Thursday, July 21, 2011

Coffee Punch = Knock-Out

I love me a frapuccino. There, I've said it! There's something about coffee and chocolate, swimming together in perfect harmony in a sea of icy refreshing bliss, that relaxes me and satisfies my sweet tooth craving on a blistering summer day.

One of my sweet friends requested my recipe for Coffee Punch for her in-law's Golden Anniversary celebration (praying it goes well, Brandy Edwards!) and I realized I must share it with you too. I received this recipe from my sister-in-law Dawn many years ago, and it has become one of my most-requested recipes. It is basically like a frapuccino to share with a group ... and, what could be better than an iced mocha with friends?

Do you like coffee? Well, then you are gonna love this, and I'm your new favorite person. Do you loathe coffee? I'm fairly certain you'll change your mind when you taste this creamy delight of a drink.

Serve this at your next ladies' night, baby shower, or shindig, and I promise you'll receive glowing hostess reviews!



Coffee Punch

Ingredients:
1-1/2 quarts water
½ cup chocolate drink mix (I use hot chocolate mix)
½ cup sugar
¼ cup instant coffee granules
½ gallon vanilla ice cream
½ gallon chocolate ice cream
Garnish: whipped cream or cool whip

Directions:
Bring water to a boil; remove from heat. Add drink mix, sugar and coffee granules; stir until
dissolved. Pour into a container; cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Remove from
refrigerator at least 30 minutes before serving; pour into a punch bowl. Spoon in ice cream;
stir until partially melted. Garnish with whipped cream. Serves about 20-25.
Even non-coffee drinkers like this! I use decaf instant coffee.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Fruit Trifle Salad

I LOVE trifles ... they look so pretty in a trifle bowl :) After all, half the fun of cooking is in the presentation. And, who can resist a perfectly layered trifle, beautifully displayed in a trifle bowl? Knowing the trifle that awaits is delicious makes it even more irresistible.

This Fruit Trifle Salad is perfect for a church potluck or to serve at home on a hot summer day. I like using a lot of different fruit combinations to make this salad, which is really sweet enough to serve as a dessert :)


This recipe comes from one of my favorite cookbooks: Gooseberry Patch's A Pinch of This, A Dash of That Cookbook. I received this cookbook as a wedding gift and have used it repeatedly during my eleven years of marriage - even giving copies to new brides!

Ingredients:

6 oranges, peeled and sliced
3 bananas, sliced
3 c. blueberries
2 c. seedless grapes
3 c. strawberries, halved
4-oz. pkg. instant vanilla pudding
1-3/4 c. milk*
3/4 c. dairy sour cream
1 t. orange zest*


Directions:

In a large glass bowl, layer all of the fruit in order listed above. Fruit can be substituted for in-season items, except melon. For the topping, combine pudding mix and milk. Beat for one to 2 minutes. Beat in sour cream and orange peel. 

*when I don't have orange zest on hand and am not using oranges in the trifle, I reduce the milk by 1/4 cup and add 1/4 cup orange juice instead of the zest.

The original recipe can be found online at http://www2.gooseberrypatch.com/gooseberry/recipe.nsf/55e548eeef8c89b9852568d4004c5ffe/4E5ADF580BF64FE7852573E700581922