Orange Julius

When I think of orange juliuses I think back to the days when my husband and I were first married. We were still in college and as poor as can be, but madly in love with each other and always searching for any way possible to spend time together without spending much money. A typical date night for us would be a bag of microwave popcorn, a ferocious game of Scrabble (we're both pretty competitive), and orange juliuses as a special treat.

Somehow over the years (almost 16 now) we have found new traditions and ideas for date nights (plus a few kids) that have put our Scrabble game on the top shelf. It had been several years since I'd had an orange julius when I stumbled across this recipe and got excited to try it again. The kids thought I was the coolest mom ever for letting them have this with their dinner and I couldn't help but smile at all the fun memories drinking it brought back for me. Scrabble anyone?

Click here for printable recipe.

The ingredients:

1 can (6-oz.) frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed (3/4 cup)

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup nonfat dry milk powder (**see note below about using regular milk instead)

2 tsp. vanilla extract

3/4 cup cold water

10-12 ice cubes (I like it icier so I used 20)

Orange slices and mint (optional garnishments)

In a blender, combine the first five ingredients and process at high speed. Add ice cubes, a few at at a time, blending until slushy. Garnish with orange slices and mint if desired. Serve immediately. Makes 4 servings.

**if desired you could eliminate the powdered milk and water, and just add 3/4 cup milk or vanilla yogurt instead**

Enjoy!