Fruity Margarita

Today was day three of my new jobs. After a full day of work, some errands, and a meeting for school, this nice fruity margarita recipe (along with some raspberry sorbet and frozen fruit) went a long way toward helping me relax. Here it is - short, simple, but not too sweet:

Fruity Margarita:
1 shot tequila
1 shot Triple Sec
1 shot lime juice (sweetened or fresh based on your preference)
Dole orange peach mango juice

Directions:
If you like margaritas with salt, make sure you salt the rim first (I always seem to forget, but not this time!). Then add a couple ice cubes, the tequila, triple sec, and lime juice. Fill the rest of the glass with the Dole juice. The fruit juice adds a little bit of sweetness.

So this post wasn't very long, but there was no time to make anything other than breakfast today! Tomorrow I should have more time, so check back then!

Delicious Chai Tea (for icing)

I love having a big pot of tea in the fridge for when I need a refreshing iced pick-me-up (here in Arizona, I need that pretty frequently, and water gets boring). So I made regular green tea the other day, but today I was craving some Chai tea. Here's how I did it (beware, this made almost a gallon!):

Boil a large pot of water on the stove, like you were going to make a couple pounds of pasta, but without the salt/oil.

When it's boiling, add 6 black tea bags and steep for maybe 5 minutes. Also add the following:

2 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp fennel
1 tbsp nutmeg
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp crushed cloves
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/4 cup honey

After steeping the black tea bags sufficiently (the water will turn a dark brownish/black), remove the tea bags, but let the other spices steep for another 15 minutes or so.

If you want to enjoy it hot, ladle out a mug or two while the spices are steeping. Heat some milk in the microwave (or the stove if you're careful not to burn it) and mix with about 1 part of each.

However I wanted something iced - so I've been letting it steep for maybe half an hour now, after removing the tea bags, and once it is much cooler, I'll pour it into the pitcher, straining out the spices with a paper towel spread over a metal colander. Then, add cold milk for a refreshing, slightly caffeinated, spicy treat.

Come back later today for dinner - Chicken Tortilla Soup! Also, I can't stop thinking about that delicious mac and cheese! I'll probably end up making it again relatively soon, even though I'm trying to vary what I make. I definitely highly recommend it!