Better than Chick fil A lemonade

Don’t worry, I still love me some Chick fil A lemonade. But homemade is just a teeny bit better. Especially when made with lemons I grew in my own backyard!

1 and 1/4 cups lemon juice (I’ve used Meyer and Ponderosa for this and both are great)

4 cups water

5/6 cup sugar (I know it’s a weird, obnoxious measurement. Just eyeball it)

Pour lemon juice into pitcher and add the sugar. Stir to combine. Add water. Stir and chill. 

These are just guidelines. Feel free to adjust as desired. I personally like my lemonade with a bit of a kick so I kinda go light on the water.  It’s especially helpful if I’m going to pour it over ice so that the melting ice doesn’t water down my lemonade. Because I’m not really gonna wait for it to chill in the fridge. 

Enjoy!

Yummy Granola

 3 cups rolled oats

3 tablespoons packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

Add these ingredients to a large bowl and stir to combine. 

1/3 cup honey

1/4 cup coconut oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

Add these ingredients to a small bowl and stir well to combine. Then pour the wet mixture over the oats mixture and stir well until the oats are coated. Pour onto an untreated cookie sheet and spread into an even layer. Pat down as much as possible. 

Bake in a 300 degree oven for 15 minutes. Take out and stir the oats. Then spread it back into an even layer and pat down. Bake another 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool completely in pan before storing in an airtight container.  My kids love this on a bowl of yogurt or even just with milk as a homemade cereal. It’s seriously yummy!

*You can also add chopped nuts or dried fruit after it has baked (unless you need to toast the nuts) but we’ve never bothered trying that yet. 😆

Buttermilk Biscuits

2 and 1/3 cups Self Rising flour
8 teaspoons sugar
1 stick of butter, frozen
1 and 1/3 cups buttermilk

Stir together the flour and sugar.  Grate the butter into the flour mixture and stir to combine.
Stir in the buttermilk until combined.  Then scoop into balls onto a plate of all purpose flour and shape, shaking off excess flour.  Place with sides touching in a greased 9x13 pan.  Bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes.  Brush tops with butter and bake another 5 minutes to brown.

I found these on a Facebook post and they are super yummy!  Finally had to add them here so I can always find the recipe quickly. 

Baked Spaghetti with Italian Sausage

1/2 lb spaghetti
1/2 lb Italian sausage
1 jar (14oz) spaghetti sauce
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (divided)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta as directed. Remove casing from sausage and brown and crumble in medium skillet on medium heat. Drain. Add spaghetti sauce and simmer 5 minutes.
Drain pasta.
Beat egg in a large bowl and add 1 cup of mozzarella and the Parmesan cheese. Stir. Add drained pasta. Toss to coat. Place in 8x8 in dish sprayed with cooking spray.
Top with sausage mixture and remaining mozzarella. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes or til heated thru. Let stand five minutes before serving.

Pepper Steak

1 lb beef strips
1 large onion, sliced into rings
1 large green bell pepper, cut into long strips
2 cans Campbell's beef gravy
Olive oil
2 beef bouillon cubes
Salt and pepper

Place tbsp oil in large pan on medium heat.  Sprinkle salt and pepper on the beef, add to hot oil. Let cook through,stirring while it cooks. Usually a few minutes. Remove beef from pan.
Add pepper and onions. Sauté.
Replace beef with vegetables and stir.
Add two cans of gravy. Fill one can 3/4 full of water and stir in. Add two beef bouillon cubes and salt and pepper. Stir. Let simmer til heated through.
Serve over rice.

Marmee's Chicken and Rice

1 small fryer chicken, about 3-4 lbs
2 cups rice, dry
Salt and pepper

Rinse chicken and remove all giblets. Place in large pot. Fill with water almost to top of pot. Make sure the cavity of the bird is filled with water. Add salt and pepper. Start with about 1/2 tsp of salt and add more if needed.
Bring pot to a boil, then turn down to a low boil for 25 minutes. Flip the bird over carefully and boil an additional 20 minutes.
Very carefully remove chicken from the pot, allowing groth to escapee the cavity. Set aside and let cool.
Defat the broth.  Place in a heat resistant bowl and use defatting cup. Then pour broth through strainer bac into the pot. Bring to a good boil.
Add rice. Cook 25 minutes, uncovered. Stir continually. Add water if it becomes too thick.
While the rice cooks, pull chicken off the bone and add back into the pot dring last five minutes of rice cooking time.

Marmee always serves this with cranberry sauce.

Stew Meat and Rice

This is a Marmee classic. It is just what it sounds like: stew meat and rice. And potatoes. It is definitely comfort food. These amounts were used to make dinner for two with leftovers. Marmee said she doubles it when cooking for the whole family.

1 lb of stew meat
1 large onion
4 large potatoes
1 cup dry rice
salt and pepper water

1. Rinse the meat and place in a large pot. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2. Add water to the pot about an inch over the meat.
3. Turn on high heat and bring to a boil. While it is heating, dice up the onion and add to the pot.
4. Add about 1/2 tsp of salt. May want to add more later.
5. Add two beef bouillion cubes.
6. Let cook for 1 1/2 hours at a low boil.
7. While it is cooking, peel and cut up potatoes into about 1 inch cubes. Add after it has boiled for 1 1/2 hours.
8. Turn up the heat and continue to boil about 30 minutes to cook potatoes. You may need to add warm water if it starts to get too thick.
9.Start the rice in a separate pot when you add the potatoes.

Enjoy! It's so simple yet so tasty!