Mocha

Should be called MMMMMMMMMMMMMMocha:)  Quarantine called for desperate measures, homemade mocha  KIDDING..Kinda but it was a yummy and EASY thing to figure out and a real money saver IF I had been drinking these once a day from my favorite coffee shop.

So, here's what I used.

1 1/2 C hot coffee (I use a dark roast.  I also tried this with cold coffee since I prefer cold drinks and that is a HARD no.  Mix it hot, let it sit 10 minutes and pour over ice if cold is your thing.)
1/2-1 T Whipping Cream
1 T Baking Cocoa
1-2 T Creamer (you decide how sweet you want it)

 Put all the ingredients into something that you can shake.  In my case, a fancier mason jar.  Shake, shake, shake!

 Pour into your favorite coffee mug and put $5 in your savings account:)

Iced Coffee

So everyone knows that I'm NOT a coffee drinker.  Had never really had more than a sip or two. Craig tried for years to entice me with Mochas, Cappuccinos and everything in between but I just didn't like the taste.

Also when you work in a school, people will randomly bring you a treat.  The "treat" involves coffee or some sort quite often.  When you go to a meeting, coffee is always offered and typically NOTHING else.  I've declined more than my share over the years believe me.

Flash forward to August of last year.  School had started and it was HOT.  Our building is NOT air conditioned, well my office is but during the first days, I'm not in my office much.

Now I'm not talking a little warm hot but OMG get me out of here I can't breathe HOT!  It was 109 degrees on our 3rd floor!!  The school district did something I still can't believe, they shut our building down for 3 days until the heat wave moved out.  But in the days before they did, one of the teachers brought me an iced coffee as a thank you.  I smiled and took it with the intention of passing it along to my co-worker but it had a lot of ice.  The ice was clinking and I was hot and thirsty.  So, I added a bunch of cream and sugar, gave it a stir and a slurp and I was HOOKED.   I've always preferred dark chocolate and suddenly the coffee and dark chocolate flavors connected on my taste buds!

I decided I wasn't going to pay a ton for iced coffee when certainly I could make it at home right? RIGHT!  I tried a few variations and it was ok but enter Italian Sweet Cream creamer!!  Make your coffee, throw the pot in the fridge overnight.  Fill your glass with ice, add the coffee and creamer to taste.  You won't need additional sugar because the creamer has enough.

As you can see, I'm still not a "real" coffee drinker.  I like it pretty milky looking BUT it's a nice refreshing drink especially on a hot day but I kinda like it anytime now!  Give it a try, YUMMY!!

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

Max had braces put on last week.  He was not a happy camper.  His mouth hurt A lot.  I've never had braces so I did my best trying to make something the meat and bread kid would eat but he was getting sick of fried rice and scrambled eggs so I tried a smoothie.  I realize that a smoothie isn't rocket science but it's not something we make around our house and I didn't realize how truly easy they are.  Mr. Doesn't Like Much, liked this.  I'm hoping that this is the start of something healthier for him instead of the endless malts he drinks.

Here's what you'll need:

3/4 C Orange Juice
5 oz container Greek Yogurt ~ I used Strawberry
1 medium banana
1 1/2 C frozen Strawberries

Blend until smooth and serve to the crusty kid on the couch:)

White Sangria

Book club is good for more than just discussing books. Book club is good for trying new recipes, eating tasty treats and sometimes drinking yummy drinks that you get to score the recipe for.

Nothing says summer to me more than a good Sangria. Mix up a batch, sit back and enjoy!!

What you'll need:

1 bottle Dry White Wine~I used Sauvignon Blanc
3/4 C Flavored Vodka~I used Peach Schnapps and made another one with Cherry Schnapps
6 T Frozen Lemonade Concentrate, thawed
1/4 C Sugar
Fruit

Mix it up, chill (I made it 24 hours in advance so flavors could blend) and serve.

Witches Brew

Swiped this photo off of the internet because I didn't take one and I like photos with each post:)

The beauty of living in Minnesota is our change of seasons. Start out in the morning, needing heat in your car, switch to AC for the ride home and back to heat again in the evening. Add the start of school, fall sports and all the running around we do and I am getting a fall cold.

I have been fighting the good fight with Zicam, Zinc, Vitamin C and threw in a few allergy pills in case that's what is going on and still I felt like crap.

