You Want Another _______ Mocha Frappe?

The title says it all — well from JB’s perspective anyway! It seems that lately I have been asking for more and more Mocha Frappes from a certain fast food restaurant!  For a while, they were buy one, get one free (plus we had some GREAT coupons) and it wasn’t a horrible deal, but now that the country has fallen in love with the Mocha Frappe, that deal is long gone.  So…here begins my search for Mocha Frappes at home. 

The first recipe I found used powdered milk, cocoa, powdered coffee creamer, etc., and with the exception of cocoa, I had absolutely none of these ingredients on hand and I just could not justify adding them to the grocery list this month!  From there, I didn’t have a lot of luck finding recipes using what I have on hand on a regular basis. 

Then…oh then…I found cold.brewed.coffee!  After reading a lot about cold brewed coffee while searching the internet in bed one night, I literally got out of the bed around midnight and started a “jar” right away!  Boy was a greatly rewarded the next day.  What I found the next day was a beautifully brewed Mason jar full of strong coffee goodness!  You can store the brew in the fridge for a couple of months in a jar or airtight container.  It can be mixed with hot water to make just a regular (delectable) cup of coffee OR you can use it to make the most.delicious.frappe.EVER!

Here’s the deal…

For “The Brew”

• Pour 1 cup coffee grounds of your choice (I used a very cheap Food Lion brand coffee) into a 1-quart Mason jar.  Fill the jar with water leaving enough room to be able to shake the contents of the jar.  Now just put the lid on, give it a good shake, and put it out of the way somewhere on the counter and forgetaboutit!
• Somewhere around 12 hours later, place a coffee filter in a colander or some type of strainer and let the coffee and grounds run through.  I then rinse that same jar out well (why dirty another dish!), and pour my brew back in, cover, and store in the fridge!

For the Mocha Frappe – In a blender place:

• 1/3 cup brew
• 1/3 cup milk (whole, 2%, or skim)
• 2 to 3 teaspoons sugar (or sugar substitute of your choice)
• 1 tablespoon (or maybe a little more) chocolate syrup (I use Hershey’s that we got for free during triple coupons a while back)
• About 1 cup of ice

Blend until frothy and ENJOY!  Of course, you can substitute caramel or another flavor for the chocolate or add any of your other favorite coffee-related ingredients.

When you start working at 6 a.m., it’s kind of hard to operate a blender, measure, etc. so early in the morning (for me at least), so I have made them the night before, poured into a Mason jar, covered and placed in the freezer until the next morning!  When I get up to go to work, I run the jar under hot water for a few minute, stick in a straw, and it keeps me company while I work!

Better-than-the-Meat Sandwich Rolls

One thing that I hate spending money on is bread!  With every dollar that it adds to my grocery bill, I think “I could’ve just make that.”  And as bad as it may be for you, we love good bread — all of us.  With the amazing flour and yeast deals I got at Harris Teeter during triple coupons this ends up being a really inexpensive and tasty recipe!

By no means am I an expert bread baker, but I’m definitely not afraid of yeast (like my mama and granny — sorry mama, but you know you are!).  I remember when I was 9 or 10 begging my granny to try to make yeast rolls like you could get at Ryan’s Steakhouse.  They were my all-time favorite back then and I wanted some one Sunday afternoon.  She was (and is) the best cook ever and I knew if anyone could do it she could.  Whatever we made that day (I wouldn’t call it a roll) had to be thrown away and I didn’t touch another packet of yeast for 15+ years.

In the late 90s, like the rest of the country, I received a bread machine as a Christmas gift.  For several years, I made the bread machine mixes and some simple recipes, but never anything serious (or really even very tasty to be quite honest).  Over the last year, I have learned to use my bread machine, as well as my Kitchenaid mixer, as basically dough makers.  They do all the kneading, aka The Hard Work, and I get all the glory!

This recipe has become our favorite go-to roll – cheeseburgers, subs (cut out with an oval cutter the hubs made just for me!), French Dip sandwiches, BBQ, you name it.   Instead of the bread being a “delivery system” for the meat, the bread is a delicious addition to some really tasty dishes — hence Better-than-the-Meat Sandwich Rolls.

So…don’t be scared like my mom and just dive right in and give it a try.  If you don’t have a bread machine, just do it in a stand mixer with a dough hook, and if you don’t have one of those, it can be done with a little elbow grease with just a little more time and effort — it’ll be worth it!

Better-than-the-Meat Sandwich Rolls

• 1 1/4 cups milk (70 to 80 degrees F) or I have used water in a pinch
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, room temperature (plus 1 extra tablespoon melted to brush on top)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 3/4 cups bread flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

1. Beat egg and mix with milk. 
2. Place ingredients (except for 1 tbsp butter for brushing) in bread machine pan per manufacturer instructions.  Select dough setting. 
3. When machine is finished, place dough on a lightly floured surface.  Punch down and divide in half. 
4. Using half the dough, roll to about 1/2 inch thickness and cut with a 3-inch cookie/biscuit cutter (or cutter of your choice).  Repeat with second half. 
5. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray (I like to also use parchment paper — I LOVE parchment paper). 
6. Brush with melted butter. 
7. Loosely cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
8. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes or until browned.

Your house will smell delicious for the rest of the day!  These can be easily frozen and just take out what you need and pop them in the oven or toaster oven to heat them back up.  We like to slice them, brush with a little butter (or spray with some “butterish” spray) and lightly toast.  That makes for an amazing burger!

The Disappearing Grocery Bill

I had always read articles about people who spend $0.78 for $500 worth of groceries or something crazy like that, and in that moment, I would think, “wow, I should cut out some coupons.”  By the next day, that thought was gone.  I usually left the catalina coupons (the ones that print at the register) with the cashier so that it would be one less thing for me to throw away.

That all changed several months ago.  My little sister told me about couponing, but I rarely really listened.  And then my friend and fellow blogger also began singing the praises of coupons.  This coincided with a barrage of articles in magazines and newspapers and stories on television.  For weeks, everywhere I looked there was something about coupons!  Well, I finally took the hint.  I sent the hubby out to buy a paper one Sunday morning…and the game was ON!

There will be more to come in future posts about organization, planning, sources, etc., but for now, here is a list of helpful websites that I absolutely love:

• www.hotcouponworld.com
• www.savvydollar.org (focusing on North Carolina deals!)
• www.thecouponclippers.com (lots more on them coming soon)
• www.coupons.com

The list can go on and on, but that is a good start!

We’re still not getting $500 worth of groceries for $0.78, but we are saving around 60-90% every single time we walk out the grocery store doors!  The actual savings of no longer eating out constantly and actually eating the groceries we buy is substantially higher.  Maybe someday I will have a $0.78 receipt to hang in my kitchen!