easy-peasey sweet tea....

being from the south, of course i'm completely addicted to drinking sweet tea.  lately, i try to save it for special occasions, like going out to eat or at a friend's house.  the little girls that i nanny adore their sweet tea, and it's all i can do to get them to wait until lunch for their first cup.  they definitely have a sweet tooth, but little patience.  so i don't have much time to boil water and wait for the tea to steep.... these girls want tea, and they want it now!!

here is an easy-peasey, and lightning fast way to make the perfect pitcher of tea!  seriously, five minutes and you are ready to go, with refreshing beverage in hand!

{gather your ingredients....}

5 packets of tea

2 cups of water

3/4 cup of sugar

{directions....}

1.  unwrap your packets of tea and place them inside a microwaveable bowl or cup.  i go ahead and use a glass measuring cup so i only have one dish to clean in the end.  add in 2 cups of water.

2.  smoosh the tea bags down into the water a little, then microwave for 5 minutes.  {smoosh = another of my technical culinary terms}

3.  pour the tea into a clean, 1/2 gallon pitcher and add 3/4 cup granulated sugar.  stir.

4.  {this part is really important!} add in two cups of cold water to the measuring cup/bowl with the leftover tea bags.... this gives you some watered down tea looking liquid.

5.  pour this watered down tea liquid into the pitcher and then fill the pitcher the rest of the way with cold water or ice... i prefer ice, it makes it really good and cold right away.  today i just added water though.  give it a really good stir and enjoy yourself a nice cup of southern sweet tea that you made in five minutes!!