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5 Craft Beers You Need to Try

August 28, 2018 by Vanessa 2 Comments

I can’t say when it happened, but there’s not debating it now. I’ve clearly switched over from my former life as a red wine drinker to a true craft beer fan. Cheers to that!

According to the Brewer’s Association, there were over 6,300 craft breweries in the United States as of 2017. The largest segment of growth in that count came from the opening of new brewpubs starting in 2012, a number that has exponentially grown since the report. So, it’s no surprise that my love of the suds is also growing exponentially!

A fan of unfiltered and fruit-forward brews, I’ve narrowed down my list to five must-have beers. I don’t like hoppy beers so you won’t find those on my list. However, my go-to selection includes a few shining stars you should be sipping on! Without further a do, I give you 5 Craft Beers You Need to Try!

  1. Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat 4.4% – Described as an “ale with natural citrusy flavor,” it’s Kansas City’s Boulevard Brewing Company’s best selling beer for its drinkability. Why do I love it? It’s smooth, full of flavor, and drinks like a slightly  sweetened ballpark light beer. I’ve yet to find a type of food that I can’t drink it with OR a friend who doesn’t want to drink one with me. If you have the opportunity to visit the brewery, I highly recommend making a reservation for a tour of the facility. Having visited on my birthday a few years back, I have fond memories of toasting to another great year in their tasting room!

    Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat
  2. Free State Brewery’s Guavatas Sour 4.65% – A graduate of the University of Kansas, I spent Mondays at Free State Brewery drinking ales shoulder-to-shoulder with townies and college students alike on $1 Pint Night. The “sour” craze wasn’t popular back in the day (boy did I just sound old!) so I drank their Wheat State Golden or Ad Astra Ale. Today, I’m a big fan of sours so I can’t recommend their small batch Guavatas Sour enough! Don’t be alarmed to see pulpy bits of guava in your glass after the pour – that’s normal! Why do I love it? It’s tropical notes beckon thoughts of summer and it’s mild tartness finishes nicely. The brewery’s slogan “Because Without Beer Things Don’t Seem To Go As Well” basically sums up my college experience and I’m still drinking their beer two decades later. That says something about their beer’s consistency and quality.
    Free State Guavatas Sour

    3. Uinta Crisp Apple Ale 4.0% – Clearly I’m a fan of beers with fruity notes. I grabbed a six back of Uinta’s Crisp Apple Ale on a whim and I’ve purchased it many times since then. The Uinta Brewery, located in Salt Lake City, was founded by a guy who transitioned from a home brewer to a professional set-up in a leased mechanic’s garage. They brew all types of craft beer, but I’m partial to their brews featuring fruit including grapefruit, mango, and apple. Why do I love it? It’s a light beer with a slight apple after-taste, which is always refreshing on the palette. Craving apple pie, now?

    Uinta Apple Ale

    4. Boulevard Jam Band Berry Ale 5.9% – Unlike any beer I’ve ever tasted, Boulevard’s Jam Band Berry Ale is like a dessert in a glass. This ale’s bold taste includes blueberries, raspberries, and tart cherries. I assumed this beer would be one Boulevard would make only for awhile due to the cost of using loads of fruit. I assumed it would be one of those one-offs that wouldn’t stay on liquor store shelves. I’m glad they proved me wrong. Lucky us! If you don’t like sweet beers or ciders, steer clear of this one. Why do I love it? Loaded with berry and citrus flavor, this beer balances malt with real fruit flavor. It’s my jam! 5. Roadie Grapefruit Radler 4.2% – So I need to apologize. This beer isn’t one that you can try today because it is a seasonal that is only available April-August, but it is worth the wait! Brewed in 5 gallon barrels to be heavy in citrus flavor using grapefruit puree, it’s an tangy, crisp beer perfect for drinking on a hot summer day. Why do I love it? I love all things grapefruit. Denver’s Great Divide Brewing Company’s seasonal beer is one of my must-haves. It even smells good (ha!). Although it has a tart finish, you can drink more than one in a drinking session.

    It’s not easy to narrow my list to five craft beers, but this compilation represents my current faves. I might just have to write another post for my go-to seasonal picks this fall! What are you drinking right now? I’m eager to hear which craft beer you think I should try next – remember I like ales and sours more than any other kind! Leave your recommendation in the comments section below.

 

 

Filed Under: Cocktails, Drinks Tagged With: alcohol, ale, apple, apple ale, beer, berry, Boulevard Brewing Company, brew, brewery, citrus, craft beer, Denver, faves, fruit, grapefruit, Great Divide, guava, happy hour, Jam Band, Kansas, Kansas City, Lawrence, Roadie, Salt Lake City, sour, tart, Uinta, unfiltered wheat, Utah

Crisp Fall Day Cocktail

October 18, 2017 by Vanessa Leave a Comment

Am I the only one who craves apples during the fall season?

