Happy Halloween and some Slime Punch.

We're not super into Halloween around here, but we do love having reasons to celebrate, dress up, and of course, make special drinks.

If you're looking for something last minute to sip on after trick-or-treating, or while you're passing out candy, we have a great one for you. Not too gory, still a bit silly, and made with things you might have on hand.

We bring you: S l i m e Punch.

Here's what you'll need:

2 c seedless green grapes

2 c sugar

1 c lime juice (we used sweetened and cut back on the sugar)

8 c club soda

1 c gin (optional--we made ours without so we could sip it with the niece and nephew)

This is enough to make about 8 servings. We cut back since there were only a few of us partaking.

Here's how to do it:

Freeze your grapes so they can act as ice cubes. About 45 minutes to an hour.

Pour in the club soda. And add green food coloring for an extra "slime-y" looking drink.

Stir in the lime juice and sugar until it's dissolved.

Finally, add in your frozen grapes.
 (They'll float at first which is extra fun, so try to keep them frozen as long as possible before serving.)

That's it! It's the perfect refreshment for those tired trick-or-treaters (and their parents).

Happy Halloween friends!

PS. Take a look at what the toddlers in our life will be wearing this year :

The Man in the Yellow Hat (made by Kirst, isn't it great?), and his monkey, Curious George.

Have you ever seen a cuter pair?

What are you guys dressing up as for Halloween? Making any fun drinks to celebrate?

TheAdams- Beer Can Chicken

So...most of us have those nights where we don't really want to get the kitchen dirty or maybe just don't have time to figure out a main dish for the family. Beer can chicken is one of those meals that is a great standby and can be fixed easily without much mess, but best of all is almost impossible to screw up.

What do you need for ingredients??? 
Just grab a beer out of the fridge (I use a 24oz can because we typically try and get a larger chicken), some seasonings, and a whole uncooked chicken.

The nice part about this recipe is that you don't have to be really precise or make up your own sauce or anything that takes time before you are ready to cook.  I usually use a pre-mixed rub that we have around the house or you can experiment with your favorite seasonings for your own unique rub.

Take 6 tbs of the rub mix and spread 4 tbs on the chicken.  Open the beer (you can either drink half or pour it out, you know my preference), and take a knife or scissors and cut small holes into the top of the beer can.  Use the other 2 tbs of rub mix you have left over and pour the mix slowly into the half of beer you have left over through the holes you cut in the top.

Be careful on this part because it will likely fizz over if you pour it all at once.  While all this is going on, have your grill on high so its ready for cooking whenever you are done with the chicken.

Turn half of the grill off and leave the other side on high, grab the chicken and carefully place the beer inside the chicken making sure its not too top heavy spilling the beer mixture.

Balance the can with chicken on top on the grill, over the side that has been turned off.

That is ALL! Leave the chicken on the indirect grill side for about 1 1/2 hrs turning 1/4 turns occasionally just to give a nice even cook to the outside of the chicken.

The chicken will start to look puffy and crunchy on the outside when it is getting close to being done, but I always check internal temp with a meat thermometer to make sure it hits 170 degrees.

When it's done, use tongs to extract the beer from the chicken's butt. The meat should fall right off the bone- enjoy!

 

sips photoshoot outtakes

Besides her genius in flavor parings, our sister/sister-in-law, Jordan, is also brilliant behind a camera lens. Since she was in town this week, we asked her to snap a few photos for the blog.

There were some keepers for sure... Of course, there were also some hilarious outtakes. And why keep them to ourselves when we can share them with you?

As you can see, there was a lot of laughter involved during our little photo shoots (is there any other way?). Please tell us that we're not the only ones that have to take seventy-six pictures just to get a couple usable ones?

ps- Jordan would want us to put the disclaimer on here about how the pictures of the boys were totally last minute, taken at night, and not representative of her work (that's true, by the way- there's only so much you can do when you wait to take pictures until 10:30 the last night she's in town). So- sorry about those ones.

halloween drink round up

With Halloween just around the corner, we thought we'd share some of the genius (and delicious looking) Halloween Sips floating around the internet!

