Strawberry Punch

2 cups cold water
1 lg (6 oz.) pkg strawberry jello
1 can (6 oz.) frozen orange juice
1 can (6 oz.) frozen lemonade
2 cups boiling water
1 can (46 oz.) pineapple juice
1 cup sugar
1 qt. ginger ale
1 pkg (10 oz.) frozen strawberries or 20-25 fresh sliced strawberries

Add boiling water to the jello and dissolve. Add cold water, fruit juices and sugar. Mix well and refrigerate. Add ginger ale and strawberries when ready to serve.

This is a really refreshing punch. It can be changed by using different flavors of jello and fruit. You can use peach jello with frozen peaches. To get a tart flavor use frozen lime juice instead of the lemonade. Mix up the flavors you like and create your own flavor. This works best with an ice ring which can be made by freezing the pineapple juice or any other juice you may decide to use.

Orange Cycle Salad

3-4 oranges, peeled and cut into bite size pieces
1 cup small marshmallows
1/4 cup almond slivers
2 Tbl. sugar, if needed
1 Tbl. mayonnaise
1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix all together and chill.

As a kid I couldn't get enough of those ice creams on a stick called Dream Cycles/Orange Cycles. The vanilla ice cream inside with the orange on the outside were so refreshing. This salad reminds me of those ice cream truck treats. The only thing I would change might be the nuts but even a change that small will change this salad's flavor.

Ambrosia Bars

This recipe was sent to me by my dear friend Lillian. It came from one of her cookbooks "Favorite Recipes of Eastern Star, 1967." Enjoy!

1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 Tbl. all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) soft butter
2 cups coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
1 tsp. vanilla
2 well-beaten eggs

Combine 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 cup flour, baking powder, salt and butter. Mixture will be crumbly. Press into a 9 x 13" pan. Bake at 325 for 12 - 15 minutes. Combine all remaining ingredients. Spread over baked layer. Bake for 20-25 minutes longer. Cool

Frosting

2 Tbl. butter
6 large marshmallows
2 Tbl. cream (evaporated milk)
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. grated orange rind
Orange juice if needed

Gently heat butter, marshmallows and cream until marshmallows are melted. Add powdered sugar, lemon juice and orange rind. Add enough orange juice to spread easily if needed. Spread on cooled cookie and cut into bars when icing is set.

When I made this I grated a little more orange rind for garnishing. This would also be pretty garnished with cherries. It is a very rich dish so when cutting, you might want to cut into small squares.