Celebrate National Iced Tea Month

Any time a server asks, "What would you like to drink?" I say, "Iced tea, lots of lemons. Yes, lots please." And the server arrives with a tall glass of tea, usually with one wedge on the rim, and (hopefully) a plate of lemon wedges. I squeeze 3 wedges into the glass, add 2 packets of Splenda (or 3 of sugar), stir, and consume approximately 1/3 of it before I put it down and continue with my conversation. Throughout the course of the meal I suck down 3, possibly 4 glasses (and inevitably hit the little girls room at least 2 times before I leave, lol).

Why the play by play of my drinking habit? Because June is National Iced Tea Month! 

Iced tea is so refreshing and easy to make - at its most basic, all you need is tea, water, and time. It's perfectly satisfying on its own, but you can dress it up any which way you like. I like iced black tea, iced green tea, iced herbal tea... do I sound like Forrest yet? So in honor of National Iced Tea Month, and because every summer shindig should have delightful liquid refreshments,  I shall be sharing some of my favorite recipes each week this month. First up: the classic iced tea you'd get in any restaurant. Try it with 3 lemon slices and some sugar and you'll get a taste of how I <3 it. 

Basic Iced Tea

2 quarts water (preferably filtered)
8 lipton tea bags
*2 tbsp Splenda (or 4 tbsp sugar)

Heat water in a pot over on the stove until the bottom just starts to bubble and it begins to steam. Add 8 tea bags. Steep for 5 minutes. Remove bags. *If adding sweetener (and what I put there is JUST enough to give it a hint of sweetness so if you like it sweet, keep on adding more) mix it in now. Put in a heat proof pitcher. Cool in the fridge overnight (I put it on top of a folded up kitchen towel just in case the heat would do something not so good to the cold glass shelves, but I could just be overly precautious). Enjoy over ice.