Sun Tea

The sun is finally out here in Oregon, and that means more time outdoors and less time indoors. It is the perfect time to enjoy a refreshing glass of iced sun tea. This is a simple recipe that kids love to help with, from picking out the tea to watching it change colors. Our house goes through so much tea when the weather is hot and sunny, it is nice not to have to boil water every few hours to make more ice tea. This is the method of how we made tea growing up on a farm in the country.

Supplies:

Glass Jar (I used an old canning jar)

2 Tea bags ( I used Mango Passionfruit herbal tea)

Cold water

Directions:

1.      Place 2 tea bags of choice in a glass jar making sure to hold the tags on the rim.

2.      Fill glass jar with cold water and seal with lid making sure the tea bags are hanging from the rim.

3.      Find a place outside in direct sun light and place jar in the sun

4.      Come back in 2-4hr depending on sun and tea strength

5.      Pour over glasses of ice and enjoy

Pretzel Delights

These little yummy treats are mine and my families new favorite dessert. If you love something salty and sweet, than these treats are for you. They are the perfect combination of salt and sweet. They fulfil two cravings all at one time. Happiness in your mouth! They are also relatively simply and quick to put together. My oldest daughter actually chose to have me make these for her school birthday instead of the traditional cupcakes or cookies and they were a big hit with all the kids.


Pretzel Delights:

 - 1 bag mini pretzels

 - 1 bag m&m's (or a few bags with the colors you want picked out -    for these I used Easter m&m's and picked out the pink and purple)

 - 1 bag candy melts (any color you want - I used white for these)

 - a pipping bag with size 5 round tip

 - wax paper and paper towels

 - bags and ribbon for decoration (optional)

1.) First place approx two to two and a half feet of paper towels down on your work surface and then cover the paper towels with wax paper. Then you will take a bunch of your mini pretzels and lay them out flat on the was paper.

2.) Next place the candy melts in a double boiler (or you can follow microwave directions on the bag) and heat them until they are completely melted.

3.) Then you will take your pipping bag and place it in a tall glass folding the bag over the edge of the glass. This makes for easier filling of the pipping bag if you don't have an assistant. Then fill the pipping bag approx two-thirds full. BE CAREFUL with this next step the bag will be hot. grab a towel if that helps. Take your pipping bag out of your glass and fill the holes on the pretzels.

4.) Gently press m&m's into the places where the three holes in the pretzels used to be. If you have a helper one person can fill the holes with the pipping bag while the other one puts the m&m's in place, but if you are doing it on your own you will have to do it 5-10 pretzels at a time.

5.) Let them dry approximately an hour or until they are hard. You can then place them in decorative bags as I did for my daughters birthday or just store in a zip lock bag.

Greek Layer Dip

Now that the sun is starting to come out, so are more veggies, grilling, and get-togethers. This is such an easy dip recipe to make- very unique with lots of flavors. It is a great vegetarian appetizer or potluck dish. It is a perfect dish to use up the vegetables from your garden.

Ingredients

1 ½ Tzatziki if you cannot find tzatziki I will include a recipe at the end
1 1/2 c. hummus
1 c. seeded, diced cucumbers
1 c. seeded, diced tomatoes
1/2 c. chopped Kalamata olives (black olives work also)
1/3 c. chopped green onions (about 3 green onions completely chopped)
1/2 c. crumbled Feta cheese

Directions:
1.Spread tzatziki in the bottom of a shallow dish.
2. Spread a layer of hummus.
3. Sprinkle and even layer of cucumbers, then tomatoes, then olives, then onions, then Feta cheese, making layers.

4. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours.
Serve with pita, baked pita chips, and fresh vegetables

Tzatziki Sauce
 1 (8 ounce) containers plain yogurt

1 cucumbers - peeled, seeded and diced

1 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 lemon, juiced

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill or Greek seasoning

1-2 cloves garlic, peeled

With an electric mixer mix all ingredients until light and fluffy.