Food Fun Family

Homemade Hot Chocolate Recipes – Delicious Dishes Recipe Party #146

Lolli — Tue, 18 Dec 2018 15:17:27 +0000

My youngest son is obsessed with hot chocolate. One year, he received a box of hot chocolate mix for his birthday.

His birthday is in May.

He’s literally drooling over the hot chocolate options in this week’s party….

Welcome to Delicious Dishes Recipe Party! In case you’re new to the party, here’s what you need to know:

Delicious Dishes is a weekly link party where bloggers can share their most delicious recipes while checking out the amazing recipes that other bloggers are sharing.

Each link you share here will be seen on each of the hostess’ blogs listed below >>

Food Fun Family – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

She Saved – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Walking on Sunshine Recipes – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

This Mama Loves – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Clever Housewife – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Bunny’s Warm Oven –Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Each week we will be featuring our favorite recipes from the week before and pinning them to our Delicious Dishes Pinterest board.

We hope you’ll have fun with our party…we know we will!

The Recipes with the Most Clicks Last Week Were…

#1: Gifts from Miz Helen’s Kitchen from Miz Helen’s Country Cottage

#2: Mandarin Orange Almond Cake from An Italian in My Kitchen

#3: Amish Apple Fritter Bread from Living on Cloud Nine

Delicious Dishes Party Favorites from Last Week:

These are the recipes that the hosts loved the most…

I loved Best Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix from Made in a Pinch

Lois loved Frozen Hot Cocoa from Gluesticks Blog

Brett loved Hot Chocolate Marshmallow Snowman Topper from Joyful Homemaking

Keri Lyn loved Peppermint Hot Chocolate from A Proverbs 31 Wife

Emily loved Peppermint Hot Chocolate from Gluesticks Blog

Mary loved White Hot Chocolate from Delightful E Made

Follow us along on our Pinterest board. We pin a ton of recipes that are shared to our linky party each week. So get your recipes ready. We can’t wait to see what’s cooking in your kitchen this week.

Now let’s get this party started!

An InLinkz Link-up

Fun Fall Drinks (family-friendly!) – Delicious Dishes Recipe Party #137

Lolli — Tue, 16 Oct 2018 11:01:41 +0000

Yesterday was my birthday. It was a good one. My family treated me well, and we ended the night with a couple rounds of indoor skydiving. If you’ve never done it before, I highly recommend it!

Fall is in full swing here (there’s no denying it anymore), and this week we’re featuring some favorite fall flavors in family-friendly drinks! I can just imagine how delicious these all smell!

Each link you share here will be seen on each of the hostess’ blogs listed below >>

Food Fun Family – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

She Saved – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Walking on Sunshine Recipes – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

This Mama Loves – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Clever Housewife – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Bunny’s Warm Oven –Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Each week we will be featuring our favorite recipes from the week before and pinning them to our Delicious Dishes Pinterest board.

We hope you’ll have fun with our party…we know we will!

The Recipes with the Most Clicks Last Week Were…

#1: Chicken Noodle Casserole from Joyful Homemaking

#2: Southern Natchitoches Cajun Casserole from Miz Helen’s Country Cottage

#3: Mini Nutella Swirl Cheesecakes from Walking on Sunshine Recipes

Delicious Dishes Party Favorites from Last Week:

These are the recipes that the hosts loved the most…

I loved Cranberry Orange Spiced Cider from A Proverbs 31 Wife

Lois loved Pumpkin White Hot Chocolate from Cincy Shopper

Brett loved Apple Chai Smoothie from Our Good Life

Keri Lyn loved Apple Pie Cider from Eat Move Make

Emily loved Autumn Harvest Punch Recipe from FiveSpot Green Living

Mary loved Sparkling Fall Harvest Punch from Ann’s Entitled Life

Now let’s get this party started!

