Homemade Mocha Frappe

I thought I had posted the recipe and it turns out that I hadn't.  So thank you to Amanda who brought it up on the facebook page.

Here you go, simple, quick and super yummy.

Homemade Mocha Frappe

Adapted from:  Women Living Well Ministries

3/4 cup double-strength coffee
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 cup milk
2 cups ice
3 Tbsp. Hershey’s Chocolate


Make double-strength coffee by brewing with twice the coffee required by your coffee maker (that should be 2 tablespoons of ground coffee per each cup of coffee).

Chill.

Then combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend on high speed until ice is crushed and drink is smooth. Top with whipped cream.

Fruit Flavored Water

Such a simple concept, yet I hadn't even thought of, it save for the lemon water which I have been drinking for years.

See I'm not really a big fan of water, it's one of those things that I need to literally force myself to drink, and the only way I like it is with ice and sliced lemon.

So while getting my jar of lemon water ready last week, I realized that I had run out of lemon, so I popped in orange slices instead and I had a little bit of crushed pineapple in a small bowl, from when I made Pineapple Mousse a few days before, so spooned some of that into the jar as well.

GOODNESS that was some good water.  YUM!

I'm thinking I'm going to try Watermelon and Mint....Cucumber and Mint and a few others.

But now I always have a pitcher of flavored water or a few quart mason jars sitting in the fridge.

It's helped me get my water intake in and it's delicious.  It's NOT sweet though, but you can add a little bit of sugar or sweetener if you like.  I do add a tiny spoon of sugar for the kids because they prefer it sweetened.

Just get creative and if you need inspiration, you can do a simple google search and find a bunch of websites/blogs trying out different combinations.

Some of my favorites are Nectarine and Apricot Water

Mixed Berries and Lemon Water

Also, try out,  Pineapple Water  and Tutti Frutti Water (I literally make a fruit salad in the bottom of a pitcher, then fill with ice and water).

It is hot outside.

I mean HOT people.  It's over 100 degrees already which just means that Arizona summer is well on it's way.  Time to buck up and get ready for sweating profusely, guzzling large amounts of water and other delicious drinks and staying inside.  Well......or outside if it's near misters, and I don't mean men, I mean mist thingamabobs.  You know what I mean.

I've been growing veggies and herbs, actually it's my second year doing it and I'm amazed at how well I'm keeping everything alive, if you knew me you would understand that it's a huge thing.  I am not known as the Thumb of Death for nothing.



But, I've managed to get quite an abundance of fresh spearmint and peppermint and I've been trying to use them in many different ways.

One of my favorites, is in Iced tea.  So simple to make and it's refreshing and delicious on a hot day.  Right now I have a batch seeping, it will be ready in about an hour and then all that is left is to add some more water and a few ice cubes and enjoy.

Here's how I make mine:

Iced Mint Tea

4 cups of water
1 cup of sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice (I use fresh lemons)
4 tea bags
About a cup of loosely packed mint leaves (I use a mix of spearmint and peppermint)
4 cups of cold water

 

You can do it on the stove, but I make mine in the microwave just to be quicker.



Using my Pampered Chef mixing bowl, I add the first 4 cups of water, pop it in the microwave for about 6 minutes or until boiling hot. Remove, and add in the cup of sugar. Stir it up until the sugar is dissolved.

Then add the tea bags, lemon juice and mint leaves.



Pop the lid on and let it sit for an hour.

Remove the tea bags from the water and discard. Strain the tea mixture into a 2 Quart pitcher. Stir in the 4 cups of cold water, then cover and refrigerate for another hour or so.

Pour into mason jars and add in a few ice cubes and a small leaf of peppermint, if you wish :) Enjoy!!!

Neapolitan Milk

Another one from Big Red Kitchen, you'll see quite a few of her recipes here :)

My kids really enjoyed this one, though they did say that they would have preferred actual strawberry milk made with the syrup as opposed to the fresh strawberries.  I kinda agree, so next time we'll change that up, but other than that these were so refreshing :)

Another thing, I don't use organic milk, so I just used whole milk which is what I have at home anyway :)

Neapolitan Milk

2 ounces semi sweet baking chocolate, chopped
2 ounces organic whole milk
1 1/2- 2 T. sugar

Heat milk in microwave for about one minute or until almost hot.*



Stir in chocolate and sugar until smooth. Add to blender and add more milk to equal 12 ounces. Blend. Pour in six 8 ounce jars.



Freeze until solid.



