Autumn Punch

3 quarts (12 cups) milk (1 quart = 4 cups) 

2 quarts (8 cups) vanilla ice cream slightly thawed 

2 -12 oz cans frozen apple juice, thawed (do not add water)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Mix the cinnamon and nutmeg in 1/4 cup of liquid before adding to the rest of the drink - so there won’t be any lumps of spices.  Mix everything together.  Serve frothily

Serves 20-25

This was served at our HOA Christmas brunch the first part of December.  When I first saw that a cream colored beverage was being served, I thought it was eggnog.  It was a pleasant surprise to taste something different than eggnog.  

Homemade Fruit Smoothies

I got this recipe off of webpage Living on a Dime (Click here for the link). During the summer I make lots of smoothies, and every time I make them, they are different. When I get out the blender to make them up, I make several batches, put them together in a gallon pitcher, and then pour what we don't drink in 5 1/2 oz containers with lids that I get at Smart and Final. Then I put them in the freezer to be taken out later. Then later, when someone gets a smoothie from the freezer, they pop it in the microwave for 25-20 seconds to defrost it a little. When I make smoothies, I usually use orange juice or pineapple juice as the liquid along with the fruits and ice cubes or anything else I decide to put into my smoothies.

Grape Juice Slushies

My neighbor brought over this big bowl of Concord Grapes that he grew in his yard.  

Yippie! I love grape juice.  I love grape juice slush.  

I wonder if having Welchade's grape juice in my thermos everyday for lunch when I was a kid has anything to do with that.  

So this is how to make grape juice slushies:

Wash and stem grapes.  

Put them in a big pot and cover them with water. 

Put on the stove and boil for about 1 hour.  

Strain pulp with sieve  

Add sugar to taste.  I add about 1 cup of sugar per gallon of juice.

Put juice in Smart and Final 5 1/2 oz containers.

Put containers in the freezer.

When ready to eat, put frozen juice cup in the microwave for about 25 seconds to make it slushie.

Enjoy!  

Alligator Drink

1 can limeade concentrate

½ cup water

½ cup apple juice

1 large avocado peeled and cubed

8 large ice cubes

Blend in blender until smooth.

Serve immediately as it’s best when ice cold

One of Rachel’s friends gave us this recipe when he saw that we had a lime tree and our neighbor had an avocado tree. There is nothing like fresh ingredients to make this drink.

This is my modified version of the recipe using fresh squeezed lime juice.

Juice about 6 limes (enough to make ¾ cup of fresh lime juice)

One large avocado peeled and cubed

3/4 cup apple juice

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups water

Enough ice cubes to fill up a 5 cup blender.

Blend in blender until smooth

Serve immediately

You can take the leftovers in put in Smart and Final 5 ½ oz container with lid and freeze until ready to eat. Just before eating, slightly defrost in microwave for about 30 seconds until slushy.

Makes 5 cups

Bubblegum Soda!

Yep, you read the title right...Bubblegum Soda.

Lisa has been in the MTC (Missionary Training Center) for the past 5 weeks where she is learning the Spanish language and preparing to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We love getting her letters while she is there in the MTC and enjoy hearing her stories of being with the 19 year old elders.

In her email home yesterday, she wrote about how to make bubblegum soda. When I read the "recipe" I knew I had to post it on my recipe blog. Below is a cut and paste from her email:

the elders learned how to make a bubblegum flavored drink from the soda machines in the cafeteria: one part fresca, one part orange-strawberry-banana juice and a shot of rootbeer. so crazy. but it really does taste like bubblegum.

Thank you, Lisa, for the "recipe".

Limeade

One of the blessings of living in Southern California is the abundance of citrus trees that are around. This is our neighbor's lime tree that hangs over our fence. My son is getting ready to pick a few limes.

We had quite the harvest that day.

We have an electric Black & Decker Handy Juicer that makes the juicing fun and easy.

After we are done squeezing the juice, I put the juice into little 5 1/2 oz or 3 1/2 oz containers that I get at Smart and Final. Then I put the containers in the freezer to use for a future time when a need a little lime juice for my summer fruit, my homemade salsa, or in other recipes. (I wrote in permeant marker on the top of the container the name of the juice and the date)

My friend gave us a big box of their citrus fruit the other day. By the time I was done juicing what was in the box, I had 1 gallon of fresh juice. I went searching for another way to store all my citrus juice. I ran across this recipe webpage for engineers.

www.cookingforengineers.com

Having a brother and a couple of brother-in-laws who are engineers, I found this site pretty funny. Click here for their recipe for limeade.

Below is my simplified version of their recipe:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups water

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup lime juice (squeezed from limes)

Lime juice consecrate:

Make a simple syrup by heating 1-1/2 cup water and 1-1/2 cup granulated sugar. Stir until the sugar is fully dissolved and the mixture has turned clear. Remove from heat. Add 1 cup of lime juice to the simple syrup.

