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Who else loves a good latte? I know you can't see me but I am raising both my hands (my cat thinks I'm nuts). In my neck of the woods, we don't have a coffee bar at our disposal when the urge strikes. So I have to improvise when it comes to my coffee fixes. While talking with my niece the other day she was telling me how she doesn't like coffee. Say what?? I remember those 20 something days when I didn't like coffee either. Once I hit my 30's it was all I wanted and now that I am in my 40's I can't go a day without it. Isn't it funny how things change as we get older?
Like I said, we don't have a fancy schmancy coffee bar to go to locally to indulge so I was tickled pink when I found out about International Delight® One Touch Latte™. I couldn't wait to try it out! Be on the lookout at your local Walmart, its hitting stores now!
In 3 EASY steps you can turn your cup of coffee into a latte in the convenience of your own home.Simply fill a cup 2/3 with coffee. Shake the One Touch Latte™ can. Press and hold 5-7 seconds over your coffee.
See it really is that easy! Each can of One Touch Latte™ will make about 7 lattes. There are three different flavors; Vanilla, Caramel, and Mocha. Which one will you make first?
How to Make a Latte Fill a cup 2/3 with coffee. Shake the One Touch Latte™ can. Press and hold 5-7 seconds over your coffee. *Please note, this product is rolling out in stores now so be on the lookout.
We have been on a watermelon kick here lately and so I just had to make some Fresh Watermelon Lemonade to quench our thirst in this heat. Y'all this stuff is so good.
The watermelon is undoubtedly the most favorite of the
summer melons. There are four main
varieties of watermelon: all sweet, ice-box, seedless, and yellow flesh. Watermelons vary in taste and color depending
on the variety, the soil and the climate they're grown in. The outside of a watermelon can vary from light to very dark green. It
can be solid to mottled green or striped. The inside flesh can be dark red to
bright red to reddish pink, with many variations, including melons with yellow
flesh. Most watermelons have seeds but there are also seedless varieties. Some
think that seeds are part of the fun of eating a watermelon while others prefer
seedless varieties which are easier to eat. They
also require less prep time when using them in a fruit salad or other recipes.
Choosing a watermelon at the peak of perfection requires some skill. I will be the first to admit, I don't always remember how to pick a ripe one. First, look for one that's firm and free of bruises. A ripe watermelon will feel heavy for its size. Melons are 90% water so the ones that seem heavy for the size are going to be the juiciest watermelons. When a watermelon is ripe, the spot where it laid on the ground while growing will be a creamy yellow color rather than white or pale green. Thumping a ripe watermelon with your finger will produce a rather dull, hollow tone. Thumping an un-ripened melon will create a clear tinging sound. Though watermelons must be chilled before eating for that mouth-watering refreshing taste, if you're short on refrigerator space, whole melons will keep at room temperature for about 7 to 10 days. (I have the smallest refrigerator on the planet) After the watermelon is cut, store it in the refrigerator. They are not freezer friendly because they become mushy and lose their flavor. They are full of vitamin C and they're also a good source of vitamin A, potassium and fiber. Also, they contain high amounts of lycopene, a substance that can prevent heart diseases and some cancers, and that is something we could all be happy about.
So to make this Fresh Watermelon Lemonade I went with my trusty Lemonade recipe as a base and added the watermelon. Cube up the watermelon and pulse it in a blender until smooth. (of course you want to use the seedless watermelon) Then, pour it through a fine mesh strainer to remove any stray seeds or thick pulp. Pour into the lemonade and stir. I did find that the watermelon will separate from the lemonade as it sits. Just stir it up and its good to go. Trust me y'all, this will quench your thirst on a hot summer day!
Watermelon Lemonade
8 cups watermelon, cubed
1 cup sugar
1 cup water (for the simple syrup)
1 cup lemon juice
3 to 4 cups cold water (to dilute)
Make simple syrup by heating the sugar and water in a small saucepan until the sugar is dissolved completely. Set aside to cool. While the simple syrup is cooling, use a juicer to extract the juice from 4 to 6 lemons, enough for one cup of juice. Add the juice and the simple syrup to a pitcher. Place the cubed watermelon in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour through a fine mesh strainer to remove any seeds or thick pulp. Stir into the pitcher. Add 3 to 4 cups of cold water, more or less to the desired strength. Refrigerate 30 to 40 minutes.
Cherry Limeade is a favorite summertime drink around here. The first time I had this was a few years ago when my sister made it. I couldn't get enough of it and knew I had to make it.
With the warm weather finally here our family is out and about more. We tend to cook a lot on the grill and enjoy family get togethers frequently. This is perfect to take to the beach, the pool, a picnic, or just to enjoy on the deck or patio. We will be serving this at our son's graduation party next month. Who knew that a few ingredients could come together and be so refreshing?
You seriously need to make this today!
Cherry Limeade
2-liter bottle lemon-lime soda
1 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
1 cup sugar
One 10-ounce jar maraschino cherries, with juice
Thin lime slices
Chill all ingredients before mixing. When cold, combine the
lemon-lime soda, lime juice, sugar, cherries with their juice and lime slices
in a large pitcher and stir. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Oh my goodness is it hot today. Hope you are keeping cool wherever you are today. As for me I am sitting in my air conditioned living room. I would love to be out and about in the river but alas I have a sinus infection and I am trying really hard to beat it. I am not one that sits and does nothing. It is really driving me crazy, but I will say I have been able to catch up on some movies and cooking shows I had recorded. Hubby will cook burgers on the grill in a bit when he gets home. This Moma is taking it easy today. The laundry and the housework will wait until maybe tomorrow. It is not going anywhere unfortunately.
