Raspberry Peach Lemonade

I found this recipe on Eat, Drink, Love and made it for the party this weekend. Loved it! It's the perfect refreshing Summer drink. It is VERY tart as written, even with the full amount of sugar suggested, so if you like a sweeter lemonade you might want to increase the sugar. It's a little time consuming, but really easy!

Original recipe found here.

In a medium sauce pan, add 1 cup of water and the sugar or agave nectar. Heat on medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Reduce heat and add sliced peaches and raspberries and simmer for about 5 minutes. 

Pour the fruit mixture into a blender. Puree the fruit until smooth. Let cool completely. 

Once cooled, pour the fruit puree through a fine mesh strainer into a pitcher. 

Add the lemon juice and the rest of the water. Stir to combine and serve over ice.

Ingredients: 

3 medium peaches, peeled and sliced
6 oz. raspberries
6 cups water
1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar (I suggest at least 1/2 cup, more if you like it sweeter)
1 cup fresh lemon juice (6-7 lemons)

Directions: 

1. In a medium sauce pan, add 1 cup of water and the sugar or agave nectar. Heat on medium heat until the sugar dissolves. reduce heat and add sliced peaches and raspberries and simmer for about 5 minutes. 
2. Pour the fruit mixture into a blender. Puree the fruit until smooth. Let cool completely. 
3. Once cooled, pour the fruit puree through a fine mesh strainer into a pitcher. Discard the solids (or save them and freeze them like I did because they would be really yummy in yogurt or whatever) 
4. Add the lemon juice and the rest of the water. Stir to combine and serve over ice. Enjoy! 

Weekend Recap: Party Edition!

So this weekend was fabulous and I really don't understand why 3 day weekends aren't just the norm. I mean, 2 days?? That's barely enough time to get the house clean and go grocery shopping, forget relaxing! Who do we need to talk to so that this can be a thing?

You guys. I made a button for my blog. I feel super smart and savvy now. I realize this is pretty basic stuff but I'm still all proud.

<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.gracemakesnew.blogspot.com" title="Grace Makes New"><img src="http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l573/loveyoualatte/grace%20makes%20new_1.png" alt="Grace Makes New" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Here it is if you want to grab it! Let me know if you do, and now that I know how to add buttons I can add your button to my blog and it will be one big happy button swap love fest! That sounds kind of awkward. Moving on.

I got my gallery wall hung on Wednesday night so it was ready for the party! I lurve it:

Friday we slept in really, really late. Like way later than we have slept in a long time. Clearly it was much needed. We woke up slow, as Jack Johnson would say, and it was glorious! Then we went out to lunch and went to the store to get everything we still needed for the party. It may be nerdy and/or cheesy of me, but I just really enjoy little things like shopping with Adam and running errands. He makes everything more fun, even buying groceries! I know, I know, cheesy cheese.

After that we came home and I did some cleaning and prepping food for the party. I made the crust and filling for a fruit pizza and the Crack Pretzels. Adam made the most AMAZING BBQ chicken and ribs for dinner.

After dinner we watched the X-Files and I did my Jamberry manicure, more on that later!

On Saturday morning I finished up my cleaning and the food. Everyone arrived for the party about 3:30 and we had a great time!

IDK why my upper arm looks so out of proportion to the rest of my arm in this picture, it's kind of freakish. Clearly I have no idea how to pose for pictures in the most flattering way. Photogenic I am not. But it's the only one I have of me and Adam and other than my freakish arm it's a good picture! 

Saturday evening Adam and I watched movies and relaxed, the perfect ending to the day!

Sunday was a pretty lazy day, Adam went out to the field and I started watching The Good Wife, which I am now hooked on. We went to lunch and got treats:

And binge-watched Brooklyn Nine-Nine while I worked on our budget and meal planned. I've got another semi-short week this week because I only work half the day this Friday, so hopefully this week will go fast! How was your weekend? 

Peppermint Chocolate Chunk Cheesecake

Several of you requested the recipe for the cheesecake I made for the party, so here it is! 

Cheesecake can be kind of challenging if you've never made it before or you don't have much baking experience, but just follow the recipe and you should be fine! If you have any questions about it, let me know! I didn't write this recipe, but I've made it several times so I can help with questions! Enjoy!

 1 1/2 cups chocolate wafer cookie crumbs (I use chocolate graham crackers or teddy grahams)

1/4 cup butter, melted 

2 tablespoons sugar 

4 (8-oz.) packages cream cheese, softened 

1 (14-oz.) can sweetened condensed milk 

1/3 cup whipping cream 

1/4 cup sugar 

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 

2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

3 large eggs 

1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chunks 

1/2 cup coarsely crushed hard peppermint candies (about 18 candies) 

3/4 cup whipping cream 

1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate morsels 

Garnishes: 65 soft peppermint sticks (5 small bags), broken, and peppermint bark 

Preparation

Combine first 3 ingredients; stir well. Press mixture firmly on bottom of a lightly greased 9" springform pan. Bake at 325° for 14 minutes; let cool.

(My tip: Grease the springform pan really well, even if it's non-stick, and if you're still concerned about it sticking you can even line it with parchment paper, it will peel right off of the cheesecake after you remove the pan)

Beat cream cheese (room temp is best!) at medium-high speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add sweetened condensed milk, beating just until blended. Add 1/3 cup whipping cream and next 3 ingredients, beating just until blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until yellow disappears. Stir in chocolate chunks and crushed candies.

(My tip: Be careful not to overbeat, cheesecakes don't like being overbeaten! Just until it's mixed and not too high speed on the mixer)

Pour batter into baked crust. Bake at 325° for 52 to 55 minutes or until edges are set and center is almost set. Turn off oven. 

Immediately run a knife around edge of pan, releasing sides. With oven door slightly open, let cheesecake stand in oven 1 hour. Remove from oven; cool completely on a wire rack. Cover and chill 8 hours. Remove sides and bottom of pan; place cheesecake on a serving plate.

Pour 3/4 cup whipping cream into a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at HIGH 1 minute or until hot. Add 1 1/2 cups semisweet morsels; stir until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth. Pour ganache over chilled cheesecake, allowing ganache to spill over edges of cheesecake; smooth ganache with an offset spatula. Let stand 10 minutes before garnishing. Store in refrigerator.

Note:

 

For easy cleanup, place wax paper strips under edges of cheesecake on serving plate. When you pour the ganache, it will drip onto the wax paper. Gently remove wax paper strips after the 10-minute standing time.

Christmas with Southern Living 2008