In a Caribbean frame of mind...

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love Chef at Home with Micheal Smith... Well not too long ago he was creating a Caribbean Meal and thought that I would try it out for a couple of friends who had stopped by for dinner... We had jerk chicken, reggae rice, caribbean salad, a cucumber & carrot salad and topped it off with banana rum coconut smoothies... (obviously mine was a mocktail ;)

For our jerk chicken, I used a bottle of jerk seasoning that my father-in-law had given us with the chicken legs and thighs I had in the fridge. The longer it marinates the spicier it is so be careful with how long you keep it marinated...

Banana Rum Coconut Smoothies
Yield: 2

Ingredients:

4 x bananas
2 cups of pineapple juice
1 can of coconut milk
pinch of ground allspice
1 tsp of vanilla extract
4 oz of vanilla extract
Juice of 1 lime

Directions:

Place all ingredients into a large pitcher and puree with an immersion blender or alternately, puree in a blender.

Enjoy!

P.S. I'll post additional recipes from the caribbean meal shortly!

Summer is in the Air with this Sangria Punch

There is just something about bringing out the glass pitcher and getting it full of fresh summer ingredients that helps me cool off in the warm weather. I came across this recipe on http://www.kraftcanada.com/EN/ and it is quite the hit around here. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Sangria Punch

Prep: 5 min
Ready In: 5 min
Serves: 8

INGREDIENTS

1 pouch CRYSTAL LIGHT Raspberry Ice Low Calorie Drink Mix
4 cups low-calorie cranberry juice cocktail
1 cup orange juice
1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
3 cups club soda (we used Perrier)
2 seedless oranges, sliced (we used 1 orange)
2 limes, sliced (we used 1 lime)

DIRECTIONS

EMPTY drink mix into large pitcher. Add juices; stir until drink mix is completely dissolved.

REFRIGERATE until ready to serve.

STIR in club soda and fruit. Serve over ice cubes in tall glasses.

Note: For an even fruitier punch, add 1 cup mixed berries with the sliced citrus fruit.

60 Calories per serving (Serving Size = 1 cup)

Helena’s Note: For an alcohol-friendly version of this recipe, you could substitute the club soda for Prosecco (a softer version of champagne)

Mexican Birthday Party (cont'd)

As for drinks we had the following specialty drinks on our menu:

Strawberry Daiquiri Jell-O Shot

3 packages of strawberry jello
3 cups of hot water
2 cups of rum, chilled

Mix the jello with the hot water until sugar dissolves. Then add the chilled rum and place in small cups. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Margarita Jell-O Shot

3 packages of lime jello
3 cups of hot water
2 cups of tequila, chilled

Mix the jello with the hot water until sugar dissolves. Then add the chilled tequila and place in small cups. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Notes: Next time I would add one more cup of water as we found these shots very strong :)

Margarita Punch

1 can frozen limeade, thawed
1 can water
1 can of ice
1 can of a good tequila
1 bottle of Corona beer
1 lemon, thinly sliced
1 lime, thinly sliced

Mix all of the above ingredients together and serve in a pitcher.

Thank you to my fellow nesties for all of their great suggestions!