cocktails Archives - Munchies and Munchkins

The White Walker Cocktail – Game Of Thrones

August 27, 2017 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 1 Comment

Dun Dun Dun Dun Dun dun dun dun dun dun
Dun Dun Dun Dun Dun dun dun dun dun dun
Dun Dun Dun Dun Dun dun dun dun dun dun

It is here..finally. Winter has come. It is a pretty exciting weekend in my house. The final episode of Game Of Thrones season 7 is only a few hours away and I am just about holding in my squeals of excitement. Ok..full disclosure.. I am not holding it in at all. I have walked around the house humming the theme tune all day. I have a joint of ham ready to carve.. joints of meat feel very Game Of Thrones esque to me. I am sat in my Mother Of Dragons jumper, sipping tea from my Game Of Thrones cup and reliving my trip to Winterfell. Yes I actually went to the real Winterfell, read about it here. I am clearly House Stark.

And in honour of the final show I have created this White Walker Cocktail, a cool silky combination of Coconut Milk, Vodka And Blue Curacao. Inspired by a cocktail I enjoyed at a Game Of Thrones night with Tourism Ireland at the John Salt Bar in Islington.

White Walker Cocktail

You will need:

Coconut Milk

Blue Curacao

Vodka

Crushed Ice

For each cocktail, half fill the glass with crushed ice, add 150ml Coconut Milk, 50ml Vodka and 50ml Blue Curacao. Add the curaçao last and you should get a muddled blue/white later at the top.

Hope you enjoy the cocktail, and the show of course. Be careful out there.. the night is dark and full of terrors after all.

Pineapple Rum Punch Cocktail

April 9, 2017 · by munchiesandmunchkins · Leave a Comment

Any of my friends will be able to tell you that I do enjoy a cocktail. My absolute favourite is a Mojito but I am open to trying all of the cocktails…you know for research purposes. I am always playing about and experimenting with different combinations at home and today I created this Pineapple Rum Punch.

I love Pineapple in a drink especially when added to Rum with its heady exotic summer vibes but it is all too often combined with thick coconut milk or cream in a Pina Colada or something similar. I do like coconut based cocktails but I find these drinks kind of heavy on a hot summery day and what I really like is something refreshing and fruity, with a kick. This cocktail definitely delivers on all fronts. I intended to serve it over crushed ice but I realised at the last moment that I didn’t have any and I did not have the patience to wait for my freezer to provide. What I did have was a bag of frozen strawberries which I keep to add to Prosecco as it makes it look pretty so problem sorted. I sometimes add herbs to my cocktails, not always for flavour but they add a little something extra to a glass and Rosemary in particular smells so damn good and doesn’t wilt too quickly. Depending on how sweet you like your drinks you could substitute the lemonade with soda water – I prefer it with the lemonade but I do have a little bit of a sweet tooth.

Pineapple Rum Punch Cocktail

You will need:

60ml dark rum

120ml pineapple juice

15ml lime juice

100ml lemonade

ice or frozen fruit to chill

herbs ( optional )

Combine all of your ingredients and mix well.

This will definitely be made a LOT this Summer.

After Eight Blended Cocktail

December 11, 2015 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 5 Comments

The first time I made this cocktail was about 10 years ago, I loved it and my brother had a taste and loved it too. I next made it as a larger serving decanted into a bottle for him as a Christmas gift. Since then I’ve made it sporadically over the years but this is the first time I’ve shared it on here. There aren’t any fancy ingredients but the combination of chocolate, mint, kahlua and Irish cream leads to a silky, indulgent and perfectly festive drink. This would be great on Christmas Eve whilst wrapping presents or even in place of a dessert on Christmas Day – for the adults only of course!

A powerful blender is handy here although not essential but you won’t get such a silky smooth finish without it.

You will need:

200ml of semi skimmed milk
100ml of Irish Cream
75ml of Kahlua
3tbsp of good quality cocoa powder
1 tsp of Peppermint extract
6 After Eight thins
1 handful of ice

Place all of your ingredients into the blender and blend until smooth. Taste and add more peppermint if you need it ( it should be minty enough ). Decorate the inside of your glasses with some chocolate sauce/syrup before pouring your mixture in. Dust with cocoa powder. Serve immediately. There “should” be enough for 4 servings.

It’s the perfect festive drink, you can also make it in advance if you know you have guests arriving and chill in the refrigerator – just be sure to give it a good mix through again before serving.

Enjoy!

* Please be sure to drink responsibly. It’s easy to get carried away especially in the festive season.

Summer Drinks Guide & Bella Pro Extract Blender Giveaway

June 1, 2015 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 16 Comments

Summer is coming..finally. I can smell it. The smoky scent of a BBQ close by, the light fragrance of cucumber diced ready for summer cups and strawberries with fresh cream. I’m sure most of you will have summer BBQ’s and picnics planned as well as maybe some camping or festival trips so I’m here to share with you my favourite drinks so far this season.

