Recipes

Starbucks Frappuccino Chilled Coffee Drink (Copy Cat)

Nicole



I was super excited to try this recipe and now I sure am happy I did. I actually took a few different recipes I found and combined them into this one. This recipe is right on the money (at least to me) so to speak when it comes to making  Starbucks Frappuccino Chilled Coffee Drink.

I have always loved getting a bottle of their chilled coffee drinks, but the prices keep going up and my conscience won’t let me buy them too often. I made this recipe which made a gallon of this delectable drink and it didn’t cost much at all. I had all the ingredients on hand so I didn’t have to go out and buy anything.


I used cheap creamer, some old Godiva ground coffee that needed to be used up, and cheap sugars. Nothing special!!

The coffee turns out incredible!! No brewing necessary but you certainly can to speed up the process. 

It’s simple,  just place the coffee grounds in a pitcher of water, cover, and wait 24 hours.


I run the coffee and grounds through either a towel or cheesecloth to remove the grounds, then add the remaining ingredients to the pitcher, mix and chill. 


It’s just that easy and certainly worth the wait. It may take a little time but its worth the price you pay for a great cup of chilled coffee. No ice is necessary as a matter of fact I wouldn’t add any ice because you don’t want it to water down your amazing Frappuccino!!



Ingredients:
  • 1 gallon of water (16 cups)
  • 4 ounces of ground coffee (any of your choice)
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • ¾ cup brown sugar
  • ¾ cup nondairy coffee creamer vanilla or plain
  • Press and seal or plastic wrap

Directions:

  1. To a 1 gallon pitcher add 4 ounces of ground coffee, and then fill the pitcher up with cool tap water
  2. Mix well
  3. Cover the pitcher with Press and Seal or plastic wrap and allow pitcher to sit on the counter for at least 8 hours uninterrupted. I usually allow it to set 24 hours. You can skip this step by just brewing up 16 cups of coffee. I only have a Keurig and hate to use up 16 over priced K-cups.
  4. Strain the coffee grounds out of the coffee using either cheesecloth of a clean damp towel.
  5. Once the grounds have been strained out of the coffee mix in sugar, brown sugar, and coffee creamer into the coffee. Mix well!
  6. Recover with Press and Seal and refrigerate overnight or until coffee is cold.
  7. Pour, no need to use ice, Enjoy!

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Recipes

Silhouette Sunday: Holiday Gift Boxes

Nicole



I have a few Christmas gifts that I have already bought for some family members. I decided instead of spending extra money on boxes that are just going to be thrown away I would make my own gift boxes using the Silhouette machine. To stay ahead on the gift wrapping I decided to go ahead and make the boxes up.
I visited the Silhouette store and found this adorable Christmas Tree box. Aren’t they cute?
In just a matter of minutes and a little glue I made these boxes that are just the right size for the earrings and necklaces I purchased.
I added a little tissue paper and I stuck a gift take on them, and now they are residing in a bag at the top of my closet. Hum I sure hope I can find them when I go looking for them again.
Have you tried making your own gift boxes? Did you have any luck? I love the idea of making my own boxes and love how cute they turned out!!


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Recipes

Sticky Honey Sauced Chicken

Nicole



I wasn’t really sure what to expect with this recipe. The original recipe serves 2 so I had to double the recipe. The one you see below is doubled. It distressed me when I realized this one recipe was going to empty almost an entire honey bear container of honey. LOL silly huh?
Initially when I could smell this recipe cooking I wasn’t all that impressed. Don’t get me wrong it smelled good if you like the smell of soy sauce. I was had a terrible feeling that this was going to taste like soy sauce and nothing else.
I made it, let it cool and put it away for the next night’s dinner. I was afraid my husband wasn’t going to like it, but I was wrong BOY was I wrong. He not only liked it but he loved it. He was actually exited because he said it tasted just like something he loved  at a restaurant he ate at all the time when he was stationed in Washington at Fort Lewis.
I really liked it too. I was afraid I had over cooked it because my slow cooker is the opposite of slow it cooks extremely fast. It actually turned out perfect. To me it’s a cross between sweet and sour chicken and teriyaki chicken. Either way it was a real winner!!
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
  • 1.5 pounds boneless chicken breast
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. black pepper
  • 1 cup honey
  • 1/2 cup soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp. dried onion flakes
  • 1/4 cup ketchup
  • 2 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