An InLinkz Link-up

Refreshing Summer Drinks – Delicious Dishes Recipe Party

Lolli — Tue, 31 Jul 2018 11:01:51 +0000

What is more refreshing on a hot summer day than a cold drink? The answer? Not much.

I don’t drink alcohol (or coffee or tea, for that matter!) but there are so many drink recipes available that are fruit based. I LOVE a good homemade smoothie or spritzer!

We’re on the final stretch for the summer as we finish off July and enter August. I’m not quite ready for the summer to end (so it’s a good thing we have about 4 weeks left before school starts back). What are your plans for the rest of the summer??

Each link you share here will be seen on each of the hostess’ blogs listed below >>

Food Fun Family – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

She Saved – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Walking on Sunshine Recipes – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

5 Minutes for Mom – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

This Mama Loves – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Clever Housewife – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Bunny’s Warm Oven –Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Each week we will be featuring our favorite recipes from the week before and pinning them to our Delicious Dishes Pinterest board.

We hope you’ll have fun with our party…we know we will!

The Recipes with the Most Clicks Last Week Were…

#1: Pineapple Orange Mimosa from My Turn for Us

#2: Cinnamon Toffee Blondies from Living on a Cloud Nine

#3: Cookie Dough Rice Krispie Treats from Food Fun Family

Delicious Dishes Party Favorites from Last Week:

These are the recipes that the hosts loved the most…

I loved Easy Mango Ice Drink Recipe from Rose Bakes

Lois loved Vanilla Bean Iced Coffee from Delightful E Made

Brett loved Sugar Free Raspberry Sweet Tea from Uncommon Designs

Susan loved Homemade Cherry Slurpee from Kleinworth Co.

Keri Lyn loved Lemon Basil Mint Spritzer from Walking on Sunshine Recipes

Emily loved White Cherry Fizzes Summer Drink Recipe from Celebrating Everyday Life

Mary loved Layered Tropical Slush from Dukes and Duchesses

Now let’s get this party started!

An InLinkz Link-up

5 Ways to Doctor Store Bought Lemonade

Lolli — Fri, 29 Apr 2016 12:00:19 +0000

Who doesn’t love a frosty glass of lemonade? Let’s face it, though. Most of the time that frosty glass of goodness is coming from a bottle or a dry mix. There’s nothing wrong with that. But, if you want to improve the flavor or create a delicious drink for guests, you can doctor store bought lemonade. Whether it’s with juice or fresh herbs, you won’t believe how good store bought lemonade can taste.

5 Ways to Make Store Bought Lemonade Taste Gourmet!

Fruit Juice

One of the easiest and most delicious ways to doctor store bought lemonade is to mix it with fruit juice. You want to choose a 100% fruit juice and there are so many great flavors to choose from. A great mix is to combine equal parts of lemonade with blackberry juice. It’s sweet. It’s tangy. And, the flavor has depth. Your guests will never know you used two store bought products to make this delicious drink.

Sweet Tea

If you like sweet tea, you’ve got to try the classic sweet tea mixed with equal parts lemonade. Do yourself a favor and make the sweet tea from scratch. Bottled teas never taste fresh and can ruin the flavor of your drink. Be sure to hold back on the sugar a bit because the lemonade will add additional sweetness.

Fresh Fruit

If you have some fruit that needs to be used up, puree it with sugar and mix it in with your lemonade. You might use strawberries, blackberries, watermelon, or any other seasonal fruit that you love. A number of fruits taste great mixed with lemonade. We love to drop chunks or slices of fruit right into the pitcher of lemonade. The longer they sit in the lemonade, the more the flavors of the fruit seep into the drink. Our two favorites are watermelon and strawberry! And don’t forget that you can add extra lemon slices (which make the lemonade *look* homemade, too. Shh! Don’t tell!).

