Creamy Raspberry Lime Smoothie

On my way home from classes at BYU, I love stopping at Jamba Juice to pick up a Berry Lime Sublime. Anyone else remember when it was Zuka Juice? A few weeks ago, I was feeling nostalgic and wanted to duplicate it at home. I found this recipe.

I didn't have lime sherbet or raspberry juice. Lime sherbet is basically lime, sugar, and cream. I figured I could simulate that with lime syrup and frozen yogurt cubes. I used milk instead of raspberry juice to make a creamier smoothie and mellow the tartness of the lime and raspberry.  The resulting smoothie was delicious. I made it every other day at lunch, until I ran out of yogurt cubes.

This weekend Jake made yogurt. Woo hoo! I was so excited to start making this smoothie again. Slight problem, I could not remember the recipe, the quantities of each item. I'm anxious to get something posted. So here's what I had this morning. It's good but not the perfection I had before.

Creamy Raspberry Limeade II
3/4 cup water & 1/4 cup lime syrup (or limeade)
1/4 cup milk
1 banana (for sweetness)
1 cup frozen raspberries
4 oz.  frozen vanilla yogurt cubes (or plain yogurt cubes & 1 tsp. vanilla extract)

Blend and enjoy. Makes 22 oz.

Tomorrow, I'll try again for Creamy Raspberry Limeade I

Jalapeno Lime Chicken

Let's continue with our lime theme. However, we'll put the lime syrup on hold until our yogurt cubes are ready.

With jalapeno in the name you might think it would have some kick to it, but it is a very mellow flavor since the ribs and seeds are removed before dicing. The lime is the star of the show.

This recipe is pretty straightforward. Toss it together in the morning to marinade, then grill it up in the afternoon.

Jalapeno Lime Chicken
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon grated lime peel
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced (wear a latex glove to avoid skin irritation)
1 teaspoon cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast

In a small bowl, combine everything but the chicken. Place your chicken in a bag or plastic container, then add the marinade mixture and shake to evenly coat the chicken. marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or up to 8 hours.

Preheat grill to medium high. Grill chicken 5 to 6 minutes on each side or until no longer pink in the center.

Makes 4 servings. We served ours with rice and steamed broccoli and carrots

Lime Blended Float

Or a copy cat Sonic Cream Slush, if you must. I tried this recipe, but there wasn't enough liquid to blend the ice cream. Perhaps I wasn't supposed to cram my measure-all full of ice cream. Using the syrup, I'm able to control the level of lime flavor, so I added a 1/2 cup of suped up limeade (increased proportion of lime syrup to water). The extra liquid and boost in flavor created a delicious and limey concoction.

Lime Blended Float
1/2 cup lime syrup
1/2 cup water
1 cup ice cream
1/2 cup ice

Blend together until slushy. Add more limeade or ice to taste.

Cherry Limeade Slush

Limes and cherries were on sale. It's kismet. A cherry limeade slush must be made. Armed with a pitter and a cookie sheet, I prepped those little orbs for frozen goodness.  I popped out the pits, lined up the cherries in neat little rows on my cookie sheet, shoved the whole thing in the freezer, then bagged it all up. Not that they are going to stay there very long.

Cherry Limeade Slush
1/2 cup lime syrup
1 1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cup frozen cherries

Place in blender jar in order listed, and blend away.
Makes 3 - 8 oz servings

For the brain freeze version, add 1/2 cup ice.

Limeade

Before I move on to a cherry limeade, I have to share the basic recipe, right?

Limeade
ice cubes
1/4 cup lime syrup
3/4 cup cold water or sparkling water

In a 10 oz. glass, layer in the order listed above and stir.
Lemonade: Replace limes with lemon juice and lime zest.
Pink lemonade:  add 1/2 cup grenadine syrup to the jar of lemonade syrup and stir.
Strawberry lemonade:  add 2 tablespoons of puree of fresh strawberries into each glass.

Lime Syrup

On Pinterest, I found a recipe for Old Fashioned Lemonade from The Anne of Green Gables Cookbook. For this delicious lemonade, you make a lemon syrup, the add water and ice to each serving. Mmmm. . .

Limes were on sale, it's the perfect opportunity to make lime syrup. There are some many things I can do with it: Limeade (of course), Cherry Limeade Slush, Lime Blended Float, or a Creamy Raspberry Limeade Smoothie. Woo hoo!

Lime Syrup

1 ½ cups sugar
1 ½ cups water
Zest from one lime
1 ½ cups fresh lime juice

Measure the sugar and water into a sauce pan. While stirring with a wooden spoon, bring the mixture to a boil for 5 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Let cool slightly.

Add fresh squeezed lime juice and lime zest to the sugar syrup. Cool completely. Pour the limeade syrup into a quart jar. Cover tightly with the lid. The syrup can be kept in the refrigerator for 2 or 3 weeks. Makes 14 glasses of limeade.