Raspberry Lemonade ~ Thirsty Thursday

If you like my regular lemonade recipe, you are going to LOVE this Raspberry Lemonade recipe!  It has the same great taste with a hint of raspberry.  The fact that it turns a little pink makes me love it even more!

Now that the heat of summer is here, we are looking for ways to stay cool.  What better way than a nice cold glass of this raspberry lemonade?

If you remember my regular lemonade recipe, it starts with lemonade mix. This raspberry lemonade recipe is no different.  I think lemonade mix is a good place to start.  I just add extra mix and sugar to take the tart sweet combination to the next level.  The only difference between the two recipes is this one has some raspberry puree added.

You will want to serve this lemonade for your 4th of July parties.  You might need to double the recipe!

Happy 4th of July!

Raspberry Lemonade

Course Drinks
Cuisine American
Prep Time 5 minutes
Servings 6

Ingredients

  • 8 scoops lemonade mix (or double the amount called for)
  • 1/3 c sugar
  • 8 c water
  • 1/2 c frozen raspberries, partially defrosted

Instructions

  1. Put lemonade mix and sugar in pitcher.
  2. Add water, stirring constantly.  Stir until lemonade mix and sugar are dissolved.
  3. Place raspberries in food processor or mini chopper.  Pulse until pureed.
  4. Strain seeds out of raspberry puree.  Stir puree into lemonade
  5. Serve over ice
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Asian Chicken Salad

I think I’ve professed my love for chicken salad before, but I’m going to do it again.  I love chicken salad!  It is one of my favorite things to eat during the summer.  We are having  extreme heat already and it’s on the middle of June!  What better way to cool off than with a salad?

This Asian Chicken Salad is different than a lot of chicken salads because it’s not mayonnaise based. It has a vinegar and oil based dressing. It’s really more of a slaw with chicken added to it.

To make this Asian Chicken Salad I use a bag of coleslaw mix to make the prep work easier.  You could totally cut your own cabbage if you prefer.

This Asian Chicken Salad comes together in no time (especially if you use the bag of slaw mix).  Toasting the noodles, sesame seeds and almonds will take a few minutes, but is definitely worth it for the extra crunch.  I like to put the dressing in a jar with a lid so you can shake it up to help the sugar dissolve.

If you are prepping this ahead of time, I like to leave the dressing and crunchy topping off until ready to serve.  I combine everything else in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator.

Next time you need a cool lunch or dinner idea try this Asian Chicken Salad.

Asian Chicken Salad

Try this twist on chicken salad for a light refreshing meal!
Course Salad
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

  • 1 head cabbage, finely shredded (or a bag of coleslaw mix)
  • 1/2 bunch green onions, chopped
  • 2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded or chopped
  • 1 package Ramen noodles, uncooked
  • 1/4 c sesame seeds
  • 3/4 c slivered almonds
  • 1/4 c vinegar
  • 1/2 c canola oil
  • 1/4 c sugar
  • 1 tsp Accent
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1 tsp salt

Instructions

  1. Break ramen noodles into pieces and toast in a skillet along with the almonds and sesame seeds.  Set aside to cool.
  2. Combine cabbage, green onions and chicken in a bowl.
  3. In a pint size jar combine vinegar, oil, sugar, Accent, pepper and salt.  Place lid on jar and shake vigorously until dressing is mixed well. 
  4. Combine cabbage mixture with the toasted noodles and almonds.  Pour dressing over the salad.  Toss and serve.

 

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Wallaby Darned (Peach Bellini) ~ Thirsty Thursday

When I went on my girl’s trip to the beach we stopped at an Outback Steakhouse to eat dinner on our way down.  It had been years since I had been to one.   I forgot how much I like their Wallaby Darned drinks.  It is basically a Peach Bellini.  Peaches are one of my favorite fruits and making it into a cocktail is even better!

The frozen peaches with the peach nectar, schnapps, vodka and champagne are the perfect combination. I think the peach nectar really ups the peach flavor in this drink.  I’ve had other versions of Peach Bellini and they just don’t have as much of a peach flavor.

This Wallaby Darned recipe is easy.  You simply put all of the ingredients in the blender and let it do the work.  Pour into a pretty glass and enjoy!

Cheers!

Wallaby Darned

This copycat recipe is a delicious, peachy frozen treat! 
Course Drinks
Cuisine American
Prep Time 5 minutes
Servings 1

Ingredients

  • 1 c frozen sliced peaches
  • 2 oz champagne
  • 1 oz peach schnapps
  • 1 oz vodka
  • 4 oz peach nectar
  • 2-3 ice cubes

Instructions

  1. Combine all of the ingredients in a blender.  Blend on high speed for approximately 30 seconds or until the ice is completely crushed and the drink is smooth.
  2. Pour into glass of your choice.
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Ballparks of America

I think I’ve mentioned before that we are a baseball family.  We like all sports, but baseball is at the top of the list.  Tom, my husband, helps coach Callahan, my youngest, travel baseball team.  This is the third year he has played for Southern Illinois Team Dinger.  Each year they play in some really neat tournaments, but I have to say that playing at the Ballparks of America in Branson has been his favorite so far.