Starting with…

Alcoholic:

Marks & Spencer rise to the occasion as always with a great selection of seasonal drinks. Mojito Fizz is an absolutely delicious ready to serve cocktail. Add it a glass of crushed ice and a wedge of lime to take it up a notch. The Summer Cup is a combination of gin, cucumber, melon, spices & lemon peel with a lovely citrus hint of earl grey tea – great served in the same way as Pimms with berries, lemonade and mint of make it a bit different and serve as am iced tea or with ginger ale instead of lemonade. M&S also have some really delicious Farmhouse ciders, some traditional and others a little fruity.

Lindemans Rose – crisp, fruity and perfectly suited to a posh picnic or just lunch al fresco.

King Bloom are a new brand to me but one I will revisit over and over again I think! They make the most stylish ready to serve cocktails in glass jars which are perfectly on trend.. They taste incredibly good too. With flavours like Vodka, Raspberry & Kiwi or Vodka, White Cranberry & Coconut all with added milk thistle – make your party just a little bit cooler with these fashionable drinks.

Alska Fruity Ciders are some of my very favourite drinks. I first tasted them about a year ago in my local Aldi and the price and flavour quickly sucked me in. My favourite is strawberry and lime but they come in a variety such as Nordic Berries and Lemon & Ginger..at a bargain £1.29 for a 500ml bottle you won’t get a better bargain.

On the subject of Aldi they have a great Limoncello which would be great to serve freezing cold at the end of a long summery meal.

Gin ..because who doesn’t need Gin. In a can of course for maximum flexibility when camping and at festivals. Aldi have cans of pre mixed Gin & Tonic ( for your convenience).

Finally if you have a special occasion it definitely calls for some bubbles and I’m a huge fan of Prosecco.. Apparently it’s in short supply 😉 this Casa Defra from Norton Wines promises a beautifully fruity frizzante.

Some delicious recipe from fellow bloggers:

Rhubarb Gin
Gin Melon Slushie
Peach & Basil White Sangria
Polish Style Beer with Raspberry Syrup
Gin Cocktails
Mango Margarita
Summer Vodka Lemon Spritzer
Spiced Apple Cocktail
Strawberry & Elderflower Cocktail

Non Alcoholic:

M&S have a beautiful Rhubarb Presse which is just so so good. Mocktails need never be boring again. You could also turn this into a cocktail with a little vodka or rum 😉

This wine alternative which has been around for years – Shloer, have a great strawberry punch which is perfect for friends who are pregnant or breastfeeding or just don’t like to drink. A great option to serve at a meal.

Heartsease Farm also have a presse – this time an Elderflower one which is light and fragrant and rather delightful to drink. Serve very cold. Perfect with cucumber sandwiches and cupcakes for ladies ( and gents ) who lunch.

Pomegranate Juice from POM, wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice from concentrate! With its unique polyphenol antioxidant profile, which helps protect the body against free radicals*, the delicious ruby-red drink is a good source of potassium and naturally gluten free plus it’s pretty tasty:

Juice from Mello the UK’s first and only range of raw, fresh melon juice and which is set to be the must have drink of summer 2015. It’s so refreshing and it’s always nice to know there are no nasties in your drink. Would make great slushies or smoothies too.

Some alcohol free recipes from fellow bloggers:

Strawberry Watermelon Smoothie
Orange & Raspberry Detox Water
Guava Coconut Mocktail
Sunshine Grapefruit Smoothie
Strawberry and Watermelon Cooler

Now it’s easy enough to buy your own drinks ready made but how about adding them to a fruit concoction made by you in a Bella Extract Pro Blender – we have been trying one out at home and it’s great for crushing ice and extracting the maximum amount of juice out of your fruits. Just think of how good a freshly made strawberry daiquiri would be… The Extract Pro Blender comes with two separate blades: a unique Extraction Blade, designed to extract maximum goodness and nutrients from a multitude of foods; together with a Grinding Blade ideal for nuts, spices, herbs, chocolate, coffee beans. There’s also three lidded tumblers which can be used on the base in place of the jug blender attachment for smaller quantities, or for drinks on the go. If you read onto the end of this post you could even be in the running to win one of your own!

Then you have to decide how to serve it and how amazing would your cocktails look served up on a personalised cocktail paddle? I absolutely love this paddle and glass set I was sent recently from Getting Personal and can’t wait to show it off.

And if you feel like getting creative you could create your own flavoured vodkas using this Vodka Zinger. It’s a really cool product which helps you create flavoured vodka drinks in a short space of time. I’m thinking mango vodka sounds good? What would you try?

Now who wants to win a Bella Extract Pro? Hands up…

Just fill in my easy rafflecopter form below for your chance to win. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

* Some items in this guide were gifted for the purpose of this feature.

A Bargain Summer Drinks Special

August 10, 2014 · by munchiesandmunchkins · Leave a Comment

I drink more in the summertime. Both non alcoholic and alcoholic drinks. A glass of prosecco tastes so much better in the sun. I don’t drink to excess ..in fact I typically only drink one as I’m breastfeeding but I REALLY enjoy that one drink and when you are limiting the amount that you drink well you want it to taste good.