So, I dug out a recipe I got from a friend's Mom. Loads of Vitamin C, tastes decent and "I" think makes me feel better.

You can add a shot of your favorite liquor and call it a Hot Toddy as my Grandma used to do.

Or a tea bag to cut the sweetness, like I like to do.

Or just drink it straight. It's good for what ails you that much I promise.

3/4 C Sugar
1/2 C Lemon Juice
7 C Water
1 Orange sliced

Simmer until hot, don't boil. Serve with a squirt of honey. Stores fine in the refrigerator and reheats great in the microwave.

Sangria

I love a good Sangria. It's such a pretty color and the fruit floating around is a bonus. My friends and I had the BEST Sangria at this little Tapas Restaurant in Puerto Vallarta. It was a little party in your mouth, just the right amount of flavors going on, YUM! Although we did have a harder time maneuvering the steep stairs that led to and from the restaurant but that's not what we're talking about today.

Today it's about the perfect Sangria. I have searched for that recipe and tried making a few. I can't say I've ever made or had a "bad" Sangria but it is typically EXPENSIVE to make.

That leads me to my find of the summer. I had left the local swimming pool on a really HOT day and stopped off at the liquor store. I was looking around for a bottle of Sangria and finally asked the store manager what he recommended.

He showed me a few bottles in the $15 range and then said, "Do you want to know a secret"? "okkkkkkkkkk", I said

"I did a blind taste test with my family who are all wine drinkers and do you want to see what they picked"? "Absolutely", I said.

He held up this bottle...

"You have GOT to be kidding"? I said. Sidebar...Boones Farm is the liquor of teenage parties and even as a teenager a bit of a giggle.

He shook his head and promised that this $3.50 bottle of Sangria won over all the others in the store. So, I bought a bottle. I immediately tried it out on a friend. Of course disguised with some pretty fruit. I borrowed this photo from my friend Carmen because I love the container and will be finding one just like it for my house.

Anyway, she liked it. As have the 20 or so people I have tested it on who have all asked for the recipe or the brand. It's not the best Sangria you'll ever drink but for the price, it is better than decent. Give it a try. Hide it in a pretty container so you look like you worked really hard on it;)

Bacardi Limon Slush

It's been a hot week and I was in the mood for something slushy and having alcohol was a bonus. I intended to make this slush with Vodka but realized that I didn't have enough so I made it with Bacardi Limon. It was very tasty but I think I'd use Cranberry juice instead of Lemonade next time if I'm using the rum. You can mix and match your juices or alcohol to find what works for you but here is the basic recipe.

6 C Water
1 C Sugar

Give it a stir and heat until boiling

Add 4 Lipton Tea bags and let them soak for 10 minutes.

Add

1 large Can Frozen Orange Juice
1 large Can Frozen Lemonade (if using Limon, try Cranberry juice)
3 C Bacardi Limon or Vodka

Freeze overnight. Put 3 ice cream scoops in glass and top with splash of 7 up. I brought this to a friends house and forgot my camera but this is pretty much what it looked like. Makes about 10 drinks.

Mocha Frappachino

I've never liked coffee. I am 41 years old and I have never actually drank more than a sip or two. So, when my son developed this obsession with coffee, namely Frappachino, it was lost on me. He apparently got his love of coffee from his Dad;) Besides the coffee, the second thing that I don't like about Frappachino is the cost, $5 for a beverage? A beverage he is going to suck down in .5 seconds, ummm, not so much.

When I figured out how to make one, both of us were happy. Now for $5, he can have about 10 of them. I haven't taught him how to make them so I can monitor the quantity.

What you'll need
2/3 C Milk
3 Scoops Vanilla Ice Cream ~ We like Breyers at our house, Natural Vanilla
2 T Instant General Foods Suisse Mocha Cafe

Put it all in a blender and give it a whirl. Top with whipped cream and chocolate syrup and serve.

I did make it with 1 1/2 C Milk, Ice and 2 T Mocha..Max didn't hate it but liked the ice cream version much better.

Three rounded scoops of ice cream
Here is the Suisse Mocha
The Magic Bullet I received as a Birthday present came in handy for this but you could use your blender.
That'll be $5 plus tip:)