Recipe Monday: Sun Tea

Okay, my girl Miranda Lambert came out with a song this summer titled: Automatic. Besides the fact that it's a super stellar tune, there is a lyric in the song that goes "Quarter in a pay phone, drying laundry on the line, watching sun tea in the window, pocket watch, tellin' time"

If you wanna check it out, here's the tune:



Otherwise, just take my word for it and the fact that "watching sun tea in the window" has been my real-life little rascals' example of "babes are like a bad song … once you get em' stuck in your head you can't get em' out again."  Yep, that's me … just gallavanting around all summer long jamming to Automatic in my head.

Catchy tune aside, finally I decided to not only sing it, but bring back a fond childhood memory of making sun tea with my momma. Nevermind the fact that as a small child I HATED tea and my mom didn't like it either, so I INSISTED she make it with me time and time again only to throw the entire pitcher away an hour after it was complete.

But now, I am a poised adult who thoroughly enjoys not only making sun tea, but actually drinking it this time around. So I've devoted hot summer days to do just that. And I am happy to report my husband and small toddler also enjoy drinking said sun tea. Today, I share it with you!

Sun Tea Ingredients:

• 12 cups hot water 
• 8 tea bags
• 1 cup sugar
• Fresh mint sprig
• Lemon slices

Alright, now for the hard part, the extremely complicated seven steps of completion (TOTALLY kidding). I forgot to start taking photos until I actually got it outside, but hopefully you can imagine what adding water and sugar to a container looks like :)

Step 1: Place 12 cups of warm-hot water in large glass jar with metal top. (Mine has a plastic top and it doesn't freak me out, but a plastic container may. All that heat and those BPA conversations … I don't know, it's enough to just use glass .. k?)

Step 2: stir 1 cup sugar into water until dissolved.

Step 3: add tea bags and close the lid.

Step 4: Walk your happy little booty outside and put the container in the SUN. All sun, all  day err day. Turn right around and walk back inside WITHOUT the container in hand. Leave container in said sun spot 4-5 hours.

Step 5: Get a big ole' glass of ice ready.

Step 6:  Walk your even happier about-to-have-sun-tea booty back outside to retrieve container and bring inside. Or leave it outside and pour straight from the sun and then put it in the fridge … we couldn't wait a second longer!Pour the delicious concoction over a big ole' glass of ice.  (Yes, that is our horrible looking backyard. We had like 11 trees removed last fall and still have yet to take care of it. Our poor neighbors.)

Step 7: Add a mint sprig and some lemon if you're feeling fancy. Kick up your piggies and REFRESH. Sun tea peoples.

Getcha summa that good good.  Helllloooooooo summatime.