Caribbean Fruit Punch (non-carbonated)

Okay, easiest punch recipe! And so good! We brought this drink to dinner with Nate's brother and his wife. They don't like carbonation and I swear every punch recipe has carbonation in it. I found this idea over at Macaroni and Cheesecake, and it did not disappoint! We'll definitely be making it again. Sorry, no picture this time, but I'll take one next time I make it.

Ingredients:
64 oz. pineapple orange juice, chilled (we used V8 splash pineapple orange)
1/3 - 1/2 bottle of Rose's grenadine

Preparation:
In a pitcher add the juice and the grenadine. Start conservatively with the grenadine and add to taste. That's it!

Strawberry Lime Slush

I needed a dessert for Christmas Eve dinner. I wanted something festive and somewhat lite, this seemed to fit the bill. Everyone enjoyed it too, which is a bonus! I saw the idea over at Hey Mom! What's For Dinner?

Ingredients:
1 can frozen limeade concentrate, thawed
2 cups sugar
8 cups water
20 oz. unsweetened frozen strawberries, thawed
sprite zero

Preparation:
Mix thawed limeade, sugar and water together in a large bowl. Stir well until sugar is all dissolved. Add the strawberries and 1-2 cups limeade mixture to a food processor and blend until smooth. Depending on the side of your food processor you may need to do this in two batches. Add the pureed strawberries to the limeade mixture and stir so that everything is well combined and smooth. Put in the freezer overnight. An hour or so before serving take out the frozen mixture and let it thaw a bit. To serve scoop out some of the slush and pour some sprite zero over the top. Serve with a spoon and enjoy!

Creamy Crock Pot Hot Chocolate

I made this recipe as part of our Family Home Evening last night. It's become a tradition when we're with Nate's family at the holidays that Nate and I make a hot chocolate buffet. I branched out and tried this new recipe last night and it was a hit with everyone. Now I don't like hot chocolate but this made the kitchen smell divine while it cooked! We'll definitely be making this again. I saw the idea here. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
6 cups milk
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups of chocolate chips (we used milk chocolate chips, they're Nate's favorite)

Preparation:
Combine all the ingredients in the crock pot and stir. Place the lid on and cook on low for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally. You want it to cook until the mixture is nice and hot and all the chocolate chips are melted. Stir before serving and top with your favorite hot chocolate toppings!

Halloween Slush Punch

I saw this punch idea over at Six Sisters' Stuff and thought it would be a perfect Halloween punch. The citrus flavor is nice and refreshing and stirring the sherbet in the cups gives it a great slushy consistency. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 (12 oz.) can orange juice concentrate, thawed
1 (2 liter) bottle sprite zero, chilled
1 (46 oz.) can pineapple juice, chilled
1 quart orange sherbet

Preparation:
In a large punch bowl, combine orange juice concentrate, soda and pineapple juice. Top with scoops of sherbet and serve with spoons. Stir in sherbet to make it nice and slushy.

Ruby Lemonade Punch

Anything having to do with lemonade reminds me of picnics and summertime. Since Nate was smoking a pork shoulder outside most of the day I decided to round out the barbecue with some fun summery punch. I saw this idea over at Meals with the Muirs. It has a great color and has a bit of tartness to it which I loved. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 (12 oz.) can frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
8 cups cranberry juice cocktail
4 cups (1 liter) sprite (I used diet sprite)
lemon slices for garnish, optional

Preparation:
Pour everything into your punch bowl and gently stir. Serve over ice.

Orange Lime Lemonade

I needed something fun and tropical while we are in the state of permafrost! When was the last time it was above freezing here? I made this drink with dinner tonight and it was nice and citrus-y and reminded me of summer. I saw the idea over at Recipe Shoebox and it was a fun treat.

Ingredients:
3 limes
3 lemons
3 oranges
3 - 4 cups water
1 - 1 1/2 cups sugar

Preparation:
Juice all the fruit. Add sugar and water and stir well to dissolve sugar. I like my lemonade nice and tart, Nate prefers a bit more sugar so just add however much you like. Enjoy!

2 Ingredient Punch

Okay, seriously, this could not be easier. This is a perfect go-to drink when you want something easy and tasty. You also make it any flavor you like.

Ingredients:
1 can frozen concentrate, any flavor you like (our two favorites are the Hawaiian's Own brand in strawberry guava and passion lemonade)
1 (2 liter) bottle of lemon-lime soda, chilled (regular or diet, your preference)

Preparation:
Empty frozen concentrate into a pitcher and mash it up a bit. Then slowly add the lemon-lime soda, stirring gently to combine. Serve immediately and enjoy!

This is the passion lemonade flavor, so good!