Fuji, Pink Lady, and Gala are my go-to favs but there are so many more varieties that continue to be show stoppers in my fall recipes. If you know me at all, then you know I’m going to mix a delightful happy hour concoction like this Crisp Fall Day Cocktail made with delicious apple pie liqueur and chilled cider. Who’s ready to clang a glass with me and say “Cheers my dears?”

Okay, apple fans. This one is for you. Simply pour the liqueur, cider, and juice in a glass. Add ice and garnish with a straw and you’ve made yourself the easiest “it-must-be-fall-now” cocktail.

Fancy straws make happy hour that much…happier.

Not sure where to find apple pie liqueur? I’ve been to a couple of liquor stores and Dr. McGillicuddy’s and Travis Hasse’s each make an affordable liqueur to try in the occasional recipe around $9-$15. Partial to Louisburg Apple Cider since it’s located in my beautiful home state, Kansas, you could use any brand. (Shop local!) Finally, I add Old Orchard’s Black Cherry Cranberry Juice but if you can’t locate it, you could easily use any cranberry or cran-apple store-bought juice.

Has someone seen my flannel blanket?

If it’s not cocktail hour at your home right now, pin this recipe for later. You’ll thank me. Cheers my dears!

Craving more fall drink recipes? Try making my uber spooky cocktails for your upcoming boo bash or this Salted Caramel Apple Martini rimmed in dripping warm caramel!

*no affiliates mentioned in this post.

One Delightful Life

1 cocktail

Crisp Fall Day Cocktail

3 simple ingredients make for 1 amazing fall cocktail

5 minPrep Time

5 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

  • 3 oz. apple pie liqueur
  • 1/2 c. apple cider
  • 1/2 c. black cherry cranberry juice (or cranberry juice)
  • ice
  • apple slices for garnish

Instructions

  1. Pour liquid ingredients into a cocktail glass.
  2. Add ice.
  3. Stir with a straw.
  4. Garnish with apple slices.

Notes

Wanna to get really fancy? Rim the glass in apple juice and crushed graham crackers.

7.8.1.2
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https://onedelightfullife.com/crisp-fall-day-cocktail/
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Nutrition

Calories

356 cal

Fat

14 g

Carbs

54 g

Protein

4 g
Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info
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Filed Under: Cocktails, Taste Tagged With: adult beverage, apple, apple cider, apple pie, autumn, booze, caramel, cheers, cocktail, drink, fall cocktail, happy hour, ice, juice, Kansas, liqueur, Old Orchard, party drink, spooky

Baked Apples Filled with Oatmeal, Dates and Brown Sugar

October 1, 2017 by Vanessa Leave a Comment

Hello, Fall! Good to see you again.

October is the best month of the year. Why? It’s my birthday month (holla!), breweries are prepping for Oktoberfest, and the food….oh, the food!

Many cooks have prepared baked apples to welcome autumn, but my recipe incorporates chopped dates and walnuts with oatmeal to bring home real fall flavor. Leave room for dessert tonight because you will want to gobble up the entire apple. They serve well with vanilla bean ice cream too!

Prior to baking, stuff these babies as full as you can with the filling ingredients.

Here are the instructions for Baked Apples with Oatmeal, Dates and Brown Sugar:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Wash two Pink Lady Apples. Core out the inside without penetrating the bottom. (Remove about half of the apple’s core.)

3. Add the butter to a small microwavable bowl and heat it about 10 seconds until it’s melted. Add remaining filling ingredients. Stir to combine all thoroughly.

4. Stuff each apple with the filling.

5. Set apples upright into baking dish. Add enough water around the apples until the bottom surface is covered.

6. Bake apples at 350 degrees for one hour. Serve warm. Devour.

The apple’s exterior color fades during baking, but the flavor is accentuated. Trust me. These apples are delicious on their own or served with vanilla bean ice cream.

One Delightful Life

2 large apples

Baked Apples Filled with Oatmeal, Dates, and Brown Sugar

It's not fall until you've served stuffed baked apples for dessert. Core, stuff, and bake!

15 minPrep Time

1 minCook Time

16 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

  • 2 cored, large Pink Lady apples
  • 4 T unsalted butter
  • Filling:
  • 1/4 c. oatmeal
  • 1/4 c. chopped dates
  • 1/4 c. brown sugar
  • 1/4 c. chopped walnuts

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Wash and core apples but don't remove all of the inside of the apple. Leave enough apple that you don't pierce the bottom of the apple.
  3. Melt butter in a microwavable dish.
  4. Add remaining filling ingredients.
  5. Stir butter and filling ingredients thoroughly. Stuff filling into each apple evenly. (You can add a few extra walnuts or oatmeal, if you desire.)
  6. Place apples in baking dish. Fill dish with enough water to cover the bottom of the dish.
  7. Bake uncovered for 1 hour.
  8. Serve warm.
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Nutrition

Calories

2242 cal

Fat

79 g

Carbs

376 g

Protein

36 g
Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info
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Stuffed Baked Apples

Filed Under: Desserts, Taste Tagged With: apple, apples, autumn, bake, baked, brown sugar, core, dates, dessert, fall, filling, fruit, ice cream, nuts, oatmeal, October, oven, Pink Lady, unsalted butter, walnuts

Easy to Make Baked Apple Slices

November 13, 2016 by Vanessa Leave a Comment

Did you know that apples are a member of the rose family of plants, along with pears, peaches, plums, and cherries?

