Ice Cream Happy Hour Review, Giveaway, and a Recipe

Eggnog with Brandy and Rum

The holiday entertainment season is upon us, which means lots of excuses for drinking and desserts. What better way to impress your guests at the end of a dinner party or holiday festivity than with boozy ice cream.

Read more »

Snickers Caramel Shake

I was in the mood for a sweet treat the other day.  Sadly there were no cakes and cookies on hand. (I hate it when that happens!)  But we did have a little ice cream in the freezer, so this is what I decided to make.  Hope you enjoy!

Read more »

Orange Cream Shakes

It's super hot and humid here!  Lucky for me, I'm an indoor girl! hehe. But I still like to eat my cool summer snacks!  And I've had a super craving for ice cream lately.  Maybe it's because the ice cream man drives by our house every day!

This week I'm sharing a wonderfully yummy recipe that came to me via my lovely bloggy friend Chaya of Chaya's Comfy Cook Blog. Seriously, I made this almost immediately after I saw it!

If you love Orange Dreamsicles, Push-ups or anything like that, you're sure to love these Orange Cream Shakes!

Recipe for Orange Cream Shakes:

Ingredients:

4 cups vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt
2 cups orange juice
4 tablespoons milk
6 tablespoons sugar or agave
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions:  Place all ingredients in blender.  Blend until smooth.

I'm linking up at these parties.

Lime Green Punch

I went to a baby shower for my niece a few weeks ago, and I thought this punch was just the cutest!  It has to be the first time I've ever used the word cute to describe a drink! 

And I really wish I had come up with this idea to throw the ducks in there, but alas! I did not! Oh well.  But at least I can credit for taking the picture!

And to top off this cuteness, the punch was also quite tasty!  I have to admit, when it comes to punch and other fruity drinks, I'm quite picky.  I either like it, or I hate it.  But this was really yummy, and it was so simple tasting that I think anyone would love it.  And I learned that's also quite simple to make with only two ingredients! Yay!

Recipe for Lime Punch:

Ingredients:
1/2 gallon lime sherbet
1 (2 liter) Sprite or 7-up

Directions:  Spoon out sherbet into large punch bowl and pour sprite over it.  Mix and serve immediately.  Chill additional punch in the refrigerator or freezer.

Tips:  While browsing different punch recipes, I saw different variations where they used a gallon of sherbet to one bottle of Sprite and even 2 bottles of Sprite to the half gallon  of sherbet.  So I'd suggest doing a trial run of this so you can play with and see how you like it best before serving it at a party.

Add Ins:  Cooks.com has lots of versions of this where they add in everything from frozen limeade and pineapple juice to vodka.  I also love the look of Paula Deen's recipe, if you're looking for something a little more "adult" yet non-alcholic.

I'm linking up at these parties.

Instant Yogurt Smoothies

I've been drinking Carnation Instant Breakfast drinks for almost 15 years now.  It was always such a perfectly delicious and quick snack to drink on the way to work or school.  Usually I drink the milk chocolate, but I actually love all the flavors. 

Over the past year I've also developed a love for Yoplait's Yoplus Yogurt.  Strawberry is my favorite flavor, but I also enjoy the raspberry and the strawberry banana.   So I decided to combine these two breakfast treats into one quick and easy smoothie.  The result was sweet and delicious!

If you have a fruity treat to share with us, please send it in to me for Sweet Thursday by August 25.

Recipe for Yogurt Smoothie:

Ingredients:
1 4oz yogurt
3/4 cup milk
1 envelope Carnation Instant Breakfast mix (I used vanilla flavored.)

Directions: Blend together your milk and yogurt. Then add drink mix and blend to smooth. Makes one medium size smoothie. For an extra fruity, extra thick smoothie, add 1 to 2 oz.of fruit.

*Tip: This would also be a great smoothie to make with Whey Protein Powder or other powered drink mixes you may have on hand.

I'm linking up to these fabulous parties!

