Wasting Away in Margaritaville

I gave up wine for the month of May.  I'm more than halfway through the month with only 10 more days to go...surely I can make it.  

Why give up wine, you ask?  I have my friends, the Coons, to blame for this one.  Well, not really but let's blame them anyway.  Rather than committing to one monster New Year's Resolution they have created the mini-resolutions.  I'm a big fan of minis, halves, etc...so I took to this quickly.  Basically you make a different resolution each month for the year.  

I only started in April since that's when I learned about this Coon sponsored trend, but I successfully gave up Raman Noodles in April (yes, I'm an addict...weird, I know) and am well on my way to having a wine-free May.  It will even win my friend, Brett $50...who took odds on me making it in the bet.

There are no shortage of funny comments when you give up wine for the month....my favorites being:

"You are giving up drinking?!?!" - CL

"She'll NEVER make it!" - SB

"I do not support this1" - AH

OK people, I said wine...not wine, beer, vodka, tequila, rum, gin...shall I go on?  I get that I am quite a fan of wine, but I'm an equal opportunity drinker for sure....spreading my time between vodka, beer, and particularly tequila lately.  

Last summer I decided to perfect the homemade Skinny Margarita and I pretty much nailed it out of the gate.  So in my month of May sans wine, I have taken to plenty of Skinny aka Fresh Lime Margaritas.  Many of you have tried them and asked for the recipe, so I thought I'd share it with the world (ha) today.  They are super easy and delicious!  Even my mom likes them and she's not "what I like to call a drinker."

Fresh Lime Margaleighta (ha - just came up with that on the spot)

Serves 1. (Double it for the perfect fit in a 20 oz styro and and you'll be sipping on a yummy marg for hours - just saying)

• 2 oz fresh lime juice – I can typically get an ounce out of 1 whole large lime if I use an electric juicer.  If I do it by hand, then it takes about 1.5-2 limes per ounce. Make sure you roll the lime around on your cutting board before cutting and squeexing, so you get the most juice out of each lime.
  
• 1.5 oz tequila blanco….I like Republic Organic Plata (it’s shaped like the state of Texas)
  
• ½ oz premium orange liqueur….I like Paula’s Texas Orange, but you can use Cointreau or any orange liqueur.
  
• 1 – 2 packets of Equal per serving depending on desired sweetness.  Usually one will do it, but if you like it a little sweeter then add a little more. I use equal instead of agave nectar.  If you choose to use
  agave or simple syrup then use 1 oz.  I found that equal does the same thing and is much easier

• Optional - splash or two of Fresca if it’s too tart and you want to make the drink last a little longer without getting totally smashed...unless that's your goal.

• Optional, a squeeze or two of a fresh orange….just half a small orange and then use the other half to slice as a garnish.

Combine all ingredients in an ice-filled cocktail shaker.  Shake vigorously and pour into salted (if preferred) glasses.

Salud!