Drink Mixes

Sweetened drink mixes are a great addition to store bought lemonade that kids will love. If your kids love the old-school cherry flavor, they’ll love cherry Kool-Aid mixed with lemonade. You could also do a blue raspberry lemonade. Just have fun with it and get creative with the flavors. Another trick that we love: add drink mixes that are found near the alcohol (think pina colada lemonade…yum!). You can also use flavored syrups.

Herbs

Last, but not least, if you want something that will wow your guests, try adding fresh herbs to your lemonade. You can add crushed rosemary, mint, or even lavender. This will turn your store bought lemonade into a gourmet drink.

Bonus tip: we’ve found (through careful study!) that lemonade really does taste better with lots and lots of ice. I typically like to dilute my lemonade a bit, and ice cubes do that perfectly.

There’s nothing at all wrong with buying store bought lemonade, but you’ll love how you can improve the flavor by adding your own ingredients. Whether it’s fresh fruit or a drink mix, you can completely change the flavor into something you’ll love.

Chocolate PB&J Smoothies

Lolli — Tue, 29 Mar 2016 18:15:28 +0000

This recipe for Chocolate PB&J Smoothies is sponsored by TruMoo Calcium Plus but all thoughts and opinions are my own.

There’s a funny thing that happens in my kitchen whenever I bring home TruMoo chocolate milk. My youngest son turns into a singing, dancing happy little maniac. So when I picked up some new TruMoo Calcium Plus, he did his typical happy dance, not even realizing that is was anything different than his favorite chocolate milk.

TruMoo Calcium Plus has 50% more calcium per serving than regular low-fat milk, and just like the TruMoo that we know and love, it also has no artificial growth hormones and no high fructose corn syrup. Like I tell my kids – it has lots of the good stuff and they leave the bad stuff out.

5 Calcium Facts That You Should Know:

Calcium is essential for building strong, healthy bones PLUS it helps muscles, nerves and hormones function optimally. In fact, it’s one of the most important nutrients for the body!
Consuming foods rich in calcium, like low fat dairy, yogurt and fortified cereal, can help prevent osteoporosis.
Our bodies cannot produce new calcium so it’s important to eat and drink foods rich in calcium. When we don’t get enough calcium for our body’s needs, it is taken from our bones.
Peak bone mass occurs sometime between the ages of 18-25. The more bone mass you have, the lass likely you will be to break a bone or get osteoporosis later in life. That’s why it’s so important for children and teens to meet their daily requirements for calcium (so they’re building strong healthy bones for now AND later). Adults also need calcium to maintain bone mass.
TruMoo Calcium Plus chocolate milk has 50% more calcium per serving than regular low fat milk, which makes it a delicious and effective way to meet your family’s daily calcium needs.

I love drinking nutrient-packed smoothies for breakfast, and this past week I tried a few smoothies with a chocolate milk base. I came up with a delicious breakfast smoothie idea that you are going to love! It’s so easy to make, and it tastes great.

Calcium-Rich Chocolate PB&J Breakfast Smoothies

5.0 from 1 reviews

Chocolate PB&J Smoothies

Prep time

5 mins

Total time

5 mins

Author: Lolli

Serves: 1

Ingredients

1 cup TruMoo Calcium Plus chocolate milk
½ cup frozen strawberries
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
½ of a banana
1-2 tablespoons flaxseed meal
4-6 ice cubes

Instructions

Place all ingredients in a blender and pulse until blended smooth.
Serve immediately or drink half now and refrigerate the rest in a glass jar with a lid to enjoy later.

What are your favorite ways to get more calcium in your diet?

Visit TruMoo.com for more recipe ideas and to see their entire line-up of delicious products!

Detox Cucumber Water

Lolli — Tue, 19 Jan 2016 12:00:59 +0000

Try this delicious and simple detox cucumber water – just two simple ingredients, but a ton of benefits!

“Drink more water” is at the top of many a New Year’s Resolution list. We all know that we should be drinking more water, but sometimes (if you’re anything like me or many people I’ve talked to) you crave a little bit of flavor in your water. But you don’t want to add sugar or calories to get that flavor.

