Petra’s Favorite Holiday Raspberry Ice Cream Punch Recipe

Like most families, one of the things my family looks forward to is the special food we make for our Christmas and New Years celebrations.  This special raspberry ice cream punch recipe is one of my family’s favorites.  Not only is it super easy to make, it’s very tasty and pretty too!  My family likes it so much, they often ask me to make this recipe for special family gatherings throughout the year too.  People who try it always ask me what’s in it, so I figured I might as well post it online to share with all my friends, family and clients too.

Raspberry Punch Ingredients:

2 liter bottle of ginger ale
2 quarts of any mixed raspberry 100% juice blend
1 container of frozen raspberry sherbet ice cream
frozen or fresh raspberries to top off the punch

Pour ginger ale and raspberry juice blend into punch bowl.   Add ball shaped scoops of the raspberry sherbet ice cream all over the top of liquid.  Then spread the raspberries evenly on top of the ice cream scoops.  They’ll float for a while on top of the sherbet, but as it melts they will sink to the bottom.  You’ll want to make sure you include some of the raspberries with each serving of the punch because they truly add a richer flavor to the punch and they’re yummy to eat, as you get to the bottom of your glass.

I love shopping at Costco and they often have a frozen mixed berry blend which I’ve used (as you see in the picture above), because it’s more affordable than buying a small bag of frozen raspberries at the grocery store.  Plus I usually have some of the frozen mixed berries blend in my freezer because I use them to make protein shakes.  So the good thing about this recipe is that it is flexible and you can adjust it according to your tastes and ingredients you may already have on hand.

I’ve used various raspberry juice blends depending on what I can find and what’s on sale.  So just pick a combination that works for you (raspberry pomegranate is one of my favorites and raspberry with cranberry is pretty tasty too).   That’s part of what’s so fun about this recipe is trying different raspberry juice blends. I recommend you use a 100% juice blend, without added sugar, because it’s more refreshing since the ginger ale and ice cream have more than enough sugar.

People often ask if you can put alcohol in this punch.  We often do add some of the punch to a glass of wine and it’s quite yummy.  I prefer to do that, rather than adding the alcohol into the actual punch bowl, because not everyone will want alcohol in their punch.

I’d love to hear what you think, after trying this recipe and hear any variations you may have come up with too.

I hope you and your family have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND BLESSED NEW YEAR!!!

Sopapilla Cheesecake Recipe

2 (8oz) pkgs cream cheese

2 (8oz) pkgs refrigerated crescent rolls

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

½ cup butter (one stick), melted

1/3 cup cinnamon sugar

2 Tblsp honey

1. Using a 9×13 baking pan, unroll one pkg of crescent rolls and line the bottom of the pan.
2. Seal perforations and flatten.
3. Mix together the cream cheese, sugar & vanilla.
4. Spread over crescent rolls.
5. Unroll the other can of crescent rolls and place on top of cream cheese mixture.
6. Mix honey in with the melted butter and pour over the top.  Sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!!

This is another great recipe shared by my friend Lori, who always has the best recipes to share.  Sadly she is moving away and I will miss her and her wonderful recipes.

This extreme winter weather has put me in the mood for soup.  I have made so many wonderful soup recipes this winter, but this one has got to be my favorite.  It’s so easy and simple, yet so tasty.   We have a teenage exchange student from Germany staying with us for the school year and he has quite the appetite.  If you have some big eaters in your home, you may want to double this recipe.

Creamy White Chicken Chili

1 lb. chicken breast, cut into cubes

1 medium onion, chopped

1 ½ tsp garlic powder

1 Tbsp oil

2 cans (15 oz) great northern beans, rinsed & drained

1 can (14 oz) chicken broth

2 cans (4 oz) green chilies

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp dried oregano

½ tsp pepper

1 tsp chili powder

1 cup whipping cream

In a large saucepan, sauté chicken, onion and garlic powder in oil until chicken is no longer pink.  Add the beans, broth, chilies, and seasonings.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for 30 minutes.  Remove from heat; stir in whipping cream.  Serve immediately.

