Orange Julius

1 small can orange juice

1 cup milk

1/2 to 1 tsp vanilla

A little sugar to sweeten

About 10 ice cubes.

Blend until smooth.  (my blenders always left a few lg. chuncks of ice)

Adjust ingredients to your taste.

Banana Drink

I made this today and my kids loved it.  I told them that Mom used to make it for us when I was little.  It brought back memories of home. Anyone have the Orange Julius recipe?

1 banana
1 cup milk
1 tbs honey
1 tbs peanut butter
3-4 ice cubes

put all ingredients into a blender and blend.  

Egg Nog

Since I can't find egg nog here, I decided to make my own this year.  It turned out great and it's really easy, though I'd suggest that you don't do it with a fussy 1 year old.  Sorry it's a bit late for Christmas, but it's still good. I found the recipe on the blog A Sweet Pea Chef. 

makes 2 servings

2 cups milk
1/4 cup sweetened, condensed milk
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
5 whole cloves
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg, plus more for garnish
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

Combine milk, cloves, cinnamon and condensed milk over low heat in a deep sauce pan until the mixture is no longer chilled and is heated through. Slowly increase the heat to medium and bring the mixture to a low boil. Careful not to allow a rolling boil.

In a medium bowl, combine the eggs and sugar. Beat eggs using a stand mixer, electric mixer or your hands until lightened in color and fluffy.

Slowly temper the eggs by adding about 1 tbsp. at a time of the hot milk mixture into the egg and sugar mixture. Once enough of the milk mixture is in the egg mixture, pour it all back into the sauce pan. Heat over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently, until thickened. You will know it’s thick when you can leave a clean line on the back of a spoon (see picture above).

Add the heavy whipping cream, nutmeg and vanilla extract to the mixture and heat through. Do not bring to a boil.

Strain the mixture using a fine mesh strainer to catch the spices. (I have found that this is not enough and I have to blend it. Otherwise it's clumpy.  I'm probably not making it right, but after blending it it's creamy and stays creamy.) Place in an airtight container in the refrigerator and let cool for at least one hour, preferably longer.

Serve cold. Garnish with additional grated nutmeg if desired.