Irish Cream Liqueur

This is a simple recipe from my friend, Morey, to make homemade Irish Cream.  I made 3 batches today for right around $30.00, that is almost cheaper than one bottle of Baileys.

Ingredients:
11/2 Cups Blended Whiskey
1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk (not evaporated milk)
4 TBLS Chocolate Syrup
4 TBLS Water
1/2 tsp Vanilla
1 Pint Whipping Cream

Directions:
Blend first 5 ingredients in blender until well blended.  Add Whipping Cream and blend on medium-high for no more than 60 seconds.  It will get too thick it you blend it longer.

Pour in the decorative bottles.

Keeps for a couple months.  No need to refrigerate.

Strawberry Lemon Limeade

INGREDIENTS

·         1 cup sugar (can reduce to 3/4 cup)

·         1 cup water (for the simple syrup)

·         4 Lemons

·         3 Limes

·         ½ Cup Strawberries, Chopped

·         3 to 4 cups cold water (to dilute)

Instructions

Make simple syrup by heating the sugar and water in a small saucepan until the sugar is dissolved completely.

While the sugar is dissolving, use a juicer to extract the juice from lemons and limes. 

Add the lemon juice, lime juice, strawberries and the sugar water to a pitcher. Add 3 to 4 cups of cold water, more or less to the desired strength. Refrigerate 30 to 40 minutes. If the lemonade is a little sweet for your taste, add a little more straight lemon juice to it.

Serve with ice, sliced lemons.

Yield: Serves 6.

Italian Soda's

Classic Italian Soda are a combination of syrup, cream or milk, sparkling water and optional whipped cream on the top.  I love the refreshing taste of Italian Soda, but wanted a healthier, lower calorie version.  It is quite simple to make and is a wonderful drink in the summer.

Ingredients:
2 ounces gourmet fruit syrup - can be bought in certain stores or at coffee shops.  I made two syrups tonight, the recipes are below.
8-12 ounces sparkling mineral water.

Put ingredients in a glass filled with ice, stir and enjoy.
Note:  If using homemade juice, you only need about 1 ounce.  The homemade juice is much strong, as there is little water.


Berry Syrup - Can use any berry.  I made blueberry, but will also use raspberries and strawberries.  You can use a mixture of any berry.

Ingredients:
12-16 ounces of berries - Can be fresh to frozen.  If the berries are big, you may want to cut into smaller pieces.
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup sugar (or Splenda or other sugar equivalent to make sugar free.  May need to adjust measurement to get the equivalent of 1/2 sugar)
A couple teaspoons of lemon juice.

Bring all of the ingredients to boil, stirring frequently.  Boil for about 10 minutes.  Strain juice to remove fruit piece.  Put in container and refrigerate.  Can be frozen into smaller containers, as the juice will only last about a week in the frig since there are no preservatives.


Lemon-Lime Juice

Ingredients:
2 Lemons
2 Limes
1/2 Water
1/2 Cup sugar (or sugar equivalent as stated above)

Grate the peel of one lemon and one lime in a sauce pan.  Cut all of the limes and lemons in 1/2 and squeeze to remove juice into the sauce pan.  Add water and sugar.  Bring to boil.  Boil about 10 minutes.  Stirring frequently.  Strain juice to remove the peels and any fruit.  Store in frig or freeze as stated above.