Healthy Homemade Iced Coffee

Every time I have ever purchased an ice coffee from a restaurant, I have never really liked it. Probably because both times, I went to McDonald's and tried their iced coffee. Both times I did so, it had a horrible  after taste and I'd only go back for another sip just to get rid of the taste that was left after each time I went in for another drink. As you can see, it ended up being this continuous cycle. Everyone I worked with and went to school with kept raving about iced coffee. What was I missing that they were enjoying so much? How did they enjoy this iced coffee that I hated so much? I mean really. Finally, I found a basic recipe somewhere-- I am not really sure where as I can't remember where I found it. This recipe is a skeleton. You can dress it up as much as you would like. I like my iced coffee simple. So, I stick to the basics not doing much to it. If it's not broken, it doesn't need a flavored syrup. :) 

I like to make my own iced coffee because I can control what goes into it. I know all the ingredients that I am going to be drinking and putting into my body. I can control how much sweetener or sugar is used or how much milk is put into it. Not only, I find that making my own iced coffee ends up making my calorie intake lower. This recipe is quick and easy, which only makes me love it more. 

Here is how I make my iced coffee:

  

1 cup coffee

3/4 - 1 cup almond milk

1 dash of Vanilla

2 Tbs. - 1/4 cup Splenda 

I then stir all the ingredients together. I place in a cute mason jar and put it in the fridge or freezer to cool. How much sugar or milk I use depends on how strong the coffee is brewed. Generally, I like my iced coffee to be bit sweeter.  

This is how I make my iced coffee. Use this recipe as the block and build what you would like with it. Make it fit the flavors you desire. If you don't like almond milk, use the milk of your choice. Don't like Splenda? Use Sugar or Stevia. It's all up to you. Don't what it to have a strong coffee flavor, dial back the coffee and add extra milk. It's all in your hands now.

Once I found this very basic recipe, I found a starting point that I needed to guide me in the right direction. Sometimes, I add a little caramel sauce or chocolate sauce for added flavor. Let this be your guide. The sky's the limit. Now I'm going to go pour myself a glass of ice coffee and enjoy a good book. Have a great day. 

Peace, love, bake on.

                                   Andrea

17 Mouthwatering & Crowd-Pleasing Burgers

It's been far to long since I last posted something new. The last time I wrote I was in the middle of a hectic semester trying to keep my head above the water in Calc II. I kept afloat and will now be sailing on to Calc III. Yay! I say "yay" only  because I passed Calc II not because I love math and am excited for the riveting material waiting for me Calc III. I would like to thank my family, most especially my grandmother who offered many prayers for me to help me pass the final. Since the end of the summer, I have been on the go. I have also been struggling with what to write. I would this idea in the middle of the day or during an event, but then I would sit down to write it  and my mind would go blank or I couldn't get my thoughts together. It's been really frustrating. What has helped to get this post together is that I am house sitting for a week, so I have plenty of time alone to gather my thoughts. I have few things in the works that I will hopefully get together soon. 

Summer means it's time for cook outs and get togethers. I always want to prepare delicious recipes that will please a crowd. Burgers are always a classic during the summer. They are easy to make and dress up. 
I scoured the internet and found 17 crowd-pleasing and mouthwatering burger recipes that are sure to please a crowd and make mouths waters. 
Please give it up for the 17 stars of this post. 

1. Jalapeño Burger

2. Chipotle Mac and Cheeseburger

3. Teriyaki Burgers with Grilled Pineapple 

4. Grilled Meatloaf Burger

5. Double Double Animal Style Burger

6. Bacon Blue Cheese Burger

7. Chipotle Veggie Burger

8. Asian Style Burger

9. Patty Melts

10. Blueberry Burger

11. Italian Sausage Burgers

12. French Fry Bourbon Burger

13. Smoked Bacon Cheddar Burger

14. Cheeseburger Meatball Grilled Cheese

15. Ultimate Bacon 'n Egg Burger

16. Guacamole Bacon Burger

Last but not least...

