Orange Mint Tea

This orange mint tea is the perfect drink for summer. It is sweet and fruity with a hint of mint. This tea has been made for many parties and it is always a favorite! It is so light and refreshing! 

To make just over a half gallon of tea you will need:

• 3 & 1/2 cups of WATER
• 1 cup of SUGAR
• 4 single cup bags of ORANGE PEKOE TEA (any black tea will work)
• 4 MINT SPRIGS
• 4 (more) cups of WATER, cold
• 1 cup ORANGE JUICE
• 1/4 cup +  2 Tbs LEMON JUICE

Bring 3 & 1/2 cups of water to a boil in a large pot. Add the sugar to the water and stir until it dissolves. Turn the heat down and simmer for 5 minutes. 

Remove the pot from the heat. Add the tea bags and the mint sprigs to the sugar water. Cover the pot and let the tea steep for 5 minutes. 

After 5 minutes use a slotted spoon to remove the tea bags and the mint. 

Stir in the 4 cups of cold water, the orange juice, and the lemon juice.

Serve over ice and garnish with a mint sprig!

It is even more refreshing than it looks!

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Orange Mint Tea

Ingredients:

• 3 & 1/2 cups of WATER
• 1 cup of SUGAR
• 4 single cup bags of ORANGE PEKOE TEA (any black tea will work)
• 4 MINT SPRIGS
• 4 (more) cups of WATER, cold
• 1 cup ORANGE JUICE
• 1/4 cup +  2 Tbs LEMON JUICE

Directions:

1. Bring 3 & 1/2 cups of water to a boil in a large pot. Add the sugar to the water and stir until it dissolves. Turn the heat down and simmer for 5 minutes. 
2. Remove the pot from the heat. Add the tea bags and the mint sprigs to the sugar water. Cover the pot and let the tea steep for 5 minutes. 
3. After 5 minutes use a slotted spoon to remove the tea bags and the mint. 
4. Stir in the 4 cups of cold water, the orange juice, and the lemon juice.
5. Serve over ice and garnish with a mint sprig!

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This original version of this recipe can be found at the following link: http://www.recipe.com/minted-iced-tea/ 

Iced Mocha

Lately I have been on the lookout for a good iced coffee and I think that I have found it in this recipe! I will start off by admitting that I am a little bit of a wimp when it comes to coffee. I tend to go for the sweet coffee drinks that are probably more sugar than coffee. I'm working on it though!

This iced mocha is delicious and I think it has a good balance of coffee flavor and sweetness (I even toned down the sweetness from the original recipe! I'm so proud of myself!) It is extremely easy to adapt this recipe to your taste by varying how much coffee, sugar, or milk you add! Let loose, play mad scientist, and experiment! I love this recipe because I can make it ahead of time and drink on it for a week, but it would also be great to make for a party!

To take this drink up a notch, I made some coffee ice cubes! I did this by freezing brewed coffee in an ice tray. It's super easy and prevents your coffee from getting watered down as the ice melts!

To make just under 3 quarts of this delicious treat you will need:

• 1/3 cup INSTANT COFFEE GRANULES 
• 1/2 cup BOILING WATER
• 1 (14 oz.) can SWEETENED CONDENSED MILK (you could use fat-free to knock off a few calories)
• 1/2 cup CHOCOLATE SYRUP
• 3 cups COLD WATER
• 6 cups MILK (I used 1%, but you could use skim to knock off a few MORE calories)

Start off by putting the coffee into a  medium sized bowl. Next, whisk the 1/2 cup of boiling water into the coffee. (I made a half batch of this iced coffee in the pictures, so that's why it looks like so much less!)

Continue whisking the mixture until all of the coffee has dissolved.

Whisk the sweetened condensed milk and chocolate syrup into the coffee.

Pour the sweetened coffee mixture into your pitcher and stir in the cold water and milk. This is where tasting is important! If the coffee is too sweet add some more milk or water. If it doesn't have enough coffee flavor, dissolve a few tablespoons of the instant coffee in a few tablespoons of boiling water and mix it in.

Once the coffee is to your liking, chill it until it is cold (or just pour it over a glass full of ice) and then serve!

