WFMW: Texas Sweet Tea

Okay, so I am playing a little fast-and-loose with the title TEXAS sweet tea. I know there are plenty of Texans out there who might beg to differ with me that this is how Texans make sweet tea. So let me just say that this is how we in the SortaCrunchy household (firmly planted in Texas) make us some sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet tea.

(We also don't have a recipe handed down to us from a great-great-grandmother who made the original sweet tea. Our concoction is a melding together of many recipes we have come across; we have tinkered and made it our own!)

Recipe for one gallon of sweet tea:

1 gallon of water (divided; tap will do fine)
3 or 4 cups of sugar (how much do you love your dentist?)
12 Luzianne iced tea bags

In a large pot, bring 2 quarts (half a gallon) of water and all of your sugar to a boil. When the water comes to a boil, remove pot from heat and add the tea bags. Cover and let sit. (I'd say at least half an hour, but we let ours sit up to two hours sometimes.) After tea has steeped, remove tea bags and pour tea into a gallon sized container. Fill with two more quarts of water (to make a gallon - the magic of math and measurements!). Chill and serve over ice. I like a lemon wedge or two in mine to cut the sweetness, but The Coach prefers his straight up.

A gallon makes a LOT of tea, so unless you are having company over for a grill-out, you may want to make just half a gallon. Tea (sweet and otherwise) tastes funny to me after it's been in the fridge for three or more days.

Enjoy!

For more Works For Me Wednesday tips, pour a glass of tea and drop by Rocks in My Dryer!

WFMW! - "Playgroups USA"

Yep, a day late and a dollar short, as usual!

My tip for this Works for Me Wednesday is a wonderful resource for anyone looking to organize a playgroup. Playgroups USA is a site that can help mamas connect to an already existing playgroup or get a new one up and running. Remember that sweet mama I met last month at the library? Well she has done an amazing job of getting a local playgroup up and running and this site has been spectacular for keeping everyone organized and up-to-date. All you do is join the site (it's free!), search by zip code or other search parameters, and find out if there are playgroups in your area with which you can connect. There is an interactive calendar for events to be posted and you can RSVP if you are going to be there or not. Very, very handy tool for mamas looking to connect.

Enjoy!

WFMW! - Natural "bleach"

My very first ever Works For Me Wednesday post!

I didn't know until I started cloth diapering that the sun can be used to "naturally" bleach stains out of clothing (and cloth diapers!). Well, I guess I kind of knew this based on having ruined more than one book's cover by letting it sit in the backseat of my car far too long, but I didn't really KNOW I knew, know what I mean?

But it's true! If you have a stain on some clothing and it isn't safe to use bleach on it, simply dampen the stain (after washing) and let it sit in the sun. It may not happen immediately (although most of the time it does happen within two hours), but it hasn't failed me yet. Everything from blackberry juice stains to all manner of stainage on our cloth diapers has magically disappeared thanks to our sun.

For really stubborn stains, try adding a little lemon juice before sunning. If you use the lemon juice on the cloth diaper, make sure to launder it again before you put it on the babe.

Check out many, MANY more "makes life easier" tips at Rocks in My Dryer.