I’ve enjoyed cucumber-infused water before simply for its refreshing taste, but I was excited to learn recently of the additional benefits (beyond healthy hydrating!) of drinking cucumber water.

Why Drink Cucumber Water to Detox

One of the best ways to rid your body of harmful toxins is to drink water. Simple. But add cucumber to your water, and you’ve really kicked it up a notch! Here are just a few of the benefits of drinking cucumber water to detox:

Cucumber is an anti-inflammatory (helps prevent water retention) and helps you to stay hydrated
Cucumbers contain antioxidants that help battle free radicals
Cucumbers are a great source of vitamin B, potassium and magnesium, which may help to lower blood pressure
Staying hydrated helps your skin stay healthy, soft, and smooth, but adding cucumbers to your water makes an even bigger difference thanks to the silica they contain. Silica also helps keep your muscle tissues healthy
And, finally, your body often confuses thirst with hunger. If you feel hungry, grab some cucumber water instead and see if your urge is satisfied

How to Make Detox Cucumber Water

5.0 from 1 reviews

Detox Cucumber Water

Author: Lolli

Ingredients

10 cucumber slices
10 oz water

Instructions

In a large glass, place the cucumber slices and top with water. Refrigerate.
Allow the cucumbers to steep in the water for at least 8 hours.
Remove the cucumbers and drink chilled. (The cucumbers are still edible!)

I know that I am more likely to drink MORE when my drink tastes great. Because I love the taste of cucumber water (I like mine with a drop of lime essential oil or slice of lime or lemon, too!) I am motivated to stick with my goal to drink more water all day long. It’s a win-win!

Sparkling Mint Cranberry Mocktail Recipe

Lolli — Thu, 03 Dec 2015 02:30:10 +0000

This Sparkling Mint Cranberry Mocktail Recipe is sponsored by DASANI Sparkling Water through Acorn: An Influence Company. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

There is something about a festive punch or a fancy glass filled with a colorful, fruity drink at a holiday get-together that sets the tone for the entire gathering. The only problem – in my case, at least – is that I don’t drink alcohol. It’s rare for me to find a fancy non-alcoholic drink at a party, so I thought it would be fun to come up with a festive party-worthy mocktail for those like me who chose to skip the alcohol.

Let me tell you – I have had a blast experimenting, and I think I’ve come up with the perfect light-but-flavorful drink. It’s so delicious that I couldn’t stop sipping it all day after I made it. And my husband gave the drink two thumbs up as well. He was particularly happy to have a drink made with real ingredients (and not a bunch of unknown chemicals).

I love how colorful and festive this drink is – it’s delicious enough for a holiday party but it’s easy enough for everyday sipping. My inspiration for this sparkling mint cranberry mocktail was berry flavored DASANI sparkling water.

DASANI Sparkling Water is available at Walmart in 12 packs of 12 ounce cans and comes in four delicious flavors: Lime, Berry, Lemon, Black Cherry. DASANI sparkling water is the perfect mixer because it has ZERO calories, no added colors or sweeteners, is caffeine-free and naturally flavored.

Sparkling Mint Cranberry Mocktail

Yum

Sparkling Mint Cranberry Mocktail Recipe #SparklingHolidays

Ingredients

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup chopped cranberries
3-4 chopped fresh mint leaves
2 tablespoons cream of coconut
3 (12 ounce) cans of DASANI sparkling water, berry flavored
mint leaves for garnish

Instructions

Add sugar and water to a small sauce pan; stir and heat until sugar is fully dissolved and mixture starts to thicken slightly.
Remove from heat and stir in chopped cranberries, chopped mint leaves, and cream of coconut.
Spoon this mixture into ice cube tray, dividing evenly among the ice cube sections. Freeze.
Just before serving, divide ice cubes among individual glasses and pour DASANI sparkling water over the fruit cubes. The cubes will dissolve on their own, but you may want to stir a little before serving. Garnish each glass with a mint leaf.

