Frozen Peach Bellini - Cosmopolitan Magazine

Planning a girls' night for our break week, and instead of trying to create another masterpiece of my own, I  checked out Cosomo to see what they had to offer. This is a simple drink to make at home as long as you have a blender. Find the original posting here

Frozen Peach Bellini 

I want you in my mouth

What you'll need:

• 2 ½ oz. sparkling wine
• 1 oz. triple sec
• 1 oz. peace puree (blend a ripe peach)
• 1 oz. simple syrup (dissolve one part sugar in one part boiling water; let cool) plus a squeeze of lemon
• Garnish: peach wedge

Steps:

Blend all ingredients in a blender for a minute or so with a cup of ice. This makes one drink!

These drinks are sweet and delicious. Go to Super Store to pick up inexpensive acrylic drinking glasses to really serve in style.

Easy to wash, cost $1-2, and not breakable!

Sweet & Sour Meatballs

Want something easy to make that you can eat as soon as you get in the door? Try my MacPherson family recipe for Sweet & Sour Meatballs.

Sweet & Sour Meatballs (a la Erin MacPherson aka Step-Mum)

What you'll need:

• Slow-cooker or large pot with lid (like, really large)
• 1-2 lbs Ground beef (I use Extra Lean)
• 1 jar Heinz Chili Sauce (I assume that store brand chili sauce will work just as well)
• 1 jar Grape jelly
• 1 tablespoon mustard
• 1 table spoon  BBQ sauce
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion 

Steps:

• In a large bowl mix together beef, mustard, BBQ sauce and onion.
• Get in there! Use your freshly washed hands to mix everything together until blended.
• Wash hands again, and grab a tray or cutting board. Begin to shape mixture into meatballs (I got about 35 out of my most recent batch)
• In your slow-cooker (or large pot) add the Heinz chili sauce and grape jelly. I usually grab a whisk and break up the jelly a bit, but it will eventually melt down.
• Turn your slow-cooker on LOW and begin to carefully add your meatballs. Don't worry too much if the sauce doesn't cover everyone. As they cook, the meatballs shrink in size and everything will get covered in sauce.
• I cook mine for about 7-9 hours.
• Serve with rice and a dinner roll. You're done! Enjoy =)

So delicious. Mmmmm...

Meatballs are something super easy to prepare and you can leave it while you go to school or work. My dinner guests could smell them from down the hall in my apartment.

Tips:

• Like spice? Use 1 tablespoon of paprika in the mixture to add some kick.
• Use a tablespoon measuring spoon to roughly measure your meatballs. Form a ball, and if it fits nicely in the measuring spoon, then it's a good size.
• Basmati rice is my favourite with this recipe. 

Send me your photos or post your comments

Simple Candle Centrepieces - Coffee

I'll be sharing a couple really easy ideas for cute candle accents either on your dining table, living room table or on your balcony. These take only a couple minutes to put together. Here's the first one.

Coffee Candle Votive 
What you'll need:

• glass votives (as many as you need/want)
• These are basically little candle holders. Clear glass will work best. Size will depend on the size of the candles you choose
• Coffee beans
• Tea-lights (as many as you need to match the number of votives)

Steps:

• Divide the coffee beans among all your votives, filling them about half way.
• Place the tea-light on top of the beans, make sure to nestle the tea-lights into the beans to hide the sides.

You're done! It's a very simple DIY to do, and if you decide to use flavoured coffee beans, or scented candles (or coloured) it could really be personalized and set the ambiance. 

Play around with the size of the candle holders and the scents used. I tried hazelnut coffee and vanilla scented tea-lights and they smell and look great.

Tips:

• Keep candles in odd numbers
• try 3 different sizes of candles

Comment below with your creations and photos.