Delicious Mojitos

I don't know about you but there comes a time in your life when you just need a drink! I rarely drink but when I do I love to drink Mojitos! They are just so refreshing and delicious! Its like an adult lemonade. This is my recipe on how I make Mojitos. This recipe is enough to make one glass but I like to make a pitcher full especially when we are having guests over.

(Yes those are limes, when it gets cold my limes on my lime tree turn yellow)

Here is what you will need:

5-10 FRESH Mint Leaves
1 Lime
3 Tbls Simple Syrup
1/2 Cup Ice Cubes
1 fl oz White Rum
1/2 Cup or Can Sprite, 7Up or Any Lemon-Lime Soda


Cut lime into 1/8 pieces. Place mint leaves in sturdy glass and squeeze 1/2 of the lime pieces into the glass. Crush mint leaves in glass with lime juice. Add the simple syrup and ice to the glass. Then add Rum, soda and remaining limes. Stir and enjoy!

I'm not really a fan of club soda so I use Lemon-Lime Soda and to me it taste a lot better. I also don't like tasting the alcohol in my drinks so I make them a little sweet. I hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as I do! If you want to make strawberry mojitos just add strawberries and crush them with the mint and lime juice!

Simple Syrup

Ever wonder how you can make simple syrup? It's super easy and is used for cocktails and drinks! This recipe yields about 1 cup but you can always double or even triple this recipe to make more. It last a while in the fridge.


Here is what you will need:

1 Cup White Sugar
1 Cup Water
Medium Saucepan

In a medium saucepan combine sugar and water. Bring to a boil, stirring, until sugar has dissolved. Allow to cool. Then use it or store in a airtight container and refrigerate.

Homemade Pedialyte

 

Pedialyte is expensive. I only buy it when I have coupons for it, which isn't to often. I like to give it to Skylar to make sure he's hydrated, especially when he's sick. When I found out that I could make my own I was thrilled! There are several different reciepes you can use but here are two of them.

 (I made a double batch here of Recipe #2)

 
Pedialyte Recipe #1:

• 1/2 cup hot water
• 3 1/2 cups water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon Jello gelatin powder mix, any flavor

Mix salt, sugar and Jello with hot water until dissolved. Stir into 3 1/2 cups of water and serve. Refrigerate up to 3 days.

Pedialyte Recipe #2

• 4 cups water
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3 Tbsp sugar or honey (remember that infants under 1 CAN NOT have honey)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• optional: 1/2 packet unsweetened Kool-Aid

Mix all ingredients together and serve. Refrigerate up to 3 days.

Natural Orange All-Purpose Cleaner

My family and I are on a mission to live more naturally. One way we do that is by making our own non-toxic cleaning products. That way our 2 & 1/2 year old can help us clean and we don't have to worry about nasty chemicals getting on him. So here's the recipe we use for our Natural Orange All-Purpose Cleaner.

You will need:

Quart Size Mason Jar or Pasta Jar
Left over orange peels (You can also use mandarin or tangerine peels)
White Vinegar
Water

Fill the jar up with the peels. Then pour the vinegar into the jar and fill 3/4th full. Leave the jar in a sunny window for about 2-3 weeks. Shake occasionally. Strain the orange vinegar into a spray bottle and fill the rest of the bottle with water. Then clean like you normally would! It smells like yummy oranges and not like chemicals.

TIP:

• The longer you let the vinegar brew in the peels the stronger the cleaner will be.
• DO NOT use on granite and marble. Vinegar is acidic and can mar the finish of porous stone countertops.
• This cleaner can be used for almost everything else, though, including wood floors.

Apple Cinnamon Detox Water

 

If you don't care to drink water or want to drink more water you should try this! It's so simple to make and taste great in my opinion. Plus its ZERO CALORIES!!! Great for anyone who's on a detox or a diet.

 

What you will need:

 

 

A Pitcher

Water

An Apple of your choice

1 Cinnamon Stick (I love cinnamon so I used 2)

 

 

Drop apple slices in the bottom of the pitcher and then the cinnamon. Add water. Place in fridge for 8 hours or leave over night so the apple and cinnamon can infuse the water. Refill water 3-4 times before replacing the apple and cinnamon. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

Homemade Cough Drops & Cough Drop Lollipops

Skylar's has a little cough, so I decided to make some cough drop lollipops to give him in addition to the cough syrup. I found out how to make these and cough drops on The Pistachio Project blog. They are soooo easy to make! The only ingredient you need is Honey! I don't know about you but cough drop lollipop sounds a lot better to give a preschooler then the actually small cough drops that they can choke on. Plus you know exactly what your giving your child and family. For this I did buy 4" lollipop sticks, lollipop molds and candy molds from Joann's. But you don't have to. I wanted some fun mold for Skylar and wanted cough drops for my husband and myself.

Remember DO NOT give Infants under 1 year of age Honey!!!

Okay so here's how to make them:

Cough Drop Lollipops

1/2 - 1 Cups Organic Honey (Any amount would be good, Regular Honey works too)
Candy Thermometer (Optional)
Lollipop Sticks
Lollipop Molds (You don't need a mold, you can make free form lollipops by pouring the honey over the stick on a non-stick surface)

(Forgot to take a picture before I put it in the pot)

How To Cook
Pour honey into small saucepan & cook over low heat. Stir constantly & bring honey to a boil. If using candy thermometer, insert in & continue to stir the honey until it has reached a temperature of 300 degrees. Remove from heat & move to test phase. If not using the candy thermometer then continue cooking & occasionally test. Just don’t wait too late to test; testing too early is better then testing too late.

How To Test
To make sure your honey has reached the right consistency, place a drop or two of honey into a cup of ice water. If the honey turns & stays hard (like a hard candy) then you are good to go. If it is still soft then you need to keep cooking a bit longer.

Making the Lollipops

With Molds- Grease lollipop molds and insert sticks so that they are ready in the mold. Pour honey into mold & let cool at room temperature. (No cheating and putting them into the fridge. It won’t work)

Cough Drops

You can purchase cough drop molds or any small mold will work. You could also create free form cough drops just like the free form lollipops. Same instructions apply; pour honey into mold or onto a greased non-stick surface and let cool at room temperature. (No cheating and putting them into the fridge. It won’t work)

Add Ins

Now just plain honey is great but you can get really creative with these! You can add cinnamon or ginger or even use some essential oils such as lemon or menthol.