Mixed Drink Monday: the first week of summer

Last week was a tough week.  Nothing horrible happened but it was just mentally draining for many reason, one of which being a certain toddler who seemed to think screaming was the way to get what he wanted.  There was a lot of screaming coming from him.  I showed him I could scream too.  It wasn't my finest parenting moment (which is why I'm sharing this on the internet, naturally).  Maybe we're getting to those terrible twos everyone talks about?  Although multiple parents have said three is worse...soooo........

Adding to my frustration one day last week was the my homemade yogurt didn't turn out for the second time in a row.  I've made it successfully many times but these batches just turned into very slightly chunkier milk.  Not appetizing or useful.  When milk is $1.69/gallon (like it has been at Aldi for many weeks now), making yogurt is so much more economical than buying it.  If it would turn out.  Right now I'm pretty much just pouring milk down the drain.  That would save me time and hope.

We still managed a yogurt smoothie on Friday, using the rest of the starter.  I will try anew this week.  And hoping that, at 2 years, 2 months, we are now past the "terrible twos".  (Positive thinking)

Strawberry Coconut Smoothie
yield: 1 normal sized drink
Ingredients:
1 cup sliced frozen strawberries
1/2 coconut milk
1/2 cup yogurt
1/2 frozen banana

Directions:
It's obvious by this point, right?  Put everything in a blender and blend.

My thoughts:
Coconut milk is sooooooo much better than coconut-almond milk.  Never buy the second.  Now I feel like I should go back and remake all the coconut-almond ones with coconut milk and probably like them better.  This had good flavor and the banana was barely noticable (if you care about those things).  Good creaminess with the yogurt and coconut milk.  Most of our Friday smoothies are pretty similar: some combination of frozen fruit, coconut milk, yogurt, and maybe honey.  Fairly healthy and easy.  I bought a full 1/2 gallon of coconut milk (because that's all I could find at Target and didn't have the patience to go to another store) so we will be having A LOT of coconut milk drinks to use this up.  You've been warned.

And Luke liked it a lot.  Enough that he was trying to eat it with his fingers.  Which he also does with milk and cereal.  To be fair, I didn't give him a spoon for this but still, my first instinct would be to use the provided straw and not fling smoothie all over the porch....

And since it's summer I'm back to trying a new mixed drink recipe as many weekends as I can...

Beer Margaritas
yield: 5-6 servings
Ingredients:
1 (12 fluid oz) can frozen limeade

12 fluid oz beer
12 fluid oz water
6 fluid oz tequila

ice
lime wedges, if you are fancy

Directions:
Pour limeade, tequila, beer, and water into a pitcher (measure using the limeade can to save on dishes).  Stir until the limeade is dissolved.  Add ice.  Serve with a salted rim and lime wedges, if desired.

My Thoughts:
I admittedly haven't been much of a drinker over the last few months (which might be hard to believe with how often I feel I post about drinking).  This is one recipe I've been waiting since...last summer to try, even having the same can of limeade sitting in the freezer since (it's fine!  It's been frozen.  I recently used up the last of the zucchini I froze almost 6 years ago so 8 months is nothing.).  These were super easy to mix up and pretty good.  I usually make frozen margaritas (on the rare occasion I make them).  It was more than enough for Matt and I to share over two nights (although I guess he stuck with beer the second night and I finished these up).  It would be something easy to throw into a pitcher for a gathering.  A keeper of a recipe.

Except...I screwed it up (apparently a Memorial Day weekend tradition).  I realized when laying in bed the morning after making them, while enjoying Luke sleeping until 9AM!!!, that I made them with vodka, not tequila.  I read tequila, I typed up the recipe Friday afternoon with tequila before packing but I grabbed the vodka bottle and didn't even think about it.  My messed-up way was good but I would try to make them correctly next time.  Either way, worth trying!


Strawberry Coconut Smoothie
Beer Margarita

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In the summer I aim to make a new drink every week and share them all here, good or bad!  See them all in chronological order by following the "Mixed Drink Monday" tag here or check out my favorites by scrolling down to "Mixed Drink Monday" on my recipes page!