Sea Salt Caramel Coffee

It's National Coffee Day!!

To celebrate, here is my version of a Salted Caramel Mocha Coffee.

You will need:
-half & half (or your favorite creamer or milk)*
-chocolate sauce
-caramel sauce
-whipped cream
-sea salt
-brewed coffee

 Place 2-4 Tbsp. of half & half (depending on how creamy you like it) into a cup.  Add 1 tbsp. each of caramel sauce and chocolate sauce.

Heat in microwave for about 15 seconds, till warm.  Use a whisk to blend together and make it a bit frothy.

 Add coffee.  Top with whipped cream.  Drizzle whipped cream with a bit of chocolate sauce and caramel sauce (if desired).

Sprinkle the top of the coffee with a little bit of coarse ground sea salt. I rubbed the sea salt together in my hand over the cup.  Just a pinch goes a long way, but adds a delightful sweet/salty flavor to the coffee!

 

*You can also make this with milk, up to a 1/4 C. just heat and froth the same way as above.  

Enjoy!

Watermelon-Blueberry Slushie

There is nothing more refreshing on a hot and humid day than a icy cold drink.  And if it can get your kids to eat more fruit, well then it is even better!


You will need:

2 C. frozen watermelon (we always buy an extra melon when they are on sale and cut it up and freeze the chunks).
3/4 C. fresh or frozen blueberries
1/2 C. coconut water (or plain water or juice)
1-2 sprigs fresh mint (optional)
juice of 1/2 a lime
Sugar, to taste (if you have a sweet watermelon, you shouldn't need any sugar)

Place the ingredients in a blender and blend on high until desired consistency. Add more coconut water if your mixture is too thick.  Pour in a glass, add a sprig of mint and enjoy!

-Kids love these because it is like a slurpee, only without all the artificial colors and flavorings or the mountain of sugar!

-Substitute your favorite fresh or frozen fruits for the blueberries.

-For a grown up treat, you could add a splash of rum and it would be mojito style!

Watermelon and Mint in blender

P.S. We discovered this tastes best when sitting on a hammock in the shade!

Simple Sangria

Cinco De Mayo is rapidly approaching, and while we don't actually celebrate the holiday, we are always looking for an excuse to eat Mexican food and have friends over. 

What goes better with Mexican food than ice cold, fruity Sangria?!

1 bottle red wine (we used our homemade Cabernet) (or red grape juice)
1 lime
1 orange
1 lemon
1/2 can peaches in light syrup
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 shots triple sec (or 1/4 C. orange juice) (optional)
1 C. frozen raspberries or strawberries
4 C. ginger ale or lemon-lime soda (chilled)

Pour wine or juice into pitcher. Cut lime, orange and lemon into wedges and squeeze juice into wine. Add squeezed wedges into pitcher. Stir in sugar until dissolved. Add in triple sec and peaches with syrup. Chill at least overnight to let flavors blend. Just before serving stir in ginger ale and berries (we leave them frozen to help keep the drink cool).


We found the longer this sits, the better it gets.  Take the citrus peels out if you are storing for more than a week, they tend to get a little bitter. 

The kids love the all juice version with the fruit floating in it!