Orange Julius

So last 9 weeks my son's elevective class was FACS. Back in my day it was Home Ec. He came home with a D and recipes. He's not one to put himself in front of the class so he failed in participation. Any ways he's been making the recipes here at home this week and some of them are really easy and very yummy!

Orange Julius

6oz frozen on
1 c milk
1 c water
1/4 c sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
8-10 ice cubes

Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.

His recipe also includes unplugging the blender. ;)

Orange Chocolate Chip Shortbread

My life's ambition is to have a tea room full of books. Where people can come and read a book or bring theirs and have a cup of tea. Of course there would be fancy teapots, cups and saucers, comfy chairs with a little side table to set your tea and finger food or sweet. You would be surrounded by books and tea quoted as well as a few handmade crochet items. I think today's shortbread recipe fits in nicely with that dream. So make a pot of tea, dust off those tea cups and sit down with a good book!

Make sure you check the credits at the bottom and go visit their page, you will find lots of fun things!

Orange and Chocolate Chip Shortbread

Makes ~16 cookies

Author: Mondo

Serves: 6

Ingredients

1½ sticks unsalted butter, softened
1¾ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup sugar
zest of 2 large oranges, ~5 tsp
⅛ tsp salt
½ tsp vanilla extract
¼ cup semi sweet mini chocolate chips

Instructions

Combine flour and salt in small bowl.
Gather orange zest and set aside.
Place sugar in mixer bowl. Add zest.
Use back of spoon to mash zest and sugar together.
Continue to mash until the sugar is moist and fragrant.
Add butter and vanilla. Mix on low for 1 minute.
Add the flour with salt and mix until just combined.
Fold in mini chocolate chips.
Form dough into a flat disc and chill for 30 minutes.
preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Roll dough into until ½ inch thick.
Use 2 inch cutter to make cookies.
Put cookies on a sheet pan and chill for another 10 minutes in the freezer(this reduces spreading while baking).
Bake for 25-28 minutes or until bottom of cookies are golden brown.
Cool completely and serve.

Recipe by I bake he shoots at http://ibakeheshoots.com/orange-chocolate-chip-shortbread/

Ginger Beer

I am a huge fan of ginger beer. The rest of the Asylum not so much. I can't always find it here, mostly only at Runnings certain times of the year. I found several recipes and mixed them to make what I like, so make sure you adjust ingredients to your tastes!

Ginger Beer
(Kid friendly)

Ingredients

4 lemons
1-2 orange
3/4 cup roughly chopped fresh ginger
3/4-1cup honey
3/4-1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups orange juice
5 cups sparkling mineral water, chilled

Directions

Grate 2 tablespoons each of lemon and orange zest. Squeeze 1/3 cup lemon juice from 3 of the lemons. Set aside.
In a food processor, pulse the ginger, honey, and sugar until just combined. Add the orange and lemon juices and process. Transfer to a large lidded container. Add the orange and lemon zests and 2 cups of boiling water and stir until the sugar dissolves. Cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours and up to 5 days.
To serve, strain the ginger-beer base into a pitcher. Thinly slice the remaining lemon and orange to form circles. Add the slices and mineral water to the pitcher and stir. Serve over ice.