Ms. Sarah's Famous Slush Punch

Our Spring Recitals are a celebration!

Students performing and overcoming their fears and anxieties, and learning to prepare their pieces both technically and musically, is a huge accomplishment that must be commemorated and shared. Their hard work and bravery deserves a prize!

So for years, we have celebrated our students after the Spring Recitals with a lovely reception and my FAMOUS SLUSH PUNCH!

This punch is always a hit. It's just like the slush punch we paid an arm and a leg for at our wedding reception. That stuff was gone so fast I didn't even get a taste that day 😢

Every year, I try different colors for this punch (the color is determined by the flavor of Jell-O you put in it). At my most recent recital, we had green (lime Jell-O), yellow (pineapple or lemon Jell-O) and a muted pinky-red (black cherry Jell-O)! I've also done the original Pink (strawberry or raspberry Jell-O) too many times to count, and orange (orange or peach Jell-O) works great too! Blue (berry blue Jell-O) and Purple (grape) are the only colors I would probably avoid...they turn an odd shade of puke-green and brown, respectively. Take my word for it and just don't...

I always get LOTS of parents and recital attendees asking "who made the punch? It's delicious!"

So here it is...my famous Slush Punch recipe. And it's super easy to make 😉

Ms. Sarah's Famous Slush Punch

View the original "Luscious Slush Punch" recipe by Valerie Cain Cuff at allrecipes.com. My directions below include my own tweaks that I've learned along the way...

• 3 cups water (for boiling)

• 3 cups of ice water (to cool the mixture quickly)

• 1 ½ - 2 ½ cups white sugar (I use about 2 cups of sugar. Can also use Splenda)

• 2 (3 ounce) packages strawberry flavored Jell-O mix (or any flavor for different colors, but stick with reds, yellows, oranges and greens; blue and purple don't look pretty!)

• 1 (46 fluid ounce) can pineapple juice

• ⅔ cup lemon juice (I use reconstituted lemon juice, but fresh works well too)

• 1 quart orange juice (original or low/no-pulp, or even fresh-squeezed; do not use orange-flavored drinks)

• 2 2-liter bottles lemon-lime flavored carbonated beverage (Ginger Ale, 7-Up, etc., or any generic lemon-lime soda works great.)

Directions

1. Bring 3 cups of water, sugar, and strawberry-flavored gelatin to a boil in a large saucepan (I use a stock pot - it's going to be a LOT of liquid, so don't underestimate the size pan you will need; boil for 3 minutes.

2. Add 3 cups of ice water (mostly ice) to cool the mixture down rapidly. This will ensure the mixture is not too hot when you pour it into bags, and it will be ready to put straight into the freezer without additional cooling time.

3. Stir in the pineapple juice, lemon juice, and orange juice.

4. Divide mixture into two gallon freezer Ziploc bags and freeze. It helps to set them on a cooling rack or cookie sheet in your freezer to get air flow all the way around the bags. If you stack them directly on top of each other, touching, they will take longer to freeze. With appropriate space around the bags, they will freeze in about 24 hours, but may take up to 48 hours. Be sure to plan ahead and prepare the frozen mixture at least a few days before you plan to serve the punch.

5. Before your event, pull the frozen bags out of the freezer to begin softening. About 1 hour on the counter at room temperature, or a few hours in the fridge or a cooler is usually just right. You can also put the frozen bags in the microwave for a few minutes (on 50% power or use a "defrost" setting) to get them softened up if you forgot to take them out early or it hasn't softened enough yet. The consistency you need here is for the frozen mix to be slightly pliable and breakable if you squish the bag in your hands; you don't want it runny or liquid at this stage.

6. Add contents of 1 gallon bag of frozen juice mixture to a punch bowl and use a wooden spoon or "mix-n-chop" type kitchen tool to fully break up the chunks. You need to do this thoroughly before adding the soda. If you add the soda while there are still big frozen chunks, it will be harder to chase those chunks around to break them up, and you may have big chunks being poured into cups.

7. Pour in 1 bottle lemon-lime flavored carbonated beverage with the frozen mixture in the punch bowl; stir/chop until slushy. Repeat with remaining portions as needed.

   Serve and enjoy!