Thirsty Thursday - Dirty Monkey

I might start doing an occasional feature where I share drink recipes.  Now I'm not going to go mixing up new alcoholic beverages mid-week on a regular basis, as that may have unwanted side effects (working hungover is not fun).  I will, however, share some good ones that I have in my repertoire already, some of which are my own creation.  I might even expand the selection to homemade smoothies and juices.  We'll see where this goes.

A co-worker of mine recently came back from a cruise and told us her drink of choice while down there was something called a "Dirty Monkey".  From her description (frozen, brown, and yellow) I deduced that it must be some sort of chocolate-banana based drink (makes sense, right?). Yes, I just used the word "deduced".  I just finished watching season 3 of Sherlock, and now I can't wait for the next season!  But I digress...I looked for a "dirty monkey" recipe online, but every recipe I found was a little different, so I decided to take the idea and make my own.

Dirty Monkey

Makes 2 servings

• 1 banana
• 2 shots of rum (I used spiced rum)
• 1 shot of kahlua (coffee liqueur)
• 1 shot of Coco Real (a squeezable bottle of coconut cream that I was recently introduced to)
• 2 cups of ice (approximately, use your judgement here)
• Hershey's syrup

Mix all ingredients except chocolate syrup in a blender; blend well, until smooth.  Squirt chocolate syrup around the inside of the glasses you are going to serve in.  Pour blended mixture into glasses.  Serve with a straw, and garnish as desired.

It looks...dirty

Not bad!  The chocolate and banana flavors were prominent, with a hint of coconut, and coffee to cut the sweetness a little.  The alcohol was not very noticeable, but I did feel it by the time I finished the drink. The recipe could easily be adjusted a bit to use some different types of rum, maybe even some chocolate liqueur, and there are many options for garnishing if you're not lazy like me.

The Verdict

This one is a keeper!  (Although there are other frozen drinks I would prefer over this one.)  Maybe next time I will try it with some coconut rum.  Mmmm!

Cream Cheese Pancakes

I know it's a little late, but I would like to share what we made for dinner on Mardis Gras!  I wanted something besides the usual plain pancakes, so I dug up this recipe from Southern Living.

Cream Cheese Pancakes
Makes: about 12 (4-inch) pancakes

Ingredients

• 2 C self-rising flour (or 2 C all-purpose flour, with 1 T baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt)
• 2 T sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 to 2 C milk
• 3oz cream cheese, softened
• 1 T butter or margarine, melted
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture.
2. Combine egg, cream cheese, butter or margarine, vanilla extract, and 1 1/2 C of milk in a small bowl, stirring well.
3. Stir wet mixture into dry ingredients, stirring until just moistened (you don't want to over mix your batter).  Add more milk if needed.
4. Pour 1/4 C batter for each  pancake onto a hot, lightly greased griddle.  Cook pancake until tops are bubbly; flip and cook the other side.
5. Serve with your favorite toppings and sides.

These pancakes were tasty!  They somehow seemed a little denser/thicker/creamier than my usual pancakes, but the difference was subtle.  I really didn't taste the cream cheese, until I hit a little lump of it, and then I would get a little burst of flavor.  But when I made the pancakes, the cream cheese wasn't as soft as it should have been, so it was lumpy in the batter instead of being creamy.

The Verdict
Good, but the difference between these and the usual plain pancakes was negligible.  I might give this recipe another shot, making sure I get the cream cheese softened enough to blend well.  Otherwise, it's not worth the extra effort to make these from scratch; I would rather use my homemade pancake mix that's ready to go.

Creamy Citrus Salad

I made this along with the Pepper Shrimp Saute. Again, sorry for the lack of pictures in this post.

The original recipe was from Publix, and came with the Pepper Shrimp Saute recipe.  However, I really only used it is a general guideline and I ended up making a bunch of modifications using ingredients I had on hand...so I'm just going to post my version here.

....On to the good part! 

