The One Year Birthday Entry...

Hard to believe it's been a year since I started this blog and I have managed to post at least once a month for a whole year. I hope to make this place bigger and better in the next year. If you want to give Cooking with J.J. A great birthday present...tell your friends, follow me on twitter, or like my fan page on Facebook. Thanks for reading this fat kids ramblings!

Now for the nitty gritty...Who doesn't love copy cat recipes? I know I do. This is one of my favorites. Who doesn't love those yummy little biscuits they give you baskets of at Red Lobster? Thats right folks, I present you:

Cheddar Bay Biscuits

This recipe is a variation of Red Lobsters "Cheddar Bay biscuits". Honestly, I like my way better. They are so GOOD!

Ingredients

• 2 cups Bisquick
• 2/3 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning (optional)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 450.
2. Combine Bisquick, milk, and cheddar cheese.
3. Stir together.
4. Spoon onto an ungreased cookie sheet. I usually use parchment paper.
5. Bake for 8-10 minutes.
6. In a small sauce pan combine butter, garlic powder and old bay seasoning.
7. Heat until butter is melted.
8. Spoon butter mixture over hot biscuits.
9. Eat em' up! 

And since it is still summer and the dog days as they call them...lets talk lemonade. I love lemonade...pink, plain, strawberry, or raspberry. My favorite lemonade being from Chick fil a. If you live in an area that doesn't have a Chick fil a...all I can't say is...I'm sorry.  

Pink Lemonade Lemons

As a kid, I thought lemonade came in a powder form in a pack or a canister. As I got older...I discovered real lemonade. Now when I am feeling lazy or I have kids at the house, I do fall back upon the Kool-Aid or Country Time brands. Now for myself...I need real lemons and real sugar and real water and real ice. It doesn't get much more basic than that folks. You can can control tartness Vs sweetness when you make real lemonade. Did you also know there is such a thing as pink lemonade lemons? They are really pink! I learned this a few weeks ago on Martha Stewart when I was too lazy to change the channel...I guess that annoying bitch is useful after all!

Here are a couple recipes I enjoy...

Lemonade

• 2 quarts plus 3/4 cup cold water
• 3/4 cup sugar - of course you can use as little or as much sugar as you like!
• 1 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 lemon, thinly sliced 

1. In a small saucepan, combine the 3/4 cup of water with the sugar. Bring to a boil, then simmer until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and let the syrup cool to room temperature.

2. In a large pitcher, combine the remaining 2 quarts of water with the lemon juice and sugar syrup. Add the lemon slices and refrigerate until chilled. Serve the lemonade over ice.

Strawberry Lemonade

• 2 large strawberries
• Ice
• 3 ounces fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 ounces water
• 1 1/2 ounces Simple Syrup
• 2 lemon wedges 

In a cocktail shaker, muddle the strawberries. Add ice and the lemon juice, water and Simple Syrup. Shake well and strain into an ice-filled highball glass. Garnish with the lemon wedges.

J.J.'s Adult Lemonade

• 6 oz Jack Daniel's® Tennessee whiskey – I'm not a whiskey fan...I use vodka.
• 2 oz sweet and sour mix
• 20 oz Sprite or 7Up
• 4 splash grenadine syrup

Pour the Jack Daniels, Sweet and Sour over ice into a collins glass (or similar). Now pour in the Soda allowing the soda bubbles to do all the mixing. Drink and enjoy! Adding a splash of Grenadine Cherry Syrup over the top will give it a sweeter flavor, almost like "pink-lemonade."

Serves Four