Directions:
  1. Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper, put into crock pot.
  2. In a small bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, onion, ketchup, oil, garlic and pepper flakes. Pour over chicken.
  3. Cook on low for 3 hours or on high 1 1/2 hours. Chicken into bite size pieces, then return to pot and toss with sauce.
  4. Serve over rice.

Original Recipe Source


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Recipes

Sweet Garlic Butter Sauced Pasta

Nicole



This is my favorite way to use up left over pasta of any kind. I have used this recipe with left over tortellini, spaghetti, and linguine. Anything you have left over will work great. I hate having left over pasta go to waste. It’s not that expensive, but waste is waste.

Before I was married I would make this sauce and add tortellini to it that would be my quick and easy dinner.  Now that I am more frugal I use any left over pasta in this sauce to make a nice side dish for a casserole or chicken or whatever we are having that needs a little extra to go along with it.

Waste not want not right?

I have always loved the ease of this garlic butter sauce. I will admit that it’s not very easy for me to cook it slowly but cooking it slowly really is the key to the success of the garlic. There seems to be a fine line between overcooked bitter garlic and crispy sweet garlic. Patience is a must with this recipe but its well worth it!!

Ingredients:
  • 1 tbsp. butter
  • 1 tbsp. olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 8 ounces cooked pasta noodles

Directions:
  1. Preheat skillet on a medium flame or on a medium heated burner. To a warm skillet on add butter and olive oil.
  2. Once the butter is melted adds minced garlic.
  3. Sauté garlic on a medium to medium low flame so that the garlic gets crispy and toasted but does not burn or get scorched. The goal is sweet garlic flavor not bitter garlic. Cooking it as low as possible is the key for success with this sweet garlic. Be patient it’s worth the wait.
  4. Once the garlic is a nice toasted brown color add cooked pasta.
  5. Mix pasta in the butter garlic oil mixture until pasta is well coasted.
  6. Continue to heat until pasta is warmed through.

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Recipes

Butternut Squash with Brown Butter (Martha Stewart)

Nicole



My parents made yellow squash all the time when I was a child and I hated it.  The only type of squash we ever had was yellow squash and to be honest with you I have never tried any other type of squash in my entire life until last week.  I doubt I will ever eat yellow squash again, but there are plenty of other choices in the squash world.

Last week when my husband and I were at Trader Joe’s I found a butternut squash that intrigued me. Like I said before I have never had any other squash and for the price of $1.95 for a big squash I thought I would give it a try. My thought was …. What do I have to lose?

As apprehensive as I was about making the butternut squash it actually surprised me! I really liked it. Making it with this Martha Steward recipe it turned out tasting like a mild sweet potatoes. I was shocked at how much I liked it. 

My husband was thrilled because he loves sweet potatoes and thought this tasted even better than sweet potatoes. I don’t know if I would go that far, but I must say this is a keeper recipe and so is butternut squash! You just never know what you might like you might like until you try it.

Ingredients:
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 butternut squash (about 1 3/4 pounds), peeled, seeded, and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
  • 1/2 cup low-sodium canned chicken broth
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 tablespoon dark-brown sugar

Directions:
  1. Heat butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until golden brown. 
  2. Add squash; sauté, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and tender when pierced with a fork, about 16 minutes.
  3. Add chicken broth, the water, and brown sugar; cook until liquid has evaporated and squash is nicely caramelized, about 6 minutes. 
  4. Remove from heat, and season with salt and pepper. 
  5. Serve.

Original Recipe Source


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