Lemon Slush

   I just got back from Girl's Camp where I discovered a new favorite treat... Lemon Slush! It is so yummy on a hot summer day, and so easy to make. Thanks to Sabrina Stanley for sharing the recipe with me, so I could share it with all of you. I did find that I had to half the original recipe, as I do not have a huge freezer like they had at camp. Here is the recipe already halved which will work best for most regular sized freezers.

Lemon Slush
Ingredients:
   8 cups water
   1 cup sweetened lemonade mix
   1 cup sugar

Place sugar,lemonade mix,and 2 cups of water in a saucepan.


Place over medium high heat, and stir until sugar and lemonade mix are dissolved.
Remove from heat and set aside.

Place 6 cups of water in a freezer safe tub. (I found a 1 gallon ice cream tub was the perfect size for this.)
Add the lemonade mixture from the saucepan to the tub of water,

and stir until mixed well.

Place lid on tub and set in freezer.

After 2 hours, remove from freezer and stir. Return to freezer for another hour. Remove and stir; return to freezer for another hour. Continue to check the slush every hour and stir it.

It took my slush about 8-10 hours to freeze well. Freeze times will depend on how cold your freezer is. I found it works best to start this first thing in the morning on a day when I plan to be home.

Notes:

• It is important to stir the slush each hour. If you skip the stirring, your slush will freeze solid and then you will have to shave it with a heavy duty spoon or ice cream scoop. This is very labor intensive and time consuming. (Yes... I learned this the hard way on my first attempt at making this recipe!)
  
• You can use any sweetened drink mix in place of the lemonade mix to create a different flavored slush! Have fun experimenting!

Frozen Blueberries

   My children and I have been blueberry picking several times this summer. They don't love to pick the berries, but they sure love to eat them. They love them straight from the freezer!
   The proper way to freeze blueberries, so to pick them, place them in freezer Ziplock bags, and put them in the freezer. That's right... you don't wash them.
   When you are ready to use the blueberries, just wash them off. They thaw very quickly, especially after being washed. I do like to dry the berries if I'm adding them to a dough or batter of some kind. I just pat them dry with a paper towel.
   So go pick some blueberries and enjoy them all year! Just be sure to remind your children (and husband) to wash them before eating them straight from the freezer!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

   I have discovered the perfect after school treat... hot from the oven homemade cookies! No, I haven't been baking a batch of cookies every day, but I did bake several batches, and freeze the unbaked cookie dough balls. Now when it is almost time for my children to be home from school, I bake one pan of cookies. Easy as pie, I have hot fresh cookies.
   So instead of dragging up the hill after school, my children race up the hill to get to the cookies first!
   We have found that we like the cookies better when made from the frozen dough balls. The centers are a little softer and gooey! Check out the instructions under the "Notes" at the end of the recipe to learn how to freeze your cookie dough balls.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients:
   ½ cup butter
   ¼ cup sugar
   ½ cup brown sugar
   1 teaspoon vanilla
   1 egg
   1 teaspoon soda
   1¼ cups flour
   1 cup milk chocolate chips
   1 cup chopped nuts
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Cream together butter and sugars. Add vanilla, eggs, & soda and mix well. (If using unsalted butter, add ¼ teaspoon salt.) Add flour and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Drop dough by tablespoon (small cookie scoop) on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 9 to 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Makes about 30 cookies.

Notes:
   You can make a "pizza" (or cake) cookie by placing all the dough on a parchment covered 15 inch baking stone. Spread dough out until it is about ⅜ inch thick. Bake at 375 degrees F for 15 minutes. Makes one cookie. To give as a gift, cut the parchment paper that the cookie is on to fit inside a large pizza box. Remove parchment and cookie and place them in a pizza box. Decorate with frosting and mini M&M's.
   You can also make giant cookies with the large (3 Tbsp) cookie scoop. Spread dough out until about ⅜ inch thick. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. Makes about 10 cookies. These make great gifts! Just wrap each cookie individually with plastic wrap. If you are giving a single cookie as a gift, place a fun circular label with your message in the center of each cookie. If you are giving several cookies, place them in a cute basket and add a bow!
   You can freeze cookie dough balls prior to baking. Place balls on a tray lined with parchment paper. Place tray in freezer until balls are frozen solid. (A deep freezer works much faster than the regular freezer.) Place frozen balls in a gallon freezer Ziplock bag removing as much air as possible and label it.

These will be good for about 6 weeks in the freezer. When ready to bake, place frozen balls on cookie sheet.
Bake at 375 degrees for 13-15 minutes, or until golden brown.