Iced Coffee YUM

I have tried a LOT of iced coffee recipes.

Some were really good -but they involved 10 ingredients and a blender.

Some made 2.8 servings (massively big servings) and sometimes I am the only one that needs an iced coffee and I don't think I should force feed myself an entire blender of coffee just so nothing is wasted.

Some recipes were really quick - but they lacked the flavor, creaminess, and general taste that you find in your $5 iced coffee drinks. Other times they had to be consumed in one super-fast gulp before they became watered down from the melted ice.

Here is my new solution- the goals were:
1. Must be yummy.
2. Must be few in ingredients.
3. Must be fast in the morning.
4. Must be able to make a single serving.

Ready?
There is some pre-day prep - but it is painless:

Step one: Brew strong coffee - any flavor - just make it strong.

Step two: Shut off coffee pot and let it cool but don't forget it is there.

Step three: Freeze this coffee in ice cube trays and smile for all the future goodness you will enjoy. (I try to make several batches over the weekend and once the cubes are solid I pop them in a Ziploc bag. This stockpile ensures that I will have supplies to last through the week!)

On the big day:
Make one average size cup of super hot water, about 6 ounces of water in a much larger cup- if you have a Keurig then brew one medium cup.

Add to that 3 Tbs. of cappuccino mix. Any flavor. Any brand. This MAY be more powered than you would usually add to that amount of water - but this will provide the sweetness and the creaminess that you need.

Add 7-8 coffee cubes. (Adjust cubes to give more or less coffee flavor to please your pallet.) Be patient and let this melt.
I find that if I make my cup right before walking out the door - by the time I reach work 5-10 minutes later, it's perfectly chilled.

Sit back and enjoy your cool pick-me-up! Maybe with an episode of Weeds? :)

Watch-Out Brownies

I got this recipe from an email recently - here is the link to the original...

I thought it sounded really good- who doesn't love a high fiber brownie?

I made a few alterations - mostly because I had no desire to scoop cookies out when I could just as easily bake in a 9x13 and then cut them later. However, word of caution - if you are not use to having a high fiber diet - proceed with great care. You have been warned. These brownies will have a "nutty" texture because the cereal will not soften during baking.

1	box (1 lb 2.3 oz) fudge brownie mix
2	cups Fiber One® original bran cereal (some of the ratings suggested breaking up the cereal - I tried to do this by hand- but this cereal is not for the weak...so I mostly was unsuccessful - I think you could break it up in a food processor and that may make the texture of the final product closer to a normal brownie- the texture didn't bother us)
2	tablespoons miniature semisweet chocolate chips
1/8	teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3	cup water
1	tablespoon vegetable oil
2	teaspoons vanilla
	1 egg I also added 1 TBS applesauce because the mixture seemed a little dry.

1.	Heat oven to 350°F. Spray pan with cooking spray. In large bowl, mix all ingredients with spoon. Pour into 9x13.
2.	Bake as directed on box until set (though my toothpick never came out "clean"). Cool completely. Store in tightly covered container. Freeze up to 2 months if desired.

Frozen Puppy Treats

With summer coming up (if it ever stops raining)- I was very happy to find this healthy, cold treat for the Pups! This recipe is very similar to a product that I had previously purchased in the store - but at a greatly reduced cost and higher nutrition!

Honestly, I was most interested in trying this recipe out because I accidentally bought plain yogurt and it just wasn't the flavor (or flavor-less) for me! The pups were thrilled with my accident!


1 cup peanut butter (natural is good- even for dogs)
32 oz plain low fat yogurt

• Put peanut butter in the microwave for a few seconds until it is melted. (Try 30 seconds and stir.)
• Combine with yogurt.
• Scoop into cupcake papers (I have small dogs so I used a silicone mini-cupcake pan for smaller serving sizes.)
• Put into freezer. (About 4 hours.)
• Once cups are frozen pop them out (if using silicone) and put in freezer bag for storage.

You can serve them straight out of the freezer - or let them soften at room temp for a few minutes...my girls like to dig right in.

So simple and puppy approved!

Banana Bread

I love this banana bread. It's so quick and easy to whip up. A slice is very filling!
I have used bananas that were so past ripe that you would never eat them and you can never tell. Also, I'm not sure how I got this far in life without knowing that you can freeze bananas (after peeling) if they are going to go bad before you can use them. Such an eye-opening discovery for me! Since learning this trick, I have not had one banana go past it's prime in my house! I freeze 3 in a bag so that they will be ready for this recipe. Just defrost in fridge overnight and then use - it won't look pretty, but I assure you the taste is the same.


Here's the recipe with my notes.
Ingredients
3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed (I find that 3 creates the right amount of moisture)
1/3 cup melted butter (This equals 5 1/3 tbs - I replace 2 1/3 tbs with applesauce)
1 cup sugar (I always reduce to 3/4 cup you won't miss it)
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt (I have forgotten this with no adverse effects)
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour (I have replaced 2 TBS of this with wheat germ)

Method
No need for a mixer for this recipe. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

If I could catch up with how quickly we eat these - I would like to get several in the freezer for summer months when I don't want to be baking.

This recipe has been linked to:
Tuesday at the Table
Tasty Tuesdays