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Note: the number of glasses you use will depend on the capacity of your glasses – my glasses held a max of 9 ounces, so I couldn’t fit a whole can of DASANI sparkling water into one glass. When I made this recipe, I got 5 servings.

You could also simply add all of the cranberry “cubes” to a glass pitcher and pour 3 cans of DASANI sparkling water over all. If you’re planning on serving this drink in a pitcher, I might recommend doubling the recipe.

A few additional notes: the longer you let the cranberry-mint mixture sit in the sparkling water, the more the flavors will blend. Yum! Also, the cranberry mint cubes will not freeze solid but will be thick and gooey (the best word I could come up with!). That’s normal and actually makes the cubes dissolve faster in the sparkling water.

Do you have any favorite non-alcoholic drinks that you enjoy making during the holiday season? I am totally hooked on this simple drink – it’s light and refreshing and doesn’t feel heavy, since it uses natural, unsweetened (and zero calorie!) sparkling water as its base. There is SO MUCH you could do with DASANI sparkling water! I can’t wait to try a new recipe with the lime sparkling water (I LOVE lime flavored drinks).

The kids would probably appreciate it if I strained the cranberries and the mint before serving…but I think that’s even more reason to leave them in the drinks. More for me!

Love festive drinks like this mint cranberry mocktail? Then you’ll love out this Pinterest board with more Easy Party Drink Recipes and Ideas. Be sure to check out Dasani’s website for more information.

Light Cookies and Cream Chocolate Milkshake

Lolli — Fri, 30 Jan 2015 16:31:12 +0000

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of TruMoo Milk for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.

I’ve surprised even myself this past month. I’ve been sticking with my goal to eat better this year, and I love that my decision to eat healthier is rubbing off on my kids. My kids would probably eat junk food (when they remembered to feed themselves) if left to their own devices. One of my jobs as a mom is to make sure that they have plenty of good options to eat and drink so they don’t go reaching for the bad stuff whenever their tummies start to rumble.

My kids, like their mama, have a sweet tooth, and so I’m always on the look out for tasty but nutritious options to satisfy their (ahem…OUR) cravings for sweets. TruMoo is one of our favorite healthy and delicious indulgences. My kids love TruMoo’s great chocolatey taste and I love that it has no artificial growth hormones and no high fructose corn syrup. TruMoo is fresh from your trusted dairy.

Not every debate with your kids has to be hard. Like TruMoo—it’s delicious and nutritious so everyone wins.

This past week, I picked up TruMoo’s Limited-time Chocolate Marshmallow milk at the grocery store. The kids were excited to see that TruMoo Chocolate Marshmallow tastes great cold OR heated (it’s like an instant mug of hot chocolate…it’s amazing!). I decided to see if I could come up with a fun recipe using the new flavor and oh-my-goodness! I discovered something amazing. You’re going to love it!

Easy and Light Cookies and Cream Chocolate Milkshake

This recipe gives you the taste of a special-occasion milkshake without having to consume all of the fat that’s in ice cream. I’m definitely going to be using this simple, easy-to-customize recipe often!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups TruMoo Chocolate Marshmallow Milk (Limited Edition)
3 Chocolate sandwich cookies
Whipped cream to top

Instructions:

Freeze 1 cup of TruMoo Chocolate Marshmallow milk in an ice cube tray (1 cup filled my ice cube tray almost perfectly).
Remove frozen TruMoo cubes from tray and add to a blender, along with 3 chocolate sandwich cookies and an additional 1/2 cup milk (not frozen).
Blend until smooth.
Top with some whipped cream, grab a straw, and enjoy your low fat milkshake!

One thing I loved about the milkshake was how perfectly the marshmallowy flavor of the TruMoo combined with the cookies. It was an ideal marriage of cookies and cream, which makes it a delicious option for Valentine’s Day and beyond.

