St. Patty’s Day Brownies

St. Patty’s Day Brownies

 

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Ingredients
1 box brownie mix plus ingredients listed on the package, prepared according to box directions
1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
½ cup sugar
1 egg
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp vanilla
green food coloring (I used 12 drops)

optional: mint flavoring added to brownie mix or frosting!

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray using the Kitchen Spritzer. (or cover dish with parchment paper to easily remove after cooking)
Pour prepared brownie batter into the prepared 9 x 13 inch dish.

2. In a bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar together until well blended. Beat in the egg, flour, vanilla, and food coloring until well blended and smooth. Drop cream cheese mixture by tablespoonfuls evenly on top of batter. With knife, cut through mixture a few times to marble.

3. Bake as directed on brownie mix box or until toothpick inserted in center comes out almost clean. Cool completely, about 1 hour and cut into squares. Store in refrigerator.

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ULTIMATE GRASSHOPPER COOKIES

ULTIMATE GRASSHOPPER COOKIES

Cookies:
1 Box Devil's Food Cake mix
2 eggs
1/2 C. butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 Tbsp. brown sugar

Mint Frosting:
3/4 C. butter, softened
1 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
2-3 C. powdered sugar
milk, if needed
green food dye, if desired

Chocolate Glaze:
1 1/2 C. chocolate chips
3 Tbsp. butter
Andes Mint Candies, roughly chopped


directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. Combine cake mix, eggs, butter (make sure you let it cool a little so it doesn't cook the eggs), vanilla and sugar. That batter will be still.
3. Make dough balls a little large than a Tablespoon and place on cookie sheets to bake. (You make one to pat each dough ball down a little bit because cake mix cookies tend to bake up tall.)
4. Bake for 7-9 minutes and let cool on cooling racks.
5. Mint Frosting: Beat butter for 2 minutes. Add peppermint extract and slowly add it powdered sugar until you reach your desired consistency. Add 1-2 Tablespoons milk if it gets too thick. Add green dye for color if desired.
6. Chocolate Glaze: Melt chocolate chips and butter together in a microwave proof bowl. Zap for about 30 seconds, then stir, then microwave in 10 second increments and stir until smooth.
7. To assemble (see photos). Pipe on frosting, smooth over with a knife, spoon on your glaze and top with peppermint candies.

CHECK OUT THE TUTORIAL: http://www.yourcupofcake.com/2013/07/ultimate-grasshopper-cookies.html 

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REFRESHING FLAVORED WATER IDEAS & RECIPES

~REFRESHING FLAVORED WATER IDEAS & RECIPES~

I’ve always liked drinking my water with a slice or two of lemon–-that extra little touch of flavor just makes water more appealing to me. There are a lot of other ways you can flavor water naturally. You can get really creative with it! Here are some ideas…

Add a slice of your favorite citrus to a tall glass of ice water…try lemon, lime, or orange slices. Or combine them…slices of lemon and lime…orange and lime…or try all three together!

Fresh mint is always a great addition to a glass of ice water.

Combine lemon slices with fresh herbs in your water…try lemon with mint, rosemary, thyme, or sliced ginger root.

Cucumbers are great in water, too! Slice up a large cucumber and add it to a pitcher of water…it’s really refreshing. You can also try cucumber with some fresh thyme added in. Or cucumber slices with lemon or orange slices.

If you want a more intense flavor to your glass of water, squeeze the citrus and/or twist the herbs you are using before you add them to your glass.

Besides lemons, oranges, and limes, you can try adding other kinds of fruit to your glass or pitcher of water…a small handful of your favorite berries (or mixed berries) is a nice addition to a glass of ice water. Other fruits you can try alone or in combination are: watermelon, cantaloupe, mango, pineapple, grapefruit, grapes, and kiwi.

Orange and mint or strawberry and cucumber combinations to flavor your water–are also great ideas!

NOTE: I usually drink my flavored water the same day I make it…I think it tastes best that way. Depending on what you add to your water, it may get cloudy or bitter-tasting if stored in the refrigerator too long.

If you’re wanting to make a pitcher of flavored water, you basically just slice or chop up some fresh fruit, cucumbers, or herbs and place in a pitcher, add cold water and chill several hours. The result is water infused with a light, natural flavor. It’s ready to serve over ice, garnished with a slice of fruit or clipping of an herb of your choice. Here are some other recipes for flavored water you may want to try:

CITRUS CUCUMBER WATER

1 large lemon, sliced
1 large lime, sliced
1 large orange, sliced
1 large cucumber, sliced
1 half-gallon of water
Place all the sliced fruits and the cucumber in a glass pitcher and add water. Refrigerate for two hours to allow flavors to infuse, then serve in glasses over ice.

CUCUMBER–HERBAL WATER

5 cups water
10 thin slices of cucumber
2 lemon slices
2 sprigs of fresh mint
3 sprigs of rosemary
Put water in pitcher and add lemon slices and cucumber slices. Crush mint and rosemary to release flavor, then add to other ingredients. Refrigerate for several hours. Serve over ice in tall glasses. Garnish with a lemon wedge.

CUCUMBER–MELON WATER

1 large cucumber, sliced
1/4 honeydew melon, cubed
1/4 cantaloupe, cubed
1 half-gallon water
Place cucumber and melons in a glass pitcher and add water. Refrigerate for 2 hours, then serve over ice. Garnish with melon balls skewered on a swizzle stick.

