Tag Archives: vodka

Flip Flops On The Rocks

Jumpstart To The Holidays ~ Candy Cane Vodka {Recipe}

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Daily I find myself penciling things into my planner from now until the end of he year…yes, I am old skool and still write stuff down on a calendar!

With each reminder, time and date that I enter, I become more and more aware of how fast the holidays come and go. Each year I try to do better at being more organized and less stressed.

decanter1

decanter2

Last week I came across these gorgeous Threshold decanters at Target for 70% off.

Unfortunately they only had two and unfortunately they’re only sold online, but I snatched them up and thought I could fill them with homemade infused vodka for Christmas.

Enter this…..

candycanevodka-5

{via}

2 ingredients.

Easy.

Full instructions here.

I love the festive color. Going to pour it into these decanters & mason jars and pair it with a nice hot cocoa mix for a couple friends and neighbors to help with burning the holiday midnight oil.

Also going to add a recipe for this holiday martini…

Candy Cane Snowtini

{via}
Substitute “parts” for “ounces,” and this will make 1 cocktail.

2 parts Candy Cane Vodka
1 part simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water, boiled until sugar dissolves)
1/2 part heavy cream

ice

mini candy cane to hang off the rim of your martini glass

In a cocktail shaker filled with ice (or leak-proof water bottle, if you’re resourceful like me), mix Candy Cane Vodka, simple syrup and cream together. Shake vigorously for about 30 seconds.

*****

I tell you, after Halloween it’s all downhill to December 31st.

Don’t you agree?

Happy Tuesday!

XO

Food, Friends

Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Amy

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Love Chelsea Handler.

But this post is not about her….it’s about some Vodka Sauce.

Readership has gone down in the past couple days possibly given the content material, so if some of you were turned off, hopefully I can redeem myself with some tasty new recipes!

Pasta a la Vodka

{Did I get your attention?}

I thought you could only buy this stuff in a jar! Thanks to Leah, I now know how easy it is to make from scratch.

{The only additional thing I would say about the recipe is that when adding the vodka [or ANY alcohol to a dish] to the pan, PRETTY PLEASE REMOVE THE PAN FROM THE HEAT}

Leah is right, this dish is elegant and very much restaurant quality. I really need to cook with fresh basil more often! I talked Jay out of adding chicken because, honestly, I just didn’t want to fix it! Sorry, Babe! I told him there was {chicken} stock in the sauce, though. Ha! Frankly, I think the chicken would throw it off…I will most def be making this again.

Soon.

Fiestas & Fetes, Food, Friends, Fun

Superbowl Eats

OK, this will be the last of the recipe posts for a bit…I’ll be eating rice cakes and water for the next week and those two aren’t very blog worthy! I feel like ALL I’ve been posting lately is FOOD, FOOD, FOOD…so this next week, I am going to shoot for some calorie free topics. But……..

Today we had some neighbors over for the Superbowl and I tried to keep things simple with some quick and easy favorites, but I’ve been wanting to try these Cranberry Meatballs since the holidays, so I HAD to make them for the big game today. The verdict is that they were a hit because when I went to take a picture of them all nestled in the crock pot swimming in their sweet cranberry sauce, there were only about 5 remaining:

This recipe is a keeper and next time I may try them with turkey meatballs although they were just perfect with the beef variety. Super easy AND a big hit? That’s a good recipe in my book.

Then there was the always popular Sonoma Salad…

which again, when I went to the bowl to snap a pic this was all that was left:

This is a great salad because it’s so versatile and can be switched out with different goodness:

{switch out the butter lettuce with spring mix or baby spinach}

{substitute gorgonzola or goat cheese for the blue}

{use dried blueberries, cherries or raisins in place of the Craisins}

{honey roasted almonds can easily replace the glazed walnuts}

{pears can take the place of the apple}

The possibilities are endless and that is why I love this go-to salad! Again, thank you Melanie for bringing this to us almost 3 years ago when we brought our sweet baby Holden home! This salad also brings back happy memories every time I serve it!

And then there is the Artichoke Dip that tickled my taste buds so many years ago in the Qualcomm Stadium parking lot! I’ve loved it and made it LOTS ever since. No oven necessary!

Normally I use quartered artichoke hearts, but Albertson’s was fresh out of them this morning so I tried these artichoke bottoms and there was nothing sacrificed. I just chopped the bottoms in my mini food processor and that was that ~ not any real difference than with the quarters.

And there she is….served with a multigrain baguette and some Ritz crakers…sheer perfection on a carb! Can’t go wrong with this one folks, believe me!

I realize that my decor looks more like a bridal shower or Mother’s Day brunch and not reflective at all of Superbowl Sunday, but nobody seemed to care…these recipes are all a hit and I hope that you try them sometime soon! Whoever is on the receiving end will thank you!

We washed all these yummies down with a good ‘ol Cape Codder or vodka cran with lime!

It was a great game with a great menu spent with great friends….another weekend down! Bring on Monday!

I hope you have a “super” week ahead!