According to nyapplecountry.com, Americans eat more apples per capita than any other fruit. Why? Perhaps we know that they’re good for us. A medium-sized apple contains about 80 calories. They keep us feeling full, unlike other processed snack foods. Better yet, apples are fat-free, sodium-free, and cholesterol-free!

Clearly, I’m fascinated by the delightful qualities of apples. So much so that I tried my hand at baking apple slices this weekend. Initially, I wanted to make these bite-sized snacks to add to a copycat Panera Fuji Apple Salad (which I may still whip up), but yesterday’s chilly temperatures inspired me to add them to a bowl of warm oatmeal for breakfast. It was delicious!

My Easy to Make Baked Apple Slices make a great grab-and-go snack or a flavorful addition to salads, sandwiches, or even a bowl of ice cream. This recipe produces soft apple slices with crispy edges. I prefer to leave on the apple skin. Unlike other baked apple slices recipes online, I bake mine at a higher temperature for less time. Let me walk you through the simple steps to making apple slices.

After shooting this photo, I ended up adding natural peanut butter to my oatmeal bowl. It was a little thick, but oh so warm and delicious.
After shooting this photo, I ended up adding natural peanut butter to my oatmeal bowl. It was a little thick, but oh so warm and delicious.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. After washing each apple, remove its inside core using a melon baller. If you don’t have one, you can simply slice the apple in half and remove the core with a knife. Carefully use a mandolin slicer on the thin setting to slice each apple. Lay the apple slices on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Sprinkle the apple slices with pumpkin spice.

No need to sprinkle pumpkin spice on the apple slices on both sides.
No need to sprinkle pumpkin spice on the apple slices on both sides. One side is enough.

Bake for 10 minutes. Flip the apple slices using tongs. (They will be soft, but that’s okay. We’re not making dehydrated apples.) Bake for another 10 minutes. Note: Small end pieces of apple may begin to burn so watch them closely in the later minutes of baking. Remove as necessary. Oven temperatures vary and these instructions are meant to produce still-soft apple slices, not hard chips.

file_002

If you love apples as much as I do (ironic because I was once a teacher), then you’ll also enjoy my recipe for Salted Caramel Apple Martini  or Peanut-Butterscotch Apple Nachos. Have a super apple recipe for me to try, tag One Delightful Life on Twitter or add it to the comment section below. 

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Filed Under: Breakfast, Snacks, Taste Tagged With: apple, apple slices, baked apples, cinnamon, easy, fall, fat-free, Fuji, healthy, oatmeal, Panera, pumpkin spice, snack

Hauntingly Awesome Cocktails for Your Halloween Bash

October 24, 2016 by Vanessa Leave a Comment

Once every year I become someone I’m not.

Halloween is my excuse to dress up in costume. I’ve shown up at costume parties as Amy Winehouse, a 20s flapper, zombie prom queen, scarecrow, 80s chick, and queen bee. But you know what? The fang-tastic holiday will remain one of my favorite celebrations dating all the way back to my first clown costume in the kindergarten classroom party. Shout out to mom who set the bar high by sewing or helping me create my costumes from a young age.

Of course, this year’s costume is super secret until Halloween night. We won Best Costumed Couple last year as the beekeeper, queen bear, and baby bee (our dog) so the expectation for our costumes this year is intense.

Since I dress up myself and my house, of course I would dress up my Halloween themed cocktails. What’s great about these drinks is that they are super simple to make for party guests. Some of you are busy this time of year balancing trick or treat night with the kids, classroom Halloween parties, and hey…maybe your own spirited affair just for adults. You don’t have time to prep sangria fruit or brainstorm a punch bowl recipe. No worries! I’ve got you covered.

Boo-rific blood orange cocktail is made even better by adding flavored vodka.
Boo-rific Blood Orange Cocktail is made even better by adding flavored vodka.

Sometimes a holiday inspires my cocktail recipes but other times it’s just the discovery of a flavored water, juice, or soda I haven’t tried yet. Unflavored vodka isn’t sweet and goes well with just about any flavor. Every stocked home bar needs the usual well liquors: vodka, rum, whiskey, gin, and if you’re brave…tequila. My years as a bartender taught me a lesson about what people are willing to drink. Everyone has a liquor they can’t drink anymore and one that serves as their go-to spirit. Be sure to stock them all to appeal to every guest.