Thanks to my friend Lori for another wonderful recipe!

My good friend Lori shared this simple, but yummy and super easy to make pretzel and Rolo candy recipe.  I love cooking and even more so, when the recipe is simple and tasty.  It’s such an easy recipe to make and yet it looks like some gourmet candy.  This is a great combination of sweet and salty flavors with pretzels, caramel and chocolate!  Here’s what you’ll need:

Square shaped pretzels (waffle shape)
Rolo (caramel and chocolate candy)
Pecan halves (toasted)

Directions:

Place a Rolo on each pretzel and bake at 250 degrees for 3 to 5 minutes.  Keep a close eye on them and take them out when you can tell the chocolate is just soft enough to press the pecan into.  The chocolate should appear a bit shiny.  Remove the pretzels/Rolos from the oven and gently push a pecan half down on top of each one until the chocolate expands to cover most of the pretzel.  Let them cool at room temperature until the chocolate “sets” again.  Enjoy!

I made these yummy cookies for a Christmas Party and everyone just loved them.  Leading the life of a busy Columbus Ohio Real Estate Agent, I only take time to post my best recipes.  So I hope you enjoy this one and have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS with your family!

You can thank my friend Lori for convincing me to share this recipe so she could make some for Christmas Gifts.  These are special cookies indeed, as Lori says, unlike any she’s ever had.  I think the cream cheese is the secret ingredient.  Almost anything with cream cheese in it is tasty!

Walnut Crescent Cookies

1 1/4 Cups butter softened
1- 8 oz package (light) cream cheese softened
2 cups ground walnuts
3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup lowfat milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon (optional)
1/2 tsp salt

In large bowl, beat 1 cup of the butter and the cream cheese until light and fluffy.  Gradually add the flour, beating until the mixture forms a ball.  Divide dough into 3  portions and roll each into a 12 inch circle.  Melt the remaining butter and combine with the walnuts, 3/4 cup sugar, milk, vanilla, cinnamon and salt.  Spread over the circles.  Cut each into 12 wedges.  Roll up wedges, starting from the wide ends.

Place the pointy side down on greased baking sheets (stoneware works nicely).  Curve ends to form crescents.  Bake at 325 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until lightly browned.

Place remaining sugar in a small shallow bowl.  Roll warm cookies in the sugar.  Enjoy!!

Fröhlich weihnachts und glückliches Neujahr!!

Are you looking for a good recipe to make use of that leftover Thanksgiving turkey?  My Mother In Law shared this great Turkey Tetrazzini recipe with me that my family just loves.  Of course, like with most recipes, I always adapt them to my taste.  The wonderful combination of garlic, mushrooms, aged Parmesan cheese and real butter are what give this dish it’s flavor.

Here’s Petra’s version of Turkey Tetrazzini:

1 cup butter
3 TBSP Olive Oil
2 TSP Minced Garlic
1 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced
4 cups chicken broth
4 TBSP Flour
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
5 TBSP dry sherry
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (aged is preferable for more flavor)
1/2 TSP Ground Nutmeg
4 cups cubed cooked turkey
1 pkg cooked angel hair pasta
1 cup Italian Style bread crumbs

Heat 1/2 cup butter and olive oil in a large saucepan.  Add mushrooms and garlic and saute for 5 minutes then remove, leaving any juices in the pan.  Add the chicken broth and cook until heated.  Thoroughly mix the flour into 1/4 cup of the cream together in a cup,  then slowly add to the heated chicken broth and continue stirring until it’s thickened.  Remove from heat and add the cream, sherry, Parmesan cheese and nutmeg and continue stirring until the cheese melts.  Add the turkey and mushrooms then combine with the cooked pasta.  Melt 1/2 cup butter and toss with the bread crumbs then sprinkle over the casserole.  Bake in a preheated 375 degrees oven for 25-30 minutes.

