I have a confession to make. Every Thursday night I toss aside any work or blog obligations, prep my favorite drink, make my lazy-girl snack, and bring over a few masks and hunker down on my couch. Okay, so maybe not such a huge confession but with the amount of hustling that happens behind the scenes here I can at times feel guilty for treating myself to a Queen of the South on USA Network.
I was first drawn to the series because of its Latina heroine and the healthy dose of spoken Spanish throughout. But my favorite thing about the show is how there’s an underlying message coming from the heroine, Teresa Mendoza – she chooses to never play the victim and refuses to let her gender tell her what she can and can’t do. The action-packed crime drama makes for a good binge watching too!
See the trailer for yourself!
Now if you haven’t started watching, stop what you’re doing and let’s make that a thing of the past. You won’t be able to stop at one episode so let’s get you situated with my no-fail (extremely easy) recipes for the binge-watching Queen of the South.
Lemonade-Pom Spritzer
This sweet mocktail is perfect for those that want to unwind without a glass of wine. But, it’s also great if you prefer something with a kick, simply add in your preferred amount of vodka and voila! This recipe makes about 8-12 servings.
You'll Need
1 8oz. bottle of pomegranate juice
1 can of frozen lemonade concentrate
1 two liter bottle of gingerale (you can substitute seltzer too)
1 lemon for garnishing
In one large pitcher, pour in the pomegranate juice. Add in the lemonade concentrate. Next pour in half of the gingerale, and mix all of the ingredients. Continue to pour in the remaining gingerale and mix. Serve over ice and garnish with a lemon slice.
Savory Rosemary and Parmesan Popcorn
When it’s too hot to bake my tried and true chickpea recipe I turn to the next (and adequately) healthy lazy-girl snack. Don’t worry, you won’t burn the popcorn but you will find yourself garnishing popcorn from now on.
You'll Need
½ cup of kernels
¼ cup of olive oil
crushed rosemary
1 large garlic clove, smashed
garlic salt (to taste)
black pepper (to taste)
¼ cup of parmesan cheese
In a medium size saucepan, add 1 teaspoon of rosemary and smashed garlic. Add in the olive oil and set to low heat. Add in garlic salt and black pepper to taste – don’t go overboard because you’ll be able to season your popcorn later on too.
After 15 minutes add the kernels. Monitor the kernels and once the popping starts to slow down turn off the heat. Once the last kernel has popped or popping has halted, remove from the saucepan and transfer to a large bowl. Garnish popcorn with a sprinkling of more crushed rosemary, garlic salt, black pepper, and the Parmesan cheese. Mix the contents and enjoy!
If popcorn isn’t enough, then keep the popcorn for dessert and choose from a great selection of frozen Mexican dinners. Easy and quick to cook, it’s a great cuisine to enjoy for a night in front of the TV.
Now that we have the food and drinks covered, it’s time to move onto the masking portion of the night. Lately, my winning combination has been a clay mask followed by a moisturizing one. The key here is making commercials work for you – slather on and wash off when the commercials hit the screen. You’ll finish each episode with gorgeous skin and ammo to take on the next day.
There you have my no-fail recipe for binge watching or simply unwinding with my favorite on-screen hustler. And if you end up falling asleep on the couch… I won’t judge you. Just don’t spoil any episodes and we’re good.
Watch USA Network’s Queen of the South, every Thursday at 10/9 central.
