Pineapple Iced Tea Punch

This recipe is so ridiculously easy. You will be amazed at how easy it was to put together and how great it tastes.  Let me know if you try it, I promise you will love this amazing punch.



INGREDIENTS
46 oz. unsweetened pineapple juice
1 cup sugar
3-4 bags of black tea
3 quarts of water
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice


DIRECTIONS

1. Prepare the tea and water. (I just threw it in my tea maker and let it work but feel free to boil the tea in the water to your desired tea strength.)
2. Add in cup of sugar and stir until dissolved.
3. Pour pineapple juice in pitcher and add lemon juice. Stir until well blended.
4. Refrigerate overnight so flavors can blend together and enjoy!

Thanksgiving Dinner Party

I'm so happy right now. My first dinner party was a great success.  Hubby finished cleaning the house and getting everything in order for our guests while I finished cooking the food.  This year I wanted to have a dinner party to celebrate Thanksgiving before the big date since all of the Philly family will be scattered this year.

On the menu was a smoked turkey breast and a mini ham from the wonderful Honeybaked Ham store.
We had Pineapple Iced Tea Punch to drink and I made all the sides starting with the dressing and ending with two desserts.  The sides included the cornbread dressing, southern baked macaroni & cheese, turnip greens with chopped turnips, baked candied butternut squash, Sister Shubert yeast rolls, homemade onion gravy, and a delicious orange cranberry sauce.  For dessert, we had a lemon cake with cream cheese icing and my new revised sweet potato pie recipe that I think I'm going to keep top secret.

Recipes will follow soon!

If I don't get a chance to say so before then, I wish everyone a blessed and happy holiday season.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti

So Thursday nights are my late nights at work.  I don't get off until 7pm.  I sent my hubby a text around 5:30 or so asking him if he felt up to making my latest Kitchen Kreation for me or did he want to go get some take out.

He never replied back, so I just thought, oh well, he'll figure it out.

LOL!

So anyway, I came up with this new one and calculated the recipe out on sparkpeople. For 8 small servings, the calorie count came out to 197! For 6 larger servings, the calorie count was 263!  Have I mentioned before how much I LOVE LOVE LOVE figuring out a low calorie meal???  It turned out to be really good, very nutritious and full of vegetables.

INGREDIENTS

6 cups cooked spaghetti squash (1 small-medium sized squash)
3 cloves garlic - minced
1 jar Ragu sauce (I used the Ragu Sauteed Onion & Garlic, but feel free to use your favorite)
2 Tbsp ketchup (optional - more or less to taste)
1 cup onions - chopped
1 cup bell peppers - chopped
1 pound lean ground turkey (93%)
2 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp salt (optional)

 

DIRECTIONS

1. Stab squash several times and put it in the ;microwave on high for 12-15 minutes.
2. While squash is cooking, brown ground turkey.
3. Add onions, bell pepper and garlic. Saute until tender.
4. Drain any excess grease or liquid when done and set aside.
5. When squash is tender, slice the squash open, and scoop out and discard the seeds.
3. Take a fork and start scraping at the "meat" of the squash.
4. Over medium-low heat, place squash and meat in medium sized pot. Add spaghetti sauce to pot. Stir well to combine.
5. Add ketchup, Italian seasoning, salt & pepper to pot. Stir well.
6. (Optional) Top with 1 tsp of Parmesan cheese and enjoy!

Hubby said this was his kind of recipe. It was easy and delicious! This is actually only the 2nd time we have tried the spaghetti squash but I believe it's a keeper.

Hope you enjoy!