Batty Black Cherry Cocktail with Lime
Batty Black Cherry Cocktail with Lime reminds me of a spiked Sonic drink. Yummo! Combine 3 oz. vodka, half a bottle of Sparkling Ice Black Cherry Natural Flavored Water (8 oz), a squeeze of lime over cubed ice. Stir gently and garnish the glass with a lime wedge.

When preparing for your Halloween party guests to arrive, simply line up dozen cocktail glasses on a long table. Station bottled liquors behind them and the mixers (juice, soda, tonic, water) nearby. Introduce theme drinks with a chalkboard menu so they know how to make them and then let them do it. Walk away! Guests don’t mind making their own drinks, which gives you more time to prepare for your costume contest.

Refreshing and not as sweet, Creepy Crisp Apple and Pear Cocktail includes the flavors of fall.
Refreshing and not as sweet, Creepy Crisp Apple and Pear Cocktail includes the flavors of fall. Simply combine 3 oz vodka with about a half a bottle of Fuji Apple Pear Lifewater (10 0z), half a can of Jumex Pear Nectar (6.5 oz) over a cubed ice. Stir gently.

I wish you a freakishly fun Halloween night. May your drink glasses and your trick or treat baskets be full!

Let me know what you think of these cocktail recipes in the comment section below.

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onedelightfullife.com

Boo-rific Blood Orange Cocktail

It's scary how delicious this cocktail tastes and the bubbles are fun too!

10 minPrep Time

10 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

  • 8 oz blood orange soda
  • 3 oz orange vodka
  • squeeze of two orange wedges (optional)
  • garnish with orange slice

Instructions

  1. Fill glass with crushed ice.
  2. Add vodka.
  3. Top with blood orange soda.
  4. Squeeze orange slices into glass.
  5. Stir slowly.
  6. Garnish with an orange slice.
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Filed Under: Cocktails, Drinks, Taste Tagged With: apple, apple crisp, autumn, awesome, bash, black cherry, blood orange, cocktails, costume, drinks, fall, fuji apple, Halloween, happy hour, hauntingly, party, pear, pear nectar, soda, spirits, themed cocktails, trick or treat, vodka

Spinach Fruit Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette Dressing

June 15, 2016 by Vanessa Leave a Comment

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I get tired of catering to my meat-and-potatoes man and I want to lighten up my entreé. While he wouldn’t be caught dead eating this fruit loaded salad, it’s one of my indulgences. It makes a layered lunch or dinner salad that tastes tangy, sweet, and finishes with a hearty bacon flavor. And well, Spinach Fruit Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette Dressing  just looks gorgeous. Yay for pretty food!

Note: You could use a store-bought raspberry vinaigrette, but the recipe is simple if you have the time to whisk it up.

spinach-fruit-salad-with-raspberry-vinaigrette-dressing

To make the salad base, simply layer or group the following ingredients in a large bowl. Drizzle with Raspberry Vinaigrette Dressing recipe below.

Ingredients:

  • spinach leaves
  • blueberries
  • sliced strawberries
  • sliced kiwi
  • sliced Gala apple
  • shredded cheddar cheese (feta or goat cheese could be substituted)
  • crumbled hickory bacon
  • slivered almonds (toasted walnut could be substituted)
  • Raspberry Vinaigrette Dressing

 

onedelightfullife.com

Serves 2 cups

Raspberry Vinaigrette Dressing

A light and tangy dressing, it adds a fruit forward flavor to any salad.

5 minPrep Time

5 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup raspberries
  • 3/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1 T honey
  • 1 T dijon mustard
  • pinch of black pepper
  • pinch of salt
  • pinch of black poppy seeds (optional)

Instructions

  1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk until well blended.
  2. Refrigerate in a jar for one hour prior to serving, if time allows.
  3. Shake jar before serving.

Notes

This dressing will last one week in a jar in your refrigerator.

7.8.1.2
6
https://onedelightfullife.com/spinach-fruit-salad-with-raspberry-vinaigrette-dressing/
onedelightfullife.com

Nutrition

Calories

50 cal

Carbs

13 g
Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info
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spinach-fruit-salad-with-raspberry-vinaigrette-dressing

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Filed Under: Lunch, Salads Tagged With: almonds, apple, bacon, blueberries, cheddar cheese, dressing, fruit, Gala, kiwi, raspberry, raspberry vinaigrette dressing, salad, salad dressing, spinach, spinach fruit salad, spinach salad, strawberries

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Hello! I'm Vanessa. Welcome to One Delightful Life, a blog created to add more delight to your life with delicious recipes, travel destinations, and lifestyle improvement ideas. Thanks for exploring my blog!

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