Jul 032018

Category Conflict!

Category Conflict!

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!