When I think summer, I always think lemonade! It’s sweet, cool and totally refreshing! This summer is one of the hottest (and driest) on record for our area, so our family is looking for new and delicious ways to cool off. This easy to make Summer Raspberry Lemonade Punch can be prepared in minutes is a family friendly drink everyone will love!

A regular item on my Sam’s Club grocery list this season is Simply Lemonade®! It’s available in 2 flavors, Lemonade and Raspberry Lemonade and either one works great in this recipe. This convenient (2 pack) all-natural, fresh tasting lemonade is made with simple ingredients like pure filtered water, cane sugar, not-from-concentrate fruit juice and natural flavors. With no added preservatives colors or artificial flavors, you’ll never have to make your own lemonade again! It’s also available for a special price- $3.58 all summer long. Yum!

Start by getting out your favorite glass pitcher. This will keep your punch nice and cold, even on a steamy day.

Pour one bottle of Simply Lemonade into your pitcher along with ginger ale, frozen raspberries and freshly sliced lemons. With a wooden spoon, give the punch a really good stir.

If you want to, you can also make this drink ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve. I usually can’t wait that long though!

I like to chill my mason jar style glasses in the refrigerator too. I guess I just can’t get enough cold when it’s hot out!

Make this simple recipe really special by letting your kiddos help add ingredients, garnishes, do a little taste testing of their own and last but not least, add colorful striped straws to the glasses just before serving!

With plenty of summer left, this yummy drink is perfect for your next cookout, family gathering or relaxing pool party weekend out on your patio! Enjoy!

Who will you share your Lemonade with this Summer?

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I really like chocolate. Well, I love chocolate. I don’t know too many women who don’t! Since I am trying to really watch what I eat lately and get a little more exercise in, I’ve obviously had to limit my chocolate consumption. What works really great for me is having one of these fun sized chocolate bars for dessert. I eat each of the 4 squares slowly to enjoy it and usually I am satisfied with that. Not the other day though. I was in the mood for brownies! I made these yummy Lightened Up Dark Chocolate Raspberry Brownies and they definitely hit the spot!

These brownies can be mixed up quickly in a bowl and served warm from the oven if you like. Because my main goal here was chocolate- I didn’t mess around. I used Special Dark Chocolate Cocoa Powder along with Dark Chocolate chips. These brownies contain no butter and I limited the sugar, so compared a regular brownie, these will taste a little different, but still pretty darn tasty.

After you’ve mixed in your melted chocolate chips, you can gently fold in your fresh raspberries. I just love chocolate and raspberry flavors together!

I didn’t tell my family these were lightened up and after dinner everyone was excited for dessert because the brownies made the kitchen smell so good when they were baking!

My husband didn’t care for these because he thought they were “the real thing”, but my children and I liked them a lot. These brownies are cake like, chocolatey and delicious! They aren’t overly sweet, but I find that when you start cutting bad things out of your diet, you really don’t seem to need as much sugar. I really loved the raspberry swirled into every bite!

We had a few of these leftover, so I stored them individually in bags and they kept very well for a few days.

If you are looking for a chocolate treat, without all of the guilt, give these yummy Lightened Up Dark chocolate Raspberry Brownies a try!

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It’s almost summer and I can’t wait! Fun in the sun, my garden full of fresh vegetables and last but not least- picking fresh berries. Oh, how I love fresh berries! Strawberries, Raspberries, Blackberries and Blueberries, Yum! In the summer I could live off of them. Usually I eat fresh berries by themselves or over my cereal or yogurt, but for a special treat, I love berries in a homemade pie. Summer wouldn’t be summer without some of those freshly picked berries being baked into a buttery crust and then topped with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream for dessert. To make pie making even easier, I’m using the Breville Personal Pie Maker to prepare these yummy Mixed Berry Pies.

The Breville Personal Pie Maker from Williams-Sonoma creates 4 individual pies in less time than it does to make your usual 9 inch pie in the oven. It’s quick, easy, and most of all your family will love the tasty pies it makes. My children love having their own special pies and possibilities are endless!

Apple pies, berry pies, even chicken pot pies- you name it, this neat little appliance makes it. You can even make a bunch of pies for your next summer cookout! What a treat that would be!

To get started on these Mini Mixed Berry Pies, I’m making the filling. If berries “aren’t ripe for the picking” yet in your neck of the woods, it’s absolutely fine to grab the fresh berries at your local grocery store. Rinse your berries and gently toss them with sugar, a little flour and cinnamon in a medium mixing bowl.

Transfer the berry filling mixture to an 8 x 8 glass baking dish and bake until it’s thick and bubbly. Just like you would a pie, but without the crust! If you don’t want to make your own filling, or are running short on time, Williams-Sonoma offers a Blueberry Pie Filling that is absolutely delicious!

After the berry filling is cooked and cooled, go ahead and roll out your dough. You may use your own homemade recipe or your favorite store bought pie crust. You can also use pie crust on the bottom and then light, flaky puff pastry for the top of your pies.

The Breville Personal Pie Maker comes with a pie crust cutter and a dough tamper to ensure you get the perfect size pies every time.