4 frozen strawberries
1 1/2 - 2 T. sugar
enough organic whole milk to equal 12 ounces



Place strawberries and sugar in the blender and add enough milk to equal 12 ounces. Blend strawberry mixture until smooth.



Pour evenly into the jars over the frozen chocolate layer. Freeze until solid. Top off with white milk, cover, and freeze.

Iced Pumpkin Spice Latte

Folks, I'm on a coffee high, and I smell like Fall and Pumpkin Pie LOL

But I really wanted to try an iced version of the Pumpkin Spice Latte and now I'm glad I did because HOLY MOLY, it is SO good.

Thank you to Healthy Food for Living for the great recipe.


Iced Pumpkin Spice Latte

yield: 1 serving

Ingredients:

3/4 cup milk (I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk from Trader Joe’s)
3 Tbsp pure pumpkin puree
1 tsp pure maple syrup
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch ground ginger
tiny pinch ground nutmeg
tiny pinch cloves
ice cubes
1/2 cup strong cold-brewed coffee (I used coarsely ground TJ’s Fair Trade Organic French Roast Decaf); or brewed coffee that has chilled thoroughly in the fridge

Directions:

Combine milk, pumpkin puree, maple syrup, and spices in a blender or mini food processor; blend until well-combined and frothy.
Pour mixture into a large glass filled halfway with ice cubes. Slowly pour in the chilled coffee. Serve with a dusting of cinnamon, if desired.

Pumpkin Spice Latte

I think there are a lot of people out there just waiting for the Fall season to officially open, because you know that Starbucks will bring out their Pumpkin Spice Lattes.

I love them, but I don't love dishing out the money, so I went online and started searching for a copycat recipe that I could make at home, and I found quite a few. After looking through them, I decided to give it a try but change up just a thing or two....so this one is adapted from a few online recipes.

Pumpkin Spice Latte

2 cups milk
2 tablespoons canned pumpkin pie filling
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup of strong brewed coffee

In a saucepan combine milk, pumpkin pie filling and sugar. Stir over medium heat until it starts to steam, you want to see that nice foam. Turn the heat off, stir in the vanilla and the pumpkin pie spice. Transfer to a blender and process for a few seconds until it's really foamy.

Pour into a large coffee mug, or two smaller ones. Then pour the coffee on top. (Nicholas wanted to try it so before I poured on the coffee I gave him some of the milk, he LOVED it).

You can add some whipped cream on top, but I didn't, I just sprinkled a little bit of cinnamon on top. YUM!

I love a good Cappuccino but I don’t like the ones you get at the grocery store in the little cans and I like even less, having to find a Starbucks and dishing out ridiculous amounts of money for something I can have at home.

Now you could always use a Cappuccino maker (I admit I have one and have used it maybe twice *shameful I know*), OR, you could make a quick mix that you can keep in your freezer and when the craving arises, just a teaspoonful or two in a mug with hot milk, or cold milk  and TA-DA!

Creamy Cappuccino Mix

50 grams instant coffee (5 rounded tablespoons + 2 rounded teaspoons)
1 and a half cups of sugar
1 cup of boiling water
Optional:  you can add in some cinnamon to the mix, it is also delicious

Beat everything with an electric mixer until it forms peaks, kinda like if you’re beating egg whites.

Pour into a freezer safe container, I use tupperware.  Place in freezer and when needed, use a teaspoon or two in hot milk, hot water or my favorite which is cold milk for an extra delicious iced coffee.

To make the iced coffee, I fill half a glass with ice cubes, put in the cappuccino mix, pour milk to fill the glass and then stir well.  You can add a dash of cinnamon and even whipped cream if you wish. 



© 2006 - 2012 Full Bellies, Happy Kids - All Rights Reserved

Jungle Float

If I had to look for a picture in a dictionary, that signifies summer, I would have to say Floats.  Right?

Whether you're having a Root Beer Float or a Coke Float, there's something about them that make you immediately think of warm weather, pools and mounds of ice cream bubbling in a glass.

Here's a different version for your kids to enjoy this summer, mine love it.

BTW, I didn't add the animal crackers to mine, I didn't have any on hand, bummer.

Jungle Float

Drizzle 2 Tbsp chocolate syrup into a tall glass;  add 3 scoops of chocolate or vanilla ice cream.  Drizzle with 1 Tbsp. chocolate syrup, top with club soda.

Garnish with bananas, peanuts, animal crackers, whipped cream and maraschino cherries.

Sweet Citrus Iced Tea

I think everyone loves Iced Tea in the summer right?

