Frozen Hot Chocolate - Slimmed Down Version

I was just reading my August 2010 issue of Woman's Day Magazine and I saw a recipe by Joy Bauer, R.D. for a slimmed down version of Frozen Hot Chocolate.  This sounds like a great summer treat for adults and kids!  Let's give this one a try.  I'm sure D will enjoy this.  He likes Starbuck's Frappachinos and Dunkin Donuts Coolatta's so why not Frozen Hot Chocolate??  The article in Woman's Day says that Frozen Hot Chocolate is a signature dessert at Serendipity, a Manhattan restaurant.  Serendipity has been around for years in NYC.  I think there is now a Serendipity II or even II.  If I remember correctly, it is a very expensive restaurant that specializes in ice cream and desserts for kids. 

Here is the Joy Bauer's slimmed down recipe:

Frozen Hot Chocolate

1/2 cup chocolate syrup
1 cup fat-free evaporated milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups ice cubes

Garnish:  reduced-fat whipped topping and/or dark chocolate shavings

1.  Combine chocolate syrup, evaporated milk, vanilla and ice in a blender until smooth.

2.  Pour into glasses.  Garnish with a dollop of whipped topping and/or a sprinkling of chocolate shavings, if desired.

Variations:  Mexican Hot Chocolate:  Add 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon.  Peppermint Hot Chocolate: Substitute 1/4 tsp mint extract for the vanilla extract.

150 cal, 5 g pro, 0 g fat, 85 mg sod.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

Arnold Palmer - Iced Tea Lemonade

I have been a big fan of Iced Tea and a big fan of Lemonade for a long time. I never thought about putting them together until recently. I heard that there is a drink mixing both of them that is named for the professional golfer, Arnold Palmer. It started way back in the 1960's when Arnold Palmer was in his heyday. It was his favorite drink and a smart waitress at a restaurant he frequented named the drink for him. The fact that I only learned about it a few months ago doesn't mean it isn't a popular drink. I am not a big fan of golf. The drink sounds good to me, though. It seems like a simple premise. Mix some lemonade with some iced tea in whatever proportions you prefer. I wanted to take it a bit further and make the iced tea and the lemonade from scratch. Apparently, there are lots of iced tea makers out there but I am from the old school, as I have probably mentioned a few times. I just went ahead and made my iced tea the old fashioned way by boiling water and putting a bunch of tea bags into a pitcher. Of course, you can go back even further and get yourself a tea infuser. I have never dealt with tea in its "unbagged" form but I imagine it would be messy. I guess if I am going to call myself old fashioned, I really should do it that way. Next time, maybe.

I also wanted to make fresh lemonade by squeezing a few lemons. It was very easy when I used my favorite Pampered Chef citrus juicer. I love Pampered Chef stuff. Pampered Chef is my secret splurge. I can rarely resist a Pampered Chef party even though I have so much of their stuff already. Oh well, I guess it could be worse. Don't tell all those Pampered Chef reps that I am a terrible push-over for their stuff. Right, they probably already know.

Why all this fuss about iced tea and lemonade. Well, I am trying to keep D from drinking too much soda. My sister started him on Sprite when he was about 2 years old. I really would have liked to keep him from it for a long time. But if she hadn't started him, I'm sure that my hubby B would have introduced him to it in due time, anyway. Fortunately, D likes iced tea and lemonade. He also likes things that are "different." That is what gave me the idea about making the Arnold Palmers. Personally, I don't like all the fruity iced teas that are available from Snapple and Arizona. I just prefer my tea with some lemon. The iced tea lemonade is about as "different" as I will go with my drinks. Call me boring but that is the way I like it.

Here are the recipes I found for Iced Tea and Lemonade. After making them both, I will use two pitchers to make the Arnold Palmers. At first, I am going to start with half tea and half lemonade. I will then adjust as needed. I prefer my iced tea unsweetened which is probably heresy to some people but again that is just the way I like it. Go ahead and add sweetener to the tea if you like.

Iced Tea

6 cups of boiling water
6 Lipton teabags

Steep tea for 2-5 minutes depending on how strong you like your tea. I steeped mine for 5 minutes because I knew it would be mixed with the lemonade.

Lemonade

2 cups boiling water
2 cups sugar
2 cups lemon juice (about 8-12 lemons)
ice cubes

I first boiled the water and then added the sugar. Stir to dissolve the sugar and make it into a simple sugar syrup. I poured this simple sugar syrup into a pitcher and then added the lemon juice and ice cubes.

Arnold Palmer

1/2 glass (4 ounces) iced tea
1/2 glass (4 ounces) lemonade

You can adjust the proportions of each to your taste. Enjoy!

The Creative Cook