Peach Lemonade Coolers
Sinister Cider Cocktail
Black Lagoon Cocktail
Swamp Sips
Boonilla Shake
Witches Brew
The Jack O' Lantern
The Black Widow
The Candy Corn 
Spider's Kiss
Poison Apple Punch
Creepy Potions (for kids!)

Have you seen any fabulous Halloween-ish drink recipes?

Better, have you tried any out?

BITES- cheesy potato balls

I don't know about you guys but around these parts most of our nights have been consumed with watching the World Series. (When your husband is from Texas and they make it to the World Series, you don't really argue.) So if you're like us and you're looking for an appetizer to pair with your beer for the big game, these cheesy potato balls (that the boys have nicknamed The. Balls.) are quite the crowd pleaser!

INGREDIENTS
8 baking potatoes
1/4 cup minced onion
8 ounces cream cheese
8 ounces sour cream
2 T butter, softened
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Bake potatoes at 350 for an hour and a half. Let cool. Peel and shred the potatoes (we used a ricer, but you can just use a fork if you don't have one).

Mix cream cheese, sour cream, shredded cheese, onions, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper in a large mixing bowl. Add in shredded potatoes and mix.

Scoop out spoonfuls (you can use an ice cream scoop but we didn't). Roll in parmesan/corn flake mixture. Line up on cookie sheet.

Bake at 425 for 35 minutes. Pair with your favorite brew and tune in to your favorite team. In our case, GO RANGERS!

Exciting News and a Thank You.

Hey guys! We have some pret-ty exciting news to share with you all. Our little blog has been featured on not one, but two blogs!

The first one is tastespotting.com. You can see our Birthday Cake Martini from Kirstin's nice birthday post for me, here on their site. Do you know people who only like to order things in a restaurant that they can see pictures of on the menu? Well, that's kind of what tastespotting is, only they're online and they are recipes so you can make them yourself. They're a compilation of pictures for recipes from around the internet, that are approved by their girls Sarah and Jennifer. And thanks to them, we made the cut. Check them out!

The second one is from our friend Shelley over at divinepartyconcepts.com. She also linked up to the B.C.M. recipe from October 8th. She loves a good party and has some great ideas on her blog. We especially loved her Martini Bar post! Thanks to Shelley, and you guys should check her out too, especially if you need some ideas for your next party.

We just wanted to take a second and say how much we appreciate everyone's support and encouragement so far--not just to those sites who have featured us, but our readers as well.

So, THANKS!

Beer-garitas with Chili-Lime Rimming Salt, Part 2

Welcome back for Beer-garitas with Chili-Lime Salt, Part 2. (Read Part 1 here, if you missed it yesterday.)

Kirst and I firmly believe that rimming your drinks can take a good drink and make it a great one. I mean really, who doesn't love glasses edged with some kind of complimentary flavor? Salt, sugar, vanilla icing with sprinkles? Not to mention it makes it look cool. You get the point.

Now meet our other sister/sister-in-law Jordan.She's beautiful, creative, and great at cooking and pairing what tastes go with what. Here she is with Kirst (she's the one on the left).

So knowing that about her, and our love of rimming salts and sugars, you'll see why when she suggested that we make a Chili-Lime rimming salt for these Beer-garitas, we did it...and we're so glad we did! In fact, we strongly suggest when you make the Beer-garitas from yesterday, you should make this Chili-Lime salt too!

Here's what you'll need:

1/4 c Kosher Salt

1 tsp Chili Powder

1 tsp Paprika

1 tbsp lime juice

a couple of lime wedges for rimming

And here's how to do it:

Measure out all the ingredients and dump them into the food processor.

Mix up until it's all combined and all the same texture and consistancy. (It should be a bit sticky looking)

Then, once it's all mixed up, place on a plate or serving dish with several lime wedges and it's ready to go!

Just use the lime wedge to make the rim of the glass sticky, then dip it in the salt.



We paired it with regular salt for the less adventurous, and it was quite the little spread.

Loved by boys and girls alike!

Happy Sipping!

