Iced Passion Fruit Tea Lemonade

Once upon a time I went to Starbucks and got their Iced Passion Fruit TeaLemonade and let me say it was the best drink I ever got there! But like most iced Starbucks drinks it was a little too pricey considering the cup was filled to the brim with ice....does that make anyone else mad?! So I went home on Pinterest and found this copycat recipe. I wanted to try it but it was a low sugar option that used sugar alternatives. Call me weird but I like to use plain sugar instead of chemical sugar. I'd rather have a couple extra pounds than be missing a couple extra brain cells cause I am drinking a science project. So I just substituted sugar for it the alternative sweetener. The final result tasted just like the fabulous Starbucks drink, but much more friendly on my budget! 

What you need

Tazo Passion Tea (8 bags) 

Lemonade (I usually go for tropicana but this stuff was all the store had)

Sugar (if you want a low calorie option try stevia) 

So you are going to make the tea concentrate by boiling four cups of water and steeping the eight tea bags. 

Boy does this tea smell GOOD! But be careful cause it very easily stains countertops and wooden spoons (lesson learned) You are gonna want this tea concentrate nice and strong. So just let the tea bags steep for 10 - 15 minutes. 

Next while the tea is still hot add 2/3 of a cup of sugar. 

Mix the sugar till it dissolves. 

Let the mixture cool. 

Once it's cooled down transfer it to a container and let it chill in the fridge. 

Once the concentrate has chilled grab you a glass and get ready to enjoy your yummy treat. 

I usually add a couple ice cubes, fill up the glass 2/3 full with lemonade and top it off with the concentrate. But if you like your less tart then by all means make it however you want to! 

Enjoy!

Homemade Pizza....Yum!

So like any other woman I love cheese and bread! Pizza is my hands down favorite food in the WORLD!!

So many options and varieties and they all involve gooey stringy cheese and yummy fluffy crust! Yes....I have a little bit of a thing for pizza. If it was up to me I would eat pizza every day! My waistline would hate me for it though. So to justify eating more pizza I decided to make homemade pizza! (Thank you Pioneer Woman once more for the recipe!) I figured with homemade I can make it was healthy as I choose.

What you need -

2 cups of flour
3/4 cup of warm water
1 teaspoon of yeast (active dry)
Salt
Sugar
3 tablespoons of Olive oil plus extra for drizzling

So get 3/4 of a cup of warm water (straight from the sink is fine) 

Add the 1 teaspoon of yeast 

Now here is my smarty pants homeschooler discovery! I remember ages ago in science for yeast to grow it needs warmth and something to feed on like sugar. So now I add a little bit plain sugar to my yeasty mixture and it helps the yeast get all bubbly! It almost makes the dough fluffier. 

 Ok thankful moment! My sweet Aunt Lisa got me this super awesome hot pink Kitchen aid stand mixer for a wedding gift and I use it almost daily! Love it!

So add the 2 cups of flour to the mixer. I use the dough hook attachment. (BTW you can totally do this without a mixer! Been there done that and it was still delish!)

Next I sprinkle in some salt

After about 10 minutes your yeast should be ready.

So mix all the wet ingredients into the dry. I usually use mix in the olive oil first.

The mixture should form a nice sticky ball of dough. 

Coat a mixing bowl with olive oil and place the dough ball in the bowl.

I like to heat my oven up a few minutes so the dough will have a cozy house to rise in. Don't forget to turn off your oven when you put the dough in! Been there done that too! I leave the oven door cracked a bit too.

A hour later your dough should be well over doubled in size (guess I forgot a picture of that! oops!)

Preheat your oven to 500 degrees. I know 500 degrees??!! But it works perfectly!

I like to bake my pizza on a stone. Makes it nice and crusty! Drizzle a bit of olive oil on the pan then spread out dough to desired thickness. Now I only used half of the dough for this pizza cause it was just me (hubs was out in the field training so I had "sad eat past my limit" dinner.) So your crust will be much bigger.

Top how ever you want it and toss it in that 500 degree oven for 10 minutes.

So no final result picture because I got too wrapped up in an episode of Downton Abbey and didn't hear my timer beep. *sigh* So be warned, when your oven in 500 degrees five extra minutes can make you lunch very very crispy!

Zucchini Lasagna (Low Carb)

Lasagna is a go to comfort food. This is a spin with less carbs because you use slices of zucchini instead of lasagna noodles. It's my first time making it so it's experiment night for dinner!

What you need -

3 Zucchini peeled and sliced thinly
1 pound of turkey meat (you can use beef it you'd like)
1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce (I like Muir Glen Organic Tomato Basil)
15 oz of ricotta cheese
16 oz of shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup of grated parmesan (not that fake powdered stuff)
1 egg
3 cloves of garlic

So drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil in a large skillet and toss in those chopped garlic cloves. Let them simmer for a minute to get that flavor flowing.

After a couple of minutes add the turkey meat and brown it. 

Now here are the herbs I put into the browning meat. 

Pepper

Herbs De Provence (not sure what it is but I like it!)

Oregano 

Parsley 

Basil 

Salt (it's in the owl)

I just shake in a bit of each to the meat as it's browning. 

Next I peel and slice the zucchini. 

Look at all that yumminess! 

Once the meat is browned pour in the jar of pasta sauce and stir it in.

While that simmers mix the cheeses (leave out some of the mozzarella to sprinkle on top) an egg, some salt and pepper and then a shake or so of parsley. 

So before I set out on this expedition I read online that grilling the zucchini a little bit before you bake it will keep the lasagna from getting to watery (and it helped!)

So line the pan with the grilled zucchini. (BTW I made a smaller version since it's just the two of us) 

Layer the meat sauce next. 

Then layer with the cheese mixture.

Keep layering and finish with a zucchini layer.

Top with mozzarella and cover with tinfoil. 

Bake for 45 minutes then uncover and bake 15 more minutes.

TADA!!! And I must say it was very satisfying! Good taste and even the hubs liked it!

Iced Coffee

Once again this recipe is a Pioneer Woman one. But made in a smaller batch and more reasonable size. (The original is a HUGE batch!) Here is the original if you want it.

Here is what you need -

Ground Coffee of your choice 

Water 

A gallon sized container or pitcher

Strainer

Fabric (you can use a cheesecloth or even a bandanna)

Fixin's! I use coffee syrup and milk. You can use stevia, flavored creamers or even condensed milk (YUM!)

So you are going to measure up 1 cup of ground coffee. I'm going decaf this time cause I'm trying to cut caffeine.....it's been agonizing. 

So get the pitcher and coffee. Measure up 1 cup of coffee grounds. (More if you'd like it stronger)
Pour the ground into the pitcher. I have a 1 gallon pitcher. So you'll need 1 gallon of water.

So it'll look like this. I let mine sit overnight so it'll be nice and strong.

So this next step I recommend doing in the sink cause it was the potential to get messy!

So I place my strainer over my pitcher and line it with the fabric. 

Then pour in the mixture. Just make sure you don't get grounds in the finished product....it's gross!

So after straining you have a the ability to make a wonder iced coffee! (Helps with saving money too! No more having to pay 2-4 dollars for a cup of iced coffee!)

Now lets make a glass!

First you need ice. Hence the name ICED coffee! I fill my glass a little over halfway with the coffee.

Then top it off with milk.

Here is the sweetener I use. Just a splash is plenty for me. But make it how you want.

Last but not least enjoy!