Red, White & Blue Layered Drinks

Thank you Pinterest for helping us with these fun drinks for our Independence Day lunch. We ran all over town trying to find a drink that would work for our white layer, and in doing so found a new favorite. Have you ever tried a Sobe Coconut Water? Yum! 
Make sure to pour the 2nd and 3rd layers on top of ice so the layers don't mix.

-In Katrina's Kitchen

Ocean Spray - CranApple Juice
Sobe Coconut lifewater
G2 blue Gatorade
Ice

Strawberry Limeade

A good substitute if you can't make it to Sonic!


3 cups frozen strawberries, slightly thawed
1/3 cup thawed limeade concentrate
3 oz. unsweetened pineapple juice (a little less than 1/2 cup)
2 cups chilled 7-Up

Blend until smooth.

Eggnog

We love eggnog at our house! This is a great recipe that's not overly thick and sweet like the kind from the grocery store -- and you know exactly what's in it!

-Mom Pulsipher

4 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
4 cups milk
2 tsp. imitation rum extract
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 cup whipping cream

Whisk eggs, sugar, and salt in top of double boiler (or bowl set on top of pan). Add milk; mix and cook, stirring frequently, until mixture barely coats a metal spoon. Stir in extract and nutmeg. Cool, and then chill in the refrigerator (this can take several hours).

Beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Pour immediately into glasses and serve. Sprinkle lightly with nutmeg, if desired.

Glow in the Dark Drinks

When I saw this post on Our Best Bites, I had to add glow-in-the-dark lemonade to our Halloween menu! The Tonic water contains quinine which glows under a black light - cool! It is a little bitter, so I added just enough to make the drinks glow. Brandon gets the credit for this photo!

-Our Best Bites

Country Time Lemonade Powder (enough for 2 quarts)

1 cup Tonic Water

Water

Apple Cherry Punch

A slight chill in the air calls for a warm cider! This is a slightly different version with cherry kool-aid. Call it "Blood Punch" for Halloween!

-Taste of Home

4 cups water

4 cups unsweetened apple juice

1 cup sugar

1 envelope unsweetened cherry soft drink mix

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/8 tsp. ground cloves

In a large saucepan, combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for 15 minutes.

Junebug Frocktail

Here's a yummy drink perfect for summer! The recipe called for serving the drink over ice, but I just threw the ice in with the other ingredients in the blender. Yum!


-Better Homes & Gardens


3 cups ginger ale (2 12oz cans)
1/4 cup grenadine
1/4 cup orange juice
3 scoops orange sherbet
8 cubes ice

Blend until ice is completely crushed.

Serves 4.

Italian Cream Sodas

I've always enjoyed Italian Cream Sodas - so I requested them for my Mother's Day Dinner. Mmmm...

For each soda:
2-4 Tbsp. Torani flavored syrup (buy this at World Market - we used strawberry)
2 Tbsp. cream, or ice cream :)
8 oz. sparkling water

Pour syrup in the bottom of your glass, add cream/ice cream, top with sparkling water and stir.

Lemon-Limeade

Growing up in Arizona has made Brandon and I appreciate great citrus. I picked up some extra-large lemons at the store the other day - reminiscent of the great AZ citrus - and had to make some fresh lemonade. This tart lemon-lime drink is perfectly refreshing on a warm day or with a spicy meal.

2 to 2 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup water
Zest of 1 lemon
1 1/2 cups fresh squeezed lemon juice (approximately 6 large lemons)
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice (approximately 6 large limes)
5 cups water

In a saucepan, combine sugar, 1 cup water and lemon zest. Heat and stir over low heat until sugar is dissolved.

Remove from heat and add lemon and lime juices. Strain to remove zest, and pour into a large pitcher. Add 5-6 cups water - depending on how tart you like it. Serve chilled.

Cranberry Spritzer

-Trooly Harker

1 can (11.5 oz) frozen cranberry juice, thawed
1 (2 liter) bottle 7-up, chilled

Hot Chocolate Mix - Snowman Soup

Paige's class made this hot chocolate as part of their measuring unit. I don't have the recipe they used, but I think it was probably something similar to this.

Hot Chocolate Mix
-Aunt Pam

8 qt. box non-fat dry milk (8 cups)
1 lb. can Nestle's Quick (3 1/2 cups)
6 oz. jar non-dairy creamer
1 lb. box powdered sugar (3 3/4 cups)
pinch of salt

Mix together and store in sealed container. To serve, put 1/3 cup mix in 1 cup hot water.

Snowman Soup
When it's so cold that
you holler and whoop,
It's time to bring out
the Snowman Soup!

Pour the packet in a mug
Add the snowballs too.
And throw in the kisses
from the snowman to you.

Now add some hot water
And use the cane to stir it.
Sip slowly and soon you'll
feel the warm winter spirit!

(Include a candy cane, mini marshmallows and Hershey kisses)

Limeade Slush

This was served at our wedding reception in Mesa. Great for a large crowd!

-Mom Roberts

1 frozen limeade concentrate (12 oz)
7 cups water
2 cups sugar

Stir until sugar is dissolved. Pour into 2 gallon-sized freezer bags. Use a 2 liter bottle of 7-up per gallon bag and chop up until slushy.