Homemade Lemonade

Greetings Everyone!

The weather has finally warmed up here in the UK and I am SOOOOOO happy!! Whenever the weather is nice, I start craving an ice cold glass of lemonade. Lemonade is not the same here as it is in the U.S., so if you want the real deal, you've gotta make it yourself.

When making homemade lemonade, you have to follow this basic recipe:

1 cup lemon juice to 4 cups water.

1/2-3/4 cup superfine sugar for every 4 cups of water.

Serve chilled. Add some lemon slices to make it look fancy if you wish. You could also add raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, any kind of fruits you like! My favorite is raspberry.

Now go grab a blanket and your sunglasses and go sit out in the sun and enjoy a glass (or two!) with a friend or your significant other!

Don't forget the sunscreen though- you don't want to get burnt!

Let me know how you like to make your lemonade. Do you add anything fun into it? Leave me a comment below!

-A

Easy Homemade Sangria

Happy Friday Everyone!

Today is a very gloomy and cold day in the UK, and I'm craving sunshine and the beach! It hasn't been two weeks since we have been back from our tropical Mallorcan holiday, and I'm already planning the next beach trip. To cure my gloomy day blues, I'm making sangria!

Sangria doesn't have to have a bunch of ingredients. It can just be wine and fruit! Here are two easy peasy recipes that you can quickly make for a last minute get together, or just for fun!

For a delicious white sangria:

1 bottle Torresella Prosecco

1 bottle Bolla Pinot Grigio

1/2 package strawberries

1 green apple

1/2 lemon

1/2 orange

Quarter the strawberries, slice the orange, apple, and lemon. Put them all together in a pitcher, and pour over the prosecco and pinot grigio. Chill for 2 hours or more to let the flavors develop.

Red Sangria:

1 bottle Madria Sangria

1/2 package of strawberries

1/2 orange

Slice and quarter the strawberries, slice the oranges. Pour over the sangria, and chill for minimum of 2 hours. Enjoy!

Have a wonderful weekend!

-A

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween Everyone!

The month of October has been very eventful for us and super, super busy! This year October has been amazing. We are getting to experience a true "fall" for the first time in 4 years, which is amazing! I'm loving being able to layer up, and feeling as though it truly is time for Halloween. 

Today I wanted to share with you some of my favorite things we have been doing to celebrate the season! 

By far my favorite thing I made this month has been the homemade apple cider. It is really difficult to find fresh pressed non alcoholic apple cider here in the UK, so I decided to make my own! It turned out absolutely amazing!

My husband and I went on an adventure to the pumpkin patch last weekend and found the best warty pumpkins we could find! I opted for painting mine this year instead of carving as usual. While we were there, I also picked up a pumpkin to bake to try making a pumpkin pie soon.

I have also made quite a few batches of pumpkin spice scones this year. They are super addicting! Especially when you pair it with homemade apple butter!

Yesterday I made these cute little sugar cookies with royal icing to send with my husband to work. They literally took me all day to bake and ice, as I am not very good at the icing part! The pumpkins turned out the best and naturally were my favorite.

I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe Halloween! If you missed my Halloween post last year, you can find it here.

-A

Homemade Chicken Stuffed Peppers

Hello.

It's been awhile, I know. The month of October has been absolutely CRAZY. I will admit as well, I have had little motivation to do any sort of cooking. In fact, we have only done two regular grocery shopping trips this last month due to life being 1001 places everyday. This is amazing to me, because I usually try to go to the store at least once a week so we always have things to eat at the house, and to help save money. This month was the exception.

I did however, have a little time to create a new recipe! We were craving stuffed peppers, so I buzzed around on Pinterest to find a recipe I thought we would like, but I couldn't find one. So, I got creative and just threw a bunch of things together and it turned out really well! So today, I thought I would share my success with you all.

This recipe is perfect to make a large amount of, and put in the freezer and save for a later date. I love these kinds of meals, and am delighted when I find them! Without further ado, grab your skillets and lets get cooking!

Homemade Chicken Stuffed Peppers

Note: All of these measurements are approximate. I just threw in what I had in my fridge and freezer to make these, adjust to your liking!

1 cup Rotisserie Chicken, diced or shredded
1/2 onion, diced
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
1/2 can organic fire roasted diced tomatoes
1/2 cup frozen corn kernels
3/4-1 cup cooked rice, any kind
4 bell peppers, seeded and chopped in half
Chili powder & cumin to taste
Salt & pepper to taste
Fresh cilantro for topping
Shredded Monterrey Jack cheese for topping
Olive Oil for sauteing 

Second note- Ignore my pans, they are on their last leg, or handle? Anyways, its time to upgrade and I haven't found the perfect set I'm in love with yet. I would use my cast iron, but it is due for a seasoning, so it is out of commission until I find time to do it!

Throw some olive oil, your chopped onion and jalapeno in a pan. Saute for a few minutes. Season with salt & pepper to taste. Sweat out those veggies!

Next, throw in your fire roasted tomatoes. You want some juice as well.

Stir in some corn. I used frozen kernels, but you can use canned if you prefer as well. Let those get all warmed up in your pan.

Add the rice. Yum!

Next, I added some chili powder and cumin to the mix. I just sprinkled it in around the pan. Make sure to give your concoction a taste during this step to make sure your seasonings are to your liking.

Add the chicken, and your ready to stuff those peppers!

Stuff your peppers with your mix. Yes, I'm cooking these in a pie pan. My large pan I usually cook in was in the dishwasher. Story of my life lately, nothing I need is clean when I need it!

Bake your peppers for 10-15 minutes covered with foil at 350.

Pull them out of the oven, and add some cilantro.

Then smother them with cheese! Put them back in the oven, uncovered for 15 minutes.

And...Voila! Your stuffed peppers are ready to enjoy! Let them cool for a few minutes before biting into them, these babies will be very, very hot! A suggestion for what to pair with the peppers: baked potatoes, french rolls, or a crispy baguette or crostini with your favorite toppings. 

I hope you enjoyed this post, let me know if you try these, I'd love to hear what you all think! 

-A