17. Italian Meatball Burger

I hope you try out a few of these recipes this summer because I know I will. At the very least, let these recipes inspire you to make a delicious burger that suits you and your family. Or make these for a crowd to make them drool. Which ever works for you.

Have a very fun summer! I hope it's a splash!

Peace, love, bake on.

                                      Andrea 

Mini Bagel Pizzas.

I don't know about anyone else, but I sometimes I am at a loss to fun easy creative lunch ideas for the kiddos. Finding fun and easy lunches can be a challenge during the summer. I mean I don't mind putting a ton of effort in occasionally, but it is my summer vacation too. So if I can do as little as possible sometimes and still have yummy lunch then it's a win-win. 

I have two brothers and two sisters. My youngest brother is seven, and my youngest sister is eleven. They both love to help me in the kitchen, so I usually try to find a meal where they can make their own lunch creation. One that we just tried and made together was mini bagel pizzas. They were so easy and fun to make together. They are effortless, and the best part is the easy clean up.

I loved this lunch because the kids got to do all the work. All I had to do was put it in the oven and remove it from the oven. The very best thing was that the kids loved it, which made it all worth it.

Mini Bagel Pizzas

Inspired by my love of carbs, cheese, and smiles.

Ingredients:

Mini bagels (purchased from grocery store)

Cheese, such as mozzarella 

Pizza sauce 

Any other pizza topping desired

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray.
2. Slice each bagel in half. Top each bagel with sauce. Add toppings (Don't forget the extra cheese;the more the merrier).
3. Place on cookie sheet. Bake in preheated oven 10-17 minutes or until cheese is melted (I always bake mine until bottoms are crispy because you don't want chewy pizza). 
4. Remove from oven. Allow to cool for a few minutes. Eat up and enjoy your hard work! 

Don't forget to let the kids decorate their pizzas. I remember as a child, I loved to make pizza. My friends and I would have pizza parties, where we would decorate pizzas. Those were the good ol' days. To be young and only have to worry about what you were going to top your pizza with. Anyway please enjoy your summer, and don't forget to stay cool with a sip the perfect sweet iced tea. 

Peace, love, bake on.

                                             Andrea 

                                                                       

                                     

Perfect Sweet Tea.

Well, I am officially a high school graduate. I graduated on the sunny day of May 18th. May was a month of joy and tears. I truly enjoyed my time in high school. However, I am ready to move on. I know that what comes ahead will require hard work and focus, but that doesn't deter me. My family and friends believe that I can succeed, and with hard work, focus, and their support, I know I can. 

April and May were both so busy. As soon as I was done with this huge event that I was coordinating with a friend was over with (which was a huge success), my friend and I had to plan our graduation party. We had about 3 weeks to plan and coordinate our graduation party. It was really tough to get invitations printed, addressed and sent out in time, but we managed. We made all our decorations, which were so cute (I'll have to find some pictures). As soon as that was over, I had all this graduation things to attend to, and, of course, FINALS. That part of the May was relatively stressful, but it's over and I have graduated.

Now it's summer. I can sit back and enjoy the breeze and let my skin soak up some sun-- that is if I put on sunscreen SPF 100. While soaking up the sun and enjoying the breeze, I will take a nice cooling sip of iced sweet tea. Just thinking of iced tea is refreshing. 
Ever take a drink of a tea, and it just isn't all that smooth? Well, I have found the secret ingredient to solve this very serious problem-- baking soda. A pinch of baking soda will give this sweet tea an extra smooth finish, making everyone come back for more. Baking soda really makes all the difference.

