fridge before serving.  Whether you make one drink or both we would love to hear about it.  We have a bet to see which drinks can get the most comments and posts!  Who will win?  Rhonda? (The crowd goes wild.) Or Craig?

watermelon wars

Don’t forget to tell friends and family about our blog. Make sure to use the sharing buttons at the bottom of the post to share on social media and especially Pinterest.  You can also follow us on Pinterest at The Blind Pig Blog.

Happy Summer and Cheers!

Rhonda and Craig

Seagram’s Vodka Cream Pasta

Seagram’s Vodka Cream Pasta

Happy Father’s Day to all the amazing dads who make big and small sacrifices for their families each day.  You are appreciated.

‘It is easier for a father to have children than for children to have a real father.’ – Pope John XXIII
fathers day

Here is a great light pasta recipe to make for your dad this week to show how much you appreciate him.  We first found this recipe years ago when Rachel Ray was on the Oprah Winfrey Show.  We have adapted it slightly.  It is an easy, tasty, fresh recipe to make on a weeknight or for dinner with friends.

Several of you have asked if these recipes are safe for children.  Except for the beverages posted on our blog, these recipes are safe for children.  Most of the alcohol cooks out before serving, for the dessert recipes, there isn’t enough alcohol to affect a flea, so you can feel safe serving these recipes to your family members.

The ingredients for the Seagram’s Vodka Cream Pasta are extra-virgin olive oil, butter, garlic, sweet onion, Seagram’s Vodka, chicken stock, crushed tomatoes, salt and pepper, penne pasta, cream, shredded parmesan cheese and fresh basil leaves.

seagrams vodka pasta

First you will heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Add 1 tablespoon of oil, 1 tablespoon of butter, 2 minced garlic cloves, and ½ cup of sweet chopped onions.  Gently sauté for 3-5 minutes.  We love this part, the onions, garlic and butter smell so good.

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Next add the 1 cup vodka to the skillet.  Reduce by half, which takes about 2-3 minutes.  Add  1 cup chicken stock and 1 32 ounce can crushed tomatoes.  Bring sauce to a bubble and reduce heat.  Simmer.  Season with salt and pepper.

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While sauce is simmering, cook pasta in salted boiling water until cooked to al dente.

Stir ½ cup cream into sauce. When sauce bubbles, remove from heat.  Drain pasta and toss pasta and sauce.  Top with chopped basil leaves and shredded parmesan cheese.

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I usually serve the pasta with a light salad, green veggie and crusty bread.  Yummy and easy!

Seagram’s Vodka Cream Pasta

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive

1 tablespoon butter

2 cloves garlic minced

1 cup Seagram’s Extra Smooth Vodka

1 cup chicken stock

1 32 ounce can of crushed tomatoes

Salt and pepper

16 ounces of penne pasta

½ cup cream

20 fresh basil leaves, shredded or torn

First you will heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Add 1 tablespoon of oil, 1 tablespoon of butter, 2 minced garlic cloves, and ½ cup of sweet chopped onions.  Gently sauté for 3-5 minutes.  Next add the 1 cup vodka to the skillet.  Reduce by half, which takes about 2-3 minutes.  Add  1 cup chicken stock and 1 32 ounce can crushed tomatoes.  Bring sauce to a bubble and reduce heat.  Simmer.  Season with salt and pepper.

While sauce is simmering, cook pasta in salted boiling water until cooked to al dente.

Stir ½ cup cream into sauce. When sauce bubbles, remove from heat.  Drain pasta and toss pasta and sauce.  Top with chopped basil leaves and shredded parmesan cheese. 

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Enjoy your day with your a special dad and give him a hug and a kiss.  Whether you make the pasta for your dad or someone else you love, we would love to hear if you tried the pasta.  Have a great week!

Cheers,

Rhonda and Craig

Tequila Strawberry Lime Ice Cream Pie

This week we are sharing another yummy summer dessert recipe with you, Tequila Strawberry Lime Ice Cream Pie!  We originally found this recipe in Southern Living magazine years ago.  The taste of strawberries always reminds Rhonda of the beginning of summer.  She remembers picking strawberries as a kid in her mother’s garden during the first weeks of summer each year. (Yes, Ruth we know you are laughing right now.)  The salty pretzel crust is a delicious contrast to the sweet strawberry ice cream with just a hint of lime and little lingering of warm tequila.  Like our Café Borghetti PBIF Pie, this recipe is easy, but requires some planning ahead because of the ice cream.

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The ingredients that you will need are pretzels, butter, sugar, premium strawberry ice cream (we used Blue Bell), fresh strawberries, powdered sugar, frozen limeade concentrate, Corralejo Tequila and orange liqueur.

tequila straw pie

First process 4 cups of pretzel twists, ½ cup melted butter, and 2 Tablespoons of sugar in a food processor until the pretzels are finely crushed.

Then firmly press the mixture onto the bottom of a lightly greased 10-inch springform pan.  Bake the crust at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack.

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Take your strawberry ice cream from the freezer and let it stand for about 10 minutes or until slightly softened.

Process the stemmed strawberries and powdered sugar in the blender until pureed.

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Place ½ gallon of ice cream in a large bowl.  Fold the strawberry mixture, limeade concentrate, tequila, and orange liqueur into the ice cream until well blended.  Spoon the mixture into the cooled springform pan.

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Freeze for 3 hours or until firm.  Let stand at 5 minutes before serving.  This pie will soften quickly due to the alcohol content which lowers the freezing temperature of the ice cream.

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Garnish and serve. Delish!

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Tequila Strawberry Lime Ice Cream Pie

Makes 10-12 servings.

Prep 30 minutes.  Bake 10 min.  Freeze 3 hours.

4 cups pretzel twists

½ cup of butter melted

2 Tablespoons granulated sugar

½ gallon premium strawberry ice cream

1 (16 oz.) container of fresh strawberries, stemmed

½ cup of powdered sugar

1 (6 oz.) can frozen limeade concentrate, partially thawed

½ cup Corralejo Tequila

¼ cup orange liqueur

Process first 3 ingredients in a food processor until pretzels are finely crushed.  Firmly press mixture onto bottom of lightly greased 10-inch springform pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.  Cool on wire rack.

Let strawberry ice cream stand at room temperature 10 minutes or until slightly softened.  Process strawberries and powdered sugar in blender.  Place ice cream in large bowl; fold strawberry mixture, limeade concentrate, tequila and orange liqueur into ice cream until well blended.  Spoon mixture into prepared crust in springform pan.  Freeze three hours.  Let stand 5 minutes at room temperature before serving.  Garnish if desired.

We want to thank everyone who has stopped by to peek at our blog. We especially thank all of our family and friends who have been so encouraging.  Especially the friends who have volunteered to sample, stage and photograph our images.

We finally figured out how to get our pins uploaded onto pinterest!  You can use the share buttons below, or look for our new boards on pinterest and follow THE BLIND PIG BLOG.

Cheers,

Rhonda and Craig