Finding the right balance between happy and healthy is never easy. That’s why there’s TruMoo.

What would you make with TruMoo’s Limited-time Chocolate Marshmallow milk? For product information and availability, visit TruMoo online and be sure to check out all of the drool-worthy recipes on the TruMoo website for more ideas.

Connect with TruMoo: Find TruMoo Recipe inspiration on Pinterest | Join the TruMoo community on Facebook

Blueberry Avocado Greek Yogurt Smoothie #15MinuteSuppers

Lolli — Fri, 06 Jun 2014 12:00:20 +0000

I love smoothies. Love them. So when the 15 Minute Suppers bloggers decided to do a beverages-themed recipe week, I knew I needed to make a smoothie recipe. I decided to try for something out of the ordinary rather than my typical mixed berries, OJ, and yogurt in the blender.

Not that there’s anything wrong with mixed berries, OJ, and yogurt.

I’ve heard that avocados are amazing in smoothies, and despite my husband’s up-turned nose, I was excited to try avocado in my smoothie.

It did not disappoint.

This smoothie was very creamy and mild – not too sweet, not too tart. I just wish it had turned out a little more blue.

Regardless of the color, it’s definitely something I’d love to make again!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Blueberry Avocado Greek Yogurt Smoothie

Save Print

Prep time

10 mins

Total time

10 mins

Author: Lolli

Serves: 2

Ingredients

1 cup Greek Yogurt (I used half cup plain and half cup blueberry)
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
½ cup avocado
1 banana
½ cup milk
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon honey
About 4-6 ice cubes

Instructions

Mix all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
Serve with fresh blueberries and whipped cream, if desired.

Need more quick 15 minute recipe ideas? Check out these other great #15MinuteSuppers!

Follow 15 Minute Suppers on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest
and look for the #15MinuteSuppers hashtag too!

Blueberry Avocado Greek Yogurt Smoothie from Better in Bulk
Blackberry Lemonade from Jen’s Journey
Chocolate Banana Shakes from Songs Kate Sang
Watermelon Strawberry Aqua Fresca from Around My Family Table
Sunshine Berry Spritzer from Liz on Call
Caramel Banana Cheesecake Smoothies from Famished Fish, Finicky Shark
Mango Avocado Smoothie from Upstate Ramblings

BLOGGERS: Would you like to join us at #15MinuteSuppers? We’d love to have you! Please check out the 15 Minute Suppers website or ask to join the Facebook group (for bloggers) to participate on Fridays…we’d love to have you join us.

Cookies ‘n Cream Yogurt Smoothie Recipe

Lolli — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 14:51:18 +0000

I LOVE smoothies….and while I typically make fruit and yogurt smoothies, sometimes I just crave something more chocolatey. When I was asked to come up with some recipes using WhoNu? cookies, I decided to experiment with a chocolate cookie smoothie. It took a few tries to get it just right, but I loved how this one turned out.

Cookies ‘n Cream Yogurt Smoothie Recipe

Prep time

5 mins

Total time

5 mins

Author: Lolli

Serves: 1

Ingredients

6 cubes vanilla yogurt
4 WhoNu?® Chocolate Sandwich Cookies
⅓ cup low fat milk
1 medium banana, if desired
Whipped topping, if desired

Instructions

Freeze vanilla yogurt in an ice cube tray. (Save extra yogurt cubes in a plastic zip-close bag inside the freezer to have on hand for future smoothies!)
Place 6 yogurt cubes, 4 WhoNu? ® Chocolate Sandwich Cookies and milk in blender and blend until smooth. (Blend in banana, if desired.)
Serve smoothie with whipped topping or as is.

You can find my other recipes on the WhoNu? Cookies website, or check back as I will be sharing them all here, too. I’d love for you to follow WhoNu? on Facebook as well (hint: more recipes on their FB page, too!).