Frozen Hot Chocolate

My oldest is seven today! We celebrated with friends in a neighborhood park this morning. I bought donuts and iced coffee and made frozen hot chocolate for the kiddos. Super simple, laid-back party.
I had made this frozen hot chocolate once before and remembered it being SUPER rich. And it is. None of the boys could finish theirs, but the few girls in attendance liked it a lot. I blended it up right before we headed to the park, and stuck the whole blender pitcher in the ice chest.

Frozen Hot Chocolate

from Rachael Ray

6 tablespoons sugar
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped, plus more for shaving
1 1/2 cups cold milk (I always add more, to cut the richness a bit!)
4 cups ice
whipped cream

In small pan, mix sugar, cocoa, chopped chocolate and 1/2 cup milk over medium heat. Whisk until smooth. Remove from heat; stir in remaining 1 cup milk. Pour into blender with ice; blend until smooth. Divide among glasses and top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings. Makes 4.

Whole30- Day 4

Keri's Coconut Cream was a success for two reasons- it added a bit of sweetness and creaminess to my coffee, and, perhaps even better, my kids didn't like it so they didn't drink the majority of MY COFFEE. Thanks, Ker! I scrambled some eggs for myself and my daughter, and was already scheming what I'd make for lunch with all my goodies from the store.

More than anything else (well, besides cheese), I miss crunch. I miss toast with my eggs and a plate of nachos for lunch (mmm...nachos...). Besides almonds and cashews, I'm not getting much crunch these days. Enter, the lettuce wrap.

 

I'm trying to work out the acronym here, but it was a "California" (isn't that what you call anything when you add avocado? Who decided that?) B.L.T. with Chicken. (B.L.A.C.T.??) Call it what you like, it was delicious. Leftover chicken is a God-send. 

I grabbed almonds and an apple for the car ride to church and wasn't even remotely hungry until dinner, around 7:15. I made the exception for Jesus and feasted on the bread and wine during communion. After church, we went out with some friends to a taco place and I got a salad with steak. It came with chips crushed on top but I managed not to eat more than one more two (that snuck in, totally snuck in). From there, we headed to our pastor's house for a goodbye party for friends and I drank lots of water and bypassed the food.

I have lots of people asking me about this whole gig and I don't really have any complaints. It hasn't been too hard and I'm wondering if that means the hard days are ahead of me or if I'm just a rock-star. Probably the latter. (Pride goes before the fall...)
Day 4, done!

Keri's Coconut Cream

1 egg

2 tbs coconut oil, melted (or, in June in Oklahoma, at room temperature)

1 can full-fat coconut milk

In a blender, whip the egg until frothy. With blender running, slowly add the coconut oil (through the lid) and blend well. Turn off the blender, add the coconut milk and blend well. Pour into a jar and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, you'll have thickened, delicious coconut "whipped cream"! Keri suggested blending the coffee and cream together in the blender, but I just stirred it together well and then added my ice.

I can imagine that this coconut cream will be delicious on top of a bowl of strawberries, but for now I'm dreaming of dipping graham crackers in it. Only dreaming, of course. 

Homemade Iced Coffee--tips

I've been making iced coffee at home for a few years now. Summer weather seems to begin earlier and earlier every year here in Oklahoma, so it's nice to retire the coffee pot in April, as it were. However, I've left it out this year to aid in making my cold brew a bit easier.

Observe.

I make my iced coffee in a mason jar that sits in the fridge overnight. I recently discovered this recipe for Magical Coffee (very aptly named!!) and it's my new go-to. You add sugar to the coffee grounds themselves, which saves you the step of making a simple syrup. Win!  (I've also been adding a splash of vanilla to the brew, and it's delicious!)

In the morning, I strain the grounds twice. Once through a mesh sieve set over a 4 cup measure.

And then I strain it again through a coffee filter-in my coffee pot. Genius? Maybe.

Then I either pour it straight out of the coffee pot into my waiting glass filled with ice and topped off with a bit of half and half. Or, I rinse out the mason jar and pour in the strained coffee and park it in the fridge until I need it.

Homemade iced coffee saves me SO many unnecessary trips to Starbucks. Enjoy!

Perfect Hot Chocolate

It's still in the 70's here in Oklahoma. The leaves are changing, the sun is shining, and it's 70-some-odd degrees in November. Nevertheless, I embraced my chilly feet this morning and made the first batch of hot chocolate. I tried out a new "recipe" and was so happy to finally stumble upon the ratio for a mug of the perfect hot chocolate. My sweet boys and I were happy to savor it, then don short sleeves and head outside to play. (While we still can.)

Perfect Hot Chocolate

adapted from Mad Hungry

here's your ratio:

1 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tbs sugar

1 cup milk

So, from there, make as many servings as you want! I only had 2 cups of whole milk on hand, so I used that, 2 tbs cocoa, 2 tbs sugar. You get the idea.

To make it even more flavorful, I added a pinch of cinnamon and a splash of vanilla extract.

In a saucepan, over medium-low heat, combine cocoa powder, sugar, and cinnamon (if using). Whisk to combine. Add a couple tablespoons of milk and whisk thoroughly to remove any lumps and make a muddy paste. Add the rest of the milk and whisk again. Continue to cook over medium-low heat until warm. Off the heat, add your vanilla, if using.

Divide into mugs, top with marshmallows, whipped cream, etc.

Cold-brewed Iced Coffee

It started last Thursday. I had a MAJOR grocery run to make. Despite my earnest desire to shop well and support the local guys, Super Target is cheaper, and well, cheaper is what we need right now. Plus, Super Target has a Starbucks. I veered right upon entering the store, headed straight for my coffee fix to get me through the gargantuan shopping trip I had ahead of me. But there was a lady in front of me ordering 6 different drinks, and only one barista working. So I shopped first. I'm glad I did, and I'm glad I made the decision to get my drink before I checked out, because that took forever as well.

I digress...
I saw a sign for "Iced brewed coffee with milk. Add a shot of vanilla or hazelnut for free." I gazed at the price- $2.25 for a venti?! Seriously? You have my attention. So I got a grande (just in case I didn't like it), added a shot of vanilla for free and...fell in love, after the first sip. Seriously. I couldn't believe I hadn't been drinking these for years! Then I remembered that I had a recipe for Iced Coffee that I had yet to try. So the next day I did. And, at least for the summer-time, I WILL NOT GO BACK TO BREWED COFFEE in the morning. (I tried today and wished with every timid sip that I was drinking my delicious iced dream.)

Cold-Brewed Iced Coffee

From Smitten Kitchen

Yield: Two drinks

1/3 cup ground coffee (medium-coarse grind is best)
Milk (optional)--(I've been adding my french vanilla creamer, just like I would to hot coffee.)

1. In a jar, stir together coffee and 1 1/2 cups water. Cover and let rest at room temperature overnight or 12 hours.

2. Strain twice through a coffee filter, a fine-mesh sieve or a sieve lined with cheesecloth. (I put a coffee filter into a mesh strainer and strain into a large measuring cup.) In a tall glass filled with ice, mix equal parts coffee concentrate and water, or to taste. (My personal taste is to veer on the side of more coffee to more water, so it doesn't taste watered down.)

If desired, add milk.

**Check out this post for a few tips to make your iced coffee brewing easier!**