Red Sangria

Ingredients:

1/3c sugar
1/3c lemon juice
1/3c orange juice
1 bottle red wine (e.g. merlot or burgandy)
1 orange, thinly sliced
1 lemon, thinly sliced

Directions:

Combine first 3 ingredients into a large pitcher
Stir until sugar dissolves
Add wine, orange and lemon slices--stir gently
Serve over crushed ice

Yield: 5 cups

Thanks to Zetta Brown!

Triple-Citrus Mojitos

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 pkg (.75 oz) fresh mint leaves (about 1 1/4 cups leaves), divided
1 orange
2 lemons, divided
2 limes, divided
1/2 cup white rum (optional)
5 cups chilled lemon-lime soda

Directions:

1. Combine sugar and water in Small Bowl. Tear six mint leaves in half and place into Pitcher; set aside. Finely chop remaining leaves with Chef's Knife and place into batter bowl. Zest orange, one of the lemons and one of the limes using Zester/Scorer; add zest to mint mixture. Microwave on HIGH 2-3 minutes or until sugar is dissolved.

2. Slice orange, both of the lemons and both of the limes in half crosswise. Reserve half of one lemon and half of one lime for garnish. Juice remaining lemon and lime halves using a citrus press; add juices to pitcher. Juice the orange; add juice to pitcher.

3. Pour mint mixture through strainer into pitcher; discard chopped mint. Add rum, if desired. Carefully add soda to avoid overflow. Slice reserved lemon and lime halves; place into pitcher. Place lid onto pitcher and plunge gently. Serve over ice. Serves 8.

Thanks to Pamela K. Kinney!

Slush (has Vodka in it)

Ingredients:

1 small can frozen orange juice
1 large can frozen lemonade
2 cups tea made with 4 tea bags
2 cups sugar
7 cups water
1 1/2 cups Vodka

Directions:

Mix together, freeze for about 24 hours. Remove from freezer about an hour before serving time. Add 1 can 7-up just before serving.

Thanks to Laurie Sorenson!

Sugar Free Lemonade by the Pitcher!

Ingredients:

5 cups water
1 cup fresh lemon juice
1 cup SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener, Granulated
Ice cubes for serving
Fresh mint sprigs and lemon slices for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1 Stir water, lemon juice, and SPLENDA® Granulated Sweetener in a large pitcher until the SPLENDA® Granulated Sweetener dissolves. SERVE over ice, garnished with the mint and lemon, if desired.

Thanks to Pamela K. Kinney!

Fresh Strawberry Bellini

Ingredients:

1 bottle prosecco*
2 cups pureed and strained fresh strawberries
Special equipment: Blender, strainer, iced champagne flutes, pitcher
and tall "swizzle stirrer" (for the pitcher)

Directions:

Place 8 Champagne flutes in the freezer for 20 minutes. Open the prosecco and let it stand in an ice bucket for 5 minutes.
Into a pitcher, pour the 2 cups pureed strawberries. Gently pour in the bottle of prosecco and stir gently to combine. Divide among Champagne flutes and serve.

*For Kid Bellini, substitute sparkling water for the prosecco.

Thanks to Pamela K. Kinney !

Banana Colada Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 cup ice cubes
1 cup chopped fresh pineapple
1 small ripe banana, sliced
3 tablespoons SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener, Granulated
1/2 cup reduced-fat coconut milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a blender in the order listed; process mixture until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides. Serves 2.
Tip: Look for unsweetened coconut milk in the Asian food section of your supermarket.

Thanks to Pamela K. Kinney!

Spiced Chocolate

Ingredients & Directions:

Mix together in a large bowl --
1 8-qt box powdered milk
1/2 box powdered sugar
1 lb box Nestle's Quik
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 medium jar Coffeemate
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Store in sealed container until ready to use. To enjoy, put a teaspoon in your coffee or 1/3 cup of spiced chocolate in one cup of boiling water.

Thanks to Caitlyn Willows!

Real Hot Chocolate

I learned to make hot chocolate like this a hundred years ago when I was nannying in Belgium.
It honestly is nowhere near as complicated as it sounds and worth the effort.

Ingredients To make two 8 oz mugs:

a pint of milk
six ounces of good quality chocolate ( dark or milk depending on taste)
whipped cream.

Directions:

Put the milk on to heat while you grate or chop the chocolate. Add chocolate and stir occasionally while it heats and the chocolate melts completely.

Put into two mugs and top with whipped cream

Thanks to Rosemary Laurie!

Apple Knockers

Ingredients"

3 3" cinnamon sticks
2 tsp. whole cloves
1 C sugar
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 quarts apples cider
2 cups orange juice
1/2 cup lemon juice

Directions:

Place cinnamon sticks and cloves in a large tea ball or cheese cloth. Set aside. Combine sugar and nutmeg in your crock pot or dutch kettle, stirring well. Gradually add apple cider, orange juice and lemon juice, stirring well. Add tea ball. Bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat and simmer fifteen minutes. Remove tea ball; discard spices.

Serve warm.

Adult version - a shot of orange liqueur or apple brandy never hurt a glass of this stuff.

Thanks to Lee Morris!

Out Of This World Hot Chocolate

NOTE: Actually, it's a Science Fiction recipe. Got it from one of my favorite fantasy worlds.
Anybody read the Dragonrider books by Anne McCaffrey?

From The Dragonlovers’ Guide to Pern
(Pern is a fantasy/SF world created by Anne McCaffrey

Earth equivalent to Klah:

Ingredients:

2 T sweet ground chocolate
½ cup dark cocoa
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp dark instant coffee crystals, ground to powder
small pinch nutmeg.

Directions: Use 2-4 tsp of the mixture per cup of boiling water. Mix well. Klah should be thick, like hot cocoa.

Thanks to Michelle Levigne!