-Jerri

Chocolate Shake with a Healthy Twist

Last year I saw a few different blogs posting green shakes---all of which were fruit flavored shakes.  So I decided to be a little different and make a chocolate flavored one!  (The look on hubby's face while I was making this was priceless!) Although everyone said that you wouldn't be able to taste the spinach, I was still a little skeptical, but I tried it, and they were right! No spinach taste!

I love these shakes because it gives you a chance to get more vegetables in to your diet without really doing anything extra special.  I must confess, we don't eat nearly enough vegetables at our house, so every little bit helps!  I definitely recommend this idea to all the parents of kids who don't want to eat their greens.  This is a great way to sneak veggies and some extra milk into their diet while also giving them a treat they'll love!

Giveaway Sneakpeak -  Over the weekend we made milkshakes with my new Cuisinart Hand Blender!  Come by later this week to win one of your own! 

Recipe for Green Chocolate Shake:

Ingredients:

2-3 scoops ice cream

8-10 oz. milk

chocolate syrup (I just pour some in.)

spinach leaves (I just threw some in...I'd say 10 leaves)

Directions:  Place milk and spinach leaves in blender. Blend well.  Add ice cream and blend.  Add chocolate syrup, and blend. Makes one shake.

Tips & Suggestions: Add fruit and ice and you've got a tasty smoothie.  (I recommend bananas or strawberries!)

-Jerri

-----------------------------------

I'm posting a link to this post on the following sites:
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday is hosted by Blessed With Grace.
Homemaker Mondays is hosted by 11th Heaven’s Homemade Haven.
Tasty Tuesday is hosted by Balancing Beauty & Bedlam.
Works for Me Wednesday is hosted by We Are THAT Family
Tip Me Tuesday is hosted by Tip Junkie
Tackle it Tuesday is hosted by 5 Minutes for Mom
Sharing Ideas Wednesday is hosted by The Trendy Treehouse
Friday Food is hosted by Mom Trends
Friday Foodie is hosted by Designs by Gollum
Finer Things Friday is hosted by Amy's Finer Things
I'm Lovin It Fridays is hosted by Tidy Mom
DIY Day at A Soft Place to Land
Show off Your Stuff Thursday is hosted by Fireflies and Jellybeans

Recipe of the Week: Pina Colada Plus

For this week's recipe, I chose a non-alcoholic Pina Colada drink from BHG. It's fruity. It's sweet and smooth. And it'll help you beat the heat on a hot summer's day! Yum!

1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple (juice pack), chilled
1 medium banana, cut up
3/4 cup soy milk
1/2 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons bottled or canned pina colada mix, chilled
Ice cubes (optional)
Directions
1. In a blender container combine the undrained pineapple, banana, soy milk, orange juice, and pina colada mix. Cover and blend until nearly smooth. If desired, serve over ice. Makes 2 servings.

Recipe of the Week: Hot Cocoa

I usually just go with instant cocoa, and I've actually been meaning to buy some at the store and never got around to it, but the other day I found a recipe for homemade cocoa, which inspired me to search for others until I found the perfect hot chocolate recipe to make. This recipe was the perfect one for me to try because it was quick, and I already had all of the ingredients on hand in my kitchen. I tried it out, and it tasted wonderful, so I decided to make it the recipe of the week. If you're like me, and you're living in less than tropical weather right now, you should try it out.


1 cup sugar
2/3 cup baking cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 cups milk
2/3 cup water
2 teaspoons
Minature marshmallows, optional

Directions - In a large saucepan, combine the suagar, cocoa and salt. Stir in milk and water. Cook and stir over medium heat until heated through. Remove from the heat, stir in extracts. Serve in mugs with marshmallows if desired (makes 10 servings)

Tip - Divide this recipe in half if you have a small family, or divide it in half twice for one or two people.

Tip - I actually added a little extra sugar to mine, which made it a little less rich tasting, but if you're on a low sugar diet or you're a fan of dark chocolate, you should like the recipe as is, or even with a little less sugar.

Tip - Add your choice of extra spices and extracts to create your own unique flavor. I added extra almond extract to mine, and it was delicious!