But I think when you throw in a bit of citrus into that already delicious beverage, then you end up with a super delicious Iced Tea that will get you rave reviews and requests for the recipe.

I've been making this one for a long time and it just never gets old :)

Sweet Citrus Iced Tea

14 and 1/2 cups of water, divided
10 tea bags
1 and 1/2 cups of sugar
2/3 cup lemon juice (I like freshly squeezed lemons)
1/4 orange juice
Ice cubes

Bring 4 cups of water to a boil, remove from heat and pour into a gallon size mason jar or pitcher.  Add the tea bags, close and let stand for about 10 minutes.  Remove the bags and throw out.

Stir in sugar, lemon juice and orange juice and the remaining water.  Refrigerate.

To serve, just pour into a tall glass, add some ice cubes and a slice of lime.  You can also add a slice of orange or lemon if you prefer :)  Enjoy!

Sun Tea

Does that not make your mouth water?

I love iced tea or sweet tea as some of you may call it. There's always an endless supply of it in my refrigerator and it never lasts long in this house.

I make it the traditional way by boiling water and adding the tea bags, I make it using the powdered tea when I'm in a hurry and have no time to waste......and lately while trying to make the best of these hot Arizona days, I've been making Sun Tea.

You may have never heard of it, it's pretty much a Southern thing but the minute I came upon this different way of making Iced Tea, I knew I just had to try it.

It's different than normal Iced Tea in that it's a more subtle mellow taste, it's not as strong, but it's really delicious.

Sun Tea

4-6 tea bags



Put 4 to 6 tea bags into a clean 2 quart glass container. Fill with water and cap. Place outside where the sunlight can strike the container for about 3 to 4 hours. Move the container if necessary to keep it in the sun. When the tea has reached its desired strength, remove from sun and put it in the refrigerator. You may or may not want to remove the tea bags at this point. (I always remove mine)

The tea will probably taste more mellow than what you are used to from using boiling water. The slow seeping has a way of bringing out a slightly different flavor from the tea. Also, because you didn't use boiling water, you should refrigerate the tea and drink it up pretty quickly - a day or two. It will not keep as well as iced tea made from boiling water.

You can add in some mint leaves or I usually add in lemon, orange or lime slices.

Iced Coffee

Because I absolutely love it, but I don't absolutely love driving out to McDonald's just to get one and I really don't absolutely love spending money on something I can make at home. At any time, any day, any hour.

You get the picture right?

So anyway, I love my coffee and I love a good Iced Coffee in the summer and I cringe when I hear my friends talking about going to Starbucks because, geez Louise, they're expensive and they're hard to order from. Don't laugh....but I am an idiot when it comes to ordering stuff from there, all I want is a simple coffee but I always end up feeling like I should have studied for a test.

I've been looking for a good iced coffee recipe and then yesterday one of my facebook friends posted one, so I immediately saved it.

I had a tooth extracted on Tuesday and I'm still dealing with tenderness and pain in the area so I've been careful with what I eat and drink, I guess this is my little reward for being such a good girl at the dentist and not socking her in the mouth when she tried to give me a crown and root canal before pulling the darn thing. That's another post and NOT one that belongs in the food blog.

Here, I'll just shut up and give you the recipe, you can thank me later for all the money you'll save you on these.

ICED COFFEE
Adapted from Foodie With Family

1. I put 3 tablespoons of Nesquick in a clean, empty 24 oz. jar with a tight fitting lid. I am actually using an empty ground coffee plastic jar. It works too.
2. Add 4 oz. super strong coffee. I just make 4 oz. of really strong coffee in a mug and then pour into the Nesquick. Now the recipe says you can chill it, but I don't have time or patience for that, I want to enjoy it now.

1. Put the lid on and make sure it's tightly closed, then shake vigorously until the coffee and chocolate are mixed.

1. Remove the lid, add 1 cup of ice cubes. (that's for the ones that don't want to chill it first, it's a shortcut), replace the lid and close tightly again, then shake it like a polaroid picture until the outside of the jar is very cold.
   

1. Remove the lid again (I know, I know, monotonous, but worth it), add milk to where the jar narrows. The original recipe says about 4 oz. Replace the lid again and shake it shake it shake it.
2. Remove lid (sigh) and drink straight from the jar. The recipe says you can also transfer to a chilled glass for your food snob friends, but I don't have any of those and since I'm not a snob myself, it's straight from the jar for me.

I'm so far from a snob, did you notice up close in the jar pictures that I didn't even completely removed the foil from the rim? How's that for a snob? LOL

I'll do that after I'm done drinking. Bottoms up my friends.