Simply cut out the bottom part of the pie crust with the dough cutter and place it into the pie maker. Then use the dough tamper to make the center of the crust ready for the filling.

Place 1/3 cup of the cooked, cooled mixed berry filling into each pie.

Then using the smaller side of the round dough cutter, cut out the tops of the pie.

Place the tops on evenly and close the pie maker tightly. Set your timer for 8-10 minutes and you’ve got yourself 4 delicious Mini Mixed Berry Pies for dessert!

Have a little fun in your kitchen this summer and create some of the yummiest pies your family has ever had with the Breville Personal Pie Maker!

These delicious pies keep really well too. I stored the extra pies I made in a plastic container and even had one for breakfast with my coffee! Enjoy!

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Good Morning!  As I bundle my kiddos up this morning to head off to school, I am wishing that the weather felt more like Spring.  It’s still so cold and snowy here, so I am making the best of it!  Baking always puts me in a great mood, and with ripe (almost black) bananas sitting over on my counter, I knew a few loaves of banana bread were definitely in order.  I decided to brighten up that banana bread and my day by adding these plump, juicy raspberries to the batter! The result is a moist and beautiful Raspberry Banana Bread that is perfect for breakfasts or snacks!

I’ve been grabbing several packages of berries at the grocery store lately because they just look so good!  My four kiddos can easily eat 1 or 2 packages for snacks, so managing to have some available for myself when I am looking for some can sometimes be difficult.  Not with this simple recipe!  Everyone will get their fair share of berries with a slice of this yummy bread.  It tastes great with a cup of coffee or even a cold glass of milk!

Fresh, juicy raspberries are gently folded into a smooth banana and buttermilk batter to give you the prettiest and tastiest loaf of bread!  I love the bright red colors throughout these loaves and each bite gives you that a delicious fresh raspberry & banana flavor.

If you are sick of the Winter weather and want to surprise your family with something different for breakfast or a snack, give this recipe a try!  You can even freeze the extra loaves for later, it freezes just beautifully!  If you are experiencing some yucky Winter weather, a fresh loaf of this bread would also make for a nice gift for a friendly neighbor to help brighten their day!

*Linking up at Skip To My Lou

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Do you ever just need a little “me moment”?  Even if it’s just 10 or 15 minutes, I find that giving myself a little time to myself really can help me throughout the day.  It’s like a little refresher and it’s a chance for me to gather my thoughts or clear my mind if my day has been a little crazy!  I absolutely love my kiddos, but when 3:30 comes around and everyone’s home and my house sounds like a school cafeteria, it’s nice to have had a few moments of quiet before hand.  Sometimes I like to indulge in a little sweet treat during my quiet time too.  This simple Raspberry & Chocolate Chip Yogurt Icebox Cake is not only a tasty dessert for the family, but you can easily sneak a piece to enjoy during your  quiet “me moment” time!

When I was a Walmart over the weekend, I came across some NEW tasty Müller® Yogurt flavors.  Müller® Ice Cream Inspired Yogurt comes in 4 delicious flavors (Strawberries & Cream, Mint Chocolate Chip, Vanilla Bean, & Raspberry Chocolate Chip) that are perfect for a snack or dessert.  While I love grabbing a yummy yogurt for a quick snack, I also like making creative desserts with yogurt as well!

I grabbed 3 of the flavors and my family and I really liked them.  They are rich, creamy and full of flavor.  They are also made with all natural ingredients!  Whether it is a touch of indulgence to start your morning or an indulgent break in the afternoon – go ahead and indulge because you deserve it!

Müller® Raspberry & Chocolate flavor was my favorite, so earlier this week I used it to make this pretty Icebox Cake.  All you need is Müller® Raspberry & Chocolate Yogurt, graham crackers, whipped topping, mini chocolate chips and fresh raspberries to garnish.

First you place a layer of graham crackers across the bottom of a 8 x 8 baking dish.  Then you add 1 container of the yogurt and smooth it out on top of the graham crackers evenly.  Add another layer of graham crackers, another layer of yogurt, more crackers, more yogurt and then top the final layer of graham crackers with whipped topping.

Then get out those cute mini chocolate chips and sprinkle them across the top of your cake.  Cover the cake and refrigerate it for at least 4 hours.  I like to make this in the morning and then it’s available for my “me moment” during nap time or for dessert with my family after dinner.

After you cut the cake, garnish each slice with fresh raspberries.  It looks so pretty and just adds a wonderful taste to the dessert.

Whether you are looking for a simple Valentine’s Day dessert, something fun & easy to make with your children in the kitchen, or a little slice of heaven in the afternoon, be sure to give this yummy recipe a try!

What’s your perfect “Me Moment”?

Love Muller? Visit www.Mullerquaker.com to sign up on for their mailing list and receive the latest news and offers. As a thank you, you’ll also get a coupon to use toward your next purchase! Make sure you check out other Müller yogurt varieties now available on Rollback at Walmart for $.88!