Creamy Citrus Salad

Ingredients
1 can mandarin oranges
2 grapefruits
1 tablespoon honey
1 individual size cup of vanilla Greek yogurt
2ish handfuls mini marshmallows

Instructions

Drain most of the liquid from oranges and put in a medium bowl.  Scoop out grapefruit and add to oranges.  Add honey, and stir.  Let chill in the fridge until ready to serve.  Just before serving, stir in Greek yogurt and marshmallows.

The Verdict

I messed it up when I made it.  I left in a good bit of the juice from the oranges, and added a little juice from the grapefruits.  It was WAY too liquidy!   I ended up eating it out of a cup with a spoon.  My marshmallows were also a little...not fresh...so I let the marshmallows soak a bit to soften up.  But even with those problems, it was still delicious!  It was so cool, and fresh, and sweet (but not too sweet), with a bit of sour flavor from the grapefruit, and little bursts of sweetness when you bite into a marshmallow.  Publix did the right thing by pairing it with the Pepper Shrimp Saute...the cool flavor from the citrus salad was perfect for eating after a spicy meal.

It would have been much better if it was actually creamy (instead of liquidy), but this was so good, I would definitely make it again!

Pepper Shrimp Saute

I know it's been a little while since my last post.  Things have been pretty busy around the house, but at least I'm getting stuff done!  I probably need to make a short list of what I want to try cooking next, because I've just been too lazy or too busy to pick something out of the hundreds of recipes I want to try.  This recipe was an easy decision, though.  I was at Publix doing some grocery shopping, and they had this recipe featured for taste-testing.  I'm normally not a big fan of shrimp, but I gave it a try and loved it!  About a week later, I tried making it at home.  The full recipe can be found on the Publix website (printer friendly version in link).

(Sorry for the absence of pictures in this post.  I could have sworn I took a picture, but I can't find it.  Maybe I forgot to take one before scarfing it down?)

Pepper Shrimp Saute

Ingredients

• 1 medium yellow onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 large orange (or yellow) bell pepper, coarsely chopped
• 1 small jalapeño pepper, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup roasted red peppers, coarsely chopped
• 3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped
• 2 pouches boil-in-bag white rice
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1/3 cup chipotle cooking sauce
• 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 12 oz large peeled/deveined shrimp, tails removed
• 1/3 cup sliced, stuffed green olives

Instructions

1. Chop onion, peppers, and cilantro.
2. Prepare rice following stovetop instructions on package.
3. Preheat large sauté pan on medium-high 2-3 minutes. Place oil in pan, then add onions, bell peppers, and jalapeños; cook and stir 5-6 minutes or until tender and beginning to brown.
4. Reduce heat on pan to medium-low. Add roasted peppers and cooking sauce to onion mixture; cook and stir 2 minutes.
5. Stir in broth and shrimp; simmer 3-4 minutes or until shrimp turn pink and opaque and liquid has reduced by about one-third.
6. Remove pan from heat; stir in olives and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Serve.

I made a few minor modifications when I made this recipe:

• Used some chopped bell peppers that I already had in my freezer (having some ready in the freezer comes in handy a lot!)
• Made rice from scratch instead of using the "boil-in-bag" rice
• Used concentrated chicken broth (comes in little tubs), reconstituted with water (I find it takes up a lot less room in my pantry)
• Used jarred jalapeño slices instead of fresh (it's a staple in our house)
• I also left out the olives...because ick

Cooking with raw shrimp was definitely new for me.  I probably cooked them a little longer than was necessary, but I really didn't want them to be undercooked!  I was a big fan of the chipotle cooking sauce.  It was a little on the pricey side for flavoring, but it really packs a ton of flavor!  It gave the dish the perfect amount of kick.  Also, it wasn't bad leftover (if a little water is added when reheating), but the shrimp does get dry/overcooked when reheating, so it is best to avoid making so much that there is food left over.

The Verdict
Loved it!  Even the hubby liked it.  I am definitely saving this recipe to make again!

See my next post for a Creamy Citrus Salad that goes really well with this recipe...