Mixed Berry Milkshake

You can't go wrong with milkshakes!

Ingredients
1 cup raspberries
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 cups good-quality strawberry ice cream
1/4 cup buttermilk
whipped cream (optional, for garnish)

Directions
Bring raspberries, sugar, and lemon juice to a boil in a saucepan over medium, stirring constantly.

Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 1 minutes.

Remove from heat, and let cool.

Process 2 cups strawberry ice cream, 1/4 cup buttermilk, and 3 tablespoons cooled raspberry sauce in a blender until smooth.

Stir in 1/3 cup chopped blackberries.

Divide between 2 glasses; top with whipped cream and raspberry sauce.

Chocolate Milkshake

The better quality chocolate and ice cream that you use, the better your milkshake will taste.

Makes 2 milkshakes.

Ingredients
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 ounces chopped, good-quality bittersweet chocolate
2 cups good-quality chocolate ice cream
1/3 cup whole milk

Directions
Heat 1/2 cup heavy cream in a saucepan over medium, stirring often until hot, about 5 minutes.

In a small bowl, pour cream over 4 ounces chopped chocolate. Let stand 1 minute; whisk until smooth to make a rich chocolate ganache.

Process 2 cups chocolate ice cream, 1/3 cup whole milk and 3 tablespoons of the chocolate ganache in a blender until smooth.


Rocky Road Variation: Stir in 2 tablespoons chopped, roasted and salted almonds. Divide between 2 glasses; top each with 3 toasted marshmallows, and drizzle with chocolate ganache.

Hawaiian Berry Smoothie

Two different smoothie flavors in bright colors layered in a glass make for a "wow" presentation factor. And it tastes just as good as it looks. Adapted from "The First Year: Something Sweet."

Makes 3 full-size smoothies (with layers of both Hawaiian and Berry smoothies).

Hawaiian Layer
1 orange, sliced
2 frozen bananas, sliced
1 cup frozen mango chunks
1/2 cup orange juice, plus more if smoothie is too thick

Berry Layer
1 (6-oz.) container raspberry yogurt
2 cups frozen mixed berries
1 frozen banana, sliced
1/2 cup milk, plus more if smoothie is too thick

Place Hawaiian Layer ingredients in a high-powered blender and blend. Add more orange juice, as needed, if smoothie is too thick. Pour Hawaiian Layer smoothie to fill your serving glasses half-way. Or, reserve mixture until after your Berry Layer is ready and make multiple layers by alternating both kinds of smoothie.

Place Berry Layer ingredients in a high-powered blender and blend. Add more milk, as needed, if smoothie is too thick. Alternate in serving glasses with Hawaiian layer, as desired.

Just Like Jamba Juice

This is one of my all-time favorite smoothies.

8 ounces orange juice (NOT the frozen, reconstituted stuff)

2 generous scoops of frozen vanilla yogurt

1 cup frozen peach slices

1 cup frozen strawberries

Half of a frozen banana

1 cup ice cubes

Add above ingredients to blender in order listed. Use ice-crush setting on blender to mix well.

For a printable version of this recipe, go here.

Berry Patch Lemonade

This makes for a lovely and impressive presentation. Perfect for summer entertaining.

1 pound berries, fresh or frozen (strawberries, raspberries, blackberries)

1 (12-ounce) can frozen lemonade concentrate

4 (12-ounce) cans cold water

ice cubes

mint leaves

Puree berries in a blender. Mix lemonade with water in a pitcher. Add pureed berries; blend and chill. Pour over ice in tall glasses and garnish with mint.

For a printable version of this recipe, go here.