I’m on vacation! It’s Independence Day week and boy oh boy is it hot! As the temperature rose during the days leading up to my vacation, I found myself researching ideas for cool slushie drinks to make in my new Nutri-bullet. I found a couple of really good ones, but where to put them on this site? I don’t have a drink category, and I don’t think I need one. First world problems…

I’m usually a creature of habit when it comes to liquid refreshment. That said, I have found something that is definitely worth adding to the rotation – homemade iced coffees and frappes. I love coffee. but did I mention it’s really hot out? I like walking early in the morning. And I like following up my walk with a nice cup of coffee. My walk covers about three miles and in this heat, even at 7AM, I am drenched when I get home.

As I researched homemade iced and frozen coffee drinks, I found the same thing repeated over and over again. To be successful you need to start with REALLY strong coffee. That’s a bit of a problem for me as I no longer own a coffee pot, just a Keurig. This led me to a post by Ree Drummond http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/homemade-frappuccino/ which explained how to make your own cold brew coffee concentrate at home. I actually looked into buying it, and ridiculously expensive. Making my own cost next to nothing and it is super easy. It just requires a little planning. I’m not going to re-post a detailed how-to on making this “liquid gold”, because it’s all covered in the post linked above. To sum it up, buy a can of strong roast coffee. I used Kroger brand Colombian. Pour the grounds in a Tupperware container, fill with water and let it soak for 24 hours. Strain and enjoy.

To make my copycat Starbucks caramel frappuccino, I added 1 cup of my homemade cold brew to my Nutri-bullet. (Any blender-type appliance will do just fine). Next I added my favorite creamer which is Kroger Italian Sweet Cream. Because this creamer is already sweetened, no additional sweetener is needed. Next I added a squirt of caramel flavored syrup and a fist full of ice cubes. I topped mine with whipped cream and some caramel sauce since I happened to have it on hand, but it’s still yummy without it.

I’ve also been using the NutriBullet to make some amazing margaritas. Come to think of it, maybe I will have to make a new category!