Lime Rickey

This is by far my favorite fun drink. We don't drink a lot of pop in our house, so making drinks like these is reserved for special occasions. Last night we hosted a game night so I busted out the lime rickeys! There are several different ways to mix these, this is the way that Nate and I make them.

Ingredients:
limes
grape juice
diet 7up
ice

Preparation:
Add some ice to the glass. Take a lime wedge and squeeze it into the bottom of your glass. Then throw the wedge into the glass. Pour in some grape juice, you want to fill about 1/8 to 1/6 of the glass with grape juice. Fill the rest of the glass with diet 7up and enjoy! Feel free to play around with the ratios of juice to pop, make it the way you like it.

Sorry, I was out of ice for this photo.

Homemade Slurpees

I saw these over at Taste and Tell and knew we had to try them! Such a fun hot weather treat and I like that you can make them any flavor you want!

Ingredients:
makes 2 slurpees
2 cups ice
about 1 cup carbonated beverage (I used sprite)
1 Tbsp. pre-sweetened Kool-Aid*

Preparation:
Put the ice in a blender. Add enough carbonated beverage to just make the ice float. Add in the pre-sweetened Kool-Aid. Blend until slushy. Serve at once.

*all I had was unsweetened Kool-Aid so I just mixed the flavor packet and 1 cup sugar, and then added a Tbsp. of that

Watermelon Smoothie

Nate's favorite fruit is watermelon. I am always trying to get him to eat more fruits and vegetables, so when I saw this recipe I knew we had to try it. I saw this idea over at Recipe Shoebox.

Ingredients:
3 cups cubed seedless watermelon
1 cup crushed ice
1 cup watermelon, raspberry, or lime sherbet
4 tsp. lime juice

Preparation:
In a blender, combine the watermelon, ice, sherbet, and lime juice; cover and process for 30 seconds or until smooth. Stir if necessary. Pour into chilled glasses. Serve immediately. Serves 4.

Strawberry Lime Punch

I am not a huge dessert fan as everyone knows. I am however a big fan of yummy drinks. Instead of serving dessert with our Easter dinner we had this.

Ingredients:
10 oz. frozen sliced strawberries, thawed
1 can frozen limeade concentrate
2 L diet lemon-lime soda (doesn't have to be diet)

Preparation:
Mix limeade concentrate and soda. Puree strawberries in a blender. Strain the seeds out and then combine the pureed strawberries with the soda mixture.


Okay, so I haven't unpacked my one and only pitcher, so I had to make it in a big mixing bowl.

Strawberry Spritzer

This was delicious!  I took dinner over to my in-laws on Sunday and I served this drink.  It was gone in minutes, I wish I would have doubled this recipe.  I got the recipe from Taste of Home.

Ingredients:

2 L of lemon-lime soda

1 (12 oz.) can of pink lemonade concentrate, thawed

10 oz. frozen sweetened strawberries, thawed

 

Preparation:

Place the strawberries in a blender; cover and process until pureed. Pour into a pitcher; stir in the soda and lemonade concentrate. Serve immediately.   Makes 8 servings.

I forgot to take a picture, so this photos is from Taste of Home.

White Grape Punch

Amanda and I decided to do a hot chocolate party as our gift to the Smith Family this Christmas. It turned out really well! Everyone seemed to have a really good time. In addition to the varieties of hot chocolate we also served this white grape punch. The idea came from Kuki's Kookbook. So easy, and I thought it tasted pretty good.

Ingredients:
1 bottle white grape juice
1 (2 L) bottle sprite

Preparation:
Combine juice and sprite in a large punch bowl. Add ice and garnish of your choice.

Brazilian Lemonade

Oh my gosh, it tastes just like Tucano's! We love it, but I only make it on special occasions because of the sugar content. Also, it doesn't do well left over. Drink it as soon as you make it! This recipe is from Our Best Bites.

Ingredients:
4 juicy limes (try and find the ones with thin, smooth skins. they’re the juiciest and the thin skin cuts down on the chance of your drink being bitter)
1 cup sugar
6 cups cold water
6 Tbsp. sweetened condensed milk

Preparation:
Mix cold water and sugar very well and chill until ready to use. This step can be done ahead of time.
Wash limes thoroughly. Cut the ends off the limes and then cut each lime into 8ths.
Place ½ of the limes in your blender, skins and all.
Add ½ of the sugar water, place the lid on your blender, and pulse 5 times. Place a fine-mesh strainer over a pitcher (the one you’ll serve the lemonade in) and pour the blended mixture through the strainer and into the pitcher. Dump the pulp and stuff in the strainer into the trash. Repeat with remaining limes and sugar water. Add sweetened condensed milk. Serve immediately over lots of ice. Serves 4.