Now you have limeade concentrate. You can refrigerate this or even freeze it into ice cube trays or containers for a cup of instant limeade whenever you want. I put some of the the concentrate in 2 cup containers for larger servings and the rest in 5 1/2 oz containers for single servings. On top of the lids, I wrote with a marker: 1 part juice, 2 part water

Limeade:

To convert the limeade concentrate into limeade, simply add two cups of water for each cup of concentrate. (Another way to think of it is: one part concentrate to two parts water) If you desire a little less tartness and sweetness, just add an addition half cup of water to the mixture.

Here are some more recipes for lime drinks:

Sparkling Limeade

1/2 cups granulated sugar or more, to taste
1 1/2 cups freshly-squeezed lime juice
1 quart sparkling water

Beginning with the 1/2 cup sugar, add to the lime juice and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add the sparkling water, stir and taste for sweetness; add more sugar if needed. Pour over ice to serve.

Strawberry Limeade

1/2 cup lime juice
2 cups cold water
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 (10 ounce) package frozen strawberries, thawed
5 ice cubes

Put all ingredients except 5 ice cubes in blender container; cover and run at high speed until smooth.

Meanwhile, while blender is running, add ice cubes one at a time.

Makes 6 servings.

Hot Punch

2 quarts orange juice
2 quarts apple juice
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 cinnamon sticks and a little bunch of cloves and allspice in a cheese cloth.

Simmer all together for a hour or two.

French Chocolate

3 *unsweetened baking chocolate squares.  
1/2 cup water

Mix together in pot and simmer 3 minutes while stirring.

Add:
1 cup sugar. Cook 3 minutes and cool

Whip 1 cup whipping cream that's been sweeten with a little powdered sugar and 1 tsp vanilla

Fold two mixtures together.

Use about 1 TBS + chocolate mixture per cup of hot milk. Chocolate mixture can be frozen.

This is my favorite hot chocolate recipe . When my mom's friends gave her a baby shower when she was pregnant with my youngest brother, they served this drink. (He was born in November). When it's cold outside, this is the drink to serve. I always make at least one batch of this during the Christmas holiday season.

(If you don't have unsweetened baking chocolate squares you  can do this for a substitution.  I used butter instead of shortening)

Grapefruit Appetizer

2 cups water
2 cups sugar
Boil long enough to dissolve sugar

4 cans (15 oz size) grapefruit
Blend in blender, including juice, to break up pieces.

1 cup maraschino cherries, chopped small (or blended).  Use some cherry juice, but not much

Juice of 1 large lemon (or lime)

Mix all together and freeze in 9 x 13 pan.

Serve a scoopful of frozen mixture in a glass of 7 Up.
I serve the slush with diet soda, because the slush already has a lot of sugar in it. 

Keeps a long time.  Serves a very large group.

The Kroger brand makes "Ruby Red Grapefruit sections in light syrup" in the 15 oz size. I found them at Ralphs grocery store.  I also found Del Monte brand 15 oz cans at Walmart.   I used my mini food processor to cup the cherries very small.  Since we have a lime tree, I have also used the lime juice instead of the lemon juice.  I also buy the maraschino cherries from Smart and Final.  They are cheaper there.

This is a recipe from my childhood, so that means the recipe is over 40 years old. Yikes! I copied the recipe exactly how it was 40 years ago.  I have to say that this is a very good slush appetizer. I don't know why I don't make it more often. As a kid I used to love to eat the slush without the soda.

Lime Punch

Cook until clear:

2 cups sugar
3 cups water

Add:
1 - 3 oz lime jello (sm pkg,-doubled it’s 3/4 cup)
2 cups hot water
1 large can pineapple juice (46oz)
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 bottle (1 oz size) almond extract (1Tbs)

Stir well. Freeze. Set out one hour before serving. Add 2 quarts ginger ale or 7-up.

I got this recipe from Francis Laidlaw. It is very good! We served this at Janelle's wedding reception. Everyone like it so much, we ran out. Good thing we also served ice water with lemon slices!

Orange Julius

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cups water
1 tsp vanilla
1 6 oz can frozen orange juice concentrate
1 tray of ice cubes

Mix in blender

I got this recipe from my cousin, Susan Harris, many years ago when I was in college. I like to make several batches at a time by using a Costco 16 oz can of frozen orange juice concentrate. Then I freeze the extra drinks in 5 1/2 oz cups with lids from Smart and Final. Then when I want a Orange Julius, I'll defrost it slightly to a slush in by putting it in the microwave for 20 to 45 seconds. (depending on the strength of you microwave.)