Note, I typically try to cook as healthy as possible, this dish is probably an exception to that rule.  I try to substitute hi calorie/fat ingredients whenever possible.  However, this dish calls for real butter and trust me, to get the full rich flavor this dish offers, I recommend not substituting anything, especially not the real butter.

Enjoy with some salad and wine and you have a complete meal.  Bon Appe`tit!!

Here’s another great recipe a friend made for a recent dinner that I had at my home.  This is the best corn recipe I’ve ever had - I’ve never had anything like this.  I thought it was so wonderful that I just have to share!  This would also be great for Thanksgiving.

Creamy Fried Confetti Corn

8 bacon slices

4 cups corn kernels

1 medium white onion, chopped

1/3 cup chopped red bell pepper

1/3 cup chopped green bell pepper

1 (8-oz) package cream cheese, cubed

½ cup half-and-half

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1.) Cook bacon in a large skillet until crisp; remove bacon and drain on paper towels, reserving 2 tablespoons drippings in skillet.  When bacon is cool, crumble and set aside.

2.) Saute corn, onion, and bell peppers in hot drippings in skillet over medium-high heat 6 minutes or until tender.  Add cream cheese and half-and-half, stirring until cream cheese melts.  Stir in sugar, salt, and pepper.  Pour into serving dish and top with crumbled bacon.

3.) ENJOY!!

Serves 6 to 8.

I got together with some women friends last night and a wonderful woman made the best Pumpkin Cheesecake that I have ever tasted.  I really loved the flavor and crunch of the gingersnap and pecan crust. I don’t often like American style cheesecake because most of them are too sweet and/or too creamy for me.  Being from Germany, I miss the authentic cheese cake that I’ve had in Germany.  It’s not nearly as sweet as what we have in America and it’s less creamy too.

I’m always looking for unique pumpkin recipes to make for Thanksgiving, as an alternative to pumpkin pie.  With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I thought this recipe was worth sharing with anyone looking for a new pumpkin recipe to try on your family.  Don’t be afraid to try this one, trust me, they’ll love it!! It’s so good you might not want to wait until Thanksgiving to try it though. My friend was reluctant to try this new recipe out on her girlfriends, but I’m so glad she did, otherwise I might not know about this one.  Thanks Lori!!!

Deluxe Pumpkin Cheesecake

1 cup crushed gingersnap cookies (about 20)
1/3 cup finely chopped pecans
¼ cup butter, melted
4-8 oz. pkgs cream cheese, softened
1 ½ cups sugar, divided
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 ½  teaspoons ground nutmeg

1. Place a greased 9-in. spring form pan on a double thickness of foil.  Securely wrap foil around pan.
2. Using food processor crush cookies until they are fine crumbs.
3. In a small bowl, combine the cookie crumbs, pecans and butter.  Press onto the bottom of prepared pan.  Place on a baking sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until set. Cool.
4. For filling, in a large bowl, beat one package of cream cheese, ½ cup sugar and cornstarch until smooth, about 2 minutes.  Beat in remaining cream cheese, one package at a time.  Add remaining sugar.  Add 2 eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Add vanilla and remaining eggs, beating on low speed just until combined.
5. Place 2 cups of filling in a small bowl and add the pumpkin, cinnamon and nutmeg to it.  Remove ¾ cup of this new pumpkin filling; set aside.  Pour remaining pumpkin filling over crust; top with remaining plain filling. Drop reserved pumpkin filling by spoonfuls over cheesecake; cut through with a knife to swirl.
6. Place spring form pan in a large baking pan; add 1 inch of hot water to larger pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 55-65 minutes or until center is just set and top appears dull.  Remove spring form pan from water bath. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer.  Refrigerate overnight.

I hope you enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family and remember to give thanks to God for all that he has done for you this year. We are so blessed in America and I think we often take it for granted. Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to stop and share with one another what all you have to be thankful for over the last year. ENJOY!!