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Iced Mocha

Ingredients:
To make just under 3 quarts of this delicious treat you will need:

• 1/3 cup INSTANT COFFEE GRANULES 
• 1/2 cup BOILING WATER
• 1 (14 oz.) can SWEETENED CONDENSED MILK (you could use fat-free to knock off a few calories)
• 1/2 cup CHOCOLATE SYRUP
• 3 cups COLD WATER
• 6 cups MILK (I used 1%, but you could use skim to knock off a few MORE calories)

Directions:

1. Start off by putting the coffee into a  medium sized bowl. 
2. Next, whisk the 1/2 cup of boiling water into the coffee. Continue whisking the mixture until all of the coffee has dissolved.
3. Whisk the sweetened condensed milk and chocolate syrup into the coffee.
4. Pour the sweetened coffee mixture into your pitcher and stir in the cold water and milk. 
5. This is where tasting is important! If the coffee is too sweet, add some more milk or water. If it doesn't have enough coffee flavor, dissolve a few tablespoons of the instant coffee in a few tablespoons of boiling water and mix it in. 
6. Once the coffee is to your liking, chill it until it is cold (or just pour it over a glass full of ice) and then serve!

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I adapted my recipe from the following recipe: http://www.loriesmississippikitchen.com/2008/07/iced-mocha-latte.html

Jamba Juice Copycat: Strawberry Surf Rider (Strawberry Tsunami)

My favorite Jamba Juice smoothie is the Strawberry Surf Rider, formerly known as the Strawberry Tsunami. It is sweet and tart and creamy and wonderful! I had trouble getting my smoothie as tart as Jamba Juice's so after everything was blended together, I spiked it with a little bit of lime juice to kick it up a notch!

To make this delicious smooth you will need:

• 1/4 cup FROZEN PEACHES (about 3 slices)
• 1/2 cup FROZEN STRAWBERRIES (about 5-6 berries)
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup LEMONADE
• 1/4 cup LIME SHERBET
• 1/2 cup ICE (about 6-8 cubes)
• LIME JUICE, to taste

Start off by measuring out your ingredients... or just eye ball it! It's kind of difficult to measure frozen fruit in a 1/4 cup measuring cup. Below you can see my attempt measure how much I was using....

Throw ALL of the ingredients into a blender. I started by only adding 1/2 cup of the lemonade, but then added an extra 1/4 cup to get it to the consistency I wanted. Just keep adding thing until it tastes good!

Blend until smooth! This is where I added some lime juice. I added about 2-3 tsp, but if you like it the way it is, then skip the lime juice!

Once you are happy with the consistency and flavor, serve it up in a glass with a straw! I ended up with about a glass and a half of smoothie. That was probably about 3 cups or 24 oz. of smoothie...

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Jamba Juice Copycat: Strawberry Surf Rider (Strawberry Tsunami)

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup FROZEN PEACHES (about 3 slices)
• 1/2 cup FROZEN STRAWBERRIES (about 5-6 berries)
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup LEMONADE
• 1/4 cup LIME SHERBET
• 1/2 cup ICE (about 6-8 cubes)
• LIME JUICE, to taste

Directions:

1. Start off by measuring out your ingredients... or just eye ball it! It's kind of difficult to measure frozen fruit in a 1/4 cup measuring cup. 
2. Throw ALL of the ingredients into a blender. Note: I started by only adding 1/2 cup of the lemonade, but then added an extra 1/4 cup to get it to the consistency I wanted. Just keep adding thing until it tastes good!
3. Blend until smooth! I then added about 2-3 tsp of lime juice, but if you like it the way it is, then skip the lime juice!
4. Once you are happy with the consistency and flavor, serve it up in a glass with a straw! 
5. I ended up with about a glass and a half of smoothie. (That was probably about 3 cups or 24 oz. of smoothie...)

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To find this recipe and other Jamba Juice copycats follow this link: http://www.makedrinks.org/jamba-juice-recipes/ 

Chai Tea Latte Copycat

Ok, so this is more of a product placement than a recipe...but it is so good! It tastes pretty much the same Starbuck's chai tea latte and is so much cheaper! And you can make it from home! And it tastes like Christmas! All you need is:

• OREGON CHAI'S ORIGINAL CHAI TEA LATTE CONCENTRATE
• MILK

I have found the Oregon Chai Original Chai Tea Latte Concentrate for $3.38 at Wal-Mart on the isle with coffee & tea. One box of concentrate should make somewhere between 6-8 lattes depending on how big you make your drinks.

To make your latte all you do is mix equal parts chai tea concentrate and milk. It is great served hot or over ice!

To take you latte up a notch you can use a milk frother to make it nice and foamy! I got one for Christmas a few years ago and it has been great! I know you can find them at Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Amazon for sure!



Enjoy!

Strawberry Smoothie

Here is a strawberry smooth recipe that is quick and easy! In college I would make them in the mornings for breakfast and drink them on the way to class.

All you need is:

• 5-7 FROZEN STRAWBERRIES
• 5-6 oz. STRAWBERRY YOGURT (aka 1 individual sized yogurt cup)
• a splash of MILK

All you need to do is throw all of of the ingredients into a blender (or Ninja food processor in my case) and blend until smooth! You may need to add more milk along the way to make the smoothie thinner and more drinkable. Once the smoothie is at the desired consistency pour it into your favorite glass (or travel cup) and go!

