Raspberry Lime Rickey

I absolutely love, love the cherry limeades at Sonic. (Can anyone else give me a big amen on that??) So when I saw a recipe for this raspberry lime rickey, I knew I had to try it. Talk about a fantastic and refreshing summer beverage. The only change I made was to add more of the raspberry lime syrup to each glass. I wanted less club soda taste and more raspberry lime goodness. A perfect beverage for a summer BBQ...or just because.

Rasberry Lime Rickey


12 oz. package frozen raspberries
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
4 teaspoons grated zest and 1/2 cup juice from 4 limes (It took 4 limes to get the 1/2 cup juice but I only used the zest from 3 limes - it was plenty)
Club soda, chilled
Ice

Heat raspberries, sugar, and water in a saucepan over medium heat until the raspberries begin to release their juices, about five minutes. Mash the berries with a potato masher until the berries break down, then stir in the lime zest and juice. Simmer until the mixture is slightly thickened, about five minutes.

Pour the raspberry mixture through a fine-mesh strainer set over a bowl, pressing on solids to extract the liquid. This works best done in batches so the seeds don't clog up the bottom of the mesh strainer. You should end up with about 2 1/2 cups syrup. Discard the berry solids. Refrigerate the syrup until completely cool, at least 30 minutes or up to 1 week. To serve, combine 3/4 cup club soda and 3 tablespoons syrup in tall, ice-filled glasses.

I know this has nothing to do with cooking or recipes but....

I need you to vote!

Heard of Seriously So Blessed?

I know many of you are bachelorette and bachelor fans, SSB is doing a Mormon version {MoMachelor} and my friend Tricia made the finals!!

So I'm asking you to go and vote for her!

Of course you can read the other finalists.... but come on, Tricia is the best. She was the one that set Brandon and I up... so she's got to be incredible, right?

Thanks guys, 

Nichole

Grille Tilapia with Mango Salsa

INGREDIENTS:
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon parsley
1 clove minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 (6 ounce) tilapia fillets

1 large ripe mango, peeled, pitted and diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
2 tablespoons minced red onion
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:
Whisk together the extra-virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, parsley, garlic, basil, 1 teaspoon pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a bowl and pour into a resealable plastic bag. Add the tilapia fillets, coat with the marinade, squeeze out excess air, and seal the bag. Marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Prepare the mango salsa by combining the mango, red bell pepper, red onion, cilantro, and jalapeno pepper in a bowl. Add the lime juice and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, and toss well.

Season to taste with salt and pepper, and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Remove the tilapia from the marinade, and shake off excess. Discard the remaining marinade. Grill the fillets (either in a lightly oiled pan on the stove or on the BBQ) until the fish flakes easily with a fork, 3 to 4 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the fillets. Serve the tilapia topped with mango salsa.

Did you get yours?

I had a fun surprise waiting for me in my mailbox today.

It is filled with fun ideas, recipes and coupons. Best of all it's FREE!!
If you don't already get it-Click Here!!

Here is one of the recipes I can't wait to try.


1 small boneless skinless chicken breast half (1/4 lb.)
1 pineapple ring
1 green pepper ring
1 Tbsp. KRAFT Original Barbecue Sauce

HEAT grill to medium heat. Place chicken in center of large sheet of heavy-duty foil; top with remaining ingredients.

BRING up foil sides. Double fold top and ends to seal packet, leaving room for heat circulation inside.

GRILL 15 min. or until chicken is done (165ºF). Cut slits in foil to release steam before opening packet.

Swiss Mushroom Burgers

There are a few things that I make really well. I'm sharing one with you now. :)
Several years ago I had a friend who worked in the kitchen at Fanny's Grill at the Homestead in Midway. She was dating one of the cooks, who one night taught her how to make these. They don't serve them any more, but if you like Mushroom Swiss Burgers, you should really give these a try. We only make these a couple of times a year for special occasions. I made them this past week for our anniversary and decided to share.

1 hamburger patty per person
1 pkg sliced mushrooms
1 onion sliced
3-5 tablespoons butter
1-2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
garlic powder (to taste)
1 slice swiss cheese per person
1 package brown gravy mix

Melt the butter over medium- low heat and stir in the vinegar. Add the garlic powder and stir until blended. Add the mushrooms and onions and stir to coat well. Then cook them until the onions are transparent. It'll take 10 or so minutes.

Cook the hamburger patty in whatever way you choose. You can grill it if you're being fancy, but pan frying is ok too. Prepare the brown gravy per package directions. Now at our house, we just serve this open faced and sometimes we use bread and sometimes we don't. However, the real way you'd serve it is to dip both halves of a bun in gravy. Put the patty and cheese on the bottom bun. Spoon some of the mushrooms and onions over the top and top with the other half of the bun. The above proportions should give you enough for 4 people. Like I said, at our house it only feeds 2 people, and when we serve it, it looks like this:

Honestly, they are very yummy! Try it out!

I am SOOOOOO embarrassed!

MarKey is my sister. I thought she'd posted the thing about excess spaghetti sauce. So, I took the opportunity to poke a little fun at her. Now I realize that she didn't post it (which is what I get for reading blogs when I am tired and bleary eyed) and it probably looked like I was making fun of someone for no reason. If I had edit capabilities on this blog, the comment and the recipes would be deleted. Well, actually the recipes are pretty good, so they could stay, but the title would change. Anyway, so embarrassed! Sorry to Nichole...so, so, so, so, sorry!

2 Ways for Markey to use her Spaghetti Sauce

#1- Spinach Stuffed Shells
12-16 Large Shell Noodles, cooked about 8 minutes until pliable, but NOT mushy.
1 cup cottage cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 cup mozzerella cheese
1 10 oz. pkg spinach thawed and pressed dry
2 cloves garlic, smooshed
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
1 BOTTLE SPAGHETTI SAUCE :)

Spray cooking spray on the bottom of a 9X13 pan and pour some of the sauce in. Mix everything except sauce and spoon into the shells. Pour the remaining sauce over the top. Add more cheese (cuz everything is better with more cheese) and bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

#2- Super Easy Chicken Manicotti
1 JAR SPAGHETTI SAUCE :)
1 tsp garlic salt
1 1/2 lbs chicken breast, cubed
14 uncooked manicotti shells
1 can (2 1/2 oz) sliced olives
2 cups shredded mozzerella cheese

Spread 1/3 of the spaghetti sauce in a 9X13 baking dish. Sprinkle garlic salt on the chicken. Cube the chicken and don't cook it. Insert into uncooked manicotti shells, stuffing each end if necessary. Place shells in dish. Pour remaining sauce over the opt. Sprinkle olives and cheese on top. (Actually, I'd probably skip the olives, that sounds weird.) Cover and store overnight in your fridge. (This sounds good for Sunday, right?) Bake the next day for about 1 hour.

So there you go, you should be down to 8 bottles now.

Sugar Cookies

This is a good one. You don't have to refrigerate it like most recipes.

1 Cube Margarine
1/2 C Sour Cream
cream together and add:
1 C Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 Egg
mix and add
3 1/2 C Flour
1 teaspoon Soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt
Finish mixing and roll about 1/2 inch
Bake at 350 until golden, approx. 14 minutes.

Recipe Request

Anyone have a good recipe for sugar cookies? The soft, yummy kind?