Beer-garitas with Chili-Lime Rimming Salt, Part 1

If you are anything like my husband and me, you have different tastes when it comes to your drinks. He prefers beer (hence The Adams weekly beer column). I, on the other hand, prefer most other drinks than beer--although I'm coming along in my appreciation for it. 

Anyway, I'd think it's pretty safe to say that this might be the case for most couples, so imagine our excitement when we discovered that the two loves can be combined into the perfect co-ed beverage.
 We bring you: Beer-garitas with Chili-Lime Rimming Salt. And at this time of year, we thought it'd be just perfect for the upcoming football parties you'll be throwing (go Eagles!**),or any co-ed party really. 

 ** I am supposed to make a disclaimer that this team is not supported by all Sips Etc authors--(but I will say, it is only supported by the coolest ones).

Today, we'll show you how to make the Beer-garitas. Tomorrow, for Part 2, we'll show you how to make the Chili-Lime Rimming Salt (which is such a fantastic addition, if I do say so myself).

Here's what you'll need:

48 oz. Beer (some prefer Corona's, some Pabst Blue Ribbon, but I'm sure most any light beer will do).

12 oz. Limeade Concentrate

6 oz. Tequila

1 can of Sprite (optional, though not used here)

A pitcher

Here's how to do it:

Pour the beer into the pitcher.  Tip: tilt the pitcher as you pour, it helps reduce the amount of fizz at the top.

Next add the limeade concentrate, then add the tequila. (Here is where you'd add the Sprite also)

Tip: once the limeade concentrate can is empty, just fill it up half way with tequila instead of using a measuring cup.

And that's it! Just Mix. Pour. Sip.

Be sure to come back tomorrow for Part 2.

If you're visiting us from TasteSpotting.com, Welcome! You can learn a bit about us here, and be sure to check our monthly Barista Banter column, and our weekly Beer column with TheAdams. 

We're so glad to have you!

TheAdams- pumpkin beer

Since you don't really know me yet, let me start off by telling you that I am huge into the seasons. You might be thinking..... me too!!!

Let me clarify... I'm huge into the beer seasons. If you are a beer fan like me then you know exactly what I'm talking about. As the seasons change throughout the year, so do the different beers that compliment those seasons.

image via Beer Universe

Pumpkin Ale definitely falls into this category. So I'll be honest and say that I'm not a huge fan of flavored beers, but in the case of fall, there is no beer more distinctly matched with the season then Pumpkin Ale.

Pumpkin Ale comes in many varities with many different flavors. They are characterized by the pumpkin pie taste that is achieved by brewing with many of the same spices; cloves, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice. It's also not a very hoppy type of ale, the spices and malts are the focus.

Like I said the taste can range from very pumpkiny- to faint hints of pumpkin. I prefer the milder taste and found TommyKnocker Brewery Small Patch Pumpkin Harvest Ale to be very mild. It has the subtle hints of pumpkin that don't overpower, but is still thick enough for a fall ale.

Regardless of your taste preference, if you like beer you have to give a Pumpkin Ale a try this fall. It doesn't matter which brewery's you try, as long as you get one somewhere in the rotation. It is what is so great about beer. It changes with the seasons to make them feel right.

Pumpkin Drink Round Up

 

It's no secret that we lo-ove all things pumpkin around here (well, except pumpkin pie... weird, right?). Pumpkin drinks top our list of fall goodnesses. After you try Kedron's Fabulous Pumpkin Spice Latte recipe, and our Double Chocolate Pumpkin Smoothie recipe, here are a few others to try:

(left to right, top to bottom)
Pumpkin Pie Cocktail
Pumpkin Spice Latte at The Kitchn*
Pumpkin Pie Smoothie*
Pumpkin Divine 
Pumpkin Pie in a Glass
Pumpkin Nog
Pumpkin Punch 
Calabatini (tequila based pumpkin martini)
Pumpkin Spice Hot White Chocolate*
Pumpkin Juice*
Pumpkin Smoothie*
Pumpkin Cocktail Roundup
*non alcoholic pumpkin drink recipes

Do you have any favorite pumpkin drink recipes? We'd love to hear them!