If your child plays travel baseball you need to put this facility on your list.  What I’m about to tell you will not make sense in your brain…..but here it goes.  These are Major League Baseball replica fields amidst an old outlet mall.  I know it sounds crazy, but it works!

Apparently the Tanger Outlet Mall decided to move to a different location and someone bought it and repurposed it.  All of the “outlet mall” structure is still there.  As a matter of fact, the website says there are facilities for teams to stay overnight.  Our team didn’t do that.  There is a gift shop, café, concession stand and a few offices that seem to be in places where stores were.  There is even an indoor batting cage for teams to use.

Ballparks of America consists of 5 fields. Brooklyn Field, Wrigley Field, Fenway Park, Detroit Stadium and Bush Stadium, which was the biggest field.  The details that each of these fields has is amazing.

Bush Stadium has an arch mowed into the turf and a really nice seating area.

Fenway has a “green monster” for the left field fence.

Wrigley Field even has “ivy” on the outfield fence.

Brooklyn Field was pretty basic but still very nice.

Different baseball organizations put tournaments on at Ballparks of America.  We played in a Game 7 tournament.  It was the Best of the Midwest Showdown.  There were 16 teams from Missouri, Illinois and Kansas.  We were able to play on all of the fields except Detroit.  It was a long weekend but we came out on top.  SI Team Dinger won the 10-U Championship.  Here is my #22 pitching at “Busch Stadium and the Championship rings they won!

It was a hot weekend of baseball but definitely worth it in the end.  If you are in the travel baseball world, you definitely should try to play at Ballparks of America!

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Pink Bikini ~ Thirsty Thursday

I’m always on the lookout for a good summertime cocktail for pool days.  When I saw this recipe for a Pink Bikini, I knew I had to try it.  It’s pretty simple.  You only need some raspberry lemonade and Malibu rum.  The original recipe I found also had some amaretto in it, but I didn’t have any on hand, so I tried it without and loved it.

When I first read the recipe I was intrigued because I love Malibu rum.  I couldn’t really imagine the coconut flavor with raspberry lemonade or any lemonade for that matter, but decided to give it a try.  The flavors totally work together, so I’m glad I did!

I have made these Pink Bikinis with regular raspberry lemonade and light.  Honestly, I think I like it better with the light raspberry lemonade.  There have been times I haven’t been able to find light raspberry lemonade and used light pink lemonade instead. It worked just as well as the raspberry lemonade.

Make sure to make a some of these Pink Bikinis up for your next summer get-together!  I will be enjoying some of these on the beach this weekend!

Pink Bikini

This refreshing cocktail is sure to be a hit for hot summer days by the pool!
Course Drinks
Cuisine American
Prep Time 5 minutes
Servings 1

Ingredients

  • 8 oz Raspberry Lemonade
  • 2 oz Malibu Rum

Instructions

  1. Place ice in a glass and pour Malibu in.
  2. Top off with raspberry lemonade.
  3. Stir, and enjoy!
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Soccer Season

While baseball is King at our house, we really love all sports.  As a matter of fact there are very few sports that at least one of my kids doesn’t participate in.  After taking the fall off from playing soccer, Callahan, my youngest, started back up this spring.  I have a love/hate relationship with Spring soccer.  While it can be beautiful outside, the reality is that it is usually cold and rainy.  At least for the regular season.  Once the tournaments roll around in May, we have been fortunate over the years to have nice weather most of the time.

We usually always play in the Whirlwind Tournament locally here in Marion which is nice.  But my favorite is the Spring Classic in Perryville, Missouri.  It is always Mother’s Day weekend.  At first I couldn’t believe that they would actually be playing on Mother’s Day, but I’ve come to enjoy it.

The soccer complex in Perryville is such a nice facility.  You can tell it was well thought out.  There are lots of fields, nice grassy areas and a pavilion with concessions, bathrooms and awards area.  They even built in a nice landscaped area for each team to do their own awards presentation.  It is out of the main traffic flow of the pavilion and has a great set up for team pictures.

I didn’t get any good pictures at our Marion tournament because I went straight from photographing a recipe to the soccer field and forgot to change lenses.  All of these pictures are from the Perryville tournament.  Our team won the 3rd/4th grade division.  We came back to beat a really good team that had beat us the first day of the tournament for the championship.  This was the last tournament we played in this spring and what better way to go out than with a championship win!

 

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