Creamsicle

August 14th is National Creamsicle Day!

This is a grown up version of the ice cream pop you used to get from the Ice-Cream Man when you were a kid. If you're in Bartlesville, OK, I bet you can get one from my Uncle David's ice cream truck!

I think this is one of my sister Jeannie's favorites. As soon as I heard National Creamsicle Day was coming up I thought of her and asked her to make one for the blog. Being the awesome sister that she is, she agreed.



Creamsicle
Licor 43
Vanilla Vodka
Orange Juice
Cream
Ice
16 oz Tupperware Shaker

Use any 16 ounce shaker.  Jeannie said any shaker, but I'd go with a Tupperware one, that has the measurements on it.
Start by filling it completely full of ice.
Then fill 1/3 full with Licor 43 To the 6oz marker
Next add Vanilla Vodka (about half the amount of the Licor 42) To the 10oz marker
Then add Orange Juice (the same amount as the Vanilla Vodka) To the 14oz marker
Last add a splash of cream (roughly an ounce - I use Fat Free half & half and pretend that makes it Weight Watcher friendly) To the 15oz marker with whatever milky product you choose
Strain into the glass of your choice (makes roughly a 9 oz drink... can be served over ice too)

I'll actually be up at her house tomorrow... I'll have her make me one!

You should try one too!

Orange Cranberry Bread

I love Orange Cranberry Bread and Muffins. Tangy, tart and fresh. A perfect start to the day!

I found this on allrecipes.com.



Orange Cranberry Bread (slightly adapted)
4 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon grated orange zest
12 oz fresh cranberries
1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cup white sugar
2 egg
1 1/2 cup orange juice

Preheat oven to 350F.

Grease & flour two 9x5 loaf pans or line them with parchment paper.

Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and mix well. Add orange zest and orange juice. Mix well.

In separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir flour mixture into orange juice mixture, until just combined. Fold in cranberries and nuts.

Pour batter into prepared loaf pans.

Bake at 350F for 50 - 60 minutes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cream together butter & sugar & eggs.


Add orange juice.


And orange zest.




Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.


Stir into orange mixture until just combined.


(it did get a little more stirred before I added the cranberries & nuts)

Fold in cranberries & nuts.




Pour batter into prepared loaf pans and bake at 350F for 50 - 60 minutes; or until pick comes out dry.

That's it!



This was wicked good! A nice bright, tart, tangy flavor and very moist. I've been dying for Orange/Cranberry baked goodies and this totally satisfied that craving!

I like that it makes two loaves. One to eat and one to share (or to throw in the the freezer for later!) I brought the extra loaf to work and it got very favorable reviews! I also like that it uses the whole bag of fresh cranberries.

This is definitely a keeper!!

Grilled Citrus Chicken

Mmm.... isn't that beautiful?



A few weeks back I was dying for something 'fresh'.

On the dinner thread over at BakeSpace I was looking for "some kinda citrusy/orangy/not too orangy/fresh/garlicy" marinade for chicken.

Matt74 offered up his Citrusy Marinade for chicken and it looked great!!

I changed it a little...

Matt74's Citrus Marinade
1 tbls each of lemon,lime,and orange zest
1 tbls each of the juice
I added more OJ
2 shallots minced
4 cloves garlic minced
2 tbls good Dijon mustard
I replaced the Dijon with Soy Sauce
1/3 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tbls honey
2 tbls fresh thyme minced fine
salt and pepper to taste

Throw everything in a jar or whisk together put in a ziploc and marinate at least 2 hrs.

I didn't have two hours... so I put in my FoodSaver in the fridge for an hour.

Matt74's dinners always sound amazing!! Check out more of his recipes HERE.

Everything into my 2.25 qt FoodSaver container.


Plus chicken cutlets.


I mix it around really good with my hands to be sure everything gets well covered.


Vacuum seal and into the fridge for an hour.


Fast forward 60 minutes...

Slap those babies on the grill. I only have a charcoal grill and while 60 minutes of marinating time is plenty to get the coals ready, it's extremely rare for me to use the outside grill on a work night.

So cast iron grill it is.



How gorgeous is THAT??




Add some rice and snap peas and it's dinner time!!


This recipe is DEFINITELY a keeper! All of the fresh citrus zest, plus the garlic, gave this chicken just the fresh zippy flavor I was looking for!

Thanks Matt!!