Sweet Tea 
adapted from No. 2 Pencil 

Ingredients:

3 family-sized teas bags or 10 regular sized tea bags
4 cups boiling water
12 cups cool water (such as tap water or filtered)
1 to 1 1/2 cups sugar (I add 1 1/4 cups)
1/4 tsp. baking soda

Directions:

1. Sprinkle baking soda into bottom of pitcher. Add tea bags to pitcher. 
2. Pour boiling water into pitcher. If there is a lid for the pitcher place it on the pitcher. Allow to steep for 10-12 minutes (I do 11 minutes). 
3. After steeping, add sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved completely. 
4. Pour in remaining 12 cups of water and stir one last time. 
5. Serve in cups with ice. Enjoy. 

*Tips: Store tea in refrigerator. After a few days sometimes the tea becomes dark and has a harsh after taste. I have found that to refresh the tea, I just add a couple cups of water.

Please enjoy this recipe! It really does make really amazing tea. My sister hates sweet unless I make it. This secret really does make all the difference. But it's called a secret ingredient for a reason, so SSSHHHH! It's a secret. Anyway sit back and take a sip of the perfect sweet tea. Happy summer. 

Peace, love, bake on.

                                          Andrea 

Caramel Frappuccino.

           Before the summer was here at my doorstep, I had school. And usually after school, I either hit up the happy hour at Sonic or popped by Starbucks. Usually, though, it was Sonic that I frequented. Starbucks was a special treat that I limited to a once a week thing. When it was quite warm, I would get either get the caramel frappuccino or the Caramel Ribbon Crunch Frappuccino, which is a rather new drink available for the summer at Starbucks. The Caramel Ribbon Crunch is most definitely my favorite. After the first sip I took, I was hooked. 

       

 The only thing that I wasn't hooked on was the price. To get a Tall Caramel Ribbon Crunch Frappuccino was $4.25 with tax. That's only 12 ounces. To me that is a little pricey. After shelling out the almost $5, I finally had a light bulb shine bright above my head. Why not try to make frappuccino at home? Why I had never even thought of this before is beyond me. But after that light bulb lit up, it was like a whole new world was opened up to me. 

     

        Let's first talk about the basics of frappuccinos. Basically, a frappuccino is ice and milk blended together with syrups and other delicious flavorings. This I knew.  What I didn't know, though, was the ratio of ice to milk. That was my most basic question. 

        The recipe I found was very basic, which was what I liked. It didn't give embellishments so that a reader could be creative on their own. The best ratio of ice to milk I have found is 1 cup of ice to 1/2 cup of milk. This may depend on your taste but this will at least give a place to start.

      Now the next part was the amount of coffee or expresso to add. This I found varied in each recipe I found. So I came up with a happy medium, which I will mention below later. The fun part was finding the syrups to add and the amounts. Of course with a Caramel Frappuccino, you need caramel (duhhh). And with a Chocolate Chip Mocha Frapp.  you need Chocolate chips (duhhh) and coffee. So a lot of the ingredients were self explanatory, but what wasn't was the amount to add. 

    The syrups Starbucks uses are a bit pricey, but you can always use caramel sauce from the grocery store. For the caramel, I make my own and I will be putting the recipe up later. For chocolate syrup, I use the chocolate syrup from Hershey's. For a vanilla syrup, I make my own (which I will be putting up at a later time, too). But you can also just use vanilla extract and a little sugar. For the moment, though, I am just going to put up the recipe up for a Caramel Frappuccino.

   

        Ingredients for a Caramel Frappuccino:

1 cup ice

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup strongly brewed coffee or expresso

3 tablespoons caramel syrup or 2 pumps of Starbucks Caramel Syrup

whip cream (optional)

    Add ice, milk, coffee, and caramel to the blender. Blend together until all the ice completely chopped finely. Put in your favorite cup, add whip cream on top, and drizzle a  little caramel and voila!

As you can see this is so simple to make and so much cheaper. I hope this recipe is as great for you as it is for me! Now sit back and enjoy a cool slurp of your handiwork. 

                                                                       
                                                                                                                          Andrea