HONEYDEW–LIME WATER

2–3 slices of ripe honeydew melon
1 lime, sliced
4 sprigs of mint
1 half-gallon of water
Add melon slices, lime slices and mint sprigs to a large pitcher; fill with the half-gallon of water and refrigerate 2–4 hours. Serve in ice-filled glasses. Makes about 8 servings.

HERB AND BERRY–FLAVORED WATER

1 cup fresh blueberries, lightly crushed
2 4–inch sprigs of fresh rosemary. lightly bruised (to release more flavor)
1 half-gallon of water
Add blueberries and rosemary sprigs to a large pitcher; fill with the half-gallon of water and refrigerate 2–4 hours. Serve in ice-filled glasses. Makes about 8 servings.

LEMON–LAVENDER WATER

3 large lemons, sliced
1/4 cup fresh lavender
1 half-gallon of water
Add lemon slices and lavender to pitcher; pour water over both and refrigerate for 2 hours. Serve over ice and garnish with a sprig of lavender.

LEMON–MINT or LEMON-BASIL WATER

4 lemons, sliced
1 1/2 cups firmly packed fresh mint or basil leaves
6–8 cups water
6–8 cups ice cubes
Fresh mint or basil sprigs
Place lemon slices in a large pitcher. Rub the mint or basil leaves between the palms of your hands to bruise the leaves slightly. Add to the pitcher with lemon and pour in the water. Cover and chill 1–8 hours.

Strain lemon–water mixture and discard herbs. Divide lemon slices and additional fresh mint or basil sprigs equally among 6–8 glasses. In each glass, add 1 cup of ice cubes, then fill with lemon water.

LEMON, LIME AND ORANGE WATER

1 large lemon, sliced
1 large lime, sliced
1 large orange, sliced
1/4 cup cilantro leaves (optional)
1 half-gallon of water
Add citrus slices (and cilantro leaves, if desired) to a large pitcher; fill with the half-gallon of water and refrigerate 2 hours. Serve in ice-filled glasses. Garnish with your favorite citrus slice (and a sprig of cilantro, if you’re using that). Makes about 8 servings.

FROZEN FRUIT WATER

2 cups frozen apple chunks, grapes, or berries
1 half-gallon of water
Add frozen fruit to a pitcher; pour water over fruit and let sit at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Stir to distribute fruit flavor and serve in glasses with some ice cubes. (Note: you can chop up the same kind of fruit, unfrozen, and follow same directions. You’ll need to use more ice when serving the unfrozen fruit–flavored water).

ORANGE–MINT WATER

3 large oranges, sliced
10 mint leaves
1 half-gallon of water
Put sliced oranges and mint leaves in pitcher and add water; refrigerate for 2 hours to infuse flavors. Pour over ice and garnish with a sprig of mint and orange slice.

WATERMELON–BASIL WATER

2 cups seedless watermelon, cubed
10 basil leaves
1 half-gallon of water
Pour water over melon and basil; refrigerate for 2 hours. Serve over ice, garnished with a sprig of basil

FRUIT WATER

1 each of the following fruits: apple, lemon, orange, pear
4 large strawberries
Handful of raspberries
Handful of mint leaves
1 half-gallon of water
Cut large slices or thin wedges of each fruit; place them in a large glass pitcher and add cold water. Refrigerate 2 hours and serve over ice in tall glasses.

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as seen on and copied from facebook :)

HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE VITAMIN WATER

HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE VITAMIN WATER

Select your flavors: 
Cucumber, 
Watermelon-Mint, 
Citrus Rush (Orange, Grapefruit, Lemon, Lime), 
Raspberry-Lime, 
Pineapple-Strawberry
 
Chop up fruit
 
Add water or seltzer water

Drink Cooler: Watermelon Mint Cooler

Drink Cooler: Watermelon Mint Cooler
for more >> Time 4 Learning

Want to indulge in a low-calorie cocktail to kick back from your lethargic afternoon mood? Then try our yummy watermelon mint cooler. This refreshing watermelon drink will surely refresh you and sink you in an utopia right from the first sip. 

Ingredients:
• 2 cups watermelon cubes
• ½-teaspoon lemon juice
• 1-2 tsp sugar
• 5-6 mint leaves
• ¼ tsp black salt/rock salt
• 4-5 ice cubes 

Method:
1. Remove seeds from the watermelon and blend it with mint leaves and sugar.
2. Strain if necessary. Add lemon juice and black salt. Serve chilled with crushed ice cubes.
3. Garnish with mint or lime wedges. 

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FAT FLUSH WATER

FAT FLUSH WATER !!!

You should drink at least three 8 oz glasses per day, they say the longer it sits, the better it tastes. You can eat them as well but they are intended as flavoring and still work, so that is a personal choice. The Vitamin C turns fat into fuel, the tangerine increases your sensitivity to insulin, and the cucumber makes you feel full. Try it for 10 days and see what you think!

Ingredients per 8 oz serving

Water
1 slice grapefruit
1 tangerine
½ cucumber, sliced
2 peppermint leaves
Ice – as much as you like

Directions
Wash grapefruit, tangerine, cucumber and peppermint leaves. Slice cucumber, grapefruit and tangerine (or peel). Combine all ingredients (fruits, vegetables, 8 oz water, and ice) into a large pitcher.

Stir & Enjoy!

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DETOX DRINK

DETOX DRINK

Ingredients:
1 cucumber
1 lemon
2 limes
1 orange (optional, I like it in mine for a sweeter flavor)
1 bunch of mint

Instructions:
Wash & Slice them all and divide the ingredients between four 24 oz water bottles or a large pitcher. Fill with water. Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight... Enjoy!!!


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