You could easily make this your own by using different frozen fruit or yogurt flavors. There are so many options!

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Strawberry Smoothie

Ingredients:

• 5-7 FROZEN STRAWBERRIES
• 5-6 oz. STRAWBERRY YOGURT (aka 1 individual sized yogurt cup)
• a splash of MILK

Directions:

1. All you need to do is throw all of of the ingredients into a blender (or Ninja food processor in my case) and blend until smooth! You may need to add more milk along the way to make the smoothie thinner and more drinkable. Once the smoothie is at the desired consistency pour it into your favorite glass (or travel cup) and go!
2. You could easily make this your own by using different frozen fruit or yogurt flavors. There are so many options!

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Starbucks Frappuccino Copycat Pt. 2

Ok, so I know that I already posted a Starbucks frappuccino copycat recipe, but you will want to try this one as well. It is quite tasty and unlike the previous recipe, this one has a texture more like Starbucks! It is creamy and yummy and smooth. 

Are you ready for the secret? Ok, here it is….MILK CUBES!!! I know, crazy right?! But it works! I promise! Instead of using ice cubes, freeze milk into cubes and blend those up with the coffee and flavoring! It’s so good!

So here is what you will need…

• 6 MILK CUBES 
• 4.5 oz of chilled COFFEE (just make a cup of your favorite coffee and throw it in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes until it is cool so it won’t melt the milk cubes)

To flavor the frappuccino I have used…

• 1.5 oz or 3 Tbs CARAMEL COFFEE CREAMER

Or…

• 1.5 Tbs CHOCOLATE SYRUP, you could probably use less syrup, but I have a little bit of a sweet tooth… ;)

All you have to do is combine the milk cubes, chilled coffee, and flavoring in a blender (or Ninja food processor) and blend! It’s soooo easy and it’s soooo good!

I always forget to take a picture right after I made it because I am so eager to drink it, but here are a few not so great pictures of the half drank frappuccinos I've made…

Mocha:

Caramel:

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Starbucks Frappuccino

Ingredients:

• 6 MILK CUBES 
• 4.5 oz of chilled COFFEE (just make a cup of your favorite coffee and throw it in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes until it is cool so it won’t melt the milk cubes)

To flavor the frappuccino I have used…

• 1.5 oz or 3 Tbs CARAMEL COFFEE CREAMER

Or…

• 1.5 Tbs CHOCOLATE SYRUP

Directions:

1. Combine the milk cubes, chilled coffee, and flavoring in a blender (or Ninja food processor) and blend! That's it!

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Here is the website where I found the recipe and the milk cube secret:

http://thenotsoskinnybaker.wordpress.com/2011/08/01/skinny-caramel-frappuccino/

Starbucks Frappuccino Copycat

Here is a Starbucks copycat mocha frappuccino recipe! I’ll tell you now that one of the hardest things to replicate is the texture of the frappuccino. This recipe has a good flavor, but whether using my blender or my Ninja food processor (which actually blends better than the blender!) I don’t get a very smooth ice texture. With that said, it’s still pretty good!

What you will need is:

• 1 Tbs INSTANT COFFEE (regular or decaf)
• 2 Tbs FRENCH VANILLA COFFEE CREAMER
• 2 Tbs CHOCOLATE SYRUP
• 1/2 cup MILK
• 10 ICE CUBES

The recipe I adapted this from is at: http://www.laaloosh.com/2011/08/04/diy-light-frappuccino-recipe/

****Look for "Starbucks Frappuccino Copycat Pt. 2" for a different recipe that tastes even better!

Hippie Juice

I found this cocktail on Pinterest where I find most of my yummy recipes. It is fruity and sweet and will knock your socks off if you aren't careful! With all of the flavors you can barely taste the alcohol so make sure you are with friends you trust!

First off you need a SIMPLY ORANGE CONTAINER (the Great Value version will work too! Really, you just need a container that holds 59 fl. oz. or 1.85 qt.) A FUNNEL would also be useful. Into the container pour:

• 4 scoops of COUNTRY TIME PINK LEMONADE (2/3 cup)
• 1 cup of WATERMELON VODKA
• 1/3 cup of MALIBU COCONUT RUM
• 1/3 cup of TRIPLE SEC

Once you have added all of the above ingredients fill the rest of the bottle with COLD WATER, shake, and enjoy!

You can garnish the cocktails with STRAWBERRIES if you are feeling extra ambitious!

The website I found this on is:  http://peaceloveguacamole.blogspot.com/2010/07/simply-glorious.html