D.I.Y. Slushies!

Slushies add up in cost if you go out for them so do them at home instead!

Koolaid Slushies: makes 4

1 cup sugar
1 koolaid packet
26 ice cubes, approx.
water

Add koolaid powder from one packet, and one cup of sugar to a 2 or 4 cup measuring cup. Add water to the mixture until it reaches the 2 cup line (so it won't be 2 cups of water plus the ingredients, it all adds up to 2 cups). Stir well!

Then, pour 1/2 the mixture into your blender (1 cup). And add approximately 13 ice cubes from a regular ice cube tray. Blend, I use pulse mode, and I had to shake the blender a bit at the end. Pour into 2 cups, then repeat the blender process. If your blender is large you may be able to do it all at once.

I plan to try it with lemon juice and koolaid, to make a frozen strawberry lemonade! Haven't yet, so I'll experiment a bit with it. We did black cherry flavor the other day which is so good!

Fruit Smoothie

I made this up last night while trying to figure out a way to use a few of the fruits we had on hand. The kiddos really enjoyed the end result...hopefully you will too!

3 ripe bananas, frozen
1 cup frozen berries
1 can pears
1/2 cup milk

Place all the ingredients in a blender. Blend on high until mixed well. More milk may be added to obtain desired thickness.

Gummi Beary Juice (for July)

My niece got this recipe from the Gummi Bears cartoon.  They altered it a little, but it gives you power!

1 package of red berries
1/2 package of blue berries
4 T orange juice concentrate
1 can grape juice concentrate
1 can water (add more if you need to dilute it more)

According to the Gummi bears you put it all together and stir slowly to the right, stir slowly to the left and BANG!  (But we put it all in a blender and blend until it's smooth.)  Enjoy!

Berry Punch

This is my favorite frozen drink in the summer. It needs two days for the mixture to freeze, but well worth the advance preparation!

In a large pitcher, mix together 2 cups sugar and 8 cups water. Add 1 can raspberry lemonade concentrate and add the amount of water it says to add (usually around 3 cans). Mix well. Pour into quart freezer bags and freeze at least 24 hours.

To serve, place in large punch bowl, chunk with a fork, and add sprite or ginger ale. Mix until slushy consistency. Add 1 pint fresh raspberries.

*In the winter, I use regular lemonade concentrate and instead of sprite or ginger ale, I use the cranberry splash Sierra Mist and it is delicious!

Green Drink

This is my mother-in-law's tried and true trick that she used to get her kids to eat some greens. She said to put celery in, but I thought it made the texture weird, so I leave it out. I think it is pretty good, and Jeanette(who refuses to eat vegetables) doesn't exactly guzzle it, but she drinks it.

Place in the blender:
a handful of spinach
a sprig of parsley
a cup of pineapple juice
Blend until very smooth (you don't want them to detect any bits or chunks!).

Caramel Apple Cider

This is the other drink I considered bringing to the Recipe Swap. I opted for the cool beverage because I am nursing/hormonal and get hot often. :) Then the night of the swap a huge storm blew in and it was freezing. Guess I chose the wrong drink! Anyway, this recipe tastes amazing, even though the ingredients are simple. Served with a dollop of whipped cream, it would be like one of those fancy shmancy drinks they charge $6 for. Really.

INDIVIDUAL SERVING:
1 1/2 cups apple cider
1 1/2 tablespoons caramel ice cream topping
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

PARTY SIZE:
1 gallon apple cider
1 cup caramel ice cream topping
5 teaspoons vanilla

Stir ingredients together and heat through.

Christmas Punch

Ingredients:

2 cups water
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 cinnamon sticks
3 cups cranberry juice
2 1/2 cups orange juice
1 cup lemon juice
2 liters 7-Up soda
ice cubes (optional)

Directions:

Chill fruit juices and 7-Up. Simmer water, sugar and cinnamon sticks together for 10 minutes. Set aside for several hours to allow the mixture to develop the cinnamon spiced flavor. Prior to serving time, remove the cinnamon sticks from the sugar syrup. In a large punch bowl, combine the sugar syrup, cranberry juice, orange juice, and lemon juice. Slowly pour in the 7-Up. Add ice-cubes if desired.

If I made this again, I would use less cinnamon somehow (either use three sticks, let it steep for less time or add more juice). I thought the cinnamon was just a bit too strong.

Orange Julius

Many of you probably have this recipe but in case you don't, or you forgot how yummy and refreshing it is, here you go. These are great on a hot day. It is also fun to experiment with different kinds of juice.

6 oz. (1/2 of a can) frozen orange juice concentrate
1 c. milk
1 c. water
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
8-10 ice cubes

Combine all ingredients except the ice cubes in the blender. Add the ice cubes on by one and blend until smooth. Serves about 4.

Dulce De Leche Hot Cocoa

Some of you have this recipe, but I had to share it with those that don't. It's so rich and yummy! And perfect for the horrible winter weather. (Although the snow is finally starting to melt here! YAY!) I'll take a picture next time I make it and add it to the post so it looks pretty . . .

¼ cup unsweetened cocoa
4 cups milk
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 t. vanilla
Aerosol whipped cream
Caramel ice cream topping

In medium saucepan, combine cocoa and ½ cup of the milk; beat with wire whisk until smooth. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat.

Stir in remaining 3½ cups milk, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla. Return to medium heat; continue cooking and stirring until mixture is thoroughly heated.

Pour into mugs and top with whipped cream. Drizzle caramel topping over each and serve immediately. (4 servings)

Orange Almond Drink

This is a great holiday drink that is somewhat similar to wassle, but not as heavy tasting.

Heat together 3 C sugar and 4 C water
Then add:

1 12 oz. frozen orange juice undiluted
1 1/2 C lemon juice
1 TBLS almond extract flavoring
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp all spice
1/4 tsp cinnamon
4 qts. water

Heat all until hot, but DO NOT boil (boiling will change the taste)