Party Punch

Everyone needs a go-to party punch recipe so I thought I’d share the one I’ve made for years. I, generally, make this mostly at Christmas which is when we have our biggest party but it’s good any time of year. I especially like this one because the ingredients aren’t expensive and it’s not overly sweet. I hope you like it as much as we do!

Ingredients
1 large package of strawberry jello
1 C. boiling water
2 – 12 oz. cans pink lemonade concentrate, thawed
1 lemonade can of water
2 – 12 oz. cans orange juice concentrate, thawed
2 orange juice cans of water
2 – 48 oz. cans unsweetened pineapple juice
2 – 2 liter bottles of ginger ale, chilled
1 t. almond extract

1. Dissolve jello in boiling water.
2. Combine with all the other ingredients EXCEPT the ginger ale and chill. If you wish to make an ice ring do so with this mixture.
3. Just before serving add the chilled ginger ale. This makes 2 large punch bowls. Serves 30-40 people.

Chai Tea Latte with Jan Hagels

What’s better on a cool winter night than something hot to drink? My version of a chai tea latte is perfect for such evenings!! I like to make my own rather than use a mix because I can make it just the way I want it. Commercial mixes are just too sweet for my taste and it’s hard to find caffeine free versions as well . . . I just can’t do caffeine at night anymore and still get a good nights sleep. It only takes a few minutes to make this and I can use decaf tea bags so I don’t lose any sleep and skim milk to save on calories!! This recipe makes 4 regular coffee cup size servings or two large mugs. I cut the recipe in half to make myself one large latte and it works out just fine as you can see from the picture.

I use a battery operated frother but you can simply use a wire whisk to achieve the same results and I prefer fresh grated nutmeg to ground nutmeg in a can. If your not as picky as I just use the ground variety in a can. A nutmeg grater is pictured with the frother in case you don’t know what one looks like.

Battery Operated Frother & Nutmeg Grater

Ingredients
2 C. water
4 tea bags (I use decaf)
2 C. milk (I use skim)
2 T. honey or more if you like it sweeter
1/2 t. ground ginger
1/8 t. ground nutmeg
1/4 t. ground cinnamon

1. Heat the water to boiling in a two-quart saucepan. Add the tea bags, reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove tea bags.
2. Stir the remaining ingredients into the tea. Heat to boiling.

Milk & Spices Added to Tea

3. Stir with a wire whisk or electric frother to foam the milk. Pour into mugs. Top with whipped cream and sprinkle with additional mutmeg.

Frothed Chai Tea

Fruity Iced Tea

This is a refreshing iced tea for this time of year! Thanks to my long-time friend, Cathy, for sharing this recipe with me many years ago.

Ingredients
1 – 12 oz. can of 5 Alive juice concentrate (or Welch’s Berry Sunsplash Cocktail concentrate)
5 tea bags
1/2 C. sugar
juice of half a lemon
12 ice cubes

Mix the juice concentrate with three juice cans of water. Meanwhile, bring 4 cups of water to a boil and steep the tea bags for 5 minutes. Remove the tea bags and discard. Add the sugar to the hot tea and stir to dissolve. Add the tea mixture to the juice mixture along with the juice of 1/2 a lemon and the ice cubes to cool it down a bit. Mix well and refrigerate until cold. Serve with slices of orange. Makes approximately 1/2 gallon

Almond Blueberry Smoothie & Cheesy Toast

Almond Blueberry Smoothie
1/2 C. blueberries
1/2 C. Fage Zero Greek Yogurt
1/2 C. crushed ice
1/4 t. almond extract
3 packets of Splenda

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Serves: 1
Serving Size: 10 oz.

Nutrition Information
Calories: 103
Fat: 0
Carbohydrates: 15 g
Fiber: 2 g
Sugar: 12 g
Protein: 11 g