Easy, Breezi, Orange Julius. {Our fake-out Recipe}

A few days ago, I posted a picture on Facebook, of that morning's breakfast drink, a variation on our take on an Orange Julius:

 

 

Sorry about the quality. It's a phone picture -- what can I say? But don't you love how thick it is? You can stand a straw in it, at least!

 

And, I had a few people ask me for the recipe.

Yeahhhhhhhh, about that. I got the basics of the recipe from my friend, Breezi. She's pretty cool that way. Her approach to this is pretty much the same as mine: we wing it! So, for a recipe, this is rather "loose" and approximate. Because that's how we roll.

 

Here's the basic start-off recipe:

 

I make the whole drink in my blender. My OLD Hamilton Beach blender:

 

 

We've had that almost as long as we've been married. Does that make it "retro"? No? Ok, well it's 6 cups to the rim of that thing. And I find that it actually works better to make this as a full size amount, than to try to cut it down for one or two people. You'll need:

 

Ice Cubes

Milk

Frozen Orange Juice Concentrate (not mixed up)

Vanilla Extract

Sugar (amount varies)

 

Start with ice cubes .... enough to fill to the 2 1/2 cups or 3 cups line.

 

Then, add milk, .... to about the same line. Maybe a little more.

 

Next is the orange juice concentrate. Not diluted. Not reconstituted. Just the concentrate, straight out of the frozen can. You can use it straight from the freezer, or it can be thawed first. Still-frozen stuff will make the ending drink thicker, which is how Alyssa likes it. I buy the bigger, 16-oz cans from Costco, and since Todd likes enough orange flavor, I put in probably 4 to 6 ounces of it. At least 1/4 of the can, and up to 1/3 of it.

 

Then, a shot of vanilla extract. The real stuff. Ok, it's probably 1 - 2 teaspoons.

 

And finally, the sugar. I don't add a lot of it, maybe 2 tablespoons or so. You could add more, but it doesn't really need it.

 

Then hit your highest speed button, and let the blender do its thing. I leave it running for a minute or so, and make sure that it's circulating, so all the ice gets really tiny.

 

And that's it!! Pour it into glasses, and make sure you have straws on hand -- you'll want them.

 

So the variation I made that day has the addition of some Cream of Coconut, to give it a more tropical flare. Cream of Coconut can be found with the alcoholic beverage mixers at your local supermarket. It is not alcoholic, and is shelf stable until opened. And the only reason I found out about this stuff is because it was an ingredient in a new-to-me punch recipe that I used for Brandon & Cecilia's reception last August. If you like coconut, then ..... oh, my, goodness: YUM!!!

 

This stuff is not a knock-you-over-the-head coconut flavor, so if you like coconut, plan on using a fair amount of it. I put in about a 1/4 cup of it (again, I'm winging it, here!), and I thought it needed a little more. Maybe 1/3 to 1/2 cup-ish. Try it, and let me know what you think, ok?

 

(By the way, pineapple juice, or even crushed pineapple would be another super addition to this!!) What would YOU add??

 

 

Anyway.....

 

So that morning, I also took my breakfast outside on the front patio. And these lovely ladies were my companions there:

 

 

I love, love, LOVE our delphiniums!! They are the BEST addition to our front patio, ever!! (More on the front patio here, here, and here.)

That's my empty plate there. I wasn't about to stop eating and let the rest go cold while I snapped a photo, you know. I do draw the line somewhere!

And the bees were buzzing around me, too:

 

That's ok. They weren't interested in my breakfast, so we got along just fine.  ;-)