Pineapple Lemonade Punch

I think spring is definitely on its way. I am still secretly hoping for snow,(cause I want to go sledding) but when its warmish its hard for me to not make lemonade, cause lemonade means warm weather, playing outside, and kids not being sick anymore! I need to celebrate so I'm making this delicious punch. Its pineapple sweet, lemon sour, and one of my favorite drinks. Enjoy!

Pineapple Lemonade Punch
Recipe Adapted from: FroggyandtheMouse.com

1/2 cup Countrytime Lemonade Mix
1 cup cold Water
2 3/4 cups Pineapple Juice, cold
1 can Sprite, cold
1/4 cup Lemon Juice, freshly squeezed

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix together and enjoy, cause its really good!

Chicken Noodle Soup Casserole

We eat a lot of soup. Chicken Noodle soup is in the rotation. We love it! When I found this recipe I was skeptical. It would probably be dry and definitely not nearly as good as soup. I couldn't have been more wrong. This is creamy, not dry at all. It has all of the flavor of chicken noodle soup in a surprisingly better way. So every time I think I want chicken noodle soup this is what I'll be making and the next time you're thinking of making soup, make this instead! 

Chicken Noodle Soup Casserole
Recipe Source: Cooking.com

3 Chicken Breasts, cubed
2/3 cup Onion, chopped
3 Garlic Clove, minced
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1-14.5 oz Chicken Broth
1 1/2 cups Carrots, chopped
3 Celery Ribs, chopped
1/2 teaspoon Thyme
3 Tablespoons Butter
3 Tablespoons All-Purpose Flour
3/4 teaspoon Salt
1/8 teaspoon Pepper
1 1/2 cups Milk
1 1/4 cups Cheddar Cheese, shredded
2 1/2 cups Rotini, cooked

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet heat your olive oil, saute onion and garlic until tender. Add the chicken and cook until no longer pink. Add in the broth, carrots, celery and thyme and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down, cover, and simmer for about 12 minutes, until vegetables are tender.

2. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in the flour, salt, and pepper and mix until smooth. Slowly add milk and bring to a boil. Cook and stir constantly for about 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat and add in the cheese and stir until melted. Pour over the chicken mixture, add in the noodles and mix well.

3. Pour into a 9x13 pan, sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes.

Pineapple Mango Orange Smoothie

Last week for my kids birthdays we went to Texas Roadhouse, one of my favorite places to eat, and this time I got a frozen drink. It was called something Jewel. I cant remember the exact name but it was orange, pineapple, and peach I think. Anyway, I really wanted to make it at home and tried to find a recipe and gave up. So I made it up... It the perfect combination of some of my favorite flavors and my kids loved it too.  Its creamy, icy, fruity, and sweet. Probably really good for the summer, or if you're like me and just have a smoothie craving!

Pineapple Mango Orange Smoothie
Recipe Source: I just made it up

1 cup Frozen Pineapple Concentrate, thawed
1 cup Frozen Mango Orange Concentrate, thawed
3 cups Orange Sherbet
1 cup Pina Colada Yogurt
1 cup Ice
Sugar to rim your glass

Combine all ingredients in the blender. Mix until smooth. Then I put a little of the pineapple concentrate on my finger and ran it around the edge of the glass and then dipped the glass in a plate of sugar.

Strawberry Shortcake Parfait and Secret Recipe Club

Hey! It seems like things haven't slowed down since Christmas. I've been busy planning a birthday party and its crazy. But I am so excited to share with you who I got for the Secret Recipe Club this month. The Heritage Cook!

This is one of my favorite sites to go to! She has so many fun things. First, she does Chocolate Mondays and since chocolate is my favorite thing, its perfect. Second, on her posts she has a 'hints & tips' section and its so helpful. There is always something useful. She also has a section on each of her newer posts for making the recipe gluten free. I don't need it but I'm sure its super helpful to lots of people.

I went through several recipes before deciding what I would make cause it all looks so delicious. But this Strawberry Shortcake with White Chocolate Whipped Cream Parfait looked too good to pass up.

The whole thing was so easy to make. The shortcake is soft and had a little tang from the lemon zest. The strawberries were just sweet enough to compliment the tangy-ness of the shortcake and the white chocolate whipped cream... There is just so much I could say. Its so good. Its sweet, creamy, and tastes just like light a fluffy white chocolate. It makes this shortcake parfait what it is!

Go over and see how great The Heritage Cook is!!

Strawberry Shortcake with White Chocolate Whipped Cream Parfait
Recipe Source: The Heritage Cook

Strawberries
3 cups Strawberries, hulled and diced
4 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar

Shortcakes
1 cup Heavy Cream, cold
1 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
3/4 teaspoon Salt
1 Tablespoon Granulated Sugar
4 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Lemon Zest
2 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar

White Chocolate Whipped Cream
4oz White Chocolate, chopped
1 cup Heavy Cream, divided
1 Tablespoon Granulated Sugar

Strawberries
Put the strawberries and the sugar in a medium bowl and mix together. Cover and refrigerate for at least a couple of hours. Every once in a while mix the strawberries. 

Shortcakes

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a stand mixer whisk the cream until soft peaks form. Spoon into another bowl.

In the mixer fitted with the paddle attachment put the flour, salt, sugar, baking powder and lemon zest and mix until just combined. Add the whipped cream and just beat until the mixture just comes together. Do not overbeat. Place the dough onto a floured counter and knead to finish mixing.

Roll the dough into a rectangle about an inch thick. Cut into thirds then cut each piece in half so you have squares. Place the squares onto a silpat covered baking sheet and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden.

White Chocolate Whipped Cream

In a double boiler melt the white chocolate with 1/4 cup of the cream until just about melted. Remove from the heat and whisk until smooth. Let cool to room temp.

In the bowl of your stand mixer beat the remaining 3/4 cup cream with the sugar until firm peaks form. Fold the whipped cream into the white chocolate mixture. Refrigerate.

Assembling the Parfaits

Break the shortcakes into small pieces. Place a couple of pieces in the bottom of each of your bowls. Add some strawberries and juice, some cake, and the whipped cream. Add more cake, strawberries and top with the whipped cream. Serve immediately.