*Linking up at Living Well Spending Less, Miz Helen’s Country Cottage

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I hope everyone had a great weekend!  I finished planting the last few things in my garden right before it rained on Sunday.  It was such a weight lifted off my shoulders to know that everything is finally in and ready to grow!  Maybe this week I will plant the package of sunflower seeds I have against my garden fence while the ground is moist.  How’s your garden doing?

Raspberries will be ready to pick here in about a month, and I cannot wait!  There is no shortage of great berries at the grocery store this time of year though, so every time I see raspberries, at least a few containers go right into my shopping cart.

Since my family loves muffins, I decided to make some last week with the juicy berries I had in my refrigerator.  Last week was very busy and was full of chorus concerts, band concerts and dance recitals, so I knew this batch of muffins wouldn’t go to waste.  They were perfect for on the go snacks and made a great, quick breakfasts.

These Fresh Raspberry Muffins are simple and easy to make.  That’s what I love about them!  Not to many ingredients and a fresh fruit flavor in a buttery muffin!  Plus, who doesn’t love a homemade berry muffin with a little pat of butter to go along with their coffee in the morning?  This recipe makes 2 dozen muffins, so you can enjoy some now and freeze some for later.  I don’t know about you, but if I can freeze it for later, I am one happy camper!  I love stocking up!

If you are picking raspberries this summer, make sure you save enough to give this tasty recipe a try!

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This week Cozy Country Living has been all about snacks! You can check out this week’s earlier posts on Pudding Made Right with Kozy Shack Pudding and Homemade Strawberry & Pistachio Ice Cream if you are looking for some great dessert type snacks too.

My children have a few weeks of school left and soon I will hear, “Mom, I’m hungry” several times throughout the day x 4.  It doesn’t matter if it’s an hour after a meal, someone will be looking for a snack.  I am using these last two weeks of school to prepare myself by having a bunch of great tasting, healthy and filling snack ideas in mind.  We always have fresh fruit and vegetables in our house, so to mix things up a bit, I made smoothies this morning!

These Triple Berry Kale Smoothies are pretty tasty and are an excellent way to sneak in some maybe unfamiliar vegetables into your family’s diet.  I blended organic baby kale, fresh strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and vanilla Greek yogurt with some ice in my blender for a smoothie that can be served for breakfast, lunch or a snack.  Most likely, you won’t even really notice the kale!  I even handed one of these to my husband as he was leaving for work.  He really liked it!

I use a regular, plain old blender.  It’s nothing fancy, but it gets the job done, as long as you take your time.  I usually add the hardest ingredients at the bottom and maybe once or twice, stop the blender and mix a little with a spoon.  Don’t let not having a fancy blender stop you from trying smoothies.  You’ll be missing out on all of those great nutrients that you may not otherwise eat.

This recipe will make smoothies for the whole family!  My children were already off to school when I made these, so I just covered this and stored it in the refrigerator until they got home.  After getting off the bus, this was a nice, refreshing after school snack.  Does your family like smoothies?  What’s your favorite way to make them?  I would love to try some of your ideas this summer!

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I don’t know about you, but I just love fresh red raspberries!  I like to put them on my cereal for breakfast, on my yogurt for a snack and even on top of vanilla ice cream drizzled with hot fudge for dessert.  I am pretty sure I could easily eat a few containers of them myself sometimes.  This weekend when I was grocery shopping, the produce shelves were stocked full of Driscoll’s red raspberries.  I grabbed a few containers and was very excited about baking up something extra delicious with those sweet berries!

You’ve probably heard of March Madness, but have you heard of #MuffinMadness?  I was so excited when I was approached by Driscoll’s a few weeks ago and asked to participate in #MuffinMadness.  My family just loves muffins and of course fresh berries!  For the whole month of March, Driscoll’s is featuring scrumptious Strawberry, Blueberry, Blackberry and Raspberry Muffin recipes on their website.  Their recipes sounded wonderful and inspired me to create a yummy muffin recipe of my own.

These Raspberry & Dark Chocolate Chip Muffins are such a wonderful treat for the whole family.  These moist, sugar topped muffins are bursting with fresh berry goodness, and rich dark chocolate in every bite.  They are perfect for breakfast, warm and fresh from the oven with a little butter, or plain and packed along  for an afternoon snack.  This Spring, bake a dozen of these fresh berry muffins for your family and friends!

Looking for more great muffin recipes this month for #MuffinMadness?  Head on over to Driscoll’s.com for some fabulous ideas and recipes!

*Recipe adapted from Driscoll’s

Driscoll’s provided me with coupons to purchase berries.  All thoughts and opinions in this post are 100% my own.

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Savvy Southern Style,Mom’s Test Kitchen,The NY Melrose Family, Buns In My Oven, This Silly Girl’s Life, Place Of My Taste, The Comforts Of  Home, Live Laugh Rowe, Bloom Designs Online, I Gotta Create, Sweet Bella Roos, Living Well Spending Less, Best Blog Recipes, The 36th Avenue, Shaken Together, Just Us Four, Happy and Blessed Home, Living Better Together, Simply Gloria, Cooking With Curls, Cheerios and Lattes, Chef In Training, Miz Helen’s Country Cottage, Cherishing A Sweet Life

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