{taste this} ginger sweet tea sparklers

Welcome to the first {taste this} recipe for the new year!!  Did you ring in 2012 with a kiss and a toast?!  Since we knew we were headed to the beach early on New Years Day morning (kinda crazy, huh?!), we were tucked in long before the ball dropped ... but we did watch a few fireworks outside in our neighborhood before bed :)

So, this is the beginning of 52 (give or take one or two) recipes to add your repertoire - woo hoo!!  No pressure here, ha ha!  I figured since we just started the year with a bang, I'd start {taste this} off with a little FIZZ!!

How about a ginger sweet tea sparkler?!

For us Southerners, sweet tea is the beverage of choice ... but why not fizz it up with a little lemon and ginger?  Ale that is!  Yep, this is a simple but fantastic mix of sweet tea, lemon juice and ginger ale!!

Ginger Sweet Tea Sparklers

Combine:

• 2 cups fresh brewed tea
• 1/2 cup lemon juice (use fresh squeezed if you have it; I didn't and it was still delicious)
• 1/2 cup sugar (you can substitute Splenda or any other artificial sweetner)

Stir until the sugar is dissolved and chill until ready to serve.  Just before serving, add 32 oz. of ginger ale.  This version is non-alcoholic, but you could definitely add a dash of that sweet tea vodka I've heard so much about ;)

Now, my regular readers know I took a short blog break and there was not a {taste this} or {create this} post last week.  SO as a big thank you for sticking around and coming back, I figured you deserved a little bonus crafty tutorial!!  Check out the easiest wine glass tags/charms ever ... my sweet southern slice of life wine glass tags:

Low cost garnish and wine glass name tag - the best of both worlds!

And there you have it ... a recipe and a mini craft tutorial!!  Sure hope you were inspired to {taste this}!

I took a little break but I am back and just brimming with stuff to share with you!  She's back and she brought sweet tea!

These were shared at all the blogs/parties on my Link page!