Cucumber Punch

Promise me you'll give this a chance. Don't just move on because it has the word Cucumber in it. This stuff is really delicious!  Summery. Happy. Fresh. Light.  These are some of the words that pop into my head when I drink this.  Seriously, I love it.  And I hope you will too! 

Ingredients needed:

1 bag of ice

1 cucumber, peeled and sliced

1 12 oz. can limeade

1 bottle Diet Sprite or 7up (HAS to be diet)**

My friends and I like to get together to watch American Idol.  We eat a lot of snacks and I like to make new drinks to try.  Some of my favorites have been  Pina Colada, Strawberry Limeade, and Caribbean Slush.

One night last season, my friend Mandy introduced us to this unique, refreshing beverage.  Lives were changed.  We made it for the five consecutive weeks following, and maybe a few times in between with baby showers and game nights. 

The flavor of cucumber is light here. You can taste it, but it doesn't overwhelm the drink.  Of course, if you absolutely HATE cucumber flavor, this might not be the drink for you.  But I really, really, really want you to try it!

So, Mandy shows up at my house with all the ingredients to assemble this drink.  We all gathered around and watched in awed silence.  She said the ingredients MUST be put in the punch bowl in this order, so that all the flavors would come together as one in a perfect unity.  (it probably wasn't all that dramatic, but this is how I remember it). 

I have always placed the ingredients in my punch bowl in the proper order.  I'm not one to tempt fate.  I really want my drink to turn out perfectly all the time.  I'm not sure what craziness would happen should I go out of order.  My sister said she would fork out the $3.50 it costs to make this drink out of order, just so we could see what disaster would occur, but we have yet to walk down that path. 

(Wow, with an introduction like that, you either are running to the store right now or you gave up reading a long time ago.  Hopefully I didn't oversell it too much!! Clearly I have passion for food)

CUCUMBER PUNCH

1 bag of ice

1 cucumber, peeled and sliced

1 12 oz. can limeade

1 bottle Diet Sprite or 7up (HAS to be diet)**

Layer the ingredients in listed order in a punch bowl.  Serve immediately and enjoy!!

**I did go a little crazy once and used regular Sprite.  The sugar in the drink overpowered the cucumber flavor too much and tasted mostly just like regular Sprite with a hint of limeade :)

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Sumo's Sweet Stuff

Strawberry Limeade

Spring is here and so are all the delicious strawberries!!!  This drink makes me feel like sitting on my porch as the sun is setting, watching my kids ride their bikes down the street and talking to neighbors who are walking by....

I'm so excited that summer is just around the corner!

There are only a few ingredients in this beautiful recipe, most of which are probably already in your kitchen.
Ingredients:
1 can limeade
3/4 lb Strawberries
1/2 c sugar
3 C water
approx 2 c. ice

In a blender put in all ingredients, placing ice last.  Blend away.  If your blender is kindof small, you may need to pour a little bit out into a pitcher in order to finish adding whatever wouldn't fit.  Once it's all combined into your serving pitcher it won't matter.  You could also add more sugar if you want it sweeter, but I like the tart blend.   Obviously this drink separates quickly, so stir often before pouring.  Cheers!!

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Sparkling Punch

It's American Idol night again!! The drink recipe for this week is a simple, elegant punch that would be great for any occasion! And, it's a clear-ish color.....as opposed to red, purple, or orange which makes cleaning carpets after a party more difficult.  Someone is going to spill.  Plan on it.

Ingredients:
2 liter Diet Grapefruit soda (chilled)
1 can White Grape Juice (undiluted)

Combine ingredients together in punch bowl and serve. You could float lemon and lime slices in there too for a pretty effect!

Notes: The soda really should be diet. Regular soda has too much sugar which dilutes the flavors.  Diet Fresca or Sprite would work too, but I like the flavor of the grapefruit.  

My favorite Pina Colada

Winter is not my favorite season.  I don't love getting cold, I'm not a skier, and once Christmas is over I'm ready for spring!  One thing I DO love during winter though, is that American Idol starts!! (cue music here)

For the last 5 or 6 seasons now, a group of gals from my neighborhood get together weekly and "watch" the show. I use the term watch loosely, as there is a lot of talking and laughing going on. And eating. Let's be honest here, that's really the fun part! (Hey, it's not like we're watching "The Biggest Loser"!)  Nothing warms my heart more in the winter than time spent eating laughing with friends and family....

This year I decided to *feature* a new drink every week--it was a good chance to try some new recipes that I don't usually get to make. So of course I'll share those drinks here! The first drink I wanted to share is my favorite Pina Colada recipe.  Whenever we go out to eat at restaurants, I usually just get water, but I often bend that rule for a Pina Colada! And until I got this recipe, the Coladas I made at home were just not as good.  That all changed when my friend Trish made these for us and after one sip I was hooked.

You'll need just 3 ingredients for this recipe, plus some ice. (so, technically, I guess that makes FOUR ingredients)

1 can Cream of Coconut (found by the drink mixers at your local grocers) 

A can of crushed pineapple or pineapple tidbits

Pina Colada mixer (this probably isn't really necessary, but I like to use it because it makes the cream of coconut go farther)

Ice

 The measurements are really loose here. I just do it to taste.  In a blender add 1/2 can cream of coconut, 1/2 can pineapple tidbits and juice and pour some of the mixer in. Add the ice and blend away.  Then I taste it and decide if it needs more pineapple or more colada flavor.  One blenderful makes about 4 good sized servings. Make another blenderful with the remaining ingredients and you've got a rip-roaring good time.

All of these ingredients are easy to keep on hand so you can blend up something delicious any time a friend pops in!
Party on friends!
Amy