My mom taught me a couple of tricks to making perfect fresh squeezed lemonade. The first trick is to mix in your sugar with water first – that way you don’t have to mix a whole pitcher, and you can be sure that all the sugar dissolves properly. The second trick she taught me is to remember the Lemonade Ratio, as she called it. The Lemonade Ratio is 1 cup lemon juice, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup water. Here’s her full fresh squeezed lemonade recipe, I hope you like it!
Fresh Squeezed Lemonade Recipe
Ingredients
1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (4 to 6 lemons)
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
3 to 4 cups cold water (for dilution)
Directions
1. Heat the 1 cup water in a small sauce pan, and mix in the 1 cup of sugar. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved.
2. Mix the sugar/water mix and lemon juice in a large pitcher, then dilute with cold water until it tastes perfect!
3. Refridgerate, and serve with ice and lemon slices for garnish.
I love cooking chicken breasts on the grill, and I usually use a variation of the chicken breast marinade recipe below. It only takes a few minutes to make, and it tastes a lot better than the bottled marinades you find in the store.
Chicken Breast Marinade
INGREDIENTS
1/2 c Orange Juice
1/4 c Lemon Juice
1 tsp Dijon Mustard
1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1/4 c Canola Oil
3 cloves Garlic
1/4 c fresh Parsley
1 tsp dried Oregano
salt
black pepper
DIRECTIONS
Combine the orange juice, lemon juice, mustard, and Worcestershire in a glass mixing bowl, then whisk in the oil little by little. Crush the garlic, chop the parsley, and add garlic, parsley and oregano. Salt and pepper to taste. Marinate breast for 3 to 4 hours, and never more than 6 hours. At 6 hours the proteins in the chicken start to break down, and they taste awful.
You can change the marinade recipe by using different types of mustard, or vinegar instead of the OJ and lemon juice. Pack in more garlic for a bigger punch. Try your own variations!
I would never have guessed this a few years ago, but the one kitchen item that I’ve loaned to family and friends more than anything else is a potato ricer. I guess that means that I make good mashed potatoes, right? They’re totally easy to use, and you can’t help but make fluffy mashed potatoes when you use it! It’s my secret weapon!
This one is on sale at Chefs for $10 off!
This easy fruit dip recipe tastes great with any seasonal fruit, especially berries melons. For an added bit of pizazz, put the fruit on skewers first and stick them in an overturned half of a melon or pineapple for serving!
Easy Fruit Dip Recipe
Ingredients
1 container Cool Whip (or other whipped topping)
1 8 oz yogurt
Directions
Blend the Cool Whip and yogurt together, then chill for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Simple Cheesecake Recipe
This is an easy and simple cheesecake recipe my mom always used to make when I was little. Not that it’s not ‘traditional’ cheesecake, but it still tastes awesome!
Simple Cheesecake Recipe
Ingredients
1 8 oz. package cream cheese
1 cup sour cream
2 tsp. vanilla
1 package Cool Whip
1 Graham cracker pie shell
Directions
Whip the Cool Whip, cream cheese and vanilla together, and pour into the pie shell. Chill for at least one hour, then top with whatever fruit you want!
A Walk Me Down is strong. Really strong. But amazingly they are good, too!
Walk Me Down Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 oz vodka
- 1/2 oz triple sec
- 1/2 oz rum
- 1/2 oz gin
- 1/2 oz 1800 Tequila
- 1 oz sweet and sour mix
- 1/2 oz Blue Curacao liqueur
- 4 – 6 oz Sprite soda
Directions
Shake ingredients (except Sprite) together in a cocktail shaker half-filled with ice cubes. Add Sprite and stir. Strain into a hurricane glass over ice, and serve.
People sure love Outback Steakhouse, don’t they? Everybody I know thinks it’s awesome – including me! Anyway, a friend and I were drinking their Wallaby Darn drinks last weekend, and we thought it’d be a great idea to come up with a Wallaby Darn Recipe. After much experimentation 
, here’s what I came up with:
Wallaby Darn Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 oz frozen sliced peaches
- 1/2 c Bacardi Fuzzy Navel mix
- 1/2 c ice
- 1/2 c champagne
- 3 oz water
- 1 1/2 oz peach schnapps
- 1 1/2 oz vodka
- 1 tbs sugar
Directions
Combine all ingredients in a blender, and blend until drink is smooth and creamy (about 30s). Serve immediately.
I found this Memphis Dry Rub recipe in my Food and Wine magazine, and I loved it! It had just the right about of kick, without being overly spicy. I’ve made a few small changes, here’s my new recipe for Memphis dry rub ribs.
Memphis Dry Rub Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 racks baby back ribs
For the rub:
- 2 tablespoons paprika
- 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons celery salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
For the mop sauce:
- 2 cups distilled white vinegar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon salt
Directions
1. Wash the ribs and blot dry. Remove the thin papery skin on the back of each rack of ribs.
2. Combine all the ingredients for the rub in mixing bowl and mix. Rub 2/3 of this mixture on the ribs on both sides. Transfer the ribs to a roasting pan and let marinate for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the mop sauce.
4. Place the ribs on the grill over the drip pan and cover the grill. Start basting with mop sauce after 30 minutes, basting every 20 minutes. Cook the ribs for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours until done. The ribs are done when the meat is very tender and it has shrunk back from the ends of the bones. If using a charcoal grill, replenish the coals after 1 hour.
5. Transfer the ribs to a cutting board or platter. Mop one final time with mop sauce and sprinkle with the remaining rub. Serve with your favorite barbecue sauce on the side.
I had forgotten about how much I love Mars Bar squares, til a friend sent me his Mars bar recipe. Here it is in all it’s glory!
Mars Bar Recipe
Ingredients
5 Mars Bars
1/3 cup butter or margarine
3 cups Rice Krispies
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Directions
Melt and mix together Mars Bars and butter. Mix in Rice Krispies. Press this into a greased pan. Next, melt chocolate chips. Pour the melted chocolate over the mars bar mix. Let cool for about 10 minutes, then sprinkle a handful of chocolate chips over the top. Refrigerate for a bit, remove and let sit at room temperature. Cut and enjoy.
Mars Bar Recipe Tips
These are somewhat decadent, so make sure you have plenty of friends over to help you eat them!
A friend and I were talking about Swedish bitters, and we look all over the place online until we found this Swedish bitters original recipe. Supposedly it’s very popular because the doctor that invented it lived to 104, and there are tons of stories online about the afflictions that it has cured. The recipe is somewhat dangerous, and I absolutely wouldn’t recommend trying it. It’s, um, strange.
10 gm. Aloe
6 gm. Myrrh
2 gm. Saffron
10 gm. Senna leaves
10 gm. Camphor
10 gm. Rhubarb roots
10 gm. Manna
10 gm. Theriac venezian
5 gm. Carline Thistle roots
10 gm. Angelica roots
10 gm. Zedoary roots
This mixture is put into a wide-necked 2 liter bottle and 1.5 liter of 38% to 40% rye or fruit spirit are poured over It. The bottle is left standing in the sun or near the stove for 14 days arid shaken daily. The liquid is then strained and poured into small bottles, well-stoppered and stored in cool place, This way it can be kept for many years. The longer it stands, the more effective it becomes! Shake well before use! Alternatively, some of the liquid can be strained into a small bottle and the rest left in the bottle until required.
Swedish Bitters Original Recipe Notes
Wow, I don’t even know where I’d get half that stuff! And mixing it with rye and letting is stand… Wow. Seriously, don’t try this! Find a mix online and buy that, instead!