~Tightwad Tuesday~

hosted by Canada Girl

Thanks to KymPossible, I discovered a fun way to share some frugal tips! I love sharing ideas and information with our blogs, so this was a Make Me Smile moment. (we all know it is about making us smile, right?)

Kym shared that she saved money by saving the leftover coffee and making iced coffee drinks which saves a couple of dollars each drink! What a great thought. I know we often throw old yucky coffee down the drain, but if I thought about it I would have put it to use before it got old and yucky.

Now, I have a recipe to make my own mocha frappucinos and I will share that. Then I will share a thought I have about making it even more of a frugal idea. ;o)

Makes 2 "Grande" Drinks

COFFEE

3/4 cup double-strength coffee, cold

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 cup low-fat milk

2 cups ice

Make double-strength coffee by brewing with twice the coffee required by your coffee maker: That should be 2 tablespoons of ground coffee per each cup of coffee. Chill before using. To make drink, combine all ingredients in a blender and blend on high speed until ice is crushed and drink is smooth. Pour into two 16-ounce glasses, and serve with a straw.

MOCHA For this version, add 3 tablespoons Hershey's chocolate syrup to the original recipe and prepare as described. Top each glass with whipped cream, if desired.

Ok, now here are my thoughts on this. I don't drink plain coffee and don't have a coffee habit that causes me to crash in the morning if I don't give my body a shot of caffeine. I just like the fru-fru drinks once in a while, but their price hinders me from enjoying them. Now, my son that still lives at home and my husband love coffee and drink it often. They like strong coffee. So, instead of me making a pot of double strength coffee when I want to make a batch of these fru fru drinks, I bet I could just use their leftovers. (this is a big 'duh moment here for me!!)

I would suggest mixing the sugar in with the coffee while it is still warm and then adding the milk right into a pitcher that you put in the fridge. (that's what I was doing with the special pot I was making on weekends for me to enjoy my mochas) I am guessing that it will still be strong enough for me to enjoy the taste, esp. since I am not going for the caffeine rush. I'm going to try it this week....and who knows....I just may get to have a daily mocha! (they are soooooo expensive in the stores!)

Oh, and one more recipe for you. I like this better then Hershey's Syrup and it goes perfectly in your mocha frap! Not to mention it has no yucky ingredients that you can't pronounce.

Homemade Chocolate Syrup from Lynette

1/2 cup cocoa, packed

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon butter

In a heavy bottomed saucepan, mix the cocoa and water with a whisk; add sugar and dissolve. Over medium-high heat bring mixture to a boil and continue soft boil about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; add salt, vanilla and butter. Stir to combine then let sit until cool. Store in refrigerator. This makes thin, but delicious syrup.