Cold Brew Coffee

1/3 cup ground coffee
1 1/2 cups water
Soak 12-15 hours
Strain through coffee filter
Refrigerate


1/3 cup coffee extract
1/2 cup almond milk
1 pck splenda
Tastes Like Light Starbucks Frappucino

Starbucks Frappuccino

http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=2212485000807212783

Make a Starbucks Frappuccino for $0.32
By Kerry - 105 Comments
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I wanted one. Badly. The intoxicating sip of caffeine and the sweet taste of sugar, all blended together into a mixture of iced creamy goodness and designed to melt in your mouth. Yep, there’s nothing quite like the seductive taste of a Starbucks Frappuccino on a hot summer’s day.

With my resolve kicked to the curb in favor of a self-indulgent caffeine hit, I walked into the nearest Starbucks with my wallet in hand. It had been years since I’d ordered a Frapp, so I was fairly shocked by the variety of flavors available, but I was mostly appalled by the price — $3.45 (plus tax) for a tasty Tall! WTF? (Yeah, what the Frapp?)

frappuccino recipe
Take a guess: One is real. The other is cheaper, but just as tasty.


Now I’m not a complete cheapo (cough) and I do enjoy an indulgent treat every now and then, but shelling out nearly $4 for a chilled coffee beverage seemed a bit steep. What’s in a classic Starbucks Frappuccino anyways? Coffee, milk, ice, and sugar? For $4? How’s that for a brain freeze?

starbucks recipes frappuccino

The Starbucks barista must have been used to caffeine-starved customers with mouths agape, ’cause she stood there patiently waiting for me to order. But the only words that dropped outta my gap formed this question: What ingredient keeps the Frapp from separating?

“Oh, that’s just a little xanthan gum — it’s a food thickener, and it keeps blended drinks mixed,” she said.

So I bit my frugal tongue, ordered a classic Tall Frappuccino for $3.86 (including tax), and went home to replicate this costly drug for dimes a drink.
Frapp Price Attack: You’re saving around 92%

Talk about a steep latte factor — a copycat classic coffee Starbucks Frappuccino (using my recipe) can save you 91.7% on a 12 oz (354 mL) Tall sized beverage. Can you really see the difference?

frappuccino recipe

Here’s the caffeinated cost breakdown for each ingredient scaled to a Starbucks Tall.

starbucks frappuccino cost

Bottom Line: Make your own copycat Frappuccino at home and save $3.54 — that’s nearly 92% — on a Tall.

But here’s the thing — my tasty recipe yields around 2.5 cups of frappy goodness. Since I got a little cranked on caffeine for this experiment, I did the mathy math for the total cost of my recipe too.

starbucks frappuccino recipe

Bottom Line: Share a little chilled coffee goodness with a friend (or pour yourself a second serving) for just $0.53 per recipe.

But what about my Mocha Soy Venti? I only did the math on a Tall classic Frappuccino. Calculating the cost of coffee grams per cup, sugar weight, milk measurements, and xanthan gum nearly killed me. Feel free to measure the cost of a homemade Mocha Frapp on your own dime — I’m almost certain you’ll save a lot of moolah!
Homemade Frappuccino Recipe

Make a copycat Starbucks Frappuccino for a fraction of the cost in three easy steps.

STEP ONE: Gather your ingredients.

make a frappuccino

Frappuccino ingredients: makes 2.5 cups (590 mL)

1 cup double-strength Starbucks coffee OR 3/4 cup fresh espresso (cold)
3/4 cup milk (low fat, 2%, whole or whatever)
3 tablespoons granulated sugar (or to taste)
2 cups ice
Secret ingredient: Pinch of xanthan gum OR 1 teaspoon dry pectin (keeps Frapp from separating)

starbucks coffee

Since I don’t own an espresso machine, I went to Costco and bought a bag of Starbucks Pike Place roast to best mimic the Frappuccino recipe. Brewed strongly, I think these beans did the trick.

STEP TWO: Toss your Frapptastic ingredients into a mixer and blend. Some of my friends swear by the Magic Bullet blender, but I’ve been happy with my simple Cuisinart for years.

frappuccino recipe ingredients

Depending on the strength of your blender, it may take a few stirs to get the ice moving.

starbucks recipes

STEP THREE: Pour Frapp in a cup. Use an authentic Starbucks cup to fool your friends. Sneaky, I know.

starbucks recipes
Warning: Photographing a Frappuccino for hours may cause coffee separation. Grumble.


Admire your handy work. Add toppings at the will of your waistline. Oh it’s summer so friggits — full whip with chocolate syrup, please!

starbucks frappuccino

Owl Smores

http://www.livinglocurto.com/2010/09/owl-birthday-party/

Buttercream Icing

http://www.wilton.com/recipe/Buttercream-Icing

Our Buttercream Icing recipe is perfect for spreading or decorating. Follow our instructions to make it the ideal consistency you need.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine softened
1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (approximately 1 lb.)
2 tablespoons milk
Makes:
About 3 cups of icing.
Instructions:
Step 1
In large bowl, cream shortening and butter with electric mixer. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Keep bowl covered with a damp cloth until ready to use.
Step 2
For best results, keep icing bowl in refrigerator when not in use. Refrigerated in an airtight container, this icing can be stored 2 weeks. Rewhip before using.
Step 3
For thin (spreading) consistency icing, add 2 tablespoons light corn syrup, water or milk.
Step 4
For Pure White Icing (stiff consistency), omit butter; substitute an additional 1/2 cup shortening for butter and add 1/2 teaspoon No-Color Butter Flavor. Add up to 4 tablespoons light corn syrup, water or milk to thin for icing cakes.

World's Best Lasagna

Recommended by Sarah. She says the sauce is what makes it great. Funny, as I read the ingredients it looks like my recipe with the exception of fennel...until I started getting lazy and using the assistance of Ragu...LOL
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/worlds-best-lasagna/detail.aspx

Ingredients
1 pound sweet Italian sausage
3/4 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup minced onion
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
2 (6.5 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
12 lasagna noodles
16 ounces ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, sliced
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Directions
1.In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
2.Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
3.Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
4.To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.
5.Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.