We have recently started to do a lot of our food shopping at Aldi as one has opened very close by and it’s so reasonably priced for most of the products we use. This is not a review.. Although I guess it is but I want to make it clear that I paid for all of these products myself. We have been so impressed by the drinks in particular that I wanted to tell you about our favourites.

Starting with the Prosecco. I’ve tried quite a few proseccos over the years and this is by far my favourite. It’s light, crispy and goes perfectly with some strawberry syrup. Delicous. Plus it’s only £5.99 which is a bit of a bargain.

Next the Alska Strawberry and Lime cider which I LOVE! I really like the rekorderlig version of this drink but it’s a lot pricier and this at just £1.59 is just as good in my opinion.

The Orchard Premium Original Cider is a favourite of my OH and is a steal at 99p.

The Cosmopolitan cocktail is priced at £4.99 and is delicous, although I prefer it in a tall glass filled with ice and wedges of lime as it tastes quite strong when it’s neat.

L’esprit D’Orange is the Aldi version of Cointreau and is perfect for mixing with cocktails or even just added to chilled lemonade and crushed ice. It’s priced at £5.99 which when compared to a price of around £13.00 plus for holes of Cointreau is a bit of a steal.

We have also been really enjoying the Mexican Lime and Raspberry and Mint Vive soft drinks. Priced at 49p for a litre they are an ideal budget mixer.

If you are planning a party or BBQ you may just find it worth popping along to your local store.

*All items were paid for in full by myself.

Chicken In Garlic & Mushroom Sauce

July 9, 2012 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 3 Comments

Ok so most of you will already know that I am on a major diet at the moment and it’s working really really well.. I have so far lost 1stone and 3lb and I’ve been dieting since May 28th so I’m pretty proud of myself. There are two reasons I think it’s working well:

1. I am walking most days pushing a fairly hefty weight (baby, buggy and occasionally shopping) or carrying said baby around or playing about with her at home.

2. I am not depriving myself of everything. Most days I use myfitnesspal – I can’t really recommend it enough as it really helps me to keep an eye on what I eat. I limit myself to 1200 calories and keep it as low fat/sugar as possible however I still have treats and the occasional indulgent meals as I’m a foodie I love to cook and eat and I see no reason why I shouldn’t do that in fact I firmly believe it is helping me diet for longer!

After spending 2 days at The Plum baby cookery school followed by 5 days at Blissfields festival I was really missing home cooking so this past week I have cooked a lot. Mostly dishes I have cooked before such as vegetable curry and spaghetti bolognese ( topped with sautéed spinach and leeks- so good) but I am aiming to try a new recipe (from a book, online or friends) or invent a new recipe of my own each week from here on so last night I made chicken in a garlic and mushroom sauce now this is hardly a wondrous new invention of mine as chicken, mushrooms and garlic go together like strawberries and cream but I didn’t follow any kind of recipe and it turned out so well I would quite happily eat it every day this week.

Chicken In Garlic & Mushroom Sauce

Two large chicken breasts

Double cream-150ml

Butter ( small knob)
Red onion diced
2 cloves of garlic minced
8 mushrooms ( I used closed cup as that’s what I had but use whatever you like) chopped finely
Ground pepper ( I use a mix of black and pink peppercorns) and salt
Sprig of thyme
Olive oil

In a pan or small cazuela sauté your diced onion and garlic in olive oil and butter being careful not to burn the garlic, after a few minutes add your mushrooms and cook for 5 more minutes before adding your cream, thyme and seasoning. Remove from best
Heat a little olive oil in a large cazuela or pan which is ovenproof and pan fry your chicken breasts for a few minutes each side, pour over your mushroom sauce and cook at approx 190 deg or gas mark 4. After 20 minutes remove from oven and shred the chicken ( you can leave the breasts whole but I prefer it this way for this kind of dish) into the sauce before retuning to oven for 15 minutes. Remove from oven adding a little more pepper and serve immediately.

* I served with sauté potatoes, peppers and leek and a giant salad but I imagine it would be lovely with rice or mixed into pasta.

This is a fairly naughty dish for me as it has double cream but it was worth it and I didn’t gain any lbs. 🙂

Instead of a dessert I was inspired by a tweet I saw from Beverley Glock who was the food expert at Plum cookery school for a recipe for Pimms frozen cocktails.. Now the recipe she tweeted had lime sorbet as a base but I didn’t have any limes so I improvised and it was refreshing and tongue
tingling.

The White Walker Cocktail – Game Of Thrones

Like this:

Pineapple Rum Punch Cocktail

Like this:

After Eight Blended Cocktail

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Summer Drinks Guide & Bella Pro Extract Blender Giveaway

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A Bargain Summer Drinks Special

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Chicken In Garlic & Mushroom Sauce

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