Strawberry Popsicles + Prosecco = A Refreshing Summer Drink!

Next up in my week of strawberry themed posts is a refreshing adult drink perfect for your summer parties (change the straw color to blue, and you've got a great drink for a Fourth of July celebration). It's a bit unexpected as you don't normally put popsicles in your prosecco, but it is really refreshing and gives your prosecco a yummy strawberry flavor. It also has the added benefit of keeping your drink cool longer.

There are a couple of ways to enjoy this drink. You can wait to drink this until the popsicle has melted all the way. Or, like I did it, drink some, then eat some of the popsicle, then drink some more, and so on. The bubbles mixed with the fresh strawberry taste makes a great combination. This works well with any sparkling wine or even sparkling water (for those who don't want to drink alcohol or for the kids).

The best thing is they are so easy to make:

1. Puree strawberries and freeze them in a popsicle mold for a minimum of 6 hours. I replaced the popsicle sticks with straws before freezing. 

2. Place the frozen popsicles in a glass and pour prosecco over them.

3. Serve immediately and enjoy! 

I promise your guests will enjoy this, especially on a hot summer day. Or just make it as a treat for yourself!

Sweet Mondays: Coffee and Strawberry Lime Popsicles

Since it is Memorial Day today in the USA and as it usually signals the beginning of summer, I thought it would be great to feature popsicles for today's Sweet Mondays post. And no, not coffee and strawberry-lime together in one popsicle.  Two separate ones, of course! And since I couldn't decide which one I wanted more, fruity and fresh or creamy and rich, I made both.

Here are the strawberry-lime ones which were very refreshing, but the lime parts were REALLY sour. I was hoping to make a striped popsicle, but it didn't turn out as nice as I hoped. Oh well, it still tasted good. My husband and kids are big fans of sour candy, so this one was a big hit! Here's how I made it:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup pureed strawberries

Juice of 1 lime

1/2 teaspoon sugar (add more if you would like it sweeter)

Directions: 

1. Mix in the sugar with the lime juice.

2. Depending on how many stripes you would like to have, pour the strawberry puree about 1/3 of the way into your popsicle mold and wait until it is frozen.

3. Once it is frozen, pour the lime juice mixture on top of that until it fills another third of your popsicle mold. 

4. Wait until the lime juice mixture is frozen before repeating step 2.

5. Freeze until they are ready. It usually takes about 6 hours if you are using regular popsicle molds.  I used the Zoku quick pop maker and it took only about 20 minutes for the popsicles to be ready(I am not getting paid to say this, I just use it and really like it!)

Makes 1 popsicle depending on your popsicle mold size*

*Note: I had enough strawberry puree to make one more popsicle. I made one using just the strawberries and it tasted great.  Very refreshing! No extra sugar needed.

And this one is the coffee flavored popsicle.  Coffee ice-cream lovers will enjoy this one!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of cooled coffee

1/4 cup milk

2 teaspoons of Hershey's Chocolate Syrup

1/2 teaspoon sugar

Directions:

1. Mix all of the ingredients together.

2. Pour into your popsicle mold and freeze.

3. Once it is frozen, enjoy!

Makes 1 popsicle depending on your popsicle mold size.

I'm so excited that Summer is almost here. Let popsicle-eating season begin!