Party Refreshments for Guests of All Ages

Cool off your party with these elegant and simple ideas. Refreshements are suitable for guests of all ages. Perfect for hosts on a budget.

Elegant Lemonade Refreshment (serves 8)

The day before your party, you will need to place one raspberry (or any other small fruit you like such as blueberries) in each cube hole in the ice trays – fill with water and freeze for your elegant cubes. You can also use premade lemonade or pink lemonade to save time.

Lemonade
6 lemons
1 C sugar (or Splenda�)
1/2 C water

Place a few cubes in each glass, fill with lemonade. For garnish, place a lemon wedge on the side of each glass, place a berry against the rind, and poke a toothpick through both the berry & lemon to secure. You may also float a couple of fresh mint leaves on top of the lemonade at serving time for garnish.

Lemonade Martinis Refreshment (non-alcoholic)
Make lemonade with recipe above, or use store bought. Use martini glasses, moisten each glass rim with water, dip in sugar or low-calorie sweetener (such as Splenda�) add one or two berries to each glass on a toothpick, fill with lemonade and enjoy!

Mango Fruit Salads Refreshment
Using a mango pitter, (you can buy one at any store that sells kitchen gadgets), stand mango on the wide end, and center the pitter on the narrow end, push down and voila! Pitted mango. You will get two mango halves equal in size. Do this for as many salads as you will need to make. Take your pearing knife, and make criss-cross diagnal cuts down each mango half, careful not to penetrate the skin. Invert to remove the small cubes off the rind. Turn the mango rind right side out again, and fill with the mango cubes and any other fresh berries and fruits you choose. Some good ones are: Strawberries, frozen grapes, kiwi, cubed pineapple, and melon cubes. The possiilities are endless. Garnish with sprigs of mint or whole strawberries with caps still on.

Quick and Easy Monkey Bread (serves approx. 10)
bundt cake pan
3 cans of biscuits
1C sugar
1C brown sugar
cinnamon
1 stick butter or margerine
non-stick cooking spray

Preheat your oven to 350�°F. Mix cinnamon and sugar on a plate to taste, tear each biscuit into four pieces, and roll in the cinnamon and sugar mixture. Spray your bundt pan with non-stick spray, and set aside. After all your biscuits are covered in the cinnamon and sugar minxture, melt one stick of butter, one cup of brown sugar and a teaspoon of cinnamon in a saucepan, just long enough for butter to melt. Drizzle over your biscuits covered in cinnamon and sugar, then place in the bundt pan. Bake for 30 minutes, until bread is crunchy on top. To serve: Invert pan onto cake plate, and serve warm.

Quick Cinnamon Bread (serves approx. 5)
one can of any brand cinnamon rolls.
loaf pan
non-stick cooking spray

Set oven to the temperature listed on the side of the cinnamon roll can. Place the container of icing that came with the cinnamon rolls in an area that’s warm but, not hot, so that it softens. Spray loaf pan with non-stick spray. Tear each cinnamon roll into 3 to 4 pieces and toss directly into loaf pan. When all of the cinnamon rolls are placed into pan, bake until golden brown. Remove from oven, and allow to cool. Invert the loaf pan over a serving platter or cake plate, turn loaf over so that it’s right side up, and cover the top with the icing.

Flavored Iced Tea
Make iced tea as usual and chill. In a blender, put in 2C chilled tea, 1 1/2 C frozen berries or fruit, and one cup ice cubes. Blend until slushy. Pour into glasses, serve immediately. Garnish with a piece of fruit on the side of the glass.

Cold Served Cheese and Summer Sausage Kabobs
You will need a Summer sausage (size of sausage and amount of cheese depends on number of guests), a variety of cubed cheeses, and a variety of fresh, raw vegetables of your choosing. You can buy pre-cubed cheese at any grocery store. Use wooden kabob skewers or toothpicks, depending on how big you want them. Cut sausage in about 1/2″ cubes. On skewers, alternate sausage cubes with different kinds of cheese and vegetables, until you are satisfied the kaobs are the length you want them to be. Sausage can be omitted for vegetarians or those watching their weight.

Dip-Tastic Apples
For this treat, it’s all about variety. Apples are as diverse as people are. Some good varieties to use are Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, and Pink Lady. Red apples can be used as well, but sometimes their skins tend to be a bit bitter. Wash your apples, and make sure all produce labels are cleanly removed. (If residue from produce tags dosnt come off when you peel off the label, use a bit of peanut butter to remove adhesive). The number of apples will depend on number of guests.Quarter apples length-wise, and remove the core left behind with a pearing knife. After your apples are all cut and cored, place them on a decorative platter, or plate. Beside the platter, or on it if you have room, place your dips. You can use yogurt, peanut butter, honey or caramel. Why not be creative an use them all? This is a fun snack that’s sure to please everyone. To prevent your apples from browning, use a product like Fruit FreshâÂ?¢, available at most grocery stores and fruit markets.