I am a lover of anything lemon, which I am sure you can tell by all the lemon recipes I have posted. My usual go to lemonade recipe just needed a little something extra in it. The more this sits the pinker it becomes from the strawberries, if it lasts that long. My daughter loved this and kept coming back for more. She also loved the fact that she could get it herself by the little spout and so did I. Very refreshing on a really hot day!
Strawberry Lemonade
1 cup sugar
1 cup water (for the simple syrup)
1 cup lemon juice
3 to 4 cups cold water (to dilute)
Pint of
fresh sliced strawberries (more or less depending on your preference)
Make simple syrup by heating the sugar and water in a small
saucepan until the sugar is dissolved completely. While the sugar is dissolving, use a juicer
to extract the juice from 4 to 6 lemons, enough for one cup of juice. Add the juice and the sugar water to a
pitcher. Add 3 to 4 cups of cold water, more or less to the desired strength.
Add fresh sliced strawberries. Refrigerate 30 to 40 minutes. If the lemonade is
a little sweet for your taste, add a little more straight lemon juice to it.
Serve with ice, sliced lemons, and sliced strawberries. I increased the ingredients to fit my drink dispenser.
My sister and I saw this in a cookbook while we were in line for hours waiting to meet Pioneer Woman. My sister had told me that week she was going to be in Virginia Beach. Virginia Beach is only a couple hours away from us and I knew I had to find a way to go. I didn't know if I would ever get that opportunity again. We set out that morning on our adventure, armed with the GPS and my two cookbooks. We had to stop on the way to find one for my sister because we knew they would be way more expensive at the book signing. We were lucky to find one all by itself at Walmart on the way. We were set, we had no idea what we were getting into. Neither one of us had ever been to a book signing. That is what made it so fun. We found out that tickets were given out the night before and only those people were guaranteed to meet Ree. We waited for hours barely moving, waiting with anticipation, we did not have a ticket. It was so neat to see her even from a distance I could tell she was such a sweetheart. It is a good thing the aisle we were waiting on was not the cookbook aisle. I think I would have gotten myself into trouble. We kept meaning to stop on the way down to grab some lunch but it never seemed to work out of where to stop. As I said, we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. After waiting for a while, we decided to check out the little coffee shop in the bookstore to see if they had anything to eat. I kept our spot while my sister went and looked. Luckily they had a couple different sandwiches to choose from. So she ordered us a couple. It was a ham and cheese but the cheese neither one of us had tried so we got them without the cheese. The guy at the counter felt so bad when she went back to pick it up because it had 2 little pieces of ham on it and we had paid so much for them. He told her, mam I think I need to give you some money back. She told him, we drove a long way and we are waiting in line and we are hungry and we didn't have time to stop on the way. While waiting in line a little later, he came and found my sister and said he still felt bad for charging us so much for this sandwich, could he give us a drink or something. We said no we are ok and he insisted to give us something. So we asked for a mocha coffee and he said done I will be right back. Wouldn't you know it, he came back with two mocha's for free. Everyone in line were like, wow how did that happen? We just got it like that! LOL Gotta love my sis, you just never know what you may get into.
On one of the last few aisles we managed to get into the cookbook aisle. I picked up a few and glanced at them. By then my feet were aching some kind of bad so I just wanted to get it over with and didn't really get into the recipes. I guess that was a blessing, like I said it would have been trouble. This recipe was in a Gooseberry Patch cook book, I have no idea which one, but it looked yummy so I snapped a picture so I would have it. I am just now getting around to making it. My daughter loves it. We try to keep her away from red foods as she is allergic to some additive or preservative and the only way we can figure it out is by trial and error. She is scared to eat red foods. So this gives her something red to eat that I know she will be ok with.
I loved meeting Ree and I could have talked with her all day. I told her I also blog and she said "isn't it fun?" Yes it is!
Watermelon Lemonade
4 Cups Watermelon chopped
1 Cup sugar
1 1/2 cup lemon juice
6 Cups of cold water
lemon slices, optional
Place watermelon in blender and process until smooth, set aside. In a large pitcher combine sugar and lemon juice and stir until sugar is dissolved. Stir in water, add watermelon and mix well. Serve very cold, stir well before serving. Makes 8-10 servings *I added lemon slices
I have to admit I have never had cherry limeade before that I can remember. I saw this recipe in the Pioneer Woman's cookbook and I knew I had to try it. This is simply out of this world good. I seriously could make this everyday. My son fell in love with this and told me just that. It is now gone and I find myself longing for it. I guess I will have to pick up the ingredients and make again sometime this week.
I have been feeling so overwhelmed lately. It just has not been enough of me to go around. The past two days I have chilled at home with the kids and did some cooking. I have spent some time with each one of my kids watching movies and cooking shows. We have also spent a lot of time in the kitchen creating. I am so blessed that both of my kids enjoy it just as much as I do. Did I mention, my son is taking culinary arts this coming year in school. I am thrilled about that, but I did not persuade him at all in that. My Mom tells me I was a huge influence without even knowing it. My Mom always knows the right thing to say to make my day. Believe me, there is still cleaning to be done and a ton of laundry to fold but I have decided it will all be there later, tomorrow, or next week. I will tackle it all as I can. I needed to have some down time to get my head back in the game. So for now, I will try to enjoy the little things as they come. I sure hope you get to try some of this soon.
Cherry Limeade 2-liter bottle lemon-lime soda
1 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
1 cup sugar
One 10-ounce jar maraschino cherries, with juice
Thin lime slices
Chill all ingredients before mixing. When cold, combine the lemon-lime soda, lime juice, sugar, cherries with their juice and lime slices in a large pitcher and stir. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
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