Simply Sour

Hello Sweets,

I want to apologize in advance because this will be a fairly short post.  I had a hard time sleeping last night because of the needles I had earlier in the day, and I am still very sore :(  On the bright side, since I couldn't sleep I found myself looking for something to watch and came across a show I watched while in late middle school and high school.  See I have a soft spot for anything horror, and naturally I enjoyed watching "Tales from the Crypt".  Even though it is really old and sort of cheesy, it allowed me to forget about the pain even if only for a moment.  However, this is the first post in my fourth of July series :)  I only made two treats for the celebration as it was a small number of family that got together, so two posts will be about edible treats and the third will be about my very first fourth of July celebration.

Now I had always envisioned the fourth as a huge deal full of family bbq's, fun in the sun, and of course a crazy display of fireworks.  The last few years (according to Nathan) have been a little quieter but at very least I would get to experience "American" fireworks in all their glory!  So naturally I wanted to make somethings for the bbq portion, from scratch of course lol sometimes I go right in to house wife mode and there is no stopping me.  I wanted to make a beverage, a side salad, and a dessert but unfortunately I didn't have time to make the side salad (sad face).  So since I'm experiencing discomfort I thought I would start with the beverage and hopefully tomorrow I'll be as good as new, well at least to the best of my ability lol.

Fresh Lemonade (adapted from Disney Family Cookbook)

Ingredients

5-6 large lemons

1C sugar (I used about 3/4)

2qt water

an extra lemon to slice for garnish

Directions:

1)  Cut the lemons in half and squeeze each of them into a large measuring cup.  *should yield 1 1/2C of juice*

 

2)  In a large pitcher or mason jar, combine the juice and the sugar.  Stir in the cold water and serve over ice.

 

I didn't use as much sugar as it called for (or what is depicted for that matter), because I didn't want it to be overly sweet but more tart.  Nathan's dad, who you may remember as the lemon lover from my lemon cookie recipe, loved it too!  I even mixed it with some iced green tea I had made earlier in the week and hello yummy town :)  I guess it all depends on your preference for lemonade, but I will tell you once you make it you will never go back to store bought or frozen again.

Well y'all I am going to go kick my feet up and relax in hopes of forgetting about the pain I'm in.  As always I love hearing feedback from each of you, so don't hesitate to drop me a line in the comment box or shoot me an email :)  Until next time........................................................

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxo

Baby It's Cold Outside....

Hello Sweets,

I hope you all had a fantastic Friday :)  Nathan and I had a great day.  We picked up some new blue rays and then he took me out to eat at one of my favorite restaurants, Red Lobster!  I LOVE seafood, and I fully believe that it is worth all the hard work that is required to get to the succulent meat.  Now that I am completely full, we are having a full on "gamers" night full of sugar and Star Wars.  I know I know I'm a little geeky, but hey whatever is fun for you, you should do!

Since we are going to be busy most of the night, I thought I would try and write my blog on our breaks, and since I don't have a super complicated recipe for all of you, I think it will work!  So I bet you're wondering what the correlation is between my title and the recipe; well it's simple they're both cold :)  Last year, I spent my first thanksgiving with Nathan's family, and for dessert they had something I had never seen before.   Have you heard of Ice Box Pie?   That is exactly what it was, and I wasn't really sure what to think of it, but I'm not rude and I like to try new things so I tried it.  It is very simple, not overly sweet, and a nice cool treat, plus it's yummy.  Let me show you how simple it is :)

Ice Box Pie (via Cooks)

Ingredients

1 can Eagle brand condensed milk

1 8oz container cool whip

1 6oz can frozen lemonade

graham cracker crust (I used a store bought one)

Directions:

1)  Mix all ingredients except cool whip until well blended.

2)  Fold in cool whip and pour in graham crust

3)  Chill for at least one hour prior to serving.

front is pink lemonade and the back is limeade :)

So there you have it, a very easy dessert, perfect for if you need something in a pinch :)  Perfect for any holiday or family get together.

I know I said I was all done with all the Christmas recipes, but since this is a short post (sick day (also why you're getting this on Saturday), booo :( ) I thought I would share another favorite thing about Christmas since I started spending them with Nathan.

This beautiful tree full of white lights

On the way to the hanger or to Nathan's uncle, we always pass this cattle ranch, and in the middle of this vast field there stands a single tree.  Every single inch of it is covered in white lights, and on a cold winter night on the dark road it shines so bright